Concerts

[greennui]

What are some good/bad live music experiences you've had?

Good experience: Crystal Castles in Barcelona. They took forever to get onto the stage and they cut it kinda short due to the singer being too wasted to continue but it was intense while it lasted, we were all high on MDMA and didn't care much and had a great time, ended up making out with a girl I was really into as well. So, I think the overall vibes that day makes the experience more memorable for me than the actual concert.

Bad experience: Death Grips in Stockholm. A rather phoned-in performance but I can't blame them, outdoor venues really don't seem suitable for their style.

[MrCarmady]

I saw Death Grips outside in Barcelona and they were incredible. And I wasn't even high (yet)

[rischka]

LOL the last concert i attended was coachella in 2008! but prince was there so it's all good

[Curtis, baby]

I don't go to many concerts, other than local bands I've never heard of, but I've had five pretty good concert experiences.

Lykke Li (with Grimes opening) - Vancouver 2011 - Lykke Li was my celebrity crush at the time. I was obsessed. She was gonna like touch some hands in the front row, but she was waiting, almost teasing us, before she brought her hand down. She touched my hand and we kinda held hands for a brief moment before she went to slap fives with the rest of the front row.

Dum Dum Girls - Montreal 2014 - was visiting my girlfriend and probably my favourite band that she'd introduced me to was playing. We went. It was a great night.

Modest Mouse - Lincoln 2017 - somehow this is actually the next live music I saw, like at all, local bands, whatever. It was outside at the University of Nebraska, and my girlfriend (different girlfriend) and I took a road trip there, and stayed in this really cool Art Deco hotel. We had been fighting sorta for a bit, and we'd stopped having sex, but we did when we got to Lincoln the night before the concert. The next morning we were getting ready and she was going to the bathroom and I said, "Come here, I want to fuck you once before you put your makeup on." I dunno why I said it, I wasn't trying to flatter her or anything, I wasn't even thinking, it was just true. But I could tell that it made her feel very beautiful, very appreciated...she was a gorgeous girl, but she had that thing where her cheeks are red, so she felt insecure about how she looked without foundation. We had incredible sex all morning, just so passionate and wordless. Then we went to the concert in the afternoon. We fell in love that weekend, and I honestly believe if I hadn't left the States we would be married now. I think dating her was the healthiest, most loving relationship I've ever been in.

Matthew Good - Victoria 2019 - an acoustic set in a small venue. He started with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and ended with Daniel Johnston's True Love Will Find You in the End. The rest he played his own stuff. The highlight was Bright End of Nowhere, one of my "big three" Matt Good tracks.

The National - Vancouver 2019 - outdoor concert in a beautiful park. A long set, basically from afternoon to sunset (it was summer). I had a bag of shrooms and a ton of joints and I went through it all. Completely just let loose. I was with a coworker whom I had a crush on and we danced and we were really close, kinda cuddled and canoodled, held hands and bodies, but didn't kiss. It was the closest we ever came to hooking up, and she ended up becoming serious with the guy she was seeing at that time, and now they live together, so I guess that's for the best. It was a great day anyway.

[thoxans]

not really a concert guy tbh, tho i do enjoy a good symphony; with that being said...

good

got to see true primes in nyc in an intimate little hip bar/restaurant right around the time they released their first and (to date) only ep

bad

every time i got dragged to a dave matthews/oar/phish/whatever jam band concert. also that time i took shrooms before again getting dragged to a wailers concert and i spent the entire time tripping in my car in the parking garage across the street... come to think of it, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all...

[niminy-piminy]

i am not a frequent gig goer but i usually do the snapshots (will post some of them in the next days).

The first big international stars i saw/listened LIVE after capitalism restoration (in 1989) were Laibach and The Cure.

When Laibach was in Prague, i was still in a secondary school (in my East Bohemian hometown).
So, we skipped school for one day (my only truancy during secondary education — i became frequent truant only later on Uni) with a friend (the same guy who deposed me from the chairmanship of Fidel Castro Fan Club before).
We came to the venue last minute, we had tickets, but we were not able to get inside due to a crowd of ppl without tickets (they were blocking the entrance, trying to get in). Ultimately those guys without tickets broke some glass, it was a complete mess, we got inside late (when Laibach was already about 15 minutes onstage playing).

