Well, this is a post I’ve been kicking around for a while, and I think I finally feel comfortable putting it out there for general consumption.
With a potentially jam packed concert season ahead of me, I thought it would be a good time to stroll down memory lane and revisit my top 10 attended concerts of all time.
This is the most arbitrary of criteria, I must say. Some are in their place because of the artists themselves, some are there because it was the first time I had seen the group, some are, well, just “you had to be there” kind of moments.
So, here it is, counting down from:
10. Van Halen — Charlotte Bobcats Arena, 2007
Well, this was the very first show of the much-ballyhooed reunion tour with David Lee Roth. We were literally on the next to last row of the arena, so the sound quality wasn’t great, although I wonder if that was a function of our location or the sound setup itself.
However, it was quite the momentous occasion. To see David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen on stage performing together for the first time since I was jumping off the living room couch to “Jump” was pretty awesome.
Also, “Panama” is meant to be experienced live. Those famous notes and riffs can just penetrate you in person.
9. Def Leppard/Foreigner/Styx — Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 2007
(Editor’s note: I didn’t feel like bogging down the entry with pictures of Foreigner and Styx … hope you don’t mind)
This one makes the list because of the overall experience. It was me, Dave, Todd and two of Todd’s running buddies from Spartanburg, Carol and Monica. Upon arriving at VWA, we were all joking around and cracking up as if we had all known each other for years. We even had a common disdain against Styx, opting to stay outside until they finished their set.
“Come Sail Away” sounds fine and dandy from the parking lot, I’m not ashamed to tell you.
The two groups we were there to see were nothing short of a fantastic flashback to a simpler time — the 1980s. It was power chords and power ballads galore, and a fine time was had by all.
Among the highlights was the pop-trio karaoke edition of “Surrender” by Cheap Trick in between sets, as performed by me, Dave and Todd, the rhythmic swaying of five late 20-somethings to “I Wanna Know What Love Is” and, maybe everyone’s favorite, my insertion of the altered lyrics to “Foolin’” as performed by cKy.
8. Jimmy Buffett — Verizon Wireless Amphiteater, 1999
I don’t really like Jimmy Buffett.
So why attend a concert of his? Moreover, why claim that a concert of his belongs in my Top 10?
Well, here’s the story: The concert was free, the ride to the concert was free, the food and drinks were free. I couldn’t tell you much of anything about the concert itself, except for one detail:
By the end of the night, my cousin Jan and I were hanging out in a VIP Box with a limousine ridin’, jet flyin’, wheelin’, dealin’, kiss stealin’ WHOOOOOOOOO! son of a gun.
That’s right, shmucks …
Nature. Boy. Ric. Flair.
That’s right, so until I run into a 19-time World Heavyweight Champion at a more desirable concert, this one wins. Hands down.
7. Andrew WK — New Brookland Tavern, 2003
Scientists would say that you can’t actually see pure energy. They weren’t at this concert.
Kevin and I were in the back of NBT, right there by the soundboard, up on the little “stage.” The floor below was this giant mosh/slam pit and, when the first notes of “It’s Time to Party” hit, I can say that those people literally exploded with their movement, and it didn’t stop until the last chords of “Party Hard” were rolled out.
Of course, we were all under the spell of the Pied Piper of the Party himself that night. It was by far the most out-of-control concert experience of all time.
Kevin and I kept shouting “Girls Own Juice” at him. That would be the original title of his track “Girls Own Love.” I’m pretty sure he expounded as only he can in between songs, talking about things like “how awesome is music” and stuff like that.
Another highlight was when Kenley and Ronnie showed up later, Ronnie somehow got sucked into the pit and we didn’t see him until after the show. I think I uttered the understated line of “Um, we just lost Ronnie.” When we met up with him later, he was soaking wet with some sort of horrid combination of sweat, alcohol and maybe even a little blood.
So, yes, folks, he “got wet,” probably without even trying.
6. Kiss — Bi-Lo Center, 2000
It was supposed to be the “Farewell Tour,” and it might very well the last tour that Gene, Paul, Peter and Ace did as a foursome, in makeup.
Everything you hear about their shows, with the theatrics, the fireworks, Gene’s tongue … it’s all true.
Also, one of the great all-time intros, as they came out to “Detroit Rock City,” descending from platforms at the top of the stage. Nice. Also, Paul flying to an isolated center stage during “Love Gun” looked pretty darn cool from our vantage point in the arena.
5. Garth Brooks — Charlotte Coliseum, 1998
Sure, scoff if you like, but this was 2+ hours of hard-rocking country music.
Sure, Mr. Brooks sort of fell off not too long after this show, with the whole Chris Gaines thing, the Wal-Mart deal and his “retirement,” but the guy was quite the big deal in his prime for a reason.
Also, and this might not mean much, but hearing the verboten verse of “Thunder Rolls” was cool, especially in an energetic, live setting like that.
4. Pearl Jam — Bi-Lo Center, 1998
Only the second-ever event at the then-brand-new Greenville arena was my first Pearl Jam live experience, and it was one that I will never forget.
If memory serves, they opened with “Oceans,” then went into “Do the Evolution.” Funny that both times I’ve seen them, they’ve opened with a sort of slower cut from “Ten,” then right into a big-name single.
