# Which bands/artists have you seen live? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248 "2004-06-14T05:14:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/1 "2004-06-14T05:14:34Z")
I saw REO Speedwagon in concert tonight. Night Ranger opened for them. Night Ranger was less than good. Admittedly, I’d really never heard of them before and I only know That One Song. (C’mon, guess) Their drummer is _very_ talented as a drummer **and** as a vocalist. The songs were… eh, but the musical performance was good and they weren’t completely boring. REO Speedwagon is SO OLD. Wow. I like 'em though; I’ve been listening to them as long as I can remember. They picked up a keyboard-ist player person from Great White. I’d thought he looked familiar. Both of the lead guitarists were good, although I did favor one over the other (I don’t know any of their names). Good show, overall. So which bands/artists have you seen live? Me? **Ozzfest** Black Sabbath, Korn, System of a Down, Chevelle, Slipknot, Godsmack, POD (P.O.D? I have no idea), umm, crap. There are a whole bunch more, including about a billion forgetable second-stagers. I’ve been to 3 or 4 Ozzfests. John Michael Montgomery Alabama REO Speedwagon Night Ranger Tool B.B King Willie Nelson and Creedence Clearwater Revisited (or something, a tribute band) Also, of your list, which was your favorite? I’ll go ahead and say Tool. Okay, your turn. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/2 "2004-06-14T05:17:54Z")
**Night Ranger** picked up a keyboard-ist player person from Great White. They performed “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” as well as the “Na Na Na Na” parts of other songs that I didn’t completely recognize (except Bananarama’s “Goodbye”). They did a Damn Yankees song too, but not the one I expected. (“High Enough” is what I’d assumed they were doing when they said “Damn Yankees”; I have no idea what it is they sang though). ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/3 "2004-06-14T05:20:42Z")
Not many: Oingo Boingo (3 times) Dave Mathews Band (twice…thrice, maybe?) Depeche Mode Sting Maroon 5 Liz Phair Duran Duran Seal They Might Be Giants And a few others that I don’t remember - they were part of a concert festival thing. (Liz Phair, Maroon 5, Seal and Duran Duran were also part of a concert festival thing, but that one was last year, so I still remember it.) Of the ones I have seen, I’m not sure which would rate as a my “favorite”. It would be one of the Oingo Boingo ones, Sting, or Depeche Mode, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/4 "2004-06-14T05:22:41Z")
Here’s my list. Keep in mind a lot of these are smaller bands, many of whom are from Florida (but still may be known elsewhere). Agent 99 Amazing Crowns Aquabats x2 B.B. King Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Ben Folds Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Billy Joel x2 Bim Skala Bim Blue Oyster Cult Branford Marsalis Brother Cane featuring Slash Cherry Poppin’ Daddies Combustible Edison x2 The Darkness DblWiDE Descendants Dishwalla Duke Ellington Orchestra w/Mercer Ellington and Herb Jeffries Duncan Sheik Elton John Frantic Flattops G. Love and Special Sauce x2 George Carlin Goldfinger Hepcat Hillbilly Hellcats x2 Hippos Interpol James Brown Jewel John Scofield Less Than Jake x5 Los Straitjackets Mad Caddies x3 Magadog Man… Or Astroman? Mighty Blue Kings Mighty Mighty Bosstones x3 MU330 Mustard Plug OK Go Phish Pietasters x2 Psycho Charger Rancid Red Elvises Reel Big Fish Reverend Horton Heat x2 Robert Cray with the Memphis Horns Royal Crown Revue Save Ferris x2 Scofflaws Seven Foot Politic x5 Skatalites Skavoovie and the Epitones Skif Dank Slackers Sonny Rollins Specials x2 Spoon Benders Stone Temple Pilots They Might Be Giants x2 Toasters x3 Toshiko Akiyoshi w/Lew Tabackin Usuals x20 What It Is Woggles As far as my favorites, I’d have to list any Less Than Jake concert, the Red Elvises, the Pietasters, the great Sonny Rollins, Reverend Horton Heat, They Might Be Giants, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue, and best of all… Ben Folds. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/5 "2004-06-14T05:56:42Z")
Bachman Turner Overdrive The Beach Boys Mary Wilson (of the Surpremes) Peter Noone (Hermin’s Hermits) The Turtles Tommy James Lou Christy Smokey Robinson The Drifters Chuck Berry Jerry Lee Lewis Little Richard Sting Paul Simon Paul McCartney Ghost of the Robot and in August, Eric Clapton ---