When I went to Prague to see The Cure it was during the summer holidays.
Before the gig, I was roaming Prague streets and encountering here and there plenty of Robert Smith look-alikes.
During the gig, I noticed only a few weirdos like me dressed in norm-core casual attire (not having a hairdo, makeup, or dress like Robert Smith).
This feeling of not being a Cure insider resulted in being preoccupied with Cure for a rather short period of time in my life.

And re: good & bad.
I attended a gig of Kikagaku Moyo twice and due to a vastly different audience, i had two vastly different experiences.
First, i saw/listened to KM on Roadburn in the Netherlands.
I had no clue about KM at all before (it was my greatest discovery among all the bands playing on Roadburn).
In Tilburg is a coffee shop, Roadburn's audience was attuned to psychedelic tunes, it was very cool.
So, later, when i noticed Kikagaku Moyo is coming to Prague i went to see them again.
Prague is devoid of coffee shops, the gig was attended by some brats, my back started to hurt in the middle, it was like a "bad trip" (despite the band played well).

KM, Roadburn...


Also from Roadburn, KM plying together with some other band (don't recall the name anymore)...


KM, in Prague...



Pics above are mine, videos below not (found footage of the gig I attended — Roadburn)...
https://youtu.be/pMOAEaImoXs
https://youtu.be/UgTbomuksAk

[nrh]

always regret not going to more concerts but favorites would be -

hikashu at the stone in like 2005 - i think this was the first concert i saw in nyc. the stone was john zorn's venue, at that point was basically a converted storefront that held like 50 people or something tiny like that, they'd do two sets a night for about $10 each. there were only 2 people in the audience and the band just absolutely played their heart out, just absolutely mad.

george lewis/vijay iyer/okkyung lee at the stone in like, 2007? - might be the best jazz concert i've seen, a cello/piano/trombone freely improvised trio, and the first time i think i understood the value of that kind of thing.

lambchop, i think in around 2012 - probably my favorite band. kurt started the show by saying they accidentally picked wall to wall sad songs for this show, and it really ended up feeling like a totally coherent statement.

mekons, late 2019 - my other favorite band, maybe the best rock concert i've seen.

bruce springsteen & the e street band, giants stadium 2003 - my family's from jersey

lightning bolt, in some backyard in bushwick, i want to say 2010? - i've actually seen brian chippendale's solo thing black pus more than lightning bolt, but this was maybe the best open air concert i've seen. at one point like 15 neighborhood children had just climbed up to the roofs of the buildings surrounding the parking lot where they were playing and wildly dancing along.

boredoms, i think in 2008 - just an absolute spectacle, playing in the round, drumming on the giant 7 guitar crucifix structure. i saw yoshimi's band ooioo a few years later and they were probably just as good to be honest.

keiji haino/bill laswell/rashid ali, way back in 2006 or something - i've never seen anyone play drums like rashid ali (rip)

ex hex, i think 2019? - a perfect rock concert

worst - drake at the purchase college music festival in 2009. just absolutely awful, couldn't hardly finish a single bar. remember a bunch of people saying that this canadian wasn't going to last more than a year at most.

[niminy-piminy]

ha, there are some very lousy videos on YT from the 1990 Cure gig (spot the norm-core looney!)...
https://youtu.be/s27oDvdd8v0

[sally]

slayer onstage at donington 1995! i didn't even like slayer that much (far too 'corporate' for me then), we were just there because it was a thing to go to, but raining blood, with thousands of long-haired introverted metalheads going apeshit on top of me - i was down the front and i got crushed to the floor & my mouth filled with sand & i couldn't breathe & i broke a rib & all one side of me was blue bruised - was almost a religious experience.

and i can't remember what band it was but i was very young, my parents said no, so i ran away from home for a few days & slept on the streets of london for a couple nights and met up with my japanese penpal who was staying with rich people, and we blagged our way inside to see....nope no idea, but in the crowd a couple got pushed against my back and promptly had sex on me and that was pretty memorable

plus all the shitty crusty hardcore punk bands in squats with no floors & my mum was visiting once (after her divorce when she was going cray-zee and way too belatedly trying to bond with her daughter) and insisted on being taken to one such gig (again no idea) and everyone was so lovely and nice to her in between the screaming & fighting

but the last gig i went to not counting symphonies/recitals/opera etc was diamanda galas in 2003. sitting down, in seats. was weird.

i don't really understand what the point of gigs/concerts are now, so i don't go. what if they fuck up all the notes? i can hear the proper version on spotify or wherever. which is odd because i still (covid notwithstanding) go to eg ballet even tho i am tense the whole time in case someone falls over or something...

