If you had access to a time machine, what concerts would you go back to see?
2020 was the first year of my adult life that I did not attend any concerts. I'm sure that I'm not alone in this unfortunate situation. So, this got me thinking about both the concerts that I "missed" (could've gone, but something went wrong) or concerts I "wished I'd had the chance to see."
Plus, I thought this would be a good bookend to the ongoing (and excellent) thread about "the worst concert you ever saw."
Saw the Pretenders open on the U2 - Joshua Tree tour. The Pretenders were quite good, but even better on their appearance on Austin City Limits a few years ago. I've watched that ACL show a few times and will watch it again, they were so tight and Martin Chambers is just amazing with both the bassist and guitar players right there too. Chrissie also doing an excellent job on guitar and vocals. It is a stellar show.
I am a huge Toy Matinee fan. I live in Orange County and heard them on the radio a lot. Never got to see them but dearly would have loved to. Did see Kevin Gilbert several times after his TM days. Both shows were quite good. Still wish he were still with us. Amazing music I'm sure we'd be the recipients of today.
Really wish I were able to have seen The Grays when they came through. I was in college and didn't have money and so thought I'd catch them the next time through, though that would apparently never happen. I'm big fans of Jason Falkner (never had the pleasure to see him) and Jon Brion - saw him once at Largo in LA - was an amazing dinner show.
Assuming I was immune to any diseases of the times. (No yellow fever please.) Also, I would have the chance to go to the after concert parties or dos corresponding to the times!
Any concert with Corelli
Dietrich of Leipzig concerts
Von Bingen
The Ring at Bayreuth with Wagner and/or his son
The concert or incident that made Nietzsche Contra Wagner - there’s a decent movie about this
Being ’a dignitary’ on the King’s Barge on the Thames when His Majesty had The Water Music repeated several times
Debut of Beethoven Violin Concerto
Liszt, Locatelli and Paganini performances
The series of Siegfried Wagner operas/performances now lost
Any Charlie Parker performances/concert(s)
Any Procol Harum concert
Any Henry Cow, Soft Machine and 801
Those Cambridge Univ. fellows that did "The Rotter’s Club"
Any Brian Eno concert
Stones with Mick Taylor
Any Howlin Wolf after hours performances - I saw 2 concerts - with Hubert Sumlin.
The Killers
Another Capt. Beefheart concert
Hendrix/Hawaii/Rainbow Bridge
All the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals I missed
Of course I would want to have a magic audio video set up to capture all these events and bring them back whilst someone else can pay the artist’s royalties!
Just an observation about time machines in general, since a Tardis has not been mentioned or considered an option....
Time machines tend to stay 'rooted'; locked into a location, XYZed.
Not to be a 'killjoy', but just braying....;)
It'd be a kick to tack a 'hitchhiker' along, back to Bach....Elton John would be perhaps up to the 'trip', to let the master have a taste of what would become....just to F with the timelines...
But the likelihood of my disappearance would be really annoying...at least to moi'.....y'all would be thrilled, IF you were around to be so....and were aware of such....not likely, but....*shrug*
I missed a legendary rock band's epic performance in 1969. Yes, I was there, at the venue that day. But, I missed the performance. The "when" and "why" I missed the performance may be more interesting than the performance itself.
It was Labor Day Weekend, 1969. One of my buddies borrowed his parent's car and crammed in 4 blue collar community college midwestern 18-year-olds, food, tent, sleeping bags, beer and cooler and pointed it towards Dallas/Ft Worth to attend the Texas International Pop Festival. A 'little" 150,000 attended concert that nobody knew about that took place 2 weeks after the concert that everybody knew about -- Woodstock.
Day One gave us Janis Joplin, Grand Funk, BB King, Chicago, Canned Heat and more. We tried prove that 4 dudes from Missouri could party just as hard (and, live to tell about it) as any of those other states. Day Two looked promising with a star-studded line up. About half way thru BB King, we decided it was time for nutrition and a break from the action. As we wandered back to the campground we noticed a little commotion on the shore of the lake. And, some boats anchored on the lake in pretty close proximity. We strolled over for a closer look. It appeared that some guys and gals were swimming in the lake -- and, left their clothes on the bank. Of particular interest was a blond girl wading about waste high who could have easily graced the cover of Playboy magazine. This was all the motivation we needed to sprint back to the car, lock our valuables in the trunk, and take the plunge, sans clothing. We're not sure just how much time transpired, but it was "quality time" by any standard.
Dry bodies and proper attire later, we returned to the concert. A band had just finished and was toting their equipment off the stage. The on-deck group set up and moments later, the lively sound of percussion instruments filled the venue -- Santana.
It wasn't until we got back home that we discovered the group we missed while we were skinny dipping was -- LED ZEPPELIN!!
My AARP brain may have forgotten the experience of the Zeppelin performance. But, I'll never forget the skinny dipping.
