It was 2006 and he had just released On An Island and was coming to the US. I fought hard with the Internet for a ticket- just one- and finally got one for his Los Angeles show. Got a plane ticket and a room across town, no idea how to get to the show once I got there, but no matter- I was going to see David fucking Gilmour.
Rick Wright was with him, as well as David Crosby and Graham Nash. They played “Echoes” all the way through, which was as close to a religious experience as I’ve known, and I got lost on the way out (concert shirts in hand) and ended up walking in the wee hours through LA to get to my room, but no matter- I got to see David fucking Gilmour.
Fuck yeah.
(And then a couple of years ago a friend who’s a cameraman for BBC got to be in on an interview on his houseboat. He asked David if he could move a guitar strap out of the way, not realizing that this old stained leather strap had once been owned by Jimi Hendrix. He about shit when I told him.)
What can I say - very nice venues, very good company: The former, very good friends; the latter, just my own :D
Pink Floyd at Globen in Stocholm 1995 was fantastic (indoors, so the lights were actually visible). Jethro Tull i Oslo 2022 as well. Yes at Skedsmohallen in 1989.
Roger Waters at Telenor Arena 2011. First gig with the wife. Inlaws noted that the concert got rave reviews.
Awesome? I'd been warned about Ian Anderson's voice, and that he didn't sing much, but he actually only used a stand-in on two songs. They played a lot from «Heavy Horses», giving me a new perspective on that album.
A great performance is group hypnosis, for sure. I recently heard an interview with Wierd Al where Mark Knoffler showed up to the studio to play on his own spoof. Instant respect—lol
If you love watching live performances, have you seen American Utopia? Best “all time live performance”—ever. His book “How music works” is also great.
That show is amazing -- I wish I'd gotten to see it live on Broadway. But I did see David Byrne on the tour he did with St. Vincent, which in retrospect feels like it was a run-up to some of the ideas in American Utopia.
There have been so many. Ozzy on his first solo tour was pretty epic. Hawkwind with Ginger Baker and a magnificent Nik Turner resplendent in skin tight purple body stocking and roller skates. AC/DC on the back in black tour. Sad but stunning. But the very very best? Surprisingly that was last November. I made the insane decision to fly to Japan to see, who I truly believe to be the best band ever (excepting The Beatles), at one of their farewell concerts. Wagakki Band. It was so good, as I was leaving after 2.5 hours of pure musical heaven, I turned to an equal crazy pal who came with me and burst into tears. Just burst with that pure emotion only great music can release.
I think I remember you posting on FB about Wagakki Band — they really do look something else! I saw AC/DC three times (including what turned out to be Malc's last tour) but I would have loved to see them with Bon... I suspect they would have given GUN a run for their money back then.
For me, the audience is an important part of a great live show. Seeing Kate Bush live (in 2014) was so extraordinary because we'd come from all over the world to see someone who we'd been certain we'd never see live. I chatted with people from Australia and Germany and all parts of the UK, and it was miraculous.
Seeing Aurora in 2021 was an unforgettable experience because it was during the pandemic, everyone was still masked, it was the first event many of us had been to since the whole madness began, and it was almost orgiastic in intensity.
On the flip side...in 2010 I went to see Janelle Monae at the Hollywood Palladium. She was opening for Of Montreal, and 99% of the crowd was there to see them. I was obsessed with her album "The Archandroid," she and her band were absolutely brilliant...and because nobody else was interested in her, I got to stand up close. I've seen her four times but that first time - before anyone realized who she was - was magical.
LOVE those experiences when it feels like you're the one who gets it... and that Kate Bush show also sounds fantastic. Wonderful how gigs can bring people together like that.
As for gigs, with my mate Miguel "the mustache" we were blown away in 1995 by Billy Cobham's band. I was never a huge jazz/fusion fan but their playing was from another planet. It felt as though they were jamming for themselves and we were just lucky to be there and witness it
That kind of musical experience when you KNOW you're watching people who really care, doing it for the love of it, is what marks out the truly stellar gigs... I'll check out the Mozart, thank you!
