Ask Lemmy

Depeche Mode at the United Center in Chicago is definitely the one that blew me away the most. Their opening act hit the resonance point of the building and shook the whole thing, and Dave Gahan is such a showman. Everyone in the audience was reaching toward him and singing along with Personal Jesus.

Seeing the Red Elvises is always a treat too, but my partner and I caught them fresh off of touring with The Reverend Horton Heat and they played an incredible set that included a cover of Let Me Teach You How to Eat, and their songs from the movie Six String Samurai (Love Pipe and Boogie on the Beach). They even did a cover of Misirlou that night!

I know it doesn't really count - but I saw The Lion King the last time they toured before sticking to Broadway and man. I get really emotional with live music and cried through the whole thing, damn frission lol. Still, an utterly incredible performance and one that I would happily see again even if it meant going to NYC.

For an actual concert, gosh there are so many to choose from. But I saw Shawn James in a tiny little venue in Seattle where I stood on a balcony and watched the show from on high. I've never been one for psychedelic music and his definitely isn't that, but there were a few times where the energy in the room and the music and the atmosphere was absolutely transcendent in a way I can only describe as psychedelic. Truly incredible.

I've seen Dave Matthews Band, Gin Blossoms, Daft Punk and gone to Pink Floyd laser shows (Pink Floyd wasn't there themselves tho) and more, but not one of the massive artists I've seen compared to the final show by a band some of my friends in high school had made (and I can't even remember the name they went by at the time; I only remember the original name of Kill the Messenger). They did it outside another friend's barn that had been converted into a skatepark and they wanted the crowd to just get all up in their shit as they played. Like, I was basically hugging the lead singer while they performed and they fucking ruled! They sounded like the Mars Volta which was still pretty new at the time and I really think that had they not all split up across the country to go to various colleges, they could have actually made something of a musical career.

Rammstein

Motörhead

I haven’t been to a true big stage concert before. I “saw” new kids on the block many years ago, but they were free tickets and we were in such a terribly sounding area of the stands. The best performance I saw was blue man group in Vegas. The PVC pipes and big drums in such a small theatre were quite amazing.

Does a solar eclipse count as a live performance?

Ninja Sex Party in Boulder, late 2022.

It was just an awesome vibe. Had never heard of the band. Friend had an extra ticket and invited me. Last minute. Almost didn’t go.

Was so fun. That band is hilarious and awesome.

They also said it was their best concert ever too. That the crowd was like no other crowd.

Felt good knowing I was a part of that.

NSP’s been coming up on my spotify lately which probably means they’re coming back to town.

What’s your favorite juice 🤣

For a sample of the sorts of music they play, look up their song “Welcome to my Parents’ House”

Decades ago I saw the Rolling Stones. It was held in an arena. I was fortunate enough to sit in one of those skyboxes. Because of its location to the stage, from a corner of the skybox you could actually see behind the stage. This area was just a huge curtain as all seating behind the curtain was closed. During certain songs some band members would go behind the curtain. And it was a blast to see some of them jugging down vodka which was clearly visible from my vantage point. And the show was great.