Gigs - First/Worst, Best/Last, Missed/P#ssed

[Newbridge Wolf]

As so many on here are also music lovers I thought I'd ask you lot to share stories of gigs that you've been to.

Along with sport I love live music and thought people sharing stories about gigs would cheer me up as I'm massively missing live music.

No particular format but to talk around the subject rather than just say "xxx were alone dude"

First - The might Sultans of Ping FC at the Civic and the tender age of 13, still have a soft spot for them now although I think this is down to them being my first! Had a wild child moment when I stopped at the front in panic and got several others to stop as I'd dropped my return bus ticket!

Worst - Florence atm was pretty hardwork as I'd bought for the other half, not really a fan of hers

Best - best live gig was Stone Roses at Wembley, the whole day was awesome and although it was the second time I'd seen a band who I never thought I'd see live the whole day was magical.

Last - the last gig was Chemical bros in bham, good but Id seen them play the Alexander Palace a year before and that was outstanding in every way

Missed - I always look back on Smashing Pumpkins at the Civic as a big miss, but I would say that missing out on Oasis there twice was ridiculous, especially as I have the bootleg of one of the gigs. I remember being offered a ticket and saying "no, they've gone too mainstream for me" in a couple of months they sold out Maine Road.

Pissed - 90% of them to be honest, but worst was a gig at the civic in my youth and I'd been hamering scrumpy, can remember the band coming on and then the lights came on and it was time to leave. Good investment that.

What I'm really missing though are the odd nights out with talented musicians playing in a pub, they're the best

 

[sycophantia]

First/still the best- AC/DC, 1978, Wolves Civic, Bon Scotts feral presence prowling the stage, Angus running round like a loon while playing hard driving blues rock, the best rhythm guitarist ever holding it all together and a decent back line....whats not to like.

Worst- not really been to a terrible gig, suppose the worst was Extreme again at the civic, sound/balance was terrible, couldn't hear the singer until half way through and tbf he is the worst live singer I've seen and it takes some doing to be worse than Antony Keidis, gig was just about saved by Nuno Bettencourt.

Last- unless you count local bands, last one was Ash I think, that was good, interesting support I think called the Bloody Mary's.

Missed- gutted at not seeing Quo in their best years (1971-1975) too late now.

Pissed- never been that bad I didn't have a good time, never understood why people pay good money and go see a favourite bsnd and then spend it in a haze..

Most of my live music is local bands in local pubs these days.

 

[Keef]

First, Saxon wolves civic 79-80 infamous gig where one of my mates I went with,died a few days later after head banging all night!

Worst,Coldplay wolves civic when they were being touted as the next big thing,dull and one paced,sleeper wolves civic just awful,these remain the only two gigs I've ever walked out of.
Motörhead at the civic were poor as well,it was just noise,wore earplugs,ears were still ringing four days later.

Best
Prodigy at Glastonbury 97,legendary gig
Iron maiden pretty much any time I've seen them.
Captain sensibles 50th birthday weekend in knaresborough invite only,damned played three gigs fri,sat,sun,pretty much all requests,allowed to get on stage and "play" along,so had to give the drums a bash even though I'm no drummer

Last,terrorvision at kk's steel mill Wolverhampton,always a good night with these.

Missed, AC/DC never quick enough to get tickets,doubt I'll ever see them now

Pissed,at all of them in my younger days,more sensible now

 

[Tony Towner]

First- Transvision Vamp. Villa Leisure Centre 1989. I liked the music, but I was 16 and REALLY liked Wendy James! Time has not been kind to Wendy though

Best - Oasis Leicester Granby Halls 1995. This was a gig which was cancelled from earlier in the year, so they were too big by then to be playing that size of venue. Made for a cracking night and set


Worst - Oasis Knebworth (The Sunday). 1996 Ridiculous queues for everything, Liam off his face and I had Kula Shaker inflicted on me

Last - Billy Joel @ Wembley last Summer. I love a bit of Billy and my daughter does too. We've been to see him together a couple of times

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Good shout with the prodigy, caught them a few times and the enthusiasm and energy from Keith was amazing

Transmission vamp, my brother had a Wendy James poster, she was very educational growing up!