U2 Point Depot, Dublin 1989. My first live gig. Blew my mind
An Emotional Fish - The Stadium (no longer there) 1991 - the most chaotic, energetic gig I've ever been to
Hothouse Flowers - Point Depot, Dublin New Year's Eve 1993
Little Green Cars - Pavillion Theatre, Dublin 2019 - Intimate, beautiful, with Faye's incredible voice as the centrepiece
Hothouse Flowers - Cork Opera House, Cork 2025 - Just insanely beautiful to see the band I've followed since I was a teenager and hear the songs that have been my friends for decades
Wow, U2 in 89... that's something. And how lovely on the Hothouse Flowers... it's truly something to have a band that feels like it's been part of the backbone of your life, and know they're still out there doing it.
These are enviable memories! And none of them acts I've ever been fortunate enough to see live. (I missed my chance at Dire Straits back in '85.)
Some seminal live concerts for me were the Pat Metheny Group and Michael Brecker at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City in the mid-80s; Tom Waits (probably the best show I've ever seen), David Bowie, and Nina Simone all in a near-cluster in the very early aughts; and more recent shows like Chick Corea's 75th birthday version of Return to Forever. Not to mention every time I've seen Rush, particularly the 2013 show at the Ziggodome in Amsterdam with my 18-year-old son.
That was the only time I saw Bowie — 2002 on the Heathen tour. Waits was touring for Mule Variations, and wow, it was like a combination medicine show/tent revival. The man puts on a *show*.
Man, GUN were a great band. That’s a real blast from the past. I’m sure I’ve still got their albums in my garage somewhere 🤔
Saw Springsteen in Philadelphia last year which was really special but the best two are from my younger years
First would be Big Country at Glasgow Green in Glasgow for the Big Day in 1990. Eighty thousand folk bouncing to Lost Patrol. Incredible. My pal lost a shoe
And then, randomly, Fish playing The Martell pub in Falkirk in 1994. A couple of hundred folk in a random pub and as the big man summed it up, “I’ve played Wembley Stadium. WTF am I doing in Falkirk?!” He was absolutely outstanding and it’s still up there with the best I’ve ever seen
I love live music but I'm afraid my bangers list is no great shakes compared to a few of the others on here.
1 Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy - Manchester Boardwalk. Pure energy and funk😍
Following on with Michael Franti
2 Spearhead - Glastonbury. Can you dig it? Fuck Yeah!
3 James - Glastonbury. I bloody love James. When I used to look after my son as a baby I would dance with him in my arms singing James songs. They made a gig at the Pyramid Stage seem like a really intimate gathering😍
5 Iron Maiden - Preston Guild Hall (Intercity Tour) absolutely awesome, 17yrs old, dressed as a Martial Law wannabe ( i had a heavy army jacket on which I wrote in permanent marker things like Nuke Me Slowly and There's No Justice, There's Just Us. I even managed to push a small child out of my way so I could get Nico McBrain's sweatband when he threw it into the audience😇
I've managed to run security for a lot of venues and the best gigs I've done whilst working pit security are Nick Drake and the Bad Seeds, Space who were supporting Mike Flowers Pop (anybody remember them?) Mike got booed off stage and it looked like we were going to have a bit of a skirmish with the disgruntled gig goers, when Space said we'll play some more, and ended up doing another hour and a half! Top lads!
Therapy? were awesome and real gentleman, and I was also pit security for Catatonia supporting the Stereophonics early in their careers. Both of them got the place jumping and I admit I had my foot tapping as well at times!
PCO came up on my Spotify recommendations this year! Would love to have seen them live
My wife has just informed me that I'm now being a boring twat...
Blimey, you've had some gig experiences... and yes, there's a handful of James songs that I've played over and over during the years... and I've heard from several people that Iron Maiden give very good gig!
Jane Siberry at the ICA in the Mall, london. Back in 19tumptytum. I wanted to be up there on stage with them sooooo bad. The whole band looked they were having an absolute blast. And then there’s Jane’s songs and voice….
Calling All Angels, lead me through this world, don’t leave me alone. I haven’t listened to her in years because it’s so personal and intense. I always thought she was the voice of my deep self made actual (look!I know that sounds woo, but really, she had the most intense effect on me). the Speckless Sky was the album they performed at the ICA. The Walking (and constantly). When I was a Boy (more dance influenced). Really, they are all beautiful.