[Silga]

I haven't been to a concert in a long time.

Some of the concerts I've been to:

Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Electric Light Orchestra, Björk, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Snoop Dogg, Take 6

[sally]

i've seen björk! 1996

i think the reason i don't remember which bands i've seen is that at uni i was probably going to at least 3 gigs a week....i did not get much sleep or do much studying (education was free back then!) i remember seeing cannibal corpse the night before one exam, which was not a great idea since it's the only exam i ever failed (it was some ghastly boring technical thing on paleontology, honestly when you're that hungover one fossil looks just like the next)

[niminy-piminy]

2019, September, Prague.
Goto, koto.

First, Madame Goto played on two kotos.


Then, she played on a single koto (using either only hands or a bow as well).


Ultimately, she played with a little orchestra.
(The man completely on the left Akihito Obama, shakuhachi flute virtuoso — i attended his solo gig on another occasion).


DISCLAIMER: Videos below not from the same event.

Makiko Goto, koto.
https://youtu.be/bERiEZXRDqY

Akihito Obama, shakuhachi.
https://youtu.be/PiLqUQjs8VU

[thoxans]

what if they fuck up all the notes?

this is actually one of my biggest gripes with live perfs: the live version isn't as good as the original 99% of the time!

why take the song that everyone wants to hear, and turn it into a different less good version that no one wants to hear?

[niminy-piminy]

2020, January, Prague.
Broken/Rebroken.

Fluxus (founded by Lithuanian George Maciunas)

Local representative of Fluxus is Milan Knížák.
He became a Fluxus affiliate thanks to Maciunas.
George Maciunas: Portrait of Milan Knizak (1967)... https://www.moma.org/collection/works/128264

During the commie times, Milan Knížák was an uninhibited & anti-system artist.
After the restoration of capitalism, he assumed the posts of the rector of AVU (Academy of Arts) and later CEO of the National Gallery.
Besides, (fueled by his anti-communist past) he grew highly conservative and became a petted child of the local main right-wing party (Civic Democrats).

I have zero interest in late Milan Knížák, but his early pastimes of playing the "Broken Music" intrigues me.
Thus (despite late Milan is an asshole) i attended the gig called "Broken/Rebroken".
In the first part, Milan and one more dude (his assistant) played broken music — from broken (or inventively damaged) vinyls.
In the second part, the contemporary electronic band called "Opening Performance Orchestra" played their own rebroken electronic version (inspired by broken tunes).

A-sides.
1 vinyl made of four different quarters and 1 vinyl half-scratched.


B-side (this is how the broken vinyl holds together, so the A-side can be played).


Equipment to play the broken music.
Notice all those (ready-made) scotch tapes — ready to fix the broken vinyl (in case it would start falling apart during the performance).


Two boomers in action (Milan on the left).


I didn't make any snapshot of the Opening Performance Orchestra.
However, their electronic music was accompanied by an extensive light show (that i captured).




The gig took place in the vestibule of the Czech Museum of Music.

The Czech Museum of Music is housed in the 17th century former Baroque Church of St. Mary Magdalene in the Lesser Town.

The vestibule is quite spectacular (mainly due to unusual stairs) — sometimes it appears as part of the mise-en-scene in various Czech films.
DISCLAIMER: the following pics & video not mine (not from the event).



This is how the broken music sounds.

"In 1963-64 I used to play records both too slowly and too fast and thus changed the quality of the music, thereby, creating new compositions. In 1965 I started to destroy records: scratch them, punch holes in them, break them. By playing them over and over again (which destroyed the needle and often the record player too) an entirely new music was created - unexpected, nerve-racking and aggressive. Compositions lasting one second or almost infinitely long (as when the needle got stuck in a deep groove and played the same phrase over and over). I developed this system further. I began sticking tape on top of records, painting over them, burning them, cutting them up and gluing different parts of records back together, etc. to achieve the widest possible variety of sounds. A glued joint created a rhythmic element separating contrasting melodic phrases... Since music that results from playing ruined gramophone records cannot be transcribed to notes or to another language (or if so, only with great difficulty), the records themselves may be considered as notations at the same time." - Milan Knizak

https://youtu.be/88ONydyRX7c

[greennui]

Some good/bad.