**Author:** ![sofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@sofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sofia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/6 "2004-06-14T06:01:51Z")
Let’s see… Sting (twice) Manhattan Transfer (original quartet…years ago) Richard Thompson…sigh Can I add Graham Chapman…even though he talked more than he sang? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/7 "2004-06-14T06:41:34Z")
Rolling Stones (three times) Sting Neil Finn Wilco (twice) Glenn Tillbrook Caitlin Cary Big Star Barenaked Ladies Kasey Chambers Pete Yorn -Lil ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/8 "2004-06-14T07:17:16Z")
I bet I have the shortest list out there: Weird Al Yankovic Barenaked Ladies (& the Proclaimers, who opened) Seven Nations ( a local band called Newcomer’s Home opened for them) I couldn’t afford concerts as a teenager, my first husband was a cheapskate (we went to see Weird Al) and my second husband is just poor (although he took me to the other two, even so.) ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/9 "2004-06-14T07:21:19Z")
In chronological order… \*MXPX \*Blessid Union of Souls - they gave either a free show or a very very cheap show at a local festival-type thing. They played some Black Sabbath, which was kinda weird but cool. \*Weezer - twice. Once after the Green Album came out, and once after Maladroit came out. \*Dashboard Confessional \*The Strokes \*Har Mar Superstar - this guy was the opening show for the Strokes. I wouldn’t have even mentioned him because he’s so unknown, but IMO he was better than the Strokes themselves. He was like an ultra-horny Jack Black on speed, but dude had _vocals_ like you wouldn’t believe. He did a great version of “Sir Duke.” \*Paul McCartney \*The White Stripes \*Ben Folds - this was my favorite show. I’m a big fan of BF and I had been looking forward to singing the horn part of “Army” for a long time. Later this month I might go see Ben Folds, Guster, and Rufus Wainwright in Indy. Definitely looking forward to that one. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/10 "2004-06-14T07:29:06Z")
A slightly older bunch of bands here Harry James and orchestra (Disneyland, 1963) Paul Revere & The Raiders (at my smalltown Oregon high school, no less. This was just before they hit it big) The Association Canned Heat Simon & Garfunkel Peter, Paul & Mary Jefferson Airplane Steve Miller Band (twice) Leon Russel Eric Burdon & War (at the Fillmore) Seals & Crofts Dr. John, The Night Tripper (at Winterland) Boz Scaggs The Limeliters Delbert McClinton Norton Buffalo Los Lobos Buddy Guy Emmylou Harris ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/11 "2004-06-14T07:44:28Z")
Rolling Stones Steve Miller Band Violent Femmes Public Enemy/Ice T Flaming Lips Christine Lavin (twice) Lemonheads Robyn Hitchcock I really don’t get out much. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/12 "2004-06-14T07:49:04Z")
Hmm. Short list for me. Iron Maiden (x2) Metallica Soundgarden Anthrax Skankin’ Pickle Pink Floyd Dead Can Dance The Pogues (w/out Shane) The sad thing is, I don’t even really like half those bands. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/13 "2004-06-14T08:20:46Z")
Tori Amos (Strange Little Girls tour) Creed, with Finger Eleven & Sevendust opening late 1970s Beach Boys intact Plus One (C’tian boy band, my Pastor’s son was a member, now left the group) ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/14 "2004-06-14T10:50:24Z")
I’ve seen a lot of bands live. The only one I’ll mention here is **The Beatles.** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Master\_Killer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Master\_Killer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Master_Killer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/15 "2004-06-14T11:22:51Z")
Here’s a short list of the stuff that I can remember, there’s many more just cant seem to remember them all. Pink Floyd Billy Joel (5th row at MSG) Depech Mode Black Sabbath (2x) SoundGarden Slayer Pantera White Zombie (2x) Ice T (2x) Cypress Hill Motorhead Ministry G3 (Yngwie, Satriani and Vai) House of Pain Whitesanke Motley Crue David Lee Roth Tesla Type O Negative Sepultura Helmet Agnostic Front S.O.D. Corrosion of Conformity Marilyn Manson Fear Factory Later… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/16 "2004-06-14T12:32:11Z")