The oasis gigg I turned missed at the civic would have been around 95, they went big, very, very quickly.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

First - Slayer supported by Nuclear Assault Hammersmith Odeon September 1988. South of Heaven Tour.
Last - strangely Slayer again. Obituary Anthrax and Lamb of God. Birmingham. Late 2018. Been far too long without a gig for me.
Best - Anthrax in the small stage tent at Sonisphere playing all of Among the Living. Sweaty, violent mosh pit and just brilliant.
Worst - easily Kelly Osbourne support set for Robbie Williams. Dreadful doesn’t come close.
Pissed - pretty much any of my weekend trips to Bloodstock. 5 days on the lash. I was definitely the worse for wear by the time I saw Lawnmower Deth on the Sunday as the photo on my wall of me in the front row confirms!
Missed - AC/DC, Manowar I never ticked off but the biggest mistake was walking down Wardour Street in London years ago and seeing Metal Church were playing the Marquee that night. Tickets left but I was a bit skint so binned the idea. Turns out the support was Metallica doing a secret warm up gig for Donington. Never forgiven myself.

 

[Boozad]

First - Status Quo NEC 1984. Man that was a fucking experience.

Best - Tough one, could be either of the following:

• Status Quo Reunion - Wolves Civic 2013. For so many reasons.
• Metallica - Milton Keynes Bowl 1993. Could go down as most pissed as well but what a day. Met my first real missus there as well. Easily one of the best days I've been to music wise.
• Orbital - Wolves Civic 2001. Scored some disco biscuits late in the day and he desired effect was perfectly timed. Awesome set as well.
• Pantera - Wolves Civic 1993. Absolute bedlam. Never crowd surfed so much in my life, got gripped up by Big Val at one point which was my tiny claim to fame. Such a great gig.

Worst - The Monkees NEC. Can't remember the year, probably around 1999. A mate was taking her mom and had a spare and asked me if I'd go, I liked her so said yeah. Me and her mom spent most of the night downstairs drinking.

Last - Probably Quo at the o2, two years ago. Can't watch them any more without Rick Parfitt.

Missed - Green Day. Probably the only band I've ever really been into that I haven't seen live.

Pissed - Any gig between 1992 and 2000 really.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Metallica were awesome at MK. That was fucking boiling as well. Roasting hot day.

 

[Langers]

First: Eric Clapton at the NIA when I was about 12. Unforgettable as the man is a god and I've always been a massive fan, even at that age.

Worst: The Killers at the MEN Arena when they were promoting Sam's Town. They were amazing when I'd seen them before during the Hot Fuss era but Sam's Town is appalling and they really couldn't be arsed. Appalling.

Best: Bowie at Glastonbury in 2000 was special, as was Sir Paul McCartney in 2004 but the very best was Roger Waters playing The Wall at Wembley in 2013. Absolutely sensational - the sound quality, the spectacle, just breathtaking. It's also one of my favourite albums ever made which made it even better.

Last: I barely go to gigs these days. We would have gone to see Bon Iver but Covid saw to that - gutted. Last one was probably The Chieftains at Brum Town Hall with my dad which I enjoyed far more than I expected to!

Missed: U2 when they pulled out of Glastonbury 2010. I know he's a bellend but I've always liked their music and it would have been a top gig. They did play the festival on a later year but I've not been back since 2010.

Pissed: Pigeon Detectives at The Civic after we'd been at a home match before hand (I think we played Barnsley - we won) and we didn't take it easy. It's not often I drink heavily before a gig though because I like to remember it.

 

[Boozad]

Metallica were awesome at MK. That was fucking boiling as well. Roasting hot day.

Yeah I got sunburnt to fuck. I think it's the only gig I've been to where I got pissed so early I sobered up and got pissed again.

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Not sure why I wasn't at that orbital gig, might well have been.

I had a similar experience to Leftfield, amazing both times at the Civic.

A lot of my mates were into rock at school, the early to mid 90s there seemed to be some great gigs going on at the Civic, the last time it was open I looked at the bands and I didn't recognise any of them.

Either I'm completely out of touch or its dropped of the scene, I know that most bands these days look to play much bigger venues at a much earlier stage in their career than they once did.

My mate had tickets for Nirvana at the Civic which they were due to play a couple of weeks before he topped himself, which is mental considering how big they were/are.

As a side story he sold the ticket for £10 as someone offered to take it off his hands after he died. A week later he saw they were going for well over £100

 

[Keef]

That Bowie Glastonbury gig is going to be on the i player soon,when the virtual Glastonbury kicks off,end of the month I think

 

[Langers]

That Bowie Glastonbury gig is going to be on the i player soon,when the virtual Glastonbury kicks off,end of the month I think

Well worth a watch. You can get it on Spotify already. Great memories.

 

[lemonjelly]

Another great idea for a thread!