I’ll refrain from sharing my five, because nobody here gives a... But I will say that Gun’s “Gallus” is still a really good album. I must admit to being quite a bit less familiar with their first album, or anything since “Gallus,” but I’ll probably be diving into those because of your post, so for that I thank you.
Excellent, thank you — I'll check it out! And with GUN, definitely go for the first initially... Taking on the World. And avoid the fourth like the plague ;-)
Falling asleep, and I remembered another more recent one. Torgeir Vassvik performing at a festival in Bergen. He sings a kind of yoik, plays guitar and drum, and was accompanied by a string trio. Absolutely riveting and hypnotic (tautology?). I was utterly fixated on the group for an hour and a half at least. He released a new album fairly recently.
I think they used a PCO track, repeated a couple of times, for the hilarious (IMO) Aussie movie “Malcolm”.
Ah...
Yes they did. A great film, often overlooked!
David Gilmour.
It was 2006 and he had just released On An Island and was coming to the US. I fought hard with the Internet for a ticket- just one- and finally got one for his Los Angeles show. Got a plane ticket and a room across town, no idea how to get to the show once I got there, but no matter- I was going to see David fucking Gilmour.
Rick Wright was with him, as well as David Crosby and Graham Nash. They played “Echoes” all the way through, which was as close to a religious experience as I’ve known, and I got lost on the way out (concert shirts in hand) and ended up walking in the wee hours through LA to get to my room, but no matter- I got to see David fucking Gilmour.
Fuck yeah.
(And then a couple of years ago a friend who’s a cameraman for BBC got to be in on an interview on his houseboat. He asked David if he could move a guitar strap out of the way, not realizing that this old stained leather strap had once been owned by Jimi Hendrix. He about shit when I told him.)
Ha :-) That sounds like a very, very memorable night...
Roger Waters, Viking Stadion, Stavanger, 2005
Roger Waters, Potzdamer Platz, Berlin, 1990
Very cool for their to be very good gigs from the same person that far apart!
What can I say - very nice venues, very good company: The former, very good friends; the latter, just my own :D
Pink Floyd at Globen in Stocholm 1995 was fantastic (indoors, so the lights were actually visible). Jethro Tull i Oslo 2022 as well. Yes at Skedsmohallen in 1989.
Roger Waters at Telenor Arena 2011. First gig with the wife. Inlaws noted that the concert got rave reviews.
I've never actually been to a gig on my own. I suspect the freedom to just react exactly as you feel like must be quite nice!
Less cat herding and cheaper rounds ;)
Ha :-)
Jethro Tull in 2022? Wow! How was that?
Awesome? I'd been warned about Ian Anderson's voice, and that he didn't sing much, but he actually only used a stand-in on two songs. They played a lot from «Heavy Horses», giving me a new perspective on that album.
A great performance is group hypnosis, for sure. I recently heard an interview with Wierd Al where Mark Knoffler showed up to the studio to play on his own spoof. Instant respect—lol
If you love watching live performances, have you seen American Utopia? Best “all time live performance”—ever. His book “How music works” is also great.
I haven't, and don't even know his stuff. I'll look him up, thank you!
American Utopia = David Byrne from Talking Heads
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh
That show is amazing -- I wish I'd gotten to see it live on Broadway. But I did see David Byrne on the tour he did with St. Vincent, which in retrospect feels like it was a run-up to some of the ideas in American Utopia.
Fishbone at Cafe Campus in Montreal, 2002. A sound and groove that shook the building and reververates in the bones of me and my roommate to this day.
Always nice when it's a memory for more than one person, so helps to keep it strong!
There have been so many. Ozzy on his first solo tour was pretty epic. Hawkwind with Ginger Baker and a magnificent Nik Turner resplendent in skin tight purple body stocking and roller skates. AC/DC on the back in black tour. Sad but stunning. But the very very best? Surprisingly that was last November. I made the insane decision to fly to Japan to see, who I truly believe to be the best band ever (excepting The Beatles), at one of their farewell concerts. Wagakki Band. It was so good, as I was leaving after 2.5 hours of pure musical heaven, I turned to an equal crazy pal who came with me and burst into tears. Just burst with that pure emotion only great music can release.
