Coolest vs Least Cool Concerts
 

Let's see who has the greatest separation.

I'll open with:
Extremely Cool- Bela Fleck Little Worlds Tour featuring Vic Wooten on Bass
Height of Dorkiness- Kansas with a new lead singer

Very cool - Moby at the TLA in 1997 or Velvet Revolver at Electric Factory
Least Cool - GNR in 2002 at the First Union Center when Axl forgot to show and there was a near-riot.

That's pretty much not cool.

most cool - bloodlet at the fireside bowl 1998
least cool - amy grant - chicago, 1985. veryveryvery not cool. thanks mom and dad.

least cool: joe cocker, 1976?, when he was so wasted he couldn't even finish the first set and was carried off the stage.
coolest: chicago with earth, wind & fire this past summer, because i am old and nostalgic and i don't care if i look stupid when i dance!

coolest - SRV at the Paladium in LA early 80's ( HE ROCKED the house !!!!!)

Least coolest - Barry Manilo in the mid 70's ( my Mom PAID me to go with my sister ) , The whole place was full of screaming , crying teen age girls carrying stuffed animals .

Most cool - Genesis, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour, 1975
Least cool - Jefferson Starship with a blazingly drunk Grace Slick, 1974 "Dragonfly" tour.

Most cool: The Chieftains with Sarah McLachlan and Ron Sexsmith, Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis, 1995
Least cool: Butthole Surfers, Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis, 1993

eww.:vomit:

I saw them twice...their opening bands were way cooler:

--Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots in 1993
--The Nixons, the Reverend Horton Heat and Toadies in 1996

coolest: paul simon, Graceland tour
Dorkiest (and, I do believe I win this category) Bay City Rollers!

Coolest was Julian Cope, acting as Reynard the Fox and committing suicide by Stanley knife on a climbable mic stand.

Dorkiest was that afore-mentioned Asia... but on their *second* tour. It was bad, really bad.

coolest: kd lang at the Wiltern, LA ca. '87 (honourable mention: DEVO ~'84)
worst: Iron Butterfly ~'67 (the place -- Rose Palace, Pasadena -- was crawling with cops/narcs)
weirdest: Little Richard at the Olympic Auditorium, LA -- the stage collapsed with him atop his piano!

Coolest: Mark Knopfler, Sailing to Philadelphia (2005) Mann Center
Crappiest: Toad the Wet Sprocket, ~1995, CWRU

Least cool: a tie between Loverboy and Night Ranger, both in '80-something.

Coolest: I can't decide...some top contenders are: David Bowie '04, Robert Cray '98, Betty and Troublefunk--New Year's Eve '87, and Ice-T with Biohazard '95(?).

I caught Paul Simon on the Rythm of the Saints Tour very close to top billing. Bay City Rollers... that is pretty bad, but folks our age had to sort through a lot of crap. I forgot that I saw the Beach Boys..twice.:o

I saw the Beach Boys twice as well, once as an opening act for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (Neil's 1974 reunion tour with the guys).

Were you citing the BB as Least or Most cool?

I considered myself a dork for going. I saw them once with Katrina and the Waves but I have no recall on the other event. Sigh, I saw CSN but no Y. Steven is one fine player.

Coolest:Phish, Sugarbush '94

Honorable Mention: Santana with Phish opening for him - Stowe, VT '92

uncoolest: dead tie - The Pursuit Of Happiness live on stage in Halifax, until Moe Berg chundered like Niagara Falls on stage and had to quit, tied with Huey Lewis and the News, live in Halifax. I look back now and I think I should have spent my money on something better, like Bay City Rollers' records...

Dishonorable Mention: Spin Doctors live in Stowe- ohmygodwhatasuckyband.

Coolest: I don't know... Santana and Phish? Page & Plant? Grateful Dead, but I can't pick just one show.... Oh, Indigo Girls at the Tower Theater was pretty dern cool...
Most Lame: Manheim Steamroller

I saw CSN open for the Dead so many times I stopped going in for them. But CSNY(2K) blew my mind. One of those once in a lifetime, I'm so glad I went (6 mos pregnant) kinda things.

I saw Manheim Steamroller on their first tour after releasing the first Xmas album. It was awesome. But I'm a synthesizer geek.

My Mannheim Steamroller experience was also quite awesome. But I'm an ancient instruments geek.

I may have the leading entry in lame venues though ...

QVC Studio Park, West Chester Pennsylvania. It was a live audience presentation.

I was not interviewed on camera during the show, however, I was seated down towards the front right near where Steve Bryant did all of the audience interviews, so I was on TV a lot that night.

I really like Manheim Steamroller, the concert just sucked.

Were you subjected to a movie being played behind the band that featured a young man in robin's egg blue tights and his struggle to climb a brick wall?

Thankfully no.

But I do always maintain a desperate hope that someday, somewhere, instead of playing their way through Mannheim Meets the Mouse, they'll break out into an enthusiastic rendition of Convoy.

My lamest concert: had to be the Monkees "Reunion" tour at the Mann Music Center ... with only Peter, Mickey, and Davy. Mike Naismith was very wise to stay out of it.

I always liked the Mann as a venue - even enjoyed Rod Stewart, just becuase he was there. The Tower too.... never saw a bad show there.

