shows I wish I'd seen

1. the Cure
2. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
3. David Bowie
4. Neil Diamond (I swear I will see him someday)
5. The Grateful Dead's Last show ~ it was in Chicago ~ I had a ticket but sold it because I was leaving for Europe the following day. Damn! I read about Jerry's death a month later while I was in France. Depressed.

top 10

Stolen topic from Galoot.

Favorite concerts/shows in no particular order.

1. Jane's Addiction ~ it was 1988 and the only song I knew of Jane's was "Jane Says" which is still one of my all time favorite songs. My roommate Kristin had a ticket and decided not to go so she gave me her ticket. Woody's on the beach in Miami. Perry came on stage with pink dreads, and a corset and the whole pit started slowly and dramatically swaying. It was as if the crowd were really waves and I vividly remember feeling as if I would suffocate. I found my way to the bar and sat on the bar with some total strangers just lost in the music (okay, we all smoked some pot on the way to the show). I have seen Jane's four other times since that first experience.

2. Blues Traveler ~ it was probably about 1994 and my friend Scott and I went to Chicago to see them at the Aragon Ballroom. I lost Scott early into the show and so it was just me and the music and I loved it.

3. Peter Murphy ~ holy shit, I love Peter Murphy. Magda and I got so close I was leaning on the stage. Opening act on the ticket was "special guest" and when the band came out it was Nine Inch Nails. Pretty Hate Machine had just been released and NIN was brand spankin new. I recall Trent spitting into the crowd and I got wet. As amazing as NIN was, Peter Murphy was all sex and slither and I'm getting turned on just remembering it. He held my hand and squeezed and Magda and I got invited back stage. He asked where I was from (the show was in Miami) and when I said Chicago, he said he'd be playing at the Metro in Chicago the following week and I should come. I know I said I'd be there and believe me I was thinking of any way possible but I was a broke college student who couldn't just fly home for a concert. I think I'll go put on a Peter Murphy CD right now.

4. The Grateful Dead. Buckeye Lake, Ohio. I was tripping and Magda was selling my t-shirts. It was hot as Hell and AWESOME. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to experience a Dead show. It will never be repeated.

5. Red Hot Chili Peppers at Respectable St Cafe in West Palm Beach. 1988 and this tiny little club with apartments upstairs. My friend Heidi was dating a guy who lived in one of the apartments so we didn't even have to pay. It was Mother's Milk tour and RHCP's were not the mega band they were to become. After the show they partied upstairs at the other apartment with the door open. We waved but why the Hell didn't we go over and party with them??? Oh, yeah, the show was crazy ~ imagine them in '88 on the verge of success beyond their dreams.

6. Smashing Pumpkins at some dive bar on campus at U of I. It was the Gish tour and they really weren't well known outside of Illinois but they were fantastic.

7. Lollapalooza~ I went to four I think, they all are blending together. I saw two at Tinley Park and one at Star Lake. Tinley Park was Beastie Boys and they stand out as a highlight. Pearl Jam too but more because I met Eddie Vedder (who at the time I was having a vivid love affair with ~ in my fantasies). I also saw the one with Metallica headlining (that happened right?). I didn't even get close to the main stage but instead sat at the second stage and watched Ben Folds Five, Cornershop, and Ruby ~ all were excellent.

8. WHF-estival. I flew to Baltimore twice for this amazing festival. Highlights the first year were Foo Fighters, No Doubt, and Jimmy's Chicken Shack (second stage). I remember Jewel walking off stage because someone hit her in the boob with a frisbee. The following year was Beck (so much fun), Prodigy (who are not my favorite band but gave a high energy show), and they showed clips of Jewel getting hit with the frisbee the previous year over and over and over. We had great seats because my friend's brother worked for the CIA and they have their own ticket master (did you know that?).

9. Bob Dylan with Brian Setzer ~ of course Bob Dylan is a legend, he sounded great and I didn't have any trouble at all understanding him. It was fun to watch the Setzer fans dancing. They played several encores together.

10. Ani DeFranco, she's a strange one because her writing is so prolific and half of it is shit and the other half is brilliant. My friend was not yet out of the closet and asked me to go with her, we had fun and when she sang "Both Hands", it was very emotional. It is a great song.

honorable mentions: matthew sweet, seven year bitch, jerry garcia band, and white zombie.

Damn, this is too hard. I keep thinking of other bands I've seen and they all have some special place and memory that make it hard to decide which are my favorites.