2023 Concerts

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, boyst said:

the place you went was a livenation event. do you know how to upgrade your seats for dirt cheap?

 

if not, just got buy cheap ass seats then the day of the event about 10 hours before go to the livenation app. it has a section to upgrade seats for $20. sometimes a little more. you can upgrade any seat to be in the pit, or way up close for just that little amount. 

 

for the charlotte amphitheater i will go get my upgrade before i even buy tickets. for the pixies and weezer i bought the upgrade to the pit for $20. then bought field seats on stubhub for $12 about an hour before the concert.

 

text me if you want me to give you anymore info - it's a little tricky to find it on the app.

 

That's one way to do it.  With our local amphitheater, if I think a show will not sell out, I'll buy cheap seats in the last sections.  The day of the show, about 3-4 hours before it starts, I'll look on the app to see what sections have a lot of available seats.  Make a mental note of sections, rows and seat numbers.  Continue to check to make sure those are still open up to when I go to enter the venue.  Once the ushers check my ticket to get me into the seating area, I'll head to the seats I memorized.  Because with our local amp, once you are in, they really don't look at your ticket again unless you need help finding your seat.  I don't try to get crazy and get in the front row, or pit, there they might check again, but several concerts I've been able to get right around the sound board area, which is the sweet spot for sound.  

1 hour ago, Son of a K-Gun said:

Saw the Cure a few weeks back at the amphitheater in Toronto.  Hadn't been at the venue for a number of years and forgot just how great a spot it is for live music.  They played for nearly three hours and had a 29 song setlist.  Robert sounded great, hasn't lost a thing.  The band was great too, with a clean crisp sound you don't normally get with live music...bass and drum levels were spot on allowing you to hear the music.  Best part was the fact that Robert Smitrh didn't feel the need to chat with the crowd the whole night...the boys just played straight through.  Maybe an hour in he gave the fans a simple "Hello", and then after the final note was played he stayed on stage and took in the crowd, then went back to the mic to deliver a wonderful parting to the adoring crowd of "Well that was eff-ing fun".  Great show, and much better than I had expected.

 

I've seen The Cure three times, this year being the third.  That's typical for their shows, they come out, they play, they finish and leave.  

[T&C]

Not a live concert but something to check out for sure.

 

https://www.davidbowie.com/ziggy?utm_distriktmeta=&utm_distriktmeta=&utm_distriktmeta=&fbclid=IwAR3gfinVqEexNdGkFCslHp_CUlS1KoTPU2Lc00OoAfo2ZgoM_cnxAkVwPeE

[WhoTom]

We went to the Great Blue Heron Music Festival in Sherman NY this past weekend. It's a small fest with regional and/or up-and-coming bands. (Rusted Root played the first one 32 years ago, back when they were unknown outside of the Pittsburgh area.) Every year we get turned on to one or more great bands that we'd never heard of before. A few years back we saw Buffalo's own Funktional Flow, a jam band that I highly recommend. This year's highlights included Jim Donovan and the Sun King Warriors (Jim was the original drummer for Rusted Root), Smackdab (from Jamestown NY) Couch, and Buffalo band Farrow.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by WhoTom

[Gugny]

13 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

So this month going to see Cake (Boston) and The Struts. (Hampton Beach NH)

Seeing Cake in NYC on 7/22.

 

I don’t think I’ve been more excited about a show since Macca. 

[thenorthremembers]

On 6/17/2023 at 11:40 AM, BillsFanNC said:

Caught these guys in DC a few weeks ago, here's Locomotive and Albatross from that show . I've been to hundreds of concerts in my day but this was top ten. Just amazing musicians. 

 

Big Wreck is the best rock band you've never heard of, and far superior to many that you already know. The YouTube rabbit hole is deep if you dare. Criminally underrated. 

 

 

 

I would hope anyone living in WNY or Canada would know exactly who Big Wreck is.   That said, incredibly underrated band.

[rockpile]

We went to see Bonnie Raitt at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre as a main event of the Rochester (NY) International Jazz Festival on June 27th. The audience loved her and she loved us back. She nearly brought me to tears a couple times. Highlights were "Just Like That", that she credited to John Prine's influence on her. Her cover of "Burning Down the House" by David Byrne/Talking Heads was full of fun energy. Her cover of Dylan's "Million Miles" was refreshingly original without taking away from the original. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen!

 

Been a Bonnie Raitt fan for 50 years!

 

[TheCockSportif]

On 7/3/2023 at 9:23 AM, f0neguy said:

Saw Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Tanglewood last night.  Outstanding show, full crowd, couple of sprinkles but weather was better than expected.  They performed more Zep songs than I thought they would and they were great.  Probably half of their list was from their first album with 5-6 Zeppelin songs tossed in the second half.

True dat.  My wife saw them in Portland (Maine) at Thompson's Point on 7/3.  I wish that when she asked if I wanted to see the show that I said to get me a ticket.  Her video footage on her phone, and her response after the concert -- confirms what you wrote.  It was beautiful and moving, and my god can that Plant guy still sing!

