Writer's Block: Most memorable concert
I have several concerts on my 'most memorable' list.
Feeder - Bristol Colston Hall, April 2001
This gets onto my list because it was the first gig I ever went to, although it wasn't the first gig I had tickets to. I was really excited, and I loved every second. Everything was new, I knew hardly any songs, I first saw a proper mosh pit (the ones in Capones in Dursley, while people watched Godless Apes and Pimping for Daphne etc just weren't quite the same - mainly because there's that bit of awe that you're watching a band with 'famous' people in it, rather than your then-boyfriend and some of your friends playing some songs in a vicar's outfit), and it was brilliant.
Muse - Newport Centre, November 2001
This holds up as being my favourite Muse concert - although Teignmouth a few weeks ago almost equals this one - I think because we got there insanely early (not the plan, it was FREEZING and we waited outside for about an hour and a half), they had taken a support band that both me and my friend really liked, and we were at the front. Like, literally about a meter in front of Matt, who we both had very school-girl-esque crushes on. And because it was only a few months after Origin of Symmetry came out, everyone knew every song and sang along at the top of their voices. It was in the same tour as the gig at Le Zenith, so if anyone has seen the Hullabaloo DVD, it was almost exactly like that.
Interpol - Bristol Louisiana, October 2002
This gig is special for several reasons. Firstly, the venue only held about 150 people - it's basically the back room of a pub. Secondly, it was an over-18's only gig, and I had only been 17 for a few months. Given that I am still ID'd everywhere now, and I'm 24, I was understandably rather nervous that I'd get turned away despite having tickets. The other thing that made it really special was that I had had the album for only a few months, and it was obvious that not everyone had heard it, so I was one of only a few people there that knew the songs. And they are one of the few bands I've ever seen that actually sound exactly like their records (and their first album is majestic). It was perfect.
Queens of the Stone Age - Nottingham Rock City, November 2007
I've seen the Queens three times before this concert, and this was a bit of a 'make or break' gig for me. I heard Songs For The Deaf and was smitten, and loved the previous two albums, and then saw them at V2003 and they were really rather poor. I gave them another chance at Reading 2005, and they were still rubbish. And after a truly pants performance at Foo Fighters in Hyde Park in 2006, I said I'd only go and see them if they were on their own tour. And I was so glad I did - they were fucking brilliant. Josh swaggered, wiggled, sang faultlessly and they didn't do wanky alternative versions of songs. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Although it was rather painful on the ribs!
Neil Young - Manchester Apollo, March 2008
The final concert on my list is Neil Young at the Apollo. Having listened to Neil since birth, and knowing that he didn't come to England very often, as soon as we found he was going to be in Manchester, we phoned up for tickets. They were ludicrously expensive but it was in a proper concert hall, and he was just breathtaking. There were songs I didn't know, and songs I did, and the energy the man has is just mental!
Feeder - Bristol Colston Hall, April 2001
This gets onto my list because it was the first gig I ever went to, although it wasn't the first gig I had tickets to. I was really excited, and I loved every second. Everything was new, I knew hardly any songs, I first saw a proper mosh pit (the ones in Capones in Dursley, while people watched Godless Apes and Pimping for Daphne etc just weren't quite the same - mainly because there's that bit of awe that you're watching a band with 'famous' people in it, rather than your then-boyfriend and some of your friends playing some songs in a vicar's outfit), and it was brilliant.
Muse - Newport Centre, November 2001
This holds up as being my favourite Muse concert - although Teignmouth a few weeks ago almost equals this one - I think because we got there insanely early (not the plan, it was FREEZING and we waited outside for about an hour and a half), they had taken a support band that both me and my friend really liked, and we were at the front. Like, literally about a meter in front of Matt, who we both had very school-girl-esque crushes on. And because it was only a few months after Origin of Symmetry came out, everyone knew every song and sang along at the top of their voices. It was in the same tour as the gig at Le Zenith, so if anyone has seen the Hullabaloo DVD, it was almost exactly like that.
Interpol - Bristol Louisiana, October 2002
This gig is special for several reasons. Firstly, the venue only held about 150 people - it's basically the back room of a pub. Secondly, it was an over-18's only gig, and I had only been 17 for a few months. Given that I am still ID'd everywhere now, and I'm 24, I was understandably rather nervous that I'd get turned away despite having tickets. The other thing that made it really special was that I had had the album for only a few months, and it was obvious that not everyone had heard it, so I was one of only a few people there that knew the songs. And they are one of the few bands I've ever seen that actually sound exactly like their records (and their first album is majestic). It was perfect.
Queens of the Stone Age - Nottingham Rock City, November 2007
I've seen the Queens three times before this concert, and this was a bit of a 'make or break' gig for me. I heard Songs For The Deaf and was smitten, and loved the previous two albums, and then saw them at V2003 and they were really rather poor. I gave them another chance at Reading 2005, and they were still rubbish. And after a truly pants performance at Foo Fighters in Hyde Park in 2006, I said I'd only go and see them if they were on their own tour. And I was so glad I did - they were fucking brilliant. Josh swaggered, wiggled, sang faultlessly and they didn't do wanky alternative versions of songs. It was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Although it was rather painful on the ribs!
Neil Young - Manchester Apollo, March 2008
The final concert on my list is Neil Young at the Apollo. Having listened to Neil since birth, and knowing that he didn't come to England very often, as soon as we found he was going to be in Manchester, we phoned up for tickets. They were ludicrously expensive but it was in a proper concert hall, and he was just breathtaking. There were songs I didn't know, and songs I did, and the energy the man has is just mental!