Went to a J Dilla tribute concert in Stockholm the other year featuring the surviving Slum Village members and his brother, Illa J. It was pretty decent for what it was, though the concert and Q&A afterwards was fairly marked by a heckler that kept requesting a song that he wanted to hear. We later looked up the song and it didn't exist, he seemingly just went there that evening just to be disruptive and make an ass of himself. He ended up getting thrown out. During the Q&A they surprised them with an unreleased Swedish J Dilla interview that boomed across the venue that ended up making them very emotional.

This is one I hadn't thought of in years, Diplo at a Brighton nightclub on a Wednesday night. I went there with a classmate and we spent pretty much the entire gig in a corner making out. The turnout was pretty poor compared to a normal club night and the dance floor was fairly empty now and then, he was still a rather obscure artist at the time. Actually, I think Skrillex, who was also up and coming at the time, played at the same club later that week and it ended up becoming the most crowded night I ever spent at that particular club. Think I spent pretty much that entire night queuing up to buy beer, never managed to reach the dance floor.

[rischka]

diplo was at coachella with M.I.A. -- i think they were a couple then. gotta say she was a disappointing live performer

[brian d]

i saw a performance of beethoven's ninth symphony on december 30th, 2000 in berlin, then saw wagner's meistersinger on new year's eve. that was a lot of fun. plenty of other good classical concerts and opera performances over the years, none very recently though.

haven't been to too many contemporary music concerts. cause then i'd have to stand around a bunch of other people. plus bands don't come 'round these parts very much.

[Curtis, baby]

I forgot one of my favourite concerts ever.

The Naked and Famous (with Now Now and Vacationer opening) - Vancouver 2012 - I had actually never heard of TNaF, however, Now Now is one of my all-time favourite bands. TNaF were pretty good. I like Vacationer now too. But seeing Now Now was just unbelievable. I had recently purchased a thrift store cashmere cardigan, which is still possibly my favourite non-hat article of clothing, and I wore that with some black skinnies and this kinda chic Chinese fabric dress shirt. It's the first time in my life I walked into a ""hipster"" event or party, and felt I was above the 50th percentile in terms of personally cultivated style. I was first row (general seating/standing, but I came an hour early), so I got to be really close. Now Now played second (Vacationer first). They played all my favourites. I remember, specfically, being really sad to School Friends, and rocking out really hard to Friends with My Sister. After the concert, I went to speak to Cacie (the lead singer) and was really weird. I said something like, "School Friends is my favourite non-rap song since 1979," then went on to clarify that I didn't mean the Smashing Pumpkins song 1979, but the year 1979, when Joy Divison released Unknown Pleasures. Luckily one of the dudes in Vacationer came over and spared me the embarrassment of rambling further by telling Cacie, "Hey, you know this fucking guy knew all the words to Friends with My Sister?" What a fun night.

[niminy-piminy]

Lithuanian

2016, January, Prague.
Arma Agharta

Armantas Gečiauskas, known to most as Arma Agharta, is a Lithuanian musical nomad. Over the past couple of years, his peculiar sound and character found their way into the midst of icy Greenland cliffs or skyscrapers of teeming Southeast Asia metropoles. The first thing you notice about Arma’s shows is precisely the character: the flamboyant costumes, the multitude of mysterious devices, toys, and artifacts. But behind the façade of curiosities, there is a rough musical subtlety that shines through in dozens of unexpected ideas lingering for a while and passing the stage to the next one.

It was not only about electronics, AA played the guitar too.


AA likes to swallow a mic.


On most of my snapshots, AA is is blurred which means it was a very lively performance.



DISCLAIMER: videos below from other events.
HOWEVER, the first video is from the same year (2016), AA has the same outfit (white lab coat & golden belt), (so it seems) it was the same concert tour (with the same/similar playlist as in Prague). However, in Prague the venue was smaller, the audience was much closer, and thus the performer was more lively!
https://youtu.be/sfF-8mU7_Sk
https://youtu.be/sXOvKc5UbYY
https://youtu.be/5WxzZgNZ2Bk
https://youtu.be/eWIVkTtHmV0

[niminy-piminy]

2016, January, Prague.
Tasos Stamou

the post above is only half-complete because it was a gig with two "bands".
after Arma Agharta stopped playing (and fooling around), Tasos Stamou (from Greece) entered the stage.
this is how his instruments looked in detail.


