Top Concerts
I've been in a list making mood lately. Which isn't really saying much since I am pretty much always in a list making mood, but it's been even more than normal lately. Since seeing live music makes me really happy I decided to make a list of some of my favorite concerts. So here they are:
1. Jeff Tweedy in Charlottesville last month. I still can't believe that I went to this. It was incredible from start to finish.
2. Wilco in Pittsburgh this past April. Mostly because they had no opening act and played for just about 3 hours so we got to hear lots of their music. Secondly, because they did a small, acoustic set in the middle of the show and there's nothing more I love than breaking things down like that. Thirdly, because they performed Laminated Cat. Fourthly, because the venue was a beautiful small chamber ensemble type theater, our view was great, and the sound was amazing.
3. Bob Dylan with the Racontuers opening for him. Front row seats again. Jack White was AMAZING live. This show turned me into a big fan of his. It was awesome to see Bob Dylan up close like that, I can't believe he is still touring and sounding good (even if it's tough to understand him, the music is still great).
4. Jars of Clay at the Birchmere several years ago. I've seen them live a ton... it helps that they play the Birchmere fairly often. But this show stands out because they did a little acoustic set in the middle of the show (remember how I said that I loved that?) They sound their best without a bunch of electronic stuff, unfortunately they seem to be moving more and more in that direction, so I didn't even buy their most recent album, even though I own every other one of theirs. Sigh.
5. Buddy Guy at the Birchmere. I admit, I don't really listen to his music, but Matt does, so I went with him (and our friend Mike) for this show. And it was really good. Buddy Guy really interacts with the audience and is an incredible musician, but mostly I just remember this show was fun. I was a little concerned ahead of time that it would be little boring to me... A non blues guitar aficionado, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.
6. Every other Wilco concert. They are just so good live, I really had to fight the urge to list them as #s 1, 2, 3, 4, etc... The first show we saw them at an outdoor venue in MD, the time we had 3rd row seats in Phillie and they started with Sunken Treasure, seeing them with Conor Oberst at Wolf Trap last summer with the whole crowd getting into all the songs... All good :)
7. White Stripes at the Patriot Center. I don't think they're touring anymore so I'm glad we got to see them at least once. Again, Jack White is just such a captivating performer, even though there's only 2 people in the band, it stayed interesting. And I loved Hotel Yorba!
8. The time Matt got to meet one of his favorite musicians... Nuno Bettencourt at Jaxx. I cant remember which band he was performing with at the time... Mourning Widows possibly. Nuno used to be the guitarist for Extreme back in the day... Remember "More Than Words"? That's him! We got there super early so we could sit at the bar and watch the Yankee-Red Sox game (the big 2004 games where the Red Sox made a comeback from 0-3) and the band was there watching too, since they're from Boston and big fans, they had even been at the game the previous night. Matt got to chat with him for a little while and then later during the show he even got to go onstage and sing a little (meanwhile, I left my camera in the car... Oops). We've also seen Vanilla Ice at Jaxx... Haha, how awesome are we?
Hopefully I didn't leave any important ones out. But there are definitely lots more concerts that I've enjoyed and will remember, these just really stand out.
1. Jeff Tweedy in Charlottesville last month. I still can't believe that I went to this. It was incredible from start to finish.
2. Wilco in Pittsburgh this past April. Mostly because they had no opening act and played for just about 3 hours so we got to hear lots of their music. Secondly, because they did a small, acoustic set in the middle of the show and there's nothing more I love than breaking things down like that. Thirdly, because they performed Laminated Cat. Fourthly, because the venue was a beautiful small chamber ensemble type theater, our view was great, and the sound was amazing.
3. Bob Dylan with the Racontuers opening for him. Front row seats again. Jack White was AMAZING live. This show turned me into a big fan of his. It was awesome to see Bob Dylan up close like that, I can't believe he is still touring and sounding good (even if it's tough to understand him, the music is still great).
4. Jars of Clay at the Birchmere several years ago. I've seen them live a ton... it helps that they play the Birchmere fairly often. But this show stands out because they did a little acoustic set in the middle of the show (remember how I said that I loved that?) They sound their best without a bunch of electronic stuff, unfortunately they seem to be moving more and more in that direction, so I didn't even buy their most recent album, even though I own every other one of theirs. Sigh.
5. Buddy Guy at the Birchmere. I admit, I don't really listen to his music, but Matt does, so I went with him (and our friend Mike) for this show. And it was really good. Buddy Guy really interacts with the audience and is an incredible musician, but mostly I just remember this show was fun. I was a little concerned ahead of time that it would be little boring to me... A non blues guitar aficionado, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.
6. Every other Wilco concert. They are just so good live, I really had to fight the urge to list them as #s 1, 2, 3, 4, etc... The first show we saw them at an outdoor venue in MD, the time we had 3rd row seats in Phillie and they started with Sunken Treasure, seeing them with Conor Oberst at Wolf Trap last summer with the whole crowd getting into all the songs... All good :)
7. White Stripes at the Patriot Center. I don't think they're touring anymore so I'm glad we got to see them at least once. Again, Jack White is just such a captivating performer, even though there's only 2 people in the band, it stayed interesting. And I loved Hotel Yorba!
8. The time Matt got to meet one of his favorite musicians... Nuno Bettencourt at Jaxx. I cant remember which band he was performing with at the time... Mourning Widows possibly. Nuno used to be the guitarist for Extreme back in the day... Remember "More Than Words"? That's him! We got there super early so we could sit at the bar and watch the Yankee-Red Sox game (the big 2004 games where the Red Sox made a comeback from 0-3) and the band was there watching too, since they're from Boston and big fans, they had even been at the game the previous night. Matt got to chat with him for a little while and then later during the show he even got to go onstage and sing a little (meanwhile, I left my camera in the car... Oops). We've also seen Vanilla Ice at Jaxx... Haha, how awesome are we?
Hopefully I didn't leave any important ones out. But there are definitely lots more concerts that I've enjoyed and will remember, these just really stand out.
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