PopTodd Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 You know... those shows you were dragged to by someone, or went to on a lark? But then the band wound up blowing you away? Or at least they far surpassed expectations? Me:Primal Scream:I was always kinda lukewarm on them. And, when they showed up 1.5 hours late for a midnight show, I was prepared to just freaking hate them (as was the entire crowd at Metro that night). But then, they started playing.By 30 seconds into the first song, every damn person in the club -- including bouncers, sound engineers, and bartenders -- were rocking our ASSES off!!! Amazing show! Oh, and another one:The Monks Of Doom:Consisting of the members of Camper Van Beethoven who did not go on to do Cracker. These guys just came out and rocked so hard, and played to tight that it had to be seen to be believed! I ran out and bought their disc the next day. And was promptly disappointed.'Still, live, awesome. And a lot of fun! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NightOfJoy Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I went to Metro to see Eleventh Dream Day open a show for the Meat Puppets, who I'd never heard of. I'm glad I stayed around for them because they were so good they damn near blew my lid off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Garage a trois with Charlie Hunter on guitar. We showed up on the wrong night to see Kings of Leon (playing the next night) and since we were already there we went in. It was fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 First time I saw Morrissey knocked my socks off! Back in 2004 on the You Are the Quarry tour! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Spacehog. These guys played Club Soda in Kalamazoo while touring for their second album. They could have played a much larger venue, but I guess they wanted to do some small club dates, and you don't get a whole lot smaller than Club Soda (RIP). I went because I had heard one of their albums a few times and because I had nothing better to do that night. They destroyed the place. Absolutely blew the doors off. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 My love for Los Lobos started about 10 years ago when I first saw them at the Guinness Flaidh (sp?) at the Arlington Raceway in 1998. I wasn't expecting much - they were the first act we saw that day. They blew me away, and now I catch their act every time I can. That day was a great day for music - I also saw Wilco for the first time, then later saw Squeeze, X, and Shane Macgowan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 In the mid-80s, I let my then-girlfriend drag me and her little niece and nephew to see Cyndi Lauper. It was much better than expected, and she really played well to the kiddies in the audience, of which there were many. Not sure I'd want to see her now, but ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 My love for Los Lobos started about 10 years ago when I first saw them at the Guinness Flaidh (sp?) at the Arlington Raceway in 1998. I wasn't expecting much - they were the first act we saw that day. They blew me away, and now I catch their act every time I can. That day was a great day for music - I also saw Wilco for the first time, then later saw Squeeze, X, and Shane Macgowan. Los Lobos is still the only band I have seen attempt to cover "Tomorrow never knows" and do it justice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Los Lobos is still the only band I have seen attempt to cover "Tomorrow never knows" and do it justice.I'm pretty sure they could cover anything and do it MORE than justice. Maybe even "Revolution 9". That's a band I don't listen to nearly enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 same here. i love los lobos. saw them open for DMB years ago & just loved it but for some reason never, ever listen to them.i'm correcting that tonight when i get home. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
quarter23cd Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Garage a trois with Charlie Hunter on guitar. We showed up on the wrong night to see Kings of Leon (playing the next night) and since we were already there we went in. It was fantastic.I'm jealous. That would be a fun show! I'm a big fan of all those guys--particularly love Stanton Moore's drums and would love to see Charlie Hunter live. My pick would be Ozomatli. They were at the Warped Tour around '98 or so. There are different types of stages--the "big" stages, smaller stages. These guys, I think, were playing in the back of a pickup truck or something. (it was tiny) But they were so so good. Nobody there knew who they were before that day, but they attracted one hell of a crowd. Fun stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Ace Frehley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Degenerex Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Local H back in 7th grade... Didn't expect much from them, and they were opening up for Silverchair at the time. They blew me away completely. I've seen them over 50 times since and will never miss a Chicago show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PigSooie Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Duncan Sheik Loved his show. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gobias Industries Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Jens Lekman. I purposely went in without listening to more than one track of his. Also because I was going with someone else who wanted to go. It was a great concert. Like, fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Boots Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 same here. i love los lobos. saw them open for DMB years ago & just loved it but for some reason never, ever listen to them.i'm correcting that tonight when i get home. I must have caught that same tour.... summer 97 I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LenF Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Soundgarden - 1991. I just moved to Charlotte. I had heard the song "Hands all Over" and liked it but someone played Badmotorfinger for me right after it came out and I didn't care for it. They were playing at a small club called the 13-13 arond Thanksgiving. I had no intention of going but my roommates were going and they had a bunch of people over for pre-show festivities. One guy had an extra ticket and after about 90 minutes I was feeling pretty good so I decided "why stay in". They opened with "Jesus Christ Pose" and I was hooked. It was also the first time I crowd surfed and ventured into a mosh pit. Just a tremendous rock n' roll experience. By the way, we missed the opening band (Blind Mellon). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dondoboy Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Bright Eyes. Surprised the hell outta me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 I think I told this one elsewhere, but there was a local band down in Columbia, MO -- or at least they played there enough for me to consider them local. I had no real desire to see them, but one Halloween (1989), they opened for fIREHOSE, so I figured that I'd go to the show and check out the local yokels. It was Uncle Tupelo.They blew me out the freaking door. Sorry for repeating that story. I wasn't planning on doing so, but it does fit here, so what the hell? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'm not sure if this counts as a surprisingly good concert, but I found a surprisingly good jazz guitarist, Mark Whitfield, playing with Cyrus Chestnut. Chestnut was doing an Xmas tour about 7 years ago of mostly Guaraldi Peanuts music. Whitfield was phenomenal. I bought a CD that was underwhelming and he doesn't seem to be doing much noteworthy now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brianjeremy Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Still Flyin' Saw them open for Elf Power last year. My wife and I were blown away with how freaking fun the show was! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isadorah Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I'm gonna have to say Lou Reed. It was around 5 years ago on the Raven tour. I had no expectations and was completely blown away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RaspberryJam Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw Moby and he and his band were unbelievably good. And Wilco. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Midnight Oil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 OK, I'll lose all my cred for saying this, but Bryan Adams was far, far better than I was expecting. I saw him in 1985 (on the Reckless tour) because my high school girlfriend loved him and she desperately wanted to go to the show, so of course I went with her. He played the local hockey stadium, and we were way down front in the general admission crush. His band was really tight, and he was a surprisingly good showman. His career went straight to hell after that album, in my opinion, but after that show I at least had some newfound respect for him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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