(as opposed to energetic & extroverted Arma Agharta) Tasos Stamou's performance was very focused and nearly motionless (only occasionally he grabbed somewhat further on the table — to reach some more distant part of his sound system).
however, it doesn't mean his performance lacked something!
his music was ear-opening and uplifting.



DISCLAIMER: the following videos are not from the aforementioned event.
https://youtu.be/3aIQI35RdTE
https://youtu.be/igPl4mPHyy4
https://youtu.be/2T1CyNhKoaM
https://youtu.be/opbFU_oaB5w
https://youtu.be/HODiEqPsThU

[mydreamingday]

some bands/artists that i've seen:

donovan
golden smog
belle & sebastian
the darling buds
the chills
silver screen
brideshead
stars in coma
even as we speak
the railway children
wallflower (jp)
the garlands
rocketship
secret shine
tiny fireflies
cristina quesada
alpaca sports
wild nothing
teenage fanclub
built to spill
the radio dept.
wild nothing
slowdive

[niminy-piminy]

starting a thread about Benelux reminds me, in Tilburg (Netherlands) i attended a gig of the Chinese black metal band called Zuriaake.
sounds weird, but there are black metalheads in China!
these are two snapshots i did there.



random videos i found on YT from the (above mentioned) Roadburn gig.
https://youtu.be/c77Adhc4WKY
https://youtu.be/VuRf_O1p3I4

[niminy-piminy]

few weeks ago (September 10), i attended the first post-plague gig.
local band WWW NEUROBEAT was on stage.
i just stumbled upon some of their songs with subtitled lyrics.
so, listen and (fast)read!
(click subs ON!)

FULL MOON SUN
https://youtu.be/qLCMNB8ECdM

BENEATH THE HEAVENS HEAVEN
https://youtu.be/pyDmqA7erb8

[niminy-piminy]

today evening gonna hear the antipop of a musician with the alluring name ANNA SCHUSCHU.
https://youtu.be/JUG6lTqykeU

ANNA SCHUSCHU also lives in the Center (Middle) but abroad.
https://youtu.be/1R1ZBkVtmaM

she will be accompanied by a local musician called FALSE TRANCE who participated in making of the soundtrack to "The Crucified" (1921).

https://letterboxd.com/film/ukrizovana/
Review by Cineanalyst ↓
... "The Crucified" is doomed by a relative incompetence in storytelling. ...

https://youtu.be/bFJPxo4mdNs

i already witnessed FALSE TRANCE performing live in the past, tho under a different name RUINU.
https://youtu.be/t5-11s45UtM

second local artist that will appear on stage tonight will be KAREL GODLESS (whom i will encounter for the first time).
https://youtu.be/WC096f30t8M

KAREL GODLESS + FALSE TRANCE + ANNA SCHUSCHU = i expect a haphazard experience.
https://youtu.be/GAJ7UIwsy4A

[Lencho of the Apes]

That looks like so much fun fun fun fun!

[niminy-piminy]

tomorrow, the "final tour" reaches my proximity...

https://youtu.be/jIdEl399LaU

[niminy-piminy]

if i understand right, MONG TONG gonna play before KM in the evening.

https://youtu.be/zJyw_nXI5ww

[niminy-piminy]

yesterday, it all truly started with MONG TONG



two Taiwanese brothers


playing (voiceless tunes) blindfolded.


→ https://mongtong.bandcamp.com/
https://youtu.be/ON0jmbgIt5o

[niminy-piminy]

and what followed was a local "merry funeral" of KIKAGAKU MOYO's "final tour"...

this was the setting


this was the playlist


this is the band in "long shot(s)"




in "medium shot(s)"




in "close up(s)"



at times, unusual instruments were played


at one point, two suns have arisen


thus, no wonder that it all got overwhelming and blurry






or almost mildly ecstatic








no wonder i was (at times) mildly out of my mind





i made nearly 300 snapshots


so it is very hard to choose only a few



but if you think i am the "annoying/indifferent guy" who only makes snapshots on gigs, NO! NO! NO!


i had plenty of time to shout and dance too


everyone was pleasingly "tired" at the end

[niminy-piminy]

random yt harvest (Kikagaku Moyo - Live In Prague 17-06-2022)

https://youtu.be/yYVh2eBdCp4
https://youtu.be/yFZQhtcH_MY
https://youtu.be/0ybRqaY1Wpc
https://youtu.be/vFQrwGQ_p2I