Off the top of my head: Allman Brothers Band (5x, actually) Chicago Mountain Beach Boys (when they were considered washed-up has-beens) J.Geils Band Pink Floyd Bruce Springsteen (when he was playing 1000-seat venues) Jethro Tull Lyle Lovett Elton John/Billy Joel Sha Na Na Loudon Wainwright III (2x, 25 years apart) NRBQ Dreams Mahavishnu Orchestra (twice, even though they stunk) P.D.Q. Bach Orleans McKendrie Spring Seatrain Jo Jo Gunne Elvin Bishop (2x) Otis Taylor (3x) Philadelphia Symphony Faculty of the Perlman Music Program 😉 [Blotto](http://www.blotto.net/) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/17 "2004-06-14T12:36:42Z")
More than I could possibly remember… a lot of them at festivals. \*\*First big concert \*\* I can remember was the Reading Festival in 1994, with Hole playing only four months after Kurt committed suicide, Elastica cramming thousands of people into a tiny tent, of which I was right at the front getting squashed flat, and the Chili Peppers headlining. **First individual gig:** Radiohead, September 94 in a small room at Sheffield University, where they previewed a lot of the following year’s album _The Bends_. **Most recent:** Keane, at the London Astoria last month. **Most memorable:** probably Radiohead at Glastonbury in 1997 and Pulp, also at Glastonbury in 1995. **Loudest:** probably Placebo at Brixton Academy ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/18 "2004-06-14T12:41:36Z")
Pat Benatar The Cars George Thorogood Pat Metheny Stevie Ray Vaughan (in a 2,000 seat theater - “Nobody told me I was going to be playing in a genie bottle.” Yes Bette Midler Bonnie Raitt Bruce Hornsby (x 5) Molly Hatchett Queen Grateful Dead (x 75) ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/19 "2004-06-14T13:37:25Z")
Wow. And I thought I was the only one to ever have seen Night Ranger play live … just kidding! Others I’ve seen (note: we go to a country music festival every summer, so many of these are country artists): Aerosmith (twice) Blackhawk (twice, will see them again this summer) Charlie Daniels Alabama Sawyer Brown (twice, though I’ll see them a third and fourth time this summer) Jo Dee Messina Chicago (but I don’t remember any of it) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Warrant Vince Neil Slaughter Probably lots of others I’m not thinking of. This summer I’ll be seeing Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Travis Tritt, and Phil Vassar. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248/20 "2004-06-14T13:45:21Z")
Quite a few, some highlights: \*\*Chris Isaak \*\* is, without a doubt, my favorite live act. I caught him twice in 1987 at the 9:30 Club in Washington and once in 1989 at the Bottom Line in New York and was very close to the stage each time. He and the band played their asses off, plus the guy has great stage patter - he’s really funny. Terrific clothes, too - in 1987 Isaak was wearing a turquoise suit with oriental-type dragons stitched in it and the band were wearing matching grey suits, and in 1989 he was wearing a suit with an extravagant flowered pattern, with the band again in matching grey suits. After moving to London, I was fortunate enough to come across a couple of live bootleg CDs. \*\*The dBs \*\* are another standout, saw them three times during the summer of 1985 at the 9:30, the Roxy and American University. Great shows, they usually opened with “Any Old Thing,” and I remember them ripping through “See No Evil” for an encore at the 9:30. \*\*R.E.M. \*\* opening for the \*\*English Beat \*\* (Vanderbilt University, spring 1983) was an awe-inspiring show, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pure energy. A few others that stand out: Husker Du (9:30) Flipper (9:30) Roy Orbison (the Bayou) Jerry Lee Lewis (the Wax Museum) Fats Domino (the Wax Museum) The Replacements + the LeRoi Brothers (Vanderbilt University) The LeRoi Brothers + the Blasters (can’t remember the name of the venue, but it was a former cinema on Columbia Road in Washington) The Three O’Clock + X (the Exit/In, on the More Fun in the New World tour) Bill Lloyd and the December Boys (the Exit/In) Matt “Guitar” Murphy (Cantrell’s) Neil Young (Grand Ole Opry - not Ryman Auditorium, the new one, on the Neil and the Shocking Pinks tour) Tom Petty (Grand Ole Opry, on the Long After Dark tour) Steve Earle (Bluebird Cafe) T-Bone Burnett + NRBQ (Vanderbilt University) Rank and File (Vanderbilt University) The Pretenders (Vanderbilt University) Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper (Vanderbilt University, indescribably weird) The Bangles (Vanderbilt University, they were opening for Cyndi Lauper but who cared about Cyndi Lauper?) Fetch’n Bones (a Nashville club, can’t remember which one) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-artists-have-you-seen-live/250248.md?page=2)