Concert Retrospective
In light of Jill's recent post and next weekend's Tulsa trip to see Ben Folds, I thought I'd take a look back at some of my favorite concert memories over the years. (Plus, I had about 30 minutes to kill and couldn't figure out what else to do.) Main events are listed first, opening acts are in parentheses. My somewhat dorky music taste got better as I got older, I'd like to think...
The O.C. Supertones (Ghoti Hook, Stavesacre): My first real concert. I was in 7th grade and Kyle's dad took us. We were at Bronco Bowl in Dallas (before they tore it down...anyone else remember Bronco Bowl?). This is where I got my first taste of the ritual of concert t-shirt buying, a staple for anyone even somewhat involved in the live music scene.
Five Iron Frenzy (Switchfoot, The W's): I promise they won't all be cheesy Christian ska/punk bands. I went to this one with my dad, Kyle, and Max Kunisch. Switchfoot only had one album out at the time. The concert was in the attic of punk-rock church somewhere in Hurst or Richardson or somewhere like that. The AC wasn't working, and it got so hot that people started passing out and they had us all go outside for like 20 minutes or something. This is one of my favorites to look back on, because I liked Switchfoot so much and they were opening for Five Iron in the attic of some church, and now they are on TRL and stuff. Crazy. Plus, Reese Roper (Five Iron's lead singer) was still in his habit of wearing bizarre outfits on stage, and I think he was dressed as an African shepherd or the Sheik or something that night.
Eric Clapton (someone whom I'd never heard of and whose name I can't remember): This was awesome. We were in High School (junior or senior year, I don't remember). Kyle's dad took me, Kyle, and Andrew to see Eric Clapton for Kyle's birthday. It was at Reunion Arena. EC played for almost 3 hours, and it never once got boring, not even a little bit. He was absolutely incredible.
Ryan Adams: In summer 2005, I was living in Austin working at National Instruments. Kyle lived in San Marcos at the time and was a music writer for the Texas State newspaper. He called me one day and told me that was covering the Ryan Adams concert he had two free tickets to see him the next night in downtown. He played two sets, including almost all of the "Heartbreaker" album, and it was free and spontaneous.
Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright (Ben Lee): The same summer, I drove to Arlington on a Friday, then drove to Tulsa, OK (4.5 hours or so) on Sunday afternoon, saw Ben and Rufus that night, then drove back to Arlington that night, arriving at around 4 AM. Then I drove back to Austin the next day, but it was all worth it. Ben Folds is my favorite, but Rufus put on the best show I've ever seen, hands down. If you ever get the chance to go see him, take it.
Honorable Mention: Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls, Dream Theater/Joe Satriani (mostly for unintentional comedy value), Lyle Lovett, Cornerstone Festival (where I saw, among many others, Larry Norman and Stryper...To Hell with the Devil!!!).
Please feel free to share your favorite concert memories.
The O.C. Supertones (Ghoti Hook, Stavesacre): My first real concert. I was in 7th grade and Kyle's dad took us. We were at Bronco Bowl in Dallas (before they tore it down...anyone else remember Bronco Bowl?). This is where I got my first taste of the ritual of concert t-shirt buying, a staple for anyone even somewhat involved in the live music scene.
Five Iron Frenzy (Switchfoot, The W's): I promise they won't all be cheesy Christian ska/punk bands. I went to this one with my dad, Kyle, and Max Kunisch. Switchfoot only had one album out at the time. The concert was in the attic of punk-rock church somewhere in Hurst or Richardson or somewhere like that. The AC wasn't working, and it got so hot that people started passing out and they had us all go outside for like 20 minutes or something. This is one of my favorites to look back on, because I liked Switchfoot so much and they were opening for Five Iron in the attic of some church, and now they are on TRL and stuff. Crazy. Plus, Reese Roper (Five Iron's lead singer) was still in his habit of wearing bizarre outfits on stage, and I think he was dressed as an African shepherd or the Sheik or something that night.
Eric Clapton (someone whom I'd never heard of and whose name I can't remember): This was awesome. We were in High School (junior or senior year, I don't remember). Kyle's dad took me, Kyle, and Andrew to see Eric Clapton for Kyle's birthday. It was at Reunion Arena. EC played for almost 3 hours, and it never once got boring, not even a little bit. He was absolutely incredible.
Ryan Adams: In summer 2005, I was living in Austin working at National Instruments. Kyle lived in San Marcos at the time and was a music writer for the Texas State newspaper. He called me one day and told me that was covering the Ryan Adams concert he had two free tickets to see him the next night in downtown. He played two sets, including almost all of the "Heartbreaker" album, and it was free and spontaneous.
Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright (Ben Lee): The same summer, I drove to Arlington on a Friday, then drove to Tulsa, OK (4.5 hours or so) on Sunday afternoon, saw Ben and Rufus that night, then drove back to Arlington that night, arriving at around 4 AM. Then I drove back to Austin the next day, but it was all worth it. Ben Folds is my favorite, but Rufus put on the best show I've ever seen, hands down. If you ever get the chance to go see him, take it.
Honorable Mention: Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls, Dream Theater/Joe Satriani (mostly for unintentional comedy value), Lyle Lovett, Cornerstone Festival (where I saw, among many others, Larry Norman and Stryper...To Hell with the Devil!!!).
Please feel free to share your favorite concert memories.
posted by Abe at 3:29 PM
7 Comments:
1. I remember the Bronco Bowl! It's the first of many places I saw Pat Green. (Shut up, you like the Supertones.)
2. How do you confuse Hurst and Richardson???
3. I'm sad that our traditional concerts were honorable mentions, but I understand why. Hopefully this weekend will change that!
4. Some of my best shows:
* Counting Crows (Cake), Upper Darby [Philly] PA 1995
* Counting Crows (Wallflowers), Scranton PA 1996
* Cracker/No Doubt/311/Spin Doctors/Gravity Kills/Toadies, Camden NJ 1996
* Beck (the Cardigans), Philadelphia PA 1997
* Willie Nelson/the Dead/Merle Haggard/Pat Green, Willie's 4th of July Picnic, Spicewood [Austin] TX 2003
* most Thrift Store Cowboys shows, Lubbock/Ft. Worth/Dallas TX 2002-pres.
* Rolling Stones (Los Lonely Blah), Austin TX 2006
I'm probably forgetting some...
Yeah, I sort of do. That doesn't mean they're not still dorky.
I didn't actually confuse Hurst and Richardson. I was just saying "some random mid-cities place that I don't remember because I was too young to drive".
two words: jamie and ben.
I remember the Bronco Bowl! That's where I saw Nsync. (For the first time) Did i mention i was in the 7th row? Cuz i was.
:)
q
Hmm concerts. Not that I've been to that many, but my favorite was:
Pearl Jam (Supergrass): Lubbock, TX. I was a sophomore in high school, and they had just released Binaural. It was amazing. They played for 2 and a half hours, and Eddie rocked my world. Later, they released a whole bunch of "official bootleg" recordings of their concerts in various cities, so I got the Lubbock show on CD. I still listen to it. How cool is that?
Honorable mention: Aerosmith (Cheap Trick), also Lubbock TX. :)
Switchfoot at the Tea Room, Ted Leo there also (horrible, horrible opening bands), and recently Jamie Cullum!
I don't think anyone could top the Switchfoot concert though.
you didn't like ted leo's openers? i can't imagine...i think the spanish guy was my favorite. : )
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