Your Top 5 Gigs

[elderford]

1. Now widely regarded as a terrible tragedy and miscarriage of justice, but 1994, Wembley Arena: The Velvet Underground. I walked into the hall when all four were on stage playing their thing and sending me mind bullets that at this moment in time I was in the Cathedral of Velvetdom. Soon wore off because Lou decided to murder every single melody line in a truck driver RnB stylee.

2. The Original Damned, Bristol Univ 1989(?), After the 10th anniversary tour, but the band pulled together one of those 3 Ages of Elvis sets, with the original Damned followed by The All New Damned. An almost perfect noise augmented as usual by the impressive leap into the air by the crowd at the end of the intros to New Rose, Neat Neat Neat, et al.

3. Brainiac supporting Beck, Aston Villa Leisure Centre, 1993(?). Beck was sublime in presenting acurate live renditions of Odelay, but it was Brainiac with their seemless Not-really-playing-real-songs-just-dig-the-vibe-and-freakout sensibilities who won the day: bizarre chord progressions, sense of key and analogue synthesizers seriously rocked my world and disown standard tuning. I was so proud watching them return to the stage to take down their gear, didn't take up an opportunity to speak with the singer and he was dead 2 weeks or so later (because they were so good someone had to stop him).

4. Ramones, Brixton Academy, 1991(?). Did exactly what it said on the tin. The look, the poses, the 1234, the three song bursts,  the air blower on Johnny's hair, not knowing what any song was until it reached the chorus.

5. The Fall, whenever. MES: the scowl, the singing sans microphone, the double microphone, "Good evening we are The Fall", the late start, the walk-offs, tinkering, the carrier bag, lyrics written on the back of pizza boxes and envelopes, chewing the inside of his mouth or tonguing his false teeth or whatever it is that he does. fascinating and loathesome, I am always un-nerved if we make eye contact at a gig incase he notices me and thinks terribles thoughts about me.

[The Man With Brass Eyes]

1. I hate lists
2. I hate lists
3. I hate lists
4. I hate lists
5. I hate lists

[Ciarán2]

I love lists, and I love 1975.

1. Kraftwerk, March 2004, Olympia Dublin
2. Björk and Underworld, August 1996, Point Depot Dublin
3. Stereolab, December 2001, Ambassador, Dublin
4. Air, November 1998, Olympia Dublin
5. Saint Etienne, October 2002, Olympi Dublin
6. High Llamas, April 2002, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
7. To Rococo Rot, March 2001, Whelan's Dublin
8. Super Furry Animals, July 2001, Witnness, Co. Meath
9. Steely Dan, September 1996, Point Depot, Dublin
10. The Cardigans, November 1996, Olympia Dublin.

All lists must be Top 10s.

[The Region Legion]

ProjeKct One (King Crimson offshoot)
Jazz Cafe, London
December 4th, 1997
My first ever concert. Completely improvised, very cerebral... can't overestimate the impact this had on me at the tender age of 12.

Dream Theater
Shepherds Bush Empire, London
April 4th, 2000
Played all of their then new "Scenes From A Memory" masterpiece in an intimate(ish) venue - was the first and the best gig of theirs I've seen.

King Crimson
12th & Porter, Nashville, USA
May 19th & 20th, 2000
First gigs by the new lineup - TINY venue, right up at the front.

Remember Shakti
Royal Festival Hall, London
July 15th, 2001
Incredible east-meets-west style jazz with a multitude of guests.

Michael Brecker Large Ensemble
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
February 25th, 2002
What would later become the Michael Brecker Quindectet - amazing new tracks, new versions of old favourites, a mindblowing drummer and Brecker, who is the best saxophonist the world has ever seen.

Bill Bruford's Earthworks
Jazz Cafe, London
May 12th, 2002
First gig with their new saxophonist - also the first gig I had been to alone because the person I was meant to be going with couldn't make it at the last minute.