If I could time travel, we would have timed our skinny dipping to sync with a less formidable band.
Traffic from 1967 - 1973. I'd want to see the original lineup with Dave Mason, the modified original lineup for "Welcome To The Canteen" (with Jim Gordon & Ric Gretch), the "John Barleycorn" lineup and the lineup with the Muscle Shoals boys that did "Low Spark" & "Shootout At the Fantasy Factory."
Also, nice to see a so many mentions for Mick Taylor!
Surround sound Dark Side of The Moon at Hollywood (FL) Sportatorium would certainly be at the top of my list. At times, the sounds were circling in both directions, from stereo from the main stage, stereo in the rear, and full range speakers on either side. Alice Cooper's current band at Fort Lauderdale's Eau Rene at the Performing arts Center, about five years ago (The tour that is shown on AXS as, "From Austin City Limits") for the music, and early Killer and Billion Dollar Babies, for the lace and bras, and general outlandishness that Rocky Horror quashed. Definitely, early 1970's Jethro Tull "Stand Up" tour from the early 1970's at Pirates World, near Hollywood, FL, and "Aqualung" the next year from West Palm Beach's Leaky Tepee, in which the band played the title song for over an hour. When the applause finally died down, Ian , then Anderson said, "For our second number...." Ike and Tina Turner from Pirates World. Frank Zappa from the "Overnight Sensation", "Apostrophe" era, and Grateful Dead's Wall of sound for the 30 McIntosh amps and a zillion JBL speakers, both from Miami Jai Alai in the early 1970's. Dead'system designed by the king of LD's Owlsey Stanley, and get this: John Curl! Yes, our great designer, John Curl. Led Zeppelin at the Sportatorium. I could go on and on, and yes, I am wearing my t-shirt that proudly proclaims, "I may be old, but I saw the great bands." Oh yeah, The post Woodstock, 1969, 4 day Thanksgiving, Palm Beach Music and Arts Fesitival, with the Stones, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many many more, but hopefully with better weather. Al Hirt from his New Orleans club. Maynard Ferguson at the University of Miami in the early 1980's. Buddy Guy (Tennessee Theater and Au Renee). Dizzy Gillespie from The Bijou in Knoxville. I could actually go on and on!
@milkkefir, good choice with Joni Mitchell's 79 tour with Jaco & Metheny. Her 74 tour for "Miles of Aisles" with Tom Scott & The LA Express (Robben Ford on guitar) would also be a good choice.
@Only waytoomuchstuff, great story about the Texas International Pop Festival. I know there are bootlegs of some of those sets floating around, because a friend of mine has a copy of Santana's set. I remember the sound quality being surprisingly good for a 1969 recording; but, the only downside was their set only around 35 - 40 minutes.
I'd go back to my very first concert. It was 1971. Seiji Ozawa was conducting the San Francisco Symphony in an all-Stravinsky program. They did L'Histoire du Soldat and The Rite of Spring.
Hmm, this is a good one. If I could travel back in time I would like to see the following musicians live: Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, Handel, Mussorgsky, Mozart, Strauss, Vivaldi, Porter, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Brubeck, Bobo, Getz, Jobim, The Beatles, John Mayhall and The Blues Breakers, Yardbirds - Page, Clapton and Beck, BB King, Albert King, Zeppelin, ad infinitum. The list is nearly endless. So much great music throughout the history of man, where do you draw the line?
1967, I was in the Navy stationed at NAS Lemoore in the Central Valley outside of Fresno California. Me and a buddy were planning on going to a concert and he had the transportation. A few hours before we were going to leave he informed me that he couldn’t go because his girlfriend insisted she spend the weekend with her. The concert was called Monterey Pop. To this day I’m still pissed!
The second concert I would go back for I actually saw. My Navy buddy from above told me about a band he heard about that was going to be at a small club in Santa Barbara Ca.. He said he had heard they were really good and the black guy “made the group”. I don’t remember the name of the club but the band was called “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”. Can you imagine hearing Foxey Lady in a small club? What a night!
Early 1972. First concert I ever attended and still the most remarkable. We were in high school and Jethro Tull was coming to town. We were all geared up for Aqualung (nobody knew they had a new album which had not been released yet.) Opening act was Beefheart, we had no idea who or what that was, we were content with laughing and making endless fart jokes. Tull comes on, Ian strides to the front of the stage with his acoustic guitar and says 6 words I’ll never forget: "This first song is rather lengthy." Thick As A Brick it was...and it was a revelation.
"Surround sound Dark Side of The Moon at Hollywood (FL) Sportatorium would certainly be at the top of my list. At times, the sounds were circling in both directions, from stereo from the main stage, stereo in the rear, and full range speakers on either side."
I was there! Incredible show and sound...and yes I just posted about the 1972 Tull show at the leaky tepee. Pirates World was a great venue...saw Alice Cooper’s Billion Dollar Babies show there. Hell of a lot of fun.