First - Dio. Lock Up The Wolves tour, at the Aston Villa Arena 30 may 1990. Support band was Trouble, who are a mad band! Gig was ace (limited memory of it and all that!)

Worst - The Used were fucking shite. Sounded like a heavy wannabe rod stewart impersonator band. Goldfrapp were absolute shite too, as were the crowd. Primal Scream will never ever get my forgiveness for playing the same track twice in a gig.

Best - Too many to mention. First time I saw James they came on to Come Home, then burst into Sit Down. I vividly remember being at the front loving it, being convinced it was all downhill from here. How wrong I was! Leftfield when I saw them were also amazing. Underworld, almost every time, but especially alexandra palace in 2017, and wembley last december. Bryan Adams Blew me away more than once. Son of Dave at the Social in Nottingham was just phenomenal. Sigur Ros every time I have seen them - first 2 times were such different sets! The Chemical Brothers the first time I saw them in 1994. I still have almost all my gig tickets in old photo albums. I'll have to go through them and add to this list.

Last - the last gig was the Underworld show at wembley. I was also at that Chemical Brothers gig newbridge. They were fucking amazing.

Missed - I had a ticket for Nirvana's tour that never happened. I saw AC/DC in 1991 or 1992, but have been annoyed at missing the tours since. Glad I got to see Nine Inch Nails thanks to a mate.

Pissed - As a complete lightweight, I don't drink at gigs. However There was one underworld gig where after eating a generous portion of space cookie I wasn't much use to anyone. Can also remeber a levellers gig where everyone was tripping, and I took a tiny sliver (about an eighth) of an acid, and though I was gone, I was still there and able to enjoy everything!

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

First: Eric Clapton at the NIA when I was about 12. Unforgettable as the man is a god and I've always been a massive fan, even at that age.

Worst: The Killers at the MEN Arena when they were promoting Sam's Town. They were amazing when I'd seen them before during the Hot Fuss era but Sam's Town is appalling and they really couldn't be arsed. Appalling.

Best: Bowie at Glastonbury in 2000 was special, as was Sir Paul McCartney in 2004 but the very best was Roger Waters playing The Wall at Wembley in 2013. Absolutely sensational

I couldn't think of a better first gig, might listen to a bit of Clapton later today

Also very jealous of your best, would love to see Roger Walters play the Wall

 

[Langers]

I couldn't think of a better first gig, might listen to a bit of Clapton later today

Also very jealous of your best, would love to see Roger Walters play the Wall

It would have been around the time Clapton did Unplugged, so it was very blues based. Which is a very good thing!! He'd only just released Tears in Heaven - you could hear a pin drop when he played it.

Got The Wall on bluray - not at Wembley, but it's ridiculous how the actual Wall prop acts as a video wall, a stage and a prop at different parts of the show. Fuckloads of fireworks too!!

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

Last - the last gig was the Underworld show at wembley. I was also at that Chemical Brothers gig newbridge. They were fucking amazing

I must have got my dates wrong, I did go to alot of shows the end of last year, as I was at the Underworld gig at Wembley too.

 

[lemonjelly]

Not sure why I wasn't at that orbital gig, might well have been.

I had a similar experience to Leftfield, amazing both times at the Civic.

A lot of my mates were into rock at school, the early to mid 90s there seemed to be some great gigs going on at the Civic, the last time it was open I looked at the bands and I didn't recognise any of them.

Either I'm completely out of touch or its dropped of the scene, I know that most bands these days look to play much bigger venues at a much earlier stage in their career than they once did.

My mate had tickets for Nirvana at the Civic which they were due to play a couple of weeks before he topped himself, which is mental considering how big they were/are.

As a side story he sold the ticket for £10 as someone offered to take it off his hands after he died. A week later he saw they were going for well over £100

I meant to mention that the vast majority of thiose gigs I listed are at the civic. It has always been a superb venue IMO.

Pedantry in full effect here, either your mate or you are mis-remembering. The Nirvana gig would've been at the aston villa leisure centre, not civic. They did play the wulfrun shortly before nevermind was released (tickets were £3.50!)

A mate knows he casn easily wind me up by telling me he saw Bon Scott with AC/DC, and that ticket only cost him £3.

 

[lemonjelly]

First time I saw madness (again, Civic). Absolutely blew me away!

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

It would have been around the time Clapton did Unplugged, so it was very blues based. Which is a very good thing!! He'd only just released Tears in Heaven - you could hear a pin drop when he played it.

Stop it, you're killing me, never mind a first gig that could easily be a best one