I went with mancrushkeanu, and boy, was this a violent affair (i.e. I loved it). A couple of words about I Was a Teenage Satan Worshipper, though. They were intolerable, and after their stint I heard someone in the audience say, "See, I told you they're better live!" If that's the case, one thing I know for sure is that I really don't want to hear these guys on record.
A bit surprisingly, IAMX kicked off with
Bring Me Back A Dog, a song I love but that's really gloomy. Their set was impeccable, and I think songs of Kiss + Swallow work a lot better live. The one more thing I could have hoped for was Missile, but it wouldn't actually have fit into the context at all. Definitely the dirtiest, rawest gig I've been to, meaning the energetic-as-fuck live show and the crowd behavior (a**holes!). Loved it so much, hurt like hell afterwards. The music's always been like a drug to me and now I got to enjoy its full potential. Janine is a lovely example of how less is more in terms of nudity.... all she bared were her arms and was she smoking hot or what. I also think the stubble gives Chris an increasingly perverted aura. (PS. His hair is so sticky!)---
R.E.M.; Tue, September 9th, 2008.
R.E.M. surprised me by playing a lot of older stuff. Michael Stipe's stage persona was somewhat of a surprise to me. I'd expected some degree of snobbery, but he was very laidback, smiling and joking all the time. As a group they really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I find that very respectable from a band of their stature. Highlights of the night: Michael welcoming Editors (who had been one of the two openers) to join them on stage, after which the ensemble kicked into
Orange Crush, and Michael taking a tour in the audience (the second one of the show) during It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) and I held his hand. I didn't just grab his coat or brush past his fingers, I had his hand right there. Thus my right hand now responds to the name 'Hand of Michael'.---
DeVotchKa; Tue, July 1st 2008.
If it weren't for my darling brother, this might've slipped by me because it wasn't actually advertised anywhere and I don't know how people were supposed to figure out that they were coming here. Luckily I had my little informant, which led to me being able to see one of the three bands that I felt I needed to see live in order to be complete. Ah, isn't that marvelous. The tickets were completely underpriced and the amount of people to turn up was somewhere between 50 and 100 (closer to the former). So I stood right there in the middle of the first row. I'm not even going to tell you how awesome they were, you know it anyway. The three last songs of the actual set were a string of covers, beginning with
Venus in Furs, which I think is one of the most enchanting covers ever; my suprise was immense when the next song kicked into gear and I recognized it as Somethin' Stupid, after which Nick announced that they would be playing a song by Siouxsie and the Banshees. I was quite astonished by how they'd been able to make The Last Beat of My Heart, a beautiful song on the dull side of things, truly their own. I was pretty frigging happy when upon them re-entering the stage I thought, "Hmm, wouldn't The Enemy Guns make an incredible opener for the encore?", and lo and behold, it's exactly what they played. In six words: Can't wait to see them again.---
Kylie Minogue; Fri, June 13th 2008.
Free ticket, amazing show! The singles of X hadn't really resonated with me, but what Kylie performed live was shameless electro grind that just played off wonderfully in the company of her own luminous personality and the incredibly talented dancers and acrobats. I can't even complain about the fact that my two favorite songs didn't get played, I had so much fun anyway.
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Joanna Newsom; Sun, September 9th 2007.
Sadly, this wasn't a free ticket, but it was the first concert ever I walked out of mid-way (make that after the first 30 minutes, if that). Enough said, I guess. Can I blame it on the venue?
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Antony and the Johnsons; Mon, June 4th 2007.
Another one of my free tickets. The experience was a bit lessened by the fact that I was extremely exhausted, but still, it was one of the most beautiful concerts I've been to. Never in my life have I seen a crowd so silent between songs.
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Placebo; Sun, May 27th 2007.
Wasn't as satisfactory as it could have been, but it was satisfactory enough, i.e. not a disappointment, but as a matter of fact it managed to produce some tears. Speaking of tears, I got to see the band before it became a duo (something I still can't accept), which I'm extremely happy for, even if thinking about it makes me melancholy.
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Morrissey; Tue, April 4th, 2006.
An extremely cool experience. I hadn't even thought about purchasing tickets, but I got a phone call on the day of the gig and was informed that I could get in free and bring a friend along. We went in through the kitchen door, came to the venue from behind the bar, and got to be in, I guess, fifth row. Not to mention, I got to hear Still Ill and Irish Blood English Heart. Quintuple wow. (A great day, all in all.)
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Depeche Mode; Mon, March 3rd 2006.
The biggest disappointment gig-wise I've had, even though every review I read about the event and every person I talked to had nothing but praise for them. What you have to understand is I'm a long time fan, I need more than just the singles. Plus, I was extremely tired. In retrospect it wasn't as bad as I felt it to be at the time, but you know.... Anyway, I'd go see them if they came here again.
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Blixa Bargeld; Fri, November 18th 2005.
Even though this was his Rede/Speech performance, I like to classify it as a gig, because you know, there was singing and stuff. Furthermore, it makes up for the fact that I never got to see the Bad Seeds while he was still in the group. Anyway, it was wonderful. I was so close to him (third row seat), which seemed insane at the time, because he was probably the biggest crush I had in those days. Also, he made me cry. You win, Blixa.
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Nick Cave; Wed, September 29th 2004.
A mind-blowing experience; one of Cave's "solo shows" accompanied by Martyn P. Casey, Warren Ellis and Jim Sclavunos. I wasn't familiar with Cave except for the big hits and was expecting something quite mellow. The gig was everything but, a total excercise in chaos.
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David Bowie; Fri, October 10th 2003.
I bawled my eyes out at this gig. I was supposed to attend with my father, but he suffered a minor accident and was admitted to hospital that afternoon. Bowie played our favorite song... my dad is still bitter.
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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; Tue, June 17th 2003.
I knew a couple of songs (okay, make that 1 song) by Bruce and went out of curiosity, because I got a free ticket. He played the song I knew (
The River) and I was very happy afterwards. However I only started getting into Bruce once I heard Tori Amos praising him. I thought, "hmm, there's gotta be something about him I haven't gotten". Thunder Road, maybe?