The one that got away. In 1975 we had tickets to see Queen at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo dead center 4 rows back. The concert was cancelled last minute and back then you could exchange or return tickets at point of sale. We exchanged them for Jeff Beck and John Mclaughlin at the Century Theater in Buffalo. Bad news is that I never saw Queen and personally I never cared much for their stuff after that time frame but seeing 2 guitar legends on the same night more than made up for it!
Obviously I would see the classical creators/masters...Bach especially....too many to do justice by mentioning. Miles Davis in the 50's; Charlie Parker and the great bands he was in; Jimmy Reed for sentimental reasons; Jimi Hendrix; Cream in 1968; The Doors just because; peak Creedence.
I saw Pink Floyd DSOTM in Jacksonville, FL about 2 months after the album dropped....they all appeared/performed the whole thing, in Quad...Clare Torry's wordless vocals were mesmerizing. Then, a greatest hits playlist that left not one thing to be desired (save Sid).
For $7.50 I saw the '72 Stones Exile tour in Tuscaloosa, AL starting with Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, then Stevie Wonder (about 6 months prior to Talking Book); then the Stones, with their entire studio band featuring M. Taylor's impeccable guitar....a R&R high unlike any other before or since. The Stones were like experiencing a black hole and a super nova simultaneously! Thoughts: if the Stones had cancelled after Stevie Wonder's set I wouldn't have cared (at that point) because being in SW's presence was enough....greatness was writ large on him; when I was able to peel my eyes off Mick for a moment I saw Bianca behind the stage in her signature white dress/floppy hat; Keith drove/guided the band...Mick Taylor supplied the flaming icing on the cake.
There were other great ones.....but there's my top two.
I have seen so many prob near a thousand so many i would love to see again...
i would love to go back to Knebworth 1990 just so that this time i might remember not to forget my bag with concert t shirts etc in a locker at the train station
i still wonder to this day if that actually sent the bomb squad in to open the locker that i left behind..
I have seen so many wonderful concerts. Certainly, I have missed some good ones, too. The one concert that made the most significant impression on me and the one I would most love to be able to see again is The Who doing their North American Tour of Tommy. I saw this concert in 1970, right about when Live At Leeds was first released (the concert show of Live At Leeds). What an all-day event that was. First up was Blues Image, next up was John B. Sebastion, next up was Jesse Colin Young, next up was Leon Russel, and then finally The Who. What a day for a 16 year old!
@boothroyd, good choice with Stephen Bruton. I wish I would've caught Gary Clark, Jr in the local clubs when I had the chance. I heard about The Shady Grove and Threadgills closing down. Man, it looks like the world is probably gonna be a boring place when things get back to normal.
in the 50's sometime, my wife and I were in Montreal and noticed that Johnny Cash and his whole entourage was going to play at the Montreal Fair .....got tickets (cheap even in those days).... only sparsely attended....super great show.
eagles hotel california tour, pink floyd (but after the breakup so it was only david gilmore, still great, sting w concrete blond -great opening band, elton john , aerosmith , jimmy buffet, james taylor(last 2 outdoors, something special about that, and someone i imagine few of you have ever heard of-steve forbert in a little (400-500) seat venue. worst- tom petty(and i love his music)but so loud had to stand outside the auditorium doors to listen.
Of the concerts I would go back and see again; The absolute top of the list is Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s Brain Salad Surgery Tour circa 1973 or 74, I believe. That flat out top’s every show I have ever seen. Also would like to see Deep Purple’s Machine Head show in ’73 again. Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy tour was magical, as was Yes’ Tale’s from Topographic Ocean’s.
I did happen to see Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds Tour and found out a few years back that what I saw was TDSOM being played to audiences prior to the album even being made. It was one of the first shows I went to and was unfortunately mostly lost to memory, but I wouldn’t mind see that again. However, the later Floyd of the eighty’s and nineties were technically magnificent shows and, imo, not to be missed.
eonsx311 mentioned the Pink Floyd’s Pulse Tour and man was he right. When that show hit LA there were two dates that sold out. I had tickets to one of the dates. Then they added two more dates. I went to see the show and it was so good that the next day I said to one of my best friends that this was such a good show that we should just go down to the sports arena and schlep some tickets out front which we did and had such a killer time that we did it again the very next night too. So I caught 3 out of the 4 or those dates. Then a few years later they came to Orange County and I hit it again. That’s when I learned that Pink Floyd shows were not to be missed! Probably the biggest show that I regret missing was Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick show. For some reason I didn’t go to it, but all my friends did. They literally were talking about it for a year. I also don’t know why I missed the TDSOM tour though. I must have been sleep walking or possibly altered.
I would transport myself back to 1984 and watch the Prince (Purple Rain tour) concert me and a couple of high school buddies were at all over again- it was amazing...
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