Concerts

1. Stone Temple Pilots.

I saw the Stone Temple Pilots in Denver Colorado at the Red Rocks Theatre in July 2008.  There are many reasons this concert was one of my favorites.  I think first of all it was because Stone Temple Pilots will always remind me of one of my closest friends and as we used to listen to quite a bit of STP together. She was living in California when I went to this concert and was not able to join me, but I got to take the next best person in the world; my little sister. She was 15 when I we went, and I was excited to be there for one of her first real rock concerts.

Before we left for the concert me and my sister, Veronica went over our list of songs we hoped they would play.  We must of lucked out because they played all of our favorites including, Lady Picture Show, Plush, Piece Of Pie, and Creep.

This concert also happened to hold one of my proudest moments in watching Veronica grow up.  The guy behind us kept yelling “play Man In The Box”.  He must have been in his early 30’s so I was greatly impressed when my 15 year old little sister who was barely even alive when Stone Temple Pilots were popular turned around and politely informed the guy that Man In The Box is actually in Alice In Chains song, not Stone Temple Pilots. It was then that I knew all my years of babysitting her had paid off as she is a musically savvy in many different genres of music.

2. Dar Williams

I saw Dar Williams in June of 2007 in Grand Rapids Michigan.  I was blessed with the chance to see Dar Williams with one of my closest friends who had also introduced me to Dar.  There is nothing spectacular about a Dar Williams concert. There are no light effects, and costume changes, there is just Dar and her voice.  To some this may sound boring, but it was a very intimate singer song writer type concert. It was an outside venue and it was just turning dusk in middle June. The weather was perfect, the company was perfect, the crowd was small enough to see and hear everything perfect and Dar was amazingly humble.  She interacted with the audience and there was a connection made. This concert will be relived in my memory time and time again.

3. Tori Amos

I have actually seen Tori Amos twice now, but my favorite of her concerts took place at The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago in April 2005. 

I am admittedly not Tori’s hugest fan. I find I can appreciate about 50% of her music but the same friend I went to see Dar Williams with has this eerie obsession with her every breath so I thought I’d join in on the fun of a Tori concert.  I am glad I did, because this was one of the best shows I have ever seen. This was during her Beekeeper days, which is high on my list of things I like about Tori Amos. This was a very mellow show and she even covered Joni Mitchell which is mine and my friends favorite artist to agree on.  I would later learn that not all Tori shows are as mellow when 2 years later I went to see her again and found her desperately trying to please the fans with glamorous costume changes, and annoying screeching.  I have said in the past I will always go see a Tori concert if I can, and I still hold that true to my heart, but have decided that nothing will probably compare to the first one I saw.

4. Marilyn Manson

Again, I am not a huge fan of Mr. Manson, but again another friend pretty much worships him, and had an extra ticket. Not being one to ever turn down a chance to hear live music I decided there wouldn’t be any harm in joining her. This was August 2007, we had to drive to Detroit. I was slightly nervous because I wasn’t fond of his newest album, but was crossing my fingers for him to play a classic or two.  Slayer was opening for him and there is something to said for the combination of people that show up in Detroit for a Slayer and Manson concert. There was a unique blend of fans and locals creating the perfect atmosphere for a rock n roll concert.  Slayer was good, but I haven’t ever been a huge fan so I stood at the edge while others started moshing and whatnot, then Manson came on. With an amazing stage preformance including special effects and a costume change I was sucked in. I also lucked out because he stayed true to his past and played a lot of older songs that I grew up hearing. I might not ever go see Manson again, but at least I can say I saw him live once and it was awesome.

5. Pine Top Perkins

I saw Pine Top Perkins in Austin Texas in May 2008. I hadn’t heard any of his music before, but was informed by travel mates that I HAD to go. So I went and was pleasantly surprised. The blend of jazz and blues set the tone for the night.  It was a small venue, with only about 30 other people in attendance. This provided an intimate scene complete with dancing and laughing.  This was a beautiful musical experience as it seemed to transport everyone back to a different time and place. I was even so lucky as to get a picture with the legendary performer.

Bands or artists I would kill to see live; Neutral Milk Hotel, Kings Of Leon, Joni Mitchell, Oasis, Radiohead and Tool. I will always go to a concert if I can, it doesnt usually matter too much who is playing, I just love music and love haring it live.