I think I remember you posting on FB about Wagakki Band — they really do look something else! I saw AC/DC three times (including what turned out to be Malc's last tour) but I would have loved to see them with Bon... I suspect they would have given GUN a run for their money back then.
Yeah I’d love to have seen Bon
You probably know who my Number 1 is.
For me, the audience is an important part of a great live show. Seeing Kate Bush live (in 2014) was so extraordinary because we'd come from all over the world to see someone who we'd been certain we'd never see live. I chatted with people from Australia and Germany and all parts of the UK, and it was miraculous.
Seeing Aurora in 2021 was an unforgettable experience because it was during the pandemic, everyone was still masked, it was the first event many of us had been to since the whole madness began, and it was almost orgiastic in intensity.
On the flip side...in 2010 I went to see Janelle Monae at the Hollywood Palladium. She was opening for Of Montreal, and 99% of the crowd was there to see them. I was obsessed with her album "The Archandroid," she and her band were absolutely brilliant...and because nobody else was interested in her, I got to stand up close. I've seen her four times but that first time - before anyone realized who she was - was magical.
LOVE those experiences when it feels like you're the one who gets it... and that Kate Bush show also sounds fantastic. Wonderful how gigs can bring people together like that.
Janelle is on my bucket list. Embarrassingly I only came across her when she sang on a song with Fun!
Yehudi Menuhin & Wilhelm Kempff together... that's amazing!
In the 90s, while studying for exams at the university, I used to listen to Kempff play Mozart piano sonatas on cassette.
This is the album
https://open.spotify.com/album/5QiMgAxQ4wcB433zvJvaWc?si=JmPB1pW2Qou5QzX2c3m-YA
As for gigs, with my mate Miguel "the mustache" we were blown away in 1995 by Billy Cobham's band. I was never a huge jazz/fusion fan but their playing was from another planet. It felt as though they were jamming for themselves and we were just lucky to be there and witness it
That kind of musical experience when you KNOW you're watching people who really care, doing it for the love of it, is what marks out the truly stellar gigs... I'll check out the Mozart, thank you!
Love this list, and happy birthday!
My banger gigs are, among others:
U2 Point Depot, Dublin 1989. My first live gig. Blew my mind
An Emotional Fish - The Stadium (no longer there) 1991 - the most chaotic, energetic gig I've ever been to
Hothouse Flowers - Point Depot, Dublin New Year's Eve 1993
Little Green Cars - Pavillion Theatre, Dublin 2019 - Intimate, beautiful, with Faye's incredible voice as the centrepiece
Hothouse Flowers - Cork Opera House, Cork 2025 - Just insanely beautiful to see the band I've followed since I was a teenager and hear the songs that have been my friends for decades
Wow, U2 in 89... that's something. And how lovely on the Hothouse Flowers... it's truly something to have a band that feels like it's been part of the backbone of your life, and know they're still out there doing it.
These are enviable memories! And none of them acts I've ever been fortunate enough to see live. (I missed my chance at Dire Straits back in '85.)
Some seminal live concerts for me were the Pat Metheny Group and Michael Brecker at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City in the mid-80s; Tom Waits (probably the best show I've ever seen), David Bowie, and Nina Simone all in a near-cluster in the very early aughts; and more recent shows like Chick Corea's 75th birthday version of Return to Forever. Not to mention every time I've seen Rush, particularly the 2013 show at the Ziggodome in Amsterdam with my 18-year-old son.
And though it wasn't at all a great show, Mötley Crüe at Roseland Ballroom in 1997 was unforgettable thanks to the hour I spent beforehand with Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx: https://shunn.substack.com/p/words-for-a-room-full-of-strangers
Whoa — I'll read the piece! And I hugely envy you Bowie (who I narrowly missed seeing twice) and also Waits...
That was the only time I saw Bowie — 2002 on the Heathen tour. Waits was touring for Mule Variations, and wow, it was like a combination medicine show/tent revival. The man puts on a *show*.
I'll bet :-) What an extraordinarily distinctive artist he is.
LOVE that Crüe story, by the way!
Thanks! A surreal evening, for certain.
