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Post by kds on Jun 22, 2022 16:51:07 GMT
This thread is somewhat in the same vein as the "Somebody That I Used to Know" thread. Somewhat inspired by the discussions of Brian Wilson's 2022 performances, are there any artists you'd no longer pay to see in person? Either, the band has had too much turnover, or the setlists haven't changed since Clinton was in office, or the performances have suffered, or the prices are too damn high, etc. The latter one I can really relate to as the spike in concert prices has really affected who I chose to see anymore. Here are a couple of mine.
Eric Clapton - I really thought 2001 might be my only chance to see him in concert. Little did I know he'd still be touring over 20 years later. For my taste, he just doesn't play enough of my favorite material from his catalog.
Bon Jovi - I actually saw him about two weeks before I saw Clapton, in May 2001. Fresh off the comeback album, Crush, which still sounded enough like classic Bon Jovi to me, it was a great show. But, unfortunately, Bon Jovi hasn't released anything since then that I'm remotely interested in. The departure of Richie Sambora sealed the deal for me.
Journey - Another one and done (I saw them in 2017). For the most part, they play package tours most summers, and don't really change the setlists too much. Ross Valory and Steve Smith being dismissed from the band a couple years ago also made it very unlikely I'd ever purchase another Journey ticket.
Judas Priest - They are one of my all time favorite metal bands. I got to see them four times from 2004-09. Since then, guitarists KK Downing and Glenn Tipton have left the band (Glenn does typically play during the encore if he physically can).
Deep Purple - I finally got to see Purple in person in 2017, and they were very underwhelming. Check them off the bucket list, but outside of a Blackmore reunion, I don't need to see them a second time.
The Rolling Stones - I have a kid and a mortgage. I was also lucky enough to get to see the Stones three times in the 2000s, thanks to my radio job. And, since Charlie Watts is no longer with us, that makes this decision even easier.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 22, 2022 17:13:13 GMT
Honestly, most bands fit this bill for me. The ones I've really wanted to see, I've mostly seen: if legendary, at least once; and if just cool bands I liked, often many times. I'm less interested in going to shows than I used to be, either knowing it'll cost a fortune, I'll be battling annoying crowds, or I'll be crammed into a small club until 1 in the morning on a Tuesday (depending on the show). In my 20s and into my 30s, that was all fine. But at this point, as BB King said, the thrill is gone (more or less).
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Post by kds on Jun 22, 2022 17:23:14 GMT
Honestly, most bands fit this bill for me. The ones I've really wanted to see, I've mostly seen: if legendary, at least once; and if just cool bands I liked, often many times. I'm less interested in going to shows than I used to be, either knowing it'll cost a fortune, I'll be battling annoying crowds, or I'll be crammed into a small club until 1 in the morning on a Tuesday (depending on the show). In my 20s and into my 30s, that was all fine. But at this point, as BB King said, the thrill is gone (more or less). I'm kind of in the same boat, in that just about everyone I've wanted to see, I've seen. The big exceptions are David Gilmour, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, and maybe Springsteen. Not to mention, as I said in the COVID thread, I'm now very reluctant to buy any concert tickets until this is declared endemic, after my failed attempt to see two former Beatles in a week.
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Post by jk on Jun 22, 2022 17:36:24 GMT
I saw Mike's Beach Boys in 2017 and very good they were too. My previous "band" concert was nine years earlier, when Brian performed in London in the grounds of Kenwood House. I've seen some jazz people since then (Victor Wooten comes to mind) but I suspect my non-classical concert-going days are over now. Highlights? Beefheart in '72 in London's Royal Albert Hall and Mahavishnu Orchestra three years later in Amsterdam. Wow, in both cases... There were other good ones -- including The Who and King Crimson, both twice, and Bowie -- but I can't recall as much about them as I'd like to.
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Post by kds on Jun 22, 2022 17:56:30 GMT
One I forgot to mention
Ozzy Osbourne - Between 2001-2008, I saw Ozzy perform six times - three times fronting the original lineup of Black Sabbath and three times as a solo artist. I actually attended his January 2008 show in DC with a bit of a flu. But, these were the pre pandemic days, and that ticket wasn't going to waste. I took some Dayquil and drank a lot of coffee, and made it through.