[T&C]

They got it backwards... should be " with special guest The Eagles". ***** the Eagles...

 

"Legendary classic rockers The Eagles just announced their farewell ‘Long Goodbye Tour’ with special guest Steely Dan that will take flight Thursday, Sept. 7 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden."

 

https://nypost.com/article/the-eagles-long-goodbye-farewell-tour-with-steely-dan-tickets-dates-prices/

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Chick got us tix to Cowboy Junkies a couple nights ago.  1/2 depressing, mostly generic - good cover of 5 Years and disappointing cover of Sweet Jane.  Highly do not recommend, unless you want to get into a fight with your now ex-girlfriend about why the hell she did this to you.  

 

Going to Neil Young in a couple nights with hottie I met at Cowboy Junkies show.  

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Kidding about the break-up, but it really was a concert they should have kept to themselves.  Going in, I knew I absolutely admired the way they covered Sweet Jane... and I almost never think of a cover rivaling the original, or in this case very much rivaling such a huge song.

 

They opened with Don't Let it Bring You Down- an ungodly amazing Neil Young song, and did it ok enough, but the sound was off.  Next up, Sweet Jane... WTF, opening with 2 covers, and both with ***** sound.  The song I was most looking forward to was song 2, and the mixer was AWOL.  
 

The sound finally got less flabby after they played a few songs, but then they decided to play a few tracks from their brilliantly depressing new album that no one had heard... and I'm certainly not going to buy.   
 

very nice Bowie cover

 

break

 

bunch of forgettable *****

 

something rousing enough to get obligatory encore applause and hoots. (This is where I realized how desperate old people are for anything entertaining which gets them out of the house)

 

forgettable encore

 

wrote my congressman to request a couple extra nukes aimed at Canada

 

Neil Young in a couple nights, yes both of us.  Open to revising congressional request following the show.  

 

 

 

[Gugny]

On 7/6/2023 at 6:44 PM, T&C said:

They got it backwards... should be " with special guest The Eagles". ***** the Eagles...

 

"Legendary classic rockers The Eagles just announced their farewell ‘Long Goodbye Tour’ with special guest Steely Dan that will take flight Thursday, Sept. 7 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden."

 

https://nypost.com/article/the-eagles-long-goodbye-farewell-tour-with-steely-dan-tickets-dates-prices/

Yesterday, I heard that the Black Crowes are now opening for Aerosmith. 
 

That surprised me, as BC recently finished a headlining tour. 

[Just Jack]

2 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

Kidding about the break-up, but it really was a concert they should have kept to themselves.  Going in, I knew I absolutely admired the way they covered Sweet Jane... and I almost never think of a cover rivaling the original, or in this case very much rivaling such a huge song.

 

They opened with Don't Let it Bring You Down- an ungodly amazing Neil Young song, and did it ok enough, but the sound was off.  Next up, Sweet Jane... WTF, opening with 2 covers, and both with ***** sound.  The song I was most looking forward to was song 2, and the mixer was AWOL.  
 

The sound finally got less flabby after they played a few songs, but then they decided to play a few tracks from their brilliantly depressing new album that no one had heard... and I'm certainly not going to buy.   
 

very nice Bowie cover

 

break

 

bunch of forgettable *****

 

something rousing enough to get obligatory encore applause and hoots. (This is where I realized how desperate old people are for anything entertaining which gets them out of the house)

 

forgettable encore

 

wrote my congressman to request a couple extra nukes aimed at Canada

 

Neil Young in a couple nights, yes both of us.  Open to revising congressional request following the show.  

 

 

 

Thanks. They were one I was interested in seeing if I could make it work with the tour dates and my work routine.  Guess I won’t bother now. 

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

3 hours ago, Just Jack said:

Thanks. They were one I was interested in seeing if I could make it work with the tour dates and my work routine.  Guess I won’t bother now. 

Her voice was still mostly excellent (perfect on the smokier notes, she ducked out of the ending of SJ which sucked), and the band was highly proficient, but the 2 components felt completely separated from each other, like they were her karaoke backup track.  
 

The most memorable part of the new stuff (40% of show) was her talking about the song they wrote about parents aging with dementia.   It was a tear-jerking moment, and then the song was appropriately forgettable.  
 

Their better moments were their covers, but I (and my gal) 100% would have spent that money on something else.  

[boyst]

Friend of mine went to Blink 182. Said the show was just great. Nostalgic. The women all dressed like it was 98, and the men a mix but plenty of 40 something yr old dads just vibing.

 

They finished with a mashup of Damn It/We are never getting back together (Taylor swift). It was a highlight. 

[Just Jack]

7 hours ago, BringMetheHeadofLeonLett said:

Their better moments were their covers, but I (and my gal) 100% would have spent that money on something else.  

 

The wife and I saw Big & Rich at the state fair several years ago.  Thankfully it was a free concert, because I swear more than half of the songs they played were covers.  

