Snarf Zagyg
Notorious Liquefactionist
The other day, on the recommendation of FitzTheRuke, I watched the excellent Netflix miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor. While the first piece of music in it is diegetic - the always evocative Phil Collins* and Another Day in Paradise, it was the second piece of music that really got to me. The title track for the first episode....
*Yeah, he killed a guy. Or watched a guy die. Something like that ..... MIAMI VICE 4EVA!
...Natural One, by Folk Implosion. There are few songs that open like that, and few songs that immediately capture a time and a place. Part of it is that instant '95-'96 vibe when the song was on the radio (at least, in certain places). But part of it is that the song was already indelibly associated with another movie- the very controversial Kids. And when I was hearing that, I immediately thought, "Hey, how could they use that song that is already so strongly associated with another movie and scene ... with this?" But then I remembered ... Kids was in 1995. That's (mathing now) 26 years ago. Which means that the song is probably relatively undiscovered for a large part of the Brand New Cherry Flavor audience. I was going to write something about the recycling of iconic soundtrack music (Where is my mind? by the Pixies, for example), but instead I thought I'd throw out a general, more fun question that this made me think about:
What are your five most unforgettable concerts?
Rules: THERE ARE NONE! HA! Didn't see that coming, did you? Seriously, pick whatever you want. Particular date. Or band. And it could be unforgettable for good reasons or bad reasons.
The world is your oyster.
To get it started-
1. 1995 or 1996 Folk Implosion
Quick story- Folk Implosion (the band) was a side project of Lou Barlow (Sebadoah). I don't think that they were planning on making it big. Anyway, I saw them at a festival and was incredibly excited to see them perform live! Except ... they clearly hadn't performed much (if at all) together. It was ... terrible. Calling it a shambolic mess does a disservice to other terrible bands. I don't think most non-musicians will realize how bad a band that hasn't played their music together will be ... until they see it happen. It was terrible, but for all the wrong reasons.
2. Green Day (Boston Esplanade)
They had a concert series in Boston, wherein they would invite these little-known bands to come perform during the summer and you could see them for free. If you were lucky, the headliner for the whole summer might be a band like They Might Be Giants. Anyway, back in 1994 the City had booked this unknown band out of California .... Green Day ... to play the Hatch Shell in September. My understanding is that between when they were booked, and the concert, their album (Dookie) became the biggest thing in the world. So that night in September, you had tens and tens of thousands of people crushing into a place that couldn't handle them. Inexplicably, Green Day was allowed to start playing, and then the concert ended.
...and that's when the rioting started. Good times!
3. Reverend Horton Heat
I have seen the Good Reverend (and Jimbo) perform live every time I can and they are within a day's travel. I have yet to be disappointed.
4. Ministry
I have seen Ministry (Al Jourgensen) perform multiple times. Once, I was nearly crushed to death in a mosh pit. Once, the crowd lit an entire wall on fire. Never a dull moment.
5. Tom Petty
I was almost going to put in Neil Young here, but Tom Petty was, quite simply, the single best performance. I still get shudders thinking about it.
So I guess I need either a riot or arson for a memorable concert at this point?
What about you- what are your five most unforgettable concerts?
*Yeah, he killed a guy. Or watched a guy die. Something like that ..... MIAMI VICE 4EVA!
...Natural One, by Folk Implosion. There are few songs that open like that, and few songs that immediately capture a time and a place. Part of it is that instant '95-'96 vibe when the song was on the radio (at least, in certain places). But part of it is that the song was already indelibly associated with another movie- the very controversial Kids. And when I was hearing that, I immediately thought, "Hey, how could they use that song that is already so strongly associated with another movie and scene ... with this?" But then I remembered ... Kids was in 1995. That's (mathing now) 26 years ago. Which means that the song is probably relatively undiscovered for a large part of the Brand New Cherry Flavor audience. I was going to write something about the recycling of iconic soundtrack music (Where is my mind? by the Pixies, for example), but instead I thought I'd throw out a general, more fun question that this made me think about:
What are your five most unforgettable concerts?
Rules: THERE ARE NONE! HA! Didn't see that coming, did you? Seriously, pick whatever you want. Particular date. Or band. And it could be unforgettable for good reasons or bad reasons.
The world is your oyster.
To get it started-
1. 1995 or 1996 Folk Implosion
Quick story- Folk Implosion (the band) was a side project of Lou Barlow (Sebadoah). I don't think that they were planning on making it big. Anyway, I saw them at a festival and was incredibly excited to see them perform live! Except ... they clearly hadn't performed much (if at all) together. It was ... terrible. Calling it a shambolic mess does a disservice to other terrible bands. I don't think most non-musicians will realize how bad a band that hasn't played their music together will be ... until they see it happen. It was terrible, but for all the wrong reasons.
2. Green Day (Boston Esplanade)
They had a concert series in Boston, wherein they would invite these little-known bands to come perform during the summer and you could see them for free. If you were lucky, the headliner for the whole summer might be a band like They Might Be Giants. Anyway, back in 1994 the City had booked this unknown band out of California .... Green Day ... to play the Hatch Shell in September. My understanding is that between when they were booked, and the concert, their album (Dookie) became the biggest thing in the world. So that night in September, you had tens and tens of thousands of people crushing into a place that couldn't handle them. Inexplicably, Green Day was allowed to start playing, and then the concert ended.
...and that's when the rioting started. Good times!
3. Reverend Horton Heat
I have seen the Good Reverend (and Jimbo) perform live every time I can and they are within a day's travel. I have yet to be disappointed.
4. Ministry
I have seen Ministry (Al Jourgensen) perform multiple times. Once, I was nearly crushed to death in a mosh pit. Once, the crowd lit an entire wall on fire. Never a dull moment.
5. Tom Petty
I was almost going to put in Neil Young here, but Tom Petty was, quite simply, the single best performance. I still get shudders thinking about it.
So I guess I need either a riot or arson for a memorable concert at this point?
What about you- what are your five most unforgettable concerts?