9.16.2008

It's Tuesday. There are Tunes. Tuesday Tunes.

It’s time, once again, for Tuesday Tunes, y'all!

You've seen them live -- tell us the following:


The best artist you've seen perform live and the worst (from a musical standpoint)


Best: Wow. Hard to narrow it down. From a sheer experience standpoint, it has to be my beloved Police on their recent tour. A show I never thought would happen. Sure it was slick and the set list was fairly expected -- but that really didn’t matter one iota. And of course, I screamed the loudest of all anytime Stewart was featured on the big screen.



However, I must also include in this two other gigs that I’m still talking about:
* Mel Torme and George Shearing, circa 1988
Never mind that I was the youngest person in the audience by at least 25 years. Never mind that I went with my parents. Two jazz greats doing what they did best. I’m still in awe, all these years later. Brilliant. Mr. Torme was not called the Velvet Fog for nothing. And no one can match Mr. Shearing on piano.


*Tom Jones -- just last year!
Sir Tom defines showman performer. Never losing energy, never losing interest, he sang and flirted and gyrated his heart out. I would go see him again in a minute. (And no, I did NOT throw my panties on stage... although the HRT levels in that auditorium were off the chart...)



Worst: Honestly, I can't think of one. The Black Crowes, who opened for Tom Petty when I saw them a couple of years ago, were a little rambling and random with their set list -- Chris Robinson did a lot of dancing and shaking a tambourine during lengthy (and I do mean lengthy) musical interludes. But that's about it. Guess I've been lucky...

The concert with the worst audience
Interestingly, there is a tie for this one -- and both were gigs with the same band.

The B-52s.

Bad audience #1 was at the Tangerine Bowl, November 1982. The B-52s were on a triple bill with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Who.

Which one of those things is not like the others?

That’s right -- the B-52s. A funky, crazy party band rather stuck out like a sore thumb at a gig where most of the audience was there for some slightly harder core rock and roll. I think the band might have lasted for two songs on stage before they were pelted with a hailstorm of crumpled up Miller beer cups. Not pretty.
Here they are in 1982...



Bad audience #2 was this past summer at the True Colors tour. The B-52s were second on the bill -- behind headliner Cyndi Lauper, natch -- and put on a terrific show, mixing a lot of their classic tunes with cuts from their latest album (“Funplex”, which is fantastic, by the way.) I’m still not sure what the crowd’s problem was, but they stayed firmly on their tuchuses through all but “Love Shack.” Kid you not. How anyone can listen to the B-52’s musical exuberance and not want to get up and move is beyond me. I stood for a little bit until the *ahems* and the throat clearing from behind signaling me to sit myself down got to be annoying. Those folks just don’t know what they were missing.
And here they are last year...


The most expensive concert and the least expensive

Most expensive: Gotta be the Police. Virgin Music Festival. Tickets were over a hundred (the exact amount escapes me at the moment...) Granted, that was the ‘festival’ price, which really included admission to hear bands all day, but still. We got our moneys worth, even though we went late in the day, catching both the Police and the Beastie Boys.


Least expensive: The Pretenders. Seven dollars. 1984. Best concert money I ever spent. ‘Nuff said.

8 comments:

Malcolm said...

That concert bill of The Who/Joan Jett and the Blackhearts/The B-52s ranks right up there with Jimi Hendrix opening for The Monkees back in 1967.

When I found out The Police were reuniting, there was no way I was going to miss that show. I was at my computer 15 minutes before the tickets went on sale just to make sure that I got good seats for me and my friend.

I cannot believe those stick in the muds you were surrounded by when you saw The B-52s recently. Dancing should be mandatory at one of their shows. Just playing their music in my head makes me wanna dance!

Anonymous said...

I saw Tom Jones about 15 years ago at the MGM Grand. That man can still shake his moneymaker! I have seen the B-52's several times and they were always excellent.

We loved Sting when we saw him, but did not see the Police. *sniff sniff* Another great line up!

XOXO

bronsont said...

Best, James Brown, spinning, whirling, and shaking!

Worst Elton John, close to stage and so damn loud I couldn't hear anything for a week. Music would have been great if I could have listened without pain.

Unknown said...

Best - Cheap Trick, Rick Springfield, Hall and Oates and surprisingly Robert Palmer

Worst - Heart back in the early 80s

Miss Janey said...

The Who was probaly one of the best concerts Miss J ever saw. Heart played before them, and were also great, there were two bands previous. Aah. Remember the days of the HUGE stadium concerts? $ great bands for 18 bucks?

Jackson Browne, 1981, was really good, too.

The Pretenders is a band Miss J has always wanted to see and has always missed for a variety of reasons. Yeah, Chrissie!

Jen said...

Best - Stevie Wonder in 1975 or 76 at the height of his adult popularity. In NYC in Madison Square Garden. Fabulous.

Worst - hmmm... that's a hard one. I'll have to think on that.

April said...

Really? No dancing? That bites.
Best: toss-up between Bernadette Peters & The Divine Miss M
Worst: really haven't been to enough to have a worst

Jeff said...

I saw a coked out Hall and Oates struggle to recall their own lyrics in Milwaukee one night- has to be my personal worst.