(When I saw them back in 2003 in Raleigh, it was “Release,” followed by “Evenflow”)
I got several of the big-name hits, including a version of “Jeremy” that just had the whole place whipped into a frenzy, so much that Eddie himself acknowledged it after the song ended, as well as some rarities, such as “Mankind.”
I’d love to have a bootleg of the show. I’m all but certain one exists somewhere, but, this was in the old days before PJ began recording all of their shows and reselling them.
3. Rolling Stones — Charlotte Bobcats Arena, 2004
This one gets the nod over the 1999 show also in Charlotte because it was the first-ever event in what is now known as Time Warner Cable Arena. Mick even acknowledged it in between-song commentary. I’ll not post his exact quote, but, just realize that it was well-received.
Dave: “Man, this place is NICE.”
Rick: “Well, for $250 million, I would hope it would be.”
Of course, we got the familiar starting refrain of “Start Me Up” as a starter, followed by a strong rendition of “You Got Me Rocking.”
The best number of the night was a chill-bump inducing cover of “Night Time is the Right Time,” which Mick sang with one of the female backup singers.
A good portion of the stage moved from the end to another part in the middle of the floor for several songs. While the stage moved out there, they jammed on the opening part to “Miss You.”
The ending was pretty strong, the last five songs being “Paint It Black” (one of my personal faves), “Brown Sugar,” “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “You Can’t Always Get What you Want” and, of course, “Satisfaction.”
It was a pretty straight-up rock show with the old boys. Given sometimes their propensity to be a tad over-the-top with the stadium shows, it’s nice to see them in an “intimate” setting. Plus, they’re the freakin’ Stones.
2. The Police — Charlotte Bobcats Arena, 2007
Yep, another tour that you thought would never happen made a stop in Charlotte.
As I look back on this show, I continue to be amazed at just how good it was. It was Sting, Andy and Stewart. No keyboardists/instrumentalists/backup singers, and man, it showed … in a good way, of course. The three of them just took to the stage and knocked it out of the park.
Just like every show on the tour, they walked right out and went right into “Message in a Bottle.”
As they went into “Synchronicity II” after that, Stewart had a problem with one of his drum heads, with a tech coming out to check on it. Andy seemed to be aware, but, Sting was not, and went right into the introductory “YEOOOOOOOOOOOOOO …. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO …. OOOOOOOOOOOOO”s.
Stewart shrugged and started dancing a jig behind the drum kit, then, sat down and picked up without missing a beat. His performance, especially with the bevy of percussion instruments behind him for “King of Pain” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” was especially impressive.
Speaking of “EOOOOOOO”s … I called Todd during the “EEOOOO! EEOOOO!” part of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” and held up the phone. He claims it was the best ever concert-by-phone experience he had. So that counts for something, too.
It was nice to hear “Every Breath You Take,” one of the quintessential pop songs of our time, live, but, the show-stealer for me was probably a heavy, more straight-up rock version of “Can’t Stand Losing You.”
1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band — Kenan Stadium, 2003
Here it is. The gold-standard.
This was the second time I saw The Boss on The Rising tour. This one was a little different, though, as it was in a stadium versus an arena, and we know that Bruce does well no matter the size of the venue. Melanie and I also lucked up in that we were moved from the upper deck to the lower deck, and had some great seats right at the back of the bowl, right on the concourse, I believe they would’ve normally been handicapped seats. We were able to kick back and enjoy the show.
And what a show it was …
The opener was a total treat. You see, this was Bruce’s first show after the death of the legendary Johnny Cash. So, instead of the customary open, where the E Street Band would come out one at a time and then go into “The Rising,” Bruce came out, acoustic in hand and went right into a stirring cover of “I Walk the Line.”
GREAT MOMENT. Seriously, I do get chill bumps thinking about that. A music giant paying the ultimate tribute to another music giant. You do not get that every day.
Of course, the band then joined him onstage, then went into “The Rising” and “Lonesome Day” as scheduled.
We got a few treats that we didn’t get at the show in Charlotte, including “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Jungleland,” “Cadillac Ranch,” “Glory Days” and “Rosalita.”
Oh, also, “Hungry Heart.” Yes, the crowd sung the first verse. Yes, that was awesome.
The only thing that would’ve made it PERFECT would’ve been “Thunder Road,” but, I guess you can’t have it all. Oh, the show closed with “Dancing in the Dark,” which was a tad ironic considering that during the song, they had to turn on the stadium lights so they could warm up so people could see getting out of there.
Also, since it was a warm, muggy, September night in the Carolinas, the bugs were out in full force. Bruce even made jokes about it, saying the “skeeters” were everywhere. At one point during a “talk” in between songs, he grabbed a gigantic cricket that had jumped on stage. His ponderance?
“What … in the hell … is THIS?“
The response I would’ve said? “Well Bruce, it’s a giant mutant cricket. I’ve seen bigger.”
Overall, though, this one set the bar pretty darn high. I can’t think of one to top it.
So that’s it. If I had the opportunity to make it 11 entries, I’d have to throw in AC/DC in Greenville in 2001. It was by and large the very definition of a “rock show.”
With some of the shows coming up, the bar is set high. I guess we’ll see if any of them come close to cracking this pretty rock-solid list.