The only act I ever saw at the Tower was Laurie Anderson, Strange Angels tour, which on reflection, is my choice for coolest concert.

Most arena/stadium shows are just way too big to really be special. Although I did think Roger Waters' Radio KAOS tour was the best show I'd been to for a good long while. So good I still have the shirt.

KISS - 3rd row center, sold out at Madison Square garden. Best show I ever saw.

Spinal Tap - at the Beacon Theater... also 3rd row (tipped the usher $20 and got moved up there with my girlfriend) That was a great night!

Lame concert... Pat Benetar, 1986. "WE BELONG!" ugh

Great shows at the Tower....Ziggy Stardust....Jethro Tull....Moody Blues....Starship......Dave Mason.....Satriani....etc, etc, etc. :thumbsup:

Careful Bruce we could start resenting you.

That's cool, just don't resemble me and you'll be ok. ;)

I second that! That was truly an awesome show, especially pyrotechnically.

While Ted Nugent and...heh...Skid Row were on stage, we simply took the time to load up on beer. I could barely hear 18 and Life being played over the laughter of the crowd.

Jonathan Richman is a fucking pimp, all underappreciated and all around awesome.

I saw a show of his about a year ago, maybe a little more, and it was just this crazy vaguely trilingual guy singing about life & love and grooving to his own music, dancing as hard as the audience. Just him and a drummer, and he'd switch instruments during the drum solos.

Man, I'd love to see Jonathan Richmond.

3rd Row at KISS? OUCH. A couple years ago I was 10th row slightly right of center, and those pyrotechnics were a little too warm even there.

Coolest/Best gig Thin Lizzy's final UK gig at the Reading festival Aug 1983 the band were Smokin' that night..

Least Cool (actually the worst fucking band I have ever seen)
Greatful Dead Sept 1981...Was in therapy for years after that gig :D

Duck and cover Be-bop. There's dead fans in this neck of the woods.

Coolest - Had to be seeing the Plasmatics at Long Beach. There's something about a blonde in leather panties covered with whipped cream...

Honorable Mention - GG Allin at the Gashouse. Little did anyone know that it would be the last time...

Worst - A girlfriend took me to go see "Jesus Jones". Lemme give you a hint - killing yourself is preferable to this shit.

Very cool: Primus (5 times..each time better than the last)
Least cool: Dave Matthews Band (3 hour sleeping pill)

Honorable mention for the coolest: Nickel Creek (absolutely amazing)

I saw Nickel Creek a couple of times when the oldest of them was about 14 (well, except for the adult stand up bass player they had at the time) at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Those kids were hot shit then just doing bluegrass and country. They're absolutely smokin' now, with a very original sound based on that bluegrass background of theirs. Those kids were each junior national champs of their respective instruments, and it shows.

Nickel Creek- I saw them couple years ago, they are all that.

unexpected crappy show- Steve Miller at BU. terrible sound, terrible voice, and terrible guitar. He appeared to be semi-comatose

coolest - Pink Floyd at Birmingham Hip, 1974 - the Pulse tour - Dark Side of the Moon as first set, second set was pre-release 'wish you were here' . We sat right behind the mixing desk.

non-cool Hawkwind, Wolverhampton circa late '70's - so bad I stayed the whole set in the bar.
Support band was good though - Chicago Transit Authority..... last concert under that name - they dropped transit authority the week after...

Welcome, Jay. Always good to find another geezer prog rock fan like myself.

why, thankyou elspode....


.... and I hope not to make you jealous by mentioning that I have seen both Rick Wakeman and Yes in the past year.....

oh..... and Focus.....

Steve Miller had a habit of showing up drunk, he did it to me, twice. :mad:

Hawkwind?
Holy shit, I thought I was the only person who knew about them.
Nothing like acidprogrock to ruin the day.

SON of a WHORE, I hate people older than me.

Most of the bands I listen to are already dead or broken up...

I've only been to two shows (suprising for a music geek like me), and both kicked ASS, so I won't list a least cool, but...

Several Species (Pink Floyd cover band) in this little hole in the wall place in Catonsville, MD., doing The Wall end-to-end.

AND

Tally Hall in MY BASEMENT, three days before I moved to Taiwan. Pretty amazing.



EDIT: And DON'T diss Skid Row. I LOVE Get The Fuck Out and Youth Gone Wild, and Sebastian Back is teh sexxxy.

RE: Skid Row.

My friend's band opened for them recently and stole their beer. Sebastian Bach was up in his face accusing him of it and screaming (they're both 6'+), and he was denying it till he was blue in the face. Of course, he was guilty.

Slave to the Grind is one of the best hard rock albums in history, btw.

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They still allow Skid Row to play music, eh? ;)

Well, I think only about half the original members are still in the band, they kinda went the way of Van Halen.

Worst - Los Lobos, oh my lord, talk about phoning it in. Opening for U2 - Joshua Tree Tampa.

Too many coolest in too many genres - giving props to David Sanborn in NY on his birthday... so many great artists came from around the word to play it was beyond a concert.

Coolest? Cream - Goodbye Tour, Nov. '68
Lamest? The Thompson Twins, '84ish
Worst? Uriah Heep/Savoy Brown, '74ish

Oh, in 86' when I graduated from HS I did the whole Disney Grad Night thing... There were bands... 80's bands.... I still do not speak of it.