[Gugny]

6 hours ago, boyst said:

Friend of mine went to Blink 182. Said the show was just great. Nostalgic. The women all dressed like it was 98, and the men a mix but plenty of 40 something yr old dads just vibing.

 

They finished with a mashup of Damn It/We are never getting back together (Taylor swift). It was a highlight. 

I was just talking about this tour yesterday. 
 

Total bucket list show, but with these prices, I need to choose wisely/strategically. 
 

No longer interested in paying for arena shows, so this one didn’t make the list. 
 

I’m happy they put on a great show, though!!

[Rico]

12 hours ago, Gugny said:

Yesterday, I heard that the Black Crowes are now opening for Aerosmith. 
 

That surprised me, as BC recently finished a headlining tour. 

I saw that same show in 1990, Pump and Shake Your Moneymaker tours.

[boyst]

59 minutes ago, Gugny said:

I was just talking about this tour yesterday. 
 

Total bucket list show, but with these prices, I need to choose wisely/strategically. 
 

No longer interested in paying for arena shows, so this one didn’t make the list. 
 

I’m happy they put on a great show, though!!

Same conversation had today. Every month I go through acts coming to the area and decide if there are any I want to keep my eyes on. If the venue/artist/price/distance all meet the equation then I'll go.

 

Boy George is coming to a smaller underground club venue. I forget the day of the week, and it's an hour away. But, if the tickets are $30 and I have nothing else to do id consider it because I'm sure it's a fun show and I get to sign kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-kama-chameleon in person.

 

I forge the act a coworker and I are considering - I saved it on my work scheduler - but it's at a LiveNation location. So I will keep my eye on it. The day of the concert ant unsold tickets (usually there are a hundred or so) are listed for $20 as an upgrade. It's a few hidden clicks to get there on the app but it's worth it.

 

I have talked about it many times. I saw REO Speedwagon & Chicago, The Pixies & Weezer, 30STM, Willie Nelson, Sturgle Simplson, and Elvis Costello this way. I got the upgrade before the actual tickets many times. Id wait until just before the show and buy lawn seats for dirt cheap ($12 for Weezer) and with the pit upgrade ($30) I spent a fraction of the $200 face value, $300 markup ticket.

 

I share this because you can really catch some great shows this way. Including lesser known, less popular acts. Erasure, Pop Evil for example. You can also catch big time acts doing side gigs when touring on a big tour. Marilyn Manson in a venue of 1000 people, and Angels And Airwaves Tom DeLongs side gig for a while. Manson was doing shows with Rob Zombie on weekends and on a Wednesday went to a small ass place, DeLong had booked like 6 shows that year.

 

I can walk you through it if you want. Just text me some time. 

1 hour ago, Just Jack said:

 

The wife and I saw Big & Rich at the state fair several years ago.  Thankfully it was a free concert, because I swear more than half of the songs they played were covers.  

Sometimes that's the best concert. In fact, I've heard Rumors (the Fleetwood Mack cover band) is just as good. And there are two Chicago cover bands just as good. 

 

Chicago is lame in person. They don't play all of their greatest hits. They play some. The cover band plays them all, just as good and just as fun. And Chicago these days only has like 3 original members anyway. 

 

Oh, another fun band to see is the Marshall Tucker Band 

[Logic]

Just caught the last five shows of Dead and Company on their final tour. Two at the Gorge and three at Oracle Park in San Francisco. All were excellent.

The band seems to be playing the best they ever have, so it's a shame to see them go. Alas, Bob Weir is like 75 years old and it's unreasonable to expect him to tour and play four hour shows forever.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend in San Fran. Deadheads took over the city. I felt bad for the hotel staffs and food purveyors that had to deal with these hordes of hippies pre and post (particularly post) shows. Amazing that Dead music is still packing 50,000 fans into a sold out baseball stadium three nights in a row, 58 years after it first began. 

Now we wait to see what the next iteration of Dead music will be, and whether or not I'll wind up at ANOTHER "final tour" a few years from now.

[Gregg]

12 hours ago, Logic said:

Just caught the last five shows of Dead and Company on their final tour. Two at the Gorge and three at Oracle Park in San Francisco. All were excellent.

The band seems to be playing the best they ever have, so it's a shame to see them go. Alas, Bob Weir is like 75 years old and it's unreasonable to expect him to tour and play four hour shows forever.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend in San Fran. Deadheads took over the city. I felt bad for the hotel staffs and food purveyors that had to deal with these hordes of hippies pre and post (particularly post) shows. Amazing that Dead music is still packing 50,000 fans into a sold out baseball stadium three nights in a row, 58 years after it first began. 

Now we wait to see what the next iteration of Dead music will be, and whether or not I'll wind up at ANOTHER "final tour" a few years from now.

 

Isn't Bob still playing with Wolf Bros? At 75 it is unreasonable to expect him to continue touring like he has. Factor many of those 75 years were "hard living/partying" years and it is a wonder Bob is still here. Same could be said for Phil, Mickey, and Bill.