David Byrne
Ocean Hackney, London
July 5th, 2002
First concert that I introduced a friend to the artist at - he'd heard practically none before we got there, and was good to see him getting into it, plus Byrne was very much on form that night.

REM
Brixton Academy, London
June 24th, 2003
First real "pop" concert I had ever been to - great atmosphere & a surprising setlist (I really wanted them to play Pilgrimage but thought there would be no chance.. and then they did).

King Crimson
Palais des Congres, Paris
July 8th, 2003
They couldn't be bothered to do any UK dates on the last European tour so my dad and I had to go to Paris for it - they didn't disappoint, and it was quite a surreal experience to see young people almost moshing at the front of the stage to "Red".

Tim Berne's Science Friction
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
November 19th, 2003
A guitarist that I had loved for years, David Torn, finally came to this country for this concert, and it also introduced me to a multitude of incredible musicians - guitarist Marc Ducret, keyboard player Craig Taborn and saxophonist Tim Berne himself. Anyone who likes experimental jazz is urged to buy "The Sevens" by Berne & "Junk Magic" by Taborn. In attendance were bassist Steve Lawson, drummer Bill Bruford and comedian Stewart Lee.

Earthworks Underground Orchestra
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
July 25th, 2004
An expanded version of Bill Bruford's Earthworks, with an original member back again for the first time in a decade, and playing lots of the old material (something Bruford hadn't done for almost as long) - and with the band now being a 12 piece instead of a 4 piece, most of them sounded practically new. They were supported by another band who's name for the moment escapes me, but were also surprisingly good.


That's 11.. although considering the number I've been to over the years I'd say I did pretty well to narrow it down that much. Had to get out my ticket books for this one!

[Spiteface]

List threads rule!

My list, thusly goes...

1. Mogwai - Cardiff Uni, May 2003. - Just stunning. And they Played "Mogwai Fear Satan", which scared the fuck out of the friend I brought along. He likes Mogwai, but only the quieter stuff.

2. Radiohead - Newport Tredegar House, Sept 2000 - First night of the tent tour, and the first time they played "Idioteque" live as well.

3. JJ72 - Cardiff Uni Nov 2002 - I was at the front almost directly in front  of Hilary, plus, they played everything I wanted them to. "Bumble Bee" was just mental.

4. Paul Weller - Newport Centre Aug 1998 - My Second ever gig (The first was Space 6 months previous, same venue), Support came from a very young toploader (Who were shit then as well), plus one of My childhood heroes, Noel Gallagher doing an acoustic set.

5. Manic Street Prechers CIA, Dec, 2002 - The Greatest Hits Tour, just a great band playing their best songs (and "The everlasting). what more do you want?

[dan p]

How are you supposed to get this down to five? Here the ten I managed to whittle it down to:

John Pariah & Polly Jean Harvey / dEUS – Bristol Fleece and Firkin, 1996, (1st of four nights) – I made eye contact with Polly, I nearly died.

Squarepusher – Glade, Glasto 2002 – full on noise, as extreme as it gets, he's never released material that sounds anything like what he did for this set.

Aphex Twin & µ-ziq – Manchester NIA, 1997 – my first Aphex gig, I don't care that he was playing space invaders on his laptop and playing a DAT of his set.

Orbital/Skunk Anansie/Dub War – Bristol New Trinity, 1995 – who decided to put these three together? Insane.

Bob Dylan – Cardiff CIA – it's enough simply to have seen Dylan, although Masters of War would have put it higher in the list.

Carter USM – Bristol Victoria Rooms 1994(?) – kicked in the head by crowd surfers, lost my glasses in the mosh, wife (then girlfriend) lost a contact lens, drive home was interesting.

David Bowie & Morrissey – Cardiff CIA 1997(?) – Bowie in his industrial phase, I only wish I'd seen it with NIN support like he had in the US, Mozzer was as self absorbed, and absorbing, as ever.

The Eels – Reading 2000 – hilarious, cover of Get Yer Freak On should be released as a single. Went and bought every Eels album afterwards.

