Pages tagged “Favorite Concerts”

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My 12 Favorite Concerts - #1 Arcade Fire

#1Arcade FireMay 1, 2007, Atlanta Civic CenterThe first time I saw Arcade Fire was at the Austin City Limits festival in 2005. I was up in the photographer pit for the first few songs, and the band started the show with most of its members singing a capella at the top of their lungs. When we had to leave the pit after a few songs, one of our photographers started babbling, "That was one of those completely transcendent experiences where you glimpse a bit of heaven—but I never have those experiences!" So when the snow kept me from leaving New...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #2 Pixies

#2PixiesOct. 15, 1989, The Roxy Theatre (Atlanta)1989 was an exceptional year for music. Oranges & Lemons from XTC, Automatic from Jesus & Mary Chain, Flip-Flop from Guadalcanal Diary, Fun & Games from The Connells, Key Lime Pie from Camper Van Beethoven and self-titled debuts from The Stone Roses, The Ocean Blue, The Innocence Mission and The Indigo Girls. But probably topping them all on my list was the first Pixies album I ever picked up, Doolittle. The band also put on my favorite show that year, which would end up being my favorite show of the first 35 years of...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #3 Beck

#3BeckOct. 28, 2006, The Knitting Factory (New York)For the most part, I’ve only listed traditional concerts and left off festival performances, parties and private shows. But I have to make an exception for one night in 2006. Unlike almost every other major magazine in the U.S., Paste had never thrown a party in New York. We made a conscious decision that our magazine would be based in Decatur, Ga., but most of the people we work with—record label folks, publicists, advertisers, etc.—are in Manhattan or Brooklyn. And when we decided to put on a show at The Knitting Factory for...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #4 Sufjan Stevens

#4Sufjan StevensApril 1, 2005Back in 1998, we launched an online CD retailer called PasteMusic.com, and one of the first CDs we added to the site was by a band called Marzuki, fronted by Shannon Stephens with a multi-instrumentalist named Sufjan Stevens. It featured accordion, banjo, flutes and sounded like nothing else I'd heard. When the musicians went their separate ways, Shannon released a self-titled album with a brilliant song about domestic abuse called "Catch the Morning Line," and Sufjan recorded a solo album called A Sun Came with moments of great promise and moments of silliness, like the line from...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #5 Midnight Oil

#5Midnight OilAug. 28, 1993, Lakewood Amphitheater (Atlanta)A few people were dropped onto this Earth with a natural ability to command a stage and lead a crowd through a night of music. Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Prince all come to mind. But a lot of folks forget that Peter Garrett could put on a show. I had no idea what to expect, but the six-and-a-half-foot singer was just a monster on stage. It was protest music during a decade where no one was singing protest music, and Garrett's earnest pleas for aboriginal fairness and environmental awakening were potent; it wasn't a...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #6 INXS

#6INXSMarch 3, 1988, The Omni (Atlanta)OK, before you get in a huff about INXS topping U2 on this list, you need to know that this is the first concert I went to with my buddies (I'm not counting Bon Jovi, where we got dropped off). You also need to notice the seat number above. Somehow we got third row seats in a 15,000-seat arena. We also were among the few to get there in time to enjoy Public Image Ltd., so I got to hear "This is Not a Love Song" live. Michael Hutchence & co. put on a great...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #7 U2

#7U2Nov. 19, 2005, Philips Arena (Atlanta)I remember missing the Joshua Tree tour. My sister went, and I, being the jobless 15-year-old, stayed home. I remember that The BoDeans opened, and I instead listened to the Joshua Tree cassette on my boombox. I apparently was one of the few people who actually liked the follow-up, Rattle and Hum, and was initially bored by Achtung Baby, Pop and Zooropa. So in 2005, I somehow found myself never having seen one of the best bands of my generation. And they really are. Bono still seems to draw his energy from the adoring masses,...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #8 The Ramones

#8The RamonesNov. 22, 1988, Center Stage (Atlanta)It all started with a crappy job and a mix tape some guy made for my older sister. The job was at a one-hour photo place. My two bosses chafed at my love of '70s classic rock. I'd talk about The Steve Miller Band and the Eagles, and they'd wonder why I didn't listen to anything new and play XTC and P.I.L. It was about that same time I borrowed my sister's mixtape. Among tracks from Drivin' 'n Cryin' and Plimsouls were two Ramones songs—"I Wanna Be Sedated" and a cover of the Beach...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #9 Uncle Tupelo

#9Uncle TupeloFeb. 11, 1994, The 40 Watt (Athens, Ga.)As with Guadalcanal Diary, Uncle Tupelo became my favorite band just in time for me to catch the farewell tour. Whatever personal problems Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy might have been having offstage, when they started playing, they were in lock-step. Not since Lennon and McCartney had a band been as blessed with two songwriters (#98 and #24 on our list of the 100 Best Living Songwriters), and they took turns at the mic singing some great ones from their entire catalog: "Chickamauga," "Anodyne," "The Long Cut," "Watch Me Fall." Plus old...  read more

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #10 The Hold Steady

#10The Hold SteadyOct. 25, 2007, The 40 Watt (Athens, Ga.)Craig Finn really isn't even a singer in the proper sense. He kind of half-drunkenly shouts out stories, and the effect live is like he's talking to the audience all night. There's a shallowness to much of the subject matter—ingesting chemicals and hooking up—but he's still so damn insightful and interesting. He's a little goofy and infectiously happy. And so is the music, sloppy bar rock with big '70s muscular hooks. If you look around the room, everybody has big ol' grins on their faces, including guitarist Tad Kubler and the...  read more