But, after seeing the Prince of Darkness half a dozen times (the last two of which were not very good), I'd skipped all of his area appearances since, either solo or with Sabbath. Unfortunately, recent health issues could make this one moot.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jun 22, 2022 18:26:02 GMT
The only artist I choose to stop seeing is Bob Dylan. I saw him for the first time about ten years ago and really enjoyed the concert. I then tried to see him every year after that, and it was pretty easy as he came to Pennsylvania consistently. I saw him for the next five years. However, his shows increasingly featured less hits and more obscure songs, including songs from his recent albums, the last couple which I wasn't overly enthusiastic about. I remember the last time I saw Dylan in Hershey, PA, and I was bored. I almost left early which is something I never do. I then realized that Bob Dylan wasn't going to change - that's what makes him Bob Dylan - and I decided to not follow him live anymore.
The only way I will go to a Brian Wilson concert again is if my Beach Boys' buddies (about three or four of them) call me and set it up. I would go more for the social aspect - dinner and good talk - than the merits of the concert. And, with the way Brian has been performing lately, it's actually a long shot that any of us would want to go.
Other than that, I'm pretty open to seeing just about anyone.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 22, 2022 18:30:42 GMT
A couple of quick diversions.
1) kds, it's funny you mention going to a show sick, and having mentioned elsewhere not going to McCartney because of COVID. I've definitely gone to a few shows when I was quite sick. But I always figured, screw it, if I'm able to go--e.g. not vomiting or something--I can just suck it up and enjoy. Sore throat, headache, body aches, whatever. I'll live. How times change! I think we're going to look at going to work or into crowds while sick almost like we look at drunk driving now. Once it was normal, then it was frowned upon but not considered that big a deal, and now it's rightly seen as just peak stupid.
2) jk, I knew you'd seen Beefheart, but you got to see Bowie, too? When was that? Both of them are acts I'd have liked to see but didn't, and obviously won't get the chance. Beefheart had stopped touring long before I was able to see shows, but I could have seen Bowie. I just wasn't that big a fan. I'm actually still not THAT big a fan, but ironically, just like with Freddie Mercury, I became a pretty big fan just in time for him to die...
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Post by kds on Jun 22, 2022 18:43:55 GMT
A couple of quick diversions.
1) kds , it's funny you mention going to a show sick, and having mentioned elsewhere not going to McCartney because of COVID. I've definitely gone to a few shows when I was quite sick. But I always figured, screw it, if I'm able to go--e.g. not vomiting or something--I can just suck it up and enjoy. Sore throat, headache, body aches, whatever. I'll live. How times change! I think we're going to look at going to work or into crowds while sick almost like we look at drunk driving now. Once it was normal, then it was frowned upon but not considered that big a deal, and now it's rightly seen as just peak stupid.
2) jk , I knew you'd seen Beefheart, but you got to see Bowie, too? When was that? Both of them are acts I'd have liked to see but didn't, and obviously won't get the chance. Beefheart had stopped touring long before I was able to see shows, but I could have seen Bowie. I just wasn't that big a fan. I'm actually still not THAT big a fan, but ironically, just like with Freddie Mercury, I became a pretty big fan just in time for him to die... I actually thought about that 2008 Ozzy show on the evening of the Paul McCartney show. I definitely felt worse before I saw Ozzy than I did the night I missed Paul. Ozzy himself was also sick that night. Nowadays that show would be postponed. Same goes for the last time I saw Judas Priest, when I was recovering from a stomach bug. I actually had difficulty standing during parts of that concert. I wouldn't be surprised if, years down the road, going to events or into even into work (at least if remote is not an option) becomes a thing again. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked if one day, you heard young people say "Man, you all used to quarantine when you got COVID back in the early 2020s? I took a COVQuil, and I'm fine."