µ-ziq, Venetian Snares & Speedranch, Frog Pocket – Custard Factory, Birmingham, 2003 – fucked up beats as fucked as they come.

Bogdan Raczynski / Astrobotnia – The Thekla, Bristol, 2004 – Bogdan is the man.

[The Man With Brass Eyes]

alright. I'll play the game.
in no order:

1 Beck - Reading festival 2001(? - the years get a bit hazy)
2 REM - Glastonbury 1999
5 Gary Numan - Reading 02
4 Jarcrew - the Fish and Fiddle, Cheltenham - 2003 I think
3 David Bowie - Glastonbury 2000
6 The Hives.

[steevbishop]

Martin Grech w/ Mew as support
The Joiners, Southampton
November 2002
– The most amazing gig I've been to. Me and three buddies bought tickets on the strength of Martin Grech's debut album Open Heart Zoo, but we got a lot more than we bargained for. The opening local act were a decent attempt at playing like Radiohead, but the biggest surprise of the night had to be Mew. I doubt any more than a few in that room had heard of them, but once they opened their set with "Am I Wry? No" along with projected visuals, tight playing, inventive song structure I was hooked within seconds. One of those times you feel you've discovered something. The set was simply magical, every song was great and their sound was so original. Most impressed.
So was Martin Grech's set. He has a lot of energy live, and his band really back him up. It's hard work to play some of the heavier tunes because of the complicated construction and time signatures (particularly "Dali", that has to be so well rehearsed). The live version of "Open Heart Zoo" is arguably better than the studio version. Grech's a loose cannon on stage, always teetering the balance between genius and madness. In fact when I went to see him play The Wedgewood Rooms a few months later, I started being a little scared by how insanely into his performance he was.

Spiritualized
Southampton Guildhall
Mid-2002
– One of two gigs I've ever been to alone (Regular Fries being the other). Nobody I knew were into the band and didn't want to risk £16 to find out. The waiting was difficult, I had no company and didn't have enough nuts to talk to a stranger, but once the gig was on it didn't matter.
They played an amazing two-and-a-half hour set. Loud, powerful, energetic and with enough whizzy lights to kill an epileptic. Such a joyous and uplifting gig to be at, made all the more interesting because it was mine alone.

Doves w/ The Delgados as support
Southampton Guildhall
November 2002
– This was awesome. A whole bunch of us went to see them and it was so cool being able to share such a great gig like that together. Lots of love (and doobie) shared that night. Such a cool, personable band on stage. They played fantastically and their work is simply brilliant. Unforgettable.
Props to The Delgados too.

David Kitt
The Joiners, Southampton
Late 2001
– A very intimate, thinly attended show but was magic because of it. Accompanied by two other dudes and Mini-Disc backing tracks, a wonderfully low-key set of his own material, plus a great cover of "When Doves Cry" and finishing off with a near 20-minute experimental wig-out including the most memorable moment of David playing his guitar with a broom handle. Another one of those gigs that felt very inclusive.

That weekend I was on the very same stage playing my first ever solo set. That was a great gig.

Tori Amos
The Apollo, The London
January 2003
– My one and only London gig so far, but well worth seeing. Scarlet's Walk certainly isn't my favourite album of hers, but she played a mixed enough set that I didn't feel shafted. Tori's just splendid on stage. Very sweet, yet incredibly sexy when performing. Plenty of screaming chicks in the crowd, as expected. Great experience to see a gig in the Big Smog (seeing as I usually go for WWE or some geeky convention), and something I'd like to do more often if I could justify the cost. The support act was just a guy and acoustic guitar and an effects unit. The way he layered part after part on a never ending delay for his final song was magic. He just left the stage at the end of the song and let the delay repeat itself until the sound-guy faded it out.

Honourable mentions
– Embrace. Southampton Guildhall
– Ten Benson (ROCK!), The Joiners
– Ugly Duckling, The Joiners
– The Australian Pink Floyd Show, Southampton Guildhall
– Ian Brown (a definite ON night), Southampton Guildhall