Man, GUN were a great band. That’s a real blast from the past. I’m sure I’ve still got their albums in my garage somewhere 🤔
Saw Springsteen in Philadelphia last year which was really special but the best two are from my younger years
First would be Big Country at Glasgow Green in Glasgow for the Big Day in 1990. Eighty thousand folk bouncing to Lost Patrol. Incredible. My pal lost a shoe
And then, randomly, Fish playing The Martell pub in Falkirk in 1994. A couple of hundred folk in a random pub and as the big man summed it up, “I’ve played Wembley Stadium. WTF am I doing in Falkirk?!” He was absolutely outstanding and it’s still up there with the best I’ve ever seen
That's a very good list... Fish sounds excellent :-) And I'm glad to encounter someone else who remembers GUN!
1. Mansun and Manic Street Preachers in Manchester (1997)
2. Kate Bush in London (2014)
Both sound like good nights!
I love live music but I'm afraid my bangers list is no great shakes compared to a few of the others on here.
1 Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy - Manchester Boardwalk. Pure energy and funk😍
Following on with Michael Franti
2 Spearhead - Glastonbury. Can you dig it? Fuck Yeah!
3 James - Glastonbury. I bloody love James. When I used to look after my son as a baby I would dance with him in my arms singing James songs. They made a gig at the Pyramid Stage seem like a really intimate gathering😍
4 Simple Minds - Glastonbury. Oh c'mon, they've done some belters!
5 Iron Maiden - Preston Guild Hall (Intercity Tour) absolutely awesome, 17yrs old, dressed as a Martial Law wannabe ( i had a heavy army jacket on which I wrote in permanent marker things like Nuke Me Slowly and There's No Justice, There's Just Us. I even managed to push a small child out of my way so I could get Nico McBrain's sweatband when he threw it into the audience😇
I've managed to run security for a lot of venues and the best gigs I've done whilst working pit security are Nick Drake and the Bad Seeds, Space who were supporting Mike Flowers Pop (anybody remember them?) Mike got booed off stage and it looked like we were going to have a bit of a skirmish with the disgruntled gig goers, when Space said we'll play some more, and ended up doing another hour and a half! Top lads!
Therapy? were awesome and real gentleman, and I was also pit security for Catatonia supporting the Stereophonics early in their careers. Both of them got the place jumping and I admit I had my foot tapping as well at times!
PCO came up on my Spotify recommendations this year! Would love to have seen them live
My wife has just informed me that I'm now being a boring twat...
Hey Ho🤷
Blimey, you've had some gig experiences... and yes, there's a handful of James songs that I've played over and over during the years... and I've heard from several people that Iron Maiden give very good gig!
Shit! Sorry mate😱 HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂🎉🍾🍷🍸🍹🍻🍺
Thank you! :-)
Jane Siberry at the ICA in the Mall, london. Back in 19tumptytum. I wanted to be up there on stage with them sooooo bad. The whole band looked they were having an absolute blast. And then there’s Jane’s songs and voice….
Don't know her stuff... I'll have a look!
Calling All Angels, lead me through this world, don’t leave me alone. I haven’t listened to her in years because it’s so personal and intense. I always thought she was the voice of my deep self made actual (look!I know that sounds woo, but really, she had the most intense effect on me). the Speckless Sky was the album they performed at the ICA. The Walking (and constantly). When I was a Boy (more dance influenced). Really, they are all beautiful.
< making notes... >
Check out Calling All Angels first, that is very representative of who she is. Interested to hear what you think…
I’ll refrain from sharing my five, because nobody here gives a... But I will say that Gun’s “Gallus” is still a really good album. I must admit to being quite a bit less familiar with their first album, or anything since “Gallus,” but I’ll probably be diving into those because of your post, so for that I thank you.
And as a return gift, I share another incredibly underrated album from that era: Riverdogs’ debut 1990 album of the same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCrMMiLudSA
Excellent, thank you — I'll check it out! And with GUN, definitely go for the first initially... Taking on the World. And avoid the fourth like the plague ;-)
Falling asleep, and I remembered another more recent one. Torgeir Vassvik performing at a festival in Bergen. He sings a kind of yoik, plays guitar and drum, and was accompanied by a string trio. Absolutely riveting and hypnotic (tautology?). I was utterly fixated on the group for an hour and a half at least. He released a new album fairly recently.
Trying some of it now... not like anything I've ever heard!