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Post by jk on Jun 22, 2022 20:02:12 GMT
2) jk , I knew you'd seen Beefheart, but you got to see Bowie, too? When was that? Both of them are acts I'd have liked to see but didn't, and obviously won't get the chance. Beefheart had stopped touring long before I was able to see shows, but I could have seen Bowie. I just wasn't that big a fan. I'm actually still not THAT big a fan, but ironically, just like with Freddie Mercury, I became a pretty big fan just in time for him to die... Cap'n, this is the post you want: thebeachboystoday.proboards.com/post/26060And this was the Rotterdam setlist: www.setlist.fm/setlist/david-bowie/1976/ahoy-rotterdam-netherlands-4bd61796.html
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 22, 2022 20:07:07 GMT
Sorry, I had totally forgotten that. I see now that I'd interacted with you at the time. This poor old memory of mine...
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Post by kds on Jun 23, 2022 14:25:07 GMT
In the Floyd thread, JK jogged my memory on another one.
Roger Waters - I've seen Roger Waters five times, including seeing him perform Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall in their entirely. That Wall concert I saw in 2010 would be pretty tough to top. I've skipped Waters the last couple times he's toured, mainly because of the fact that I really disliked his 2017 album which he said would feature pretty heavy in the setlist. When he announced his current tour (three years ago, which still hasn't started thanks to COVID), I decided to price the DC show, and it would've cost about $250 just for a cheapie seat. Floyd are my favorite band of all time, but for what he charges, I'm probably done with seeing Roger Waters live.
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 23, 2022 15:49:48 GMT
I have to say, ticket prices for major artists have gotten to the point of being a real, real turnoff for me. It's not even that I couldn't swing it, for the most part, it's that it's almost just insulting. Hundreds of dollars just for a normal seat in a normal venue is absurd. And the secondary market makes it worse, with tickets vanishing immediately upon release, only to suddenly be available for more money yet...until the very last minute, when unsold tickets suddenly are admittedly cheap (but by which time I'm no longer even looking).
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Post by kds on Jun 23, 2022 16:02:26 GMT
I have to say, ticket prices for major artists have gotten to the point of being a real, real turnoff for me. It's not even that I couldn't swing it, for the most part, it's that it's almost just insulting. Hundreds of dollars just for a normal seat in a normal venue is absurd. And the secondary market makes it worse, with tickets vanishing immediately upon release, only to suddenly be available for more money yet...until the very last minute, when unsold tickets suddenly are admittedly cheap (but by which time I'm no longer even looking). I have to agree with this. Really, not that long ago, tickets with face value in triple tickets were reserved for artists like McCartney, The Eagles, and Stones. Nowadays, a "cheap" ticket to see nearly any act at a theater, shed, arena, or stadium will be at least three digits. And the issue seems no longer limited to legacy act taking advantage of the spending power of their increasingly older fanbases. In recent years, artists like Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo have been selling tickets for very high prices, and like you said those tickets sell out quickly. I really feel for parents who have to tell their teenage girls that they won't be able to see their favorite artists because either tickets were too expensive or unavailable. Hell, I'm a middle aged man, and I'm still pissed I couldn't see McCartney.
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Post by kds on Aug 17, 2022 13:03:56 GMT
I have to add another band to this list
Queensryche - I was a bit of a mid 80s Ryche kick recently. I saw them four times between 2005-2012. In fact their set I saw at the 2012 M3 Festival was one of their last with original singer Geoff Tate.
They are a band with a bit of an odd history. In the 80s, they were a prog influenced metal band on the rise, who hit paydirt with the classic concept album Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. Then, had their commercial breakthrough with 1990's Empire. But since then, it's been very hit or miss. They steered away from metal in the late 90s, into the 00s. Once guitarist Chris DeGarmo left the group, they seemed to really lose themselves. With Tate now in the creative drivers seat, they got further and further away from heavy rock.
This lead to a tug of war, and a bit of a coup when Tate was ousted from the band in 2012, replaced by Todd LaTorre. With LaTorre, they went back to being more of a metal group, but as much as I've tried, I have a hard time really getting into their newer music, even if it's an improvement of some of those later albums with Tate.
But, having seen them four times with Tate, and now that drummer Scott Rockenfield is retired, I really have no desire to see the current Ryche in person.
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