(no subject)
Dec. 30th, 2021 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evening_tsarBecause I can't resist such things, we're taking a break from the regularly scheduled programming to indulge in some concert nostalgia, courtesy of the_siobhan .
(*ahem)
First concert: Assuming that Fred Penner doesn't count, that would be Neil Young and Crazy Horse on Halloween night, 1996, on the Broken Arrow Tour. He played for three hours, a wall of guitar nose I'm not sure I'd have the patience for now but mesmerized me at the time.
Last: Death Perception, a local outfit made up of some friends of mine. A party atmosphere pervaded and a grand time was had by all. If these guys were European they'd probably be signed with Nuclear Blast by now.
Best: Traditionally I've said the first time I saw Udo Dirknsieder at one of those tiny mop-cupboards doubling as concert venue that used to so proliferate in Toronto. I think a combination of youthful inexperience, a grumpy week beforehand, and a near-perfect setlist rather did tattoo this one in my brain. Dio in Detroit, Twisted Sister in Wacken, and Motorhead anywhere get honourable mentions.
Worst: As I grew older and more jaded, even my favourite bands tended to disappoint me. Either I became harder to please, or more demanding, or saw through the routine of most touring entities, quite a few have let me down. But that's different from WORST. As in, not merely dissapointing but out-and-out BAD, I might still go with Corpus, a beatnik-duo consisting of one keyboardist hitting the same key for thirty minutes, and one speaker grinding his hips onstage while reciting such eloquence as:
"Poop in your purple hat,
And spin my head round and round,
Like a cheap washing machine
(Like a cheap washing machine)"
Loudest: Dio/Maiden at Copps Coliseum. My first time seeing either of them. I could feel my sensitive nerve endings bursting under the vibrations, and could not hear for three days. I honestly thought I'd been consigned to a world of silence. Slowly it crept back, everything sounding nasal, high-pitched and out of tune before something like normalcy returned. I can't guarantee it ever did. I've worn ear protection ever since.
A lot of Metal bands brag about Volume and Ear damage like battle scars. But having tasted hearing loss, I don't participate in this childish boasting. I don't even turn my computer speakers up too loud. If music really matters to you, you'll protect your means to hear it. Otherwise, you're not really into it: it's just an excuse to get drunk.
Seen the most: I've lost count of the times I've been to Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Motorhead. My money would be on Maiden as it's become a tradition for my brothers and I to attend every time.
Most surprising: Twisted Sister at Wacken. 2005 approx. Went in with low expectations, but an open mind. At this point in time, TS were largely (in N. America anyway) the punchlines of a joke, half-remembered artifacts of a bigone era, to the extent they were remembered at all. But I liked some of Dee's solo stuff, respected him tremendously for his stance against the PMRC, and who didn't like "We're Not Gonna Take It"? I was humbled and rewarded by a barn-burning bludgeon of a show, that just about nobody's ever topped. Never has a show forced me to so completely reevaluate a band.
Next: With any luck, The Irish Rovers.
(*ahem)
First concert: Assuming that Fred Penner doesn't count, that would be Neil Young and Crazy Horse on Halloween night, 1996, on the Broken Arrow Tour. He played for three hours, a wall of guitar nose I'm not sure I'd have the patience for now but mesmerized me at the time.
Last: Death Perception, a local outfit made up of some friends of mine. A party atmosphere pervaded and a grand time was had by all. If these guys were European they'd probably be signed with Nuclear Blast by now.
Best: Traditionally I've said the first time I saw Udo Dirknsieder at one of those tiny mop-cupboards doubling as concert venue that used to so proliferate in Toronto. I think a combination of youthful inexperience, a grumpy week beforehand, and a near-perfect setlist rather did tattoo this one in my brain. Dio in Detroit, Twisted Sister in Wacken, and Motorhead anywhere get honourable mentions.
Worst: As I grew older and more jaded, even my favourite bands tended to disappoint me. Either I became harder to please, or more demanding, or saw through the routine of most touring entities, quite a few have let me down. But that's different from WORST. As in, not merely dissapointing but out-and-out BAD, I might still go with Corpus, a beatnik-duo consisting of one keyboardist hitting the same key for thirty minutes, and one speaker grinding his hips onstage while reciting such eloquence as:
"Poop in your purple hat,
And spin my head round and round,
Like a cheap washing machine
(Like a cheap washing machine)"
Loudest: Dio/Maiden at Copps Coliseum. My first time seeing either of them. I could feel my sensitive nerve endings bursting under the vibrations, and could not hear for three days. I honestly thought I'd been consigned to a world of silence. Slowly it crept back, everything sounding nasal, high-pitched and out of tune before something like normalcy returned. I can't guarantee it ever did. I've worn ear protection ever since.
A lot of Metal bands brag about Volume and Ear damage like battle scars. But having tasted hearing loss, I don't participate in this childish boasting. I don't even turn my computer speakers up too loud. If music really matters to you, you'll protect your means to hear it. Otherwise, you're not really into it: it's just an excuse to get drunk.
Seen the most: I've lost count of the times I've been to Iron Maiden, Slayer, and Motorhead. My money would be on Maiden as it's become a tradition for my brothers and I to attend every time.
Most surprising: Twisted Sister at Wacken. 2005 approx. Went in with low expectations, but an open mind. At this point in time, TS were largely (in N. America anyway) the punchlines of a joke, half-remembered artifacts of a bigone era, to the extent they were remembered at all. But I liked some of Dee's solo stuff, respected him tremendously for his stance against the PMRC, and who didn't like "We're Not Gonna Take It"? I was humbled and rewarded by a barn-burning bludgeon of a show, that just about nobody's ever topped. Never has a show forced me to so completely reevaluate a band.
Next: With any luck, The Irish Rovers.
no subject
Date: 2021-12-31 07:09 am (UTC)I saw Iron Maiden play when I was a teen - my partner at the time was into them and they were great fun to watch even if they weren't my preferred cup of tea. I remember being so amused at how afraid people were of the fans - they shut down the buses because scary people in leather jackets might try to get on the bus and there were children there, oh my noes! It took me about four hours to get home.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-12 05:50 am (UTC)To think we headbangers once had that kind of clout. Nowadays the parents and the children ARE the crowd!