In all my years of concert-going, there has only been one opening act that I ended up liking better than the headlining band I came to see. During my sophomore year of college, I went to see The Bravery and while they put on a great show, they weren't the band still on my mind at the end of the night. Instead, I had fallen in love with Your Vegas, the British opener. From the moment the twinkly "Troubled Times" started up, I knew this was the band for me.
My friends and I ended up attending several Your Vegas shows after that, and I was continually blown away by the band's performances. The venues were tiny, the kind where the musicians usually mill around with the audience before and after. I specifically remember walking in the door once and lead singer Coyle Girelli was standing right there, as if he had been just waiting to greet us with hugs. But the size of the venue didn't stop Your Vegas from putting on an impressive show. These are professional musicians, c'mon.
Then suddenly, all the fun was over. They stopped playing shows near me and changed their name to The Chevin. A few years went by but I kept tabs on the band, and when the new EP was released in the U.K. last winter, I scoured the Internet to find it (don't worry, I bought it legally).
Anyway, all this back story is leading up to last night, when I finally had the chance to see The Chevin play again. And man, I couldn't believe how far they've come. They sold out the Mercury Lounge a night after making their national television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman. I found myself beaming like a proud mother while I watched both the broadcast and the show. Reunited and it feels so right. The Chevin deserves so much attention, and I'm glad more and more people are catching on.
In the words of Letterman: "Holy crap! That's good."
I saw AFI again last night at the House of Blues. It was definitely one of the best shows I'd been to in a long, long time (excluding AFI at Hampton Beach a week ago, of course). I got to hold Davey Havok up while he walked on the crowd. He also did a flip into the audience and I helped catch him then too. Now my left arm is sore, but I can't think of a better reason to be in pain.
In honor of these two absolutely incredible shows, here's a list of my top 10 most memorable concerts, in no particular order. (NOTE: None of the videos belong to me, except for the Sugarcult one).
1. Third Eye Blind (Babson College, 4/21/07 AND Bamboozle 2009). Honestly, I have seen this band so many times that it's hard to narrow it down to one show. But Babson was the first time I was in the front row, and the first time I met the band afterwards. (It was completely accidental too. We were lost and managed to end up right behind the guys in some parking lot). And Bamboozle was just plain awesome.
(Not the best quality, and possibly one of the band's worst songs, but this video really captures the fun of Bamboozle
2. AFI (Hampton Beach, 10/17/09 and House of Blues Boston, 10/25/09). See my last entry and the paragraph above. AFI is seriously one of the best live bands around.
3. A Fine Frenzy (The Paradise, March 2008). I adore Alison Sudol, the voice and mastermind behind A Fine Frenzy. She is one of the sweetest, most talented individuals in music today. She is so grateful and appreciative of her fans. She's on tour right now, so go see her if you get a chance. (www.afinefrenzy.com)
4. The Airborne Toxic Event (The Paradise, 3/7/09). Well first of all, during the encore, they threw out cheap tamborines into the audience. I got to go up onstage with my tamborine and a handful of other fans to dance around during "Missy." This band is so tight live, and they sound awesome every time I see them. It's also refreshing to see a group of musicians who can play so many instruments well. This isn't just a bunch of guys who decided they wanted to be rockstars so they picked up guitars. Rather, The Airborne Toxic Event are trained many instruments including the viola and the cello. Another must-see live band.
5. Good Charlotte with Something Corporate and Mest, (UMass Amherst, October 10, 2003) Yes, this was my first concert. I went with one of my best friends, Veronika, and we had an absolute ball. At the time, I was completely obsessed with Good Charlotte (and even now, I will defend them, so don't mess with me!). I counted down to this concert for months. It feels like a dream now, it was so long ago, but I was always treasure the memories from this show.
6. Sugarcult (Framingham, MA Community Center, sometime in winter or spring of 2008, I think). This was the most punk-rock show I have ever been to. I know, SUGARCULT?!? Punk rock? They were label-less and playing at this deserted community center full of local high school kids. The atmosphere was so laidback and intimate though. Sugarcult interacts with the crowd anyway, but at a show that size, lead singer Tim Pagnotta spent half his time joking with fans. Then, at 11 pm, the cops showed up and said it was curfew time. Sugarcult was not even half way done their set, and they refused to stop. They kept playing until the sound was cut off, and afterwards, they hung out in the lobby to talk to fans and apologize for the short set.
7. Green Day (Verizon Wireless Arenain Manchester, NH. Spring 2004). Green Day is without a doubt the greatest live band I have ever seen. It's not a "show," it's a masterpiece. There is no way to put into words just how mindblowing a Green Day show is. I know several people who don't even care about the band's new songs, but will still go to see them just for the epic performance. So seriously, drop what you're doing and go see them right now.
(This video is from their Bullet in a Bible DVD, not my show. But it really captures how completely awesome Green Day is live).
8. Blaqk Audio (The Roxy, 9/10/07) The first time I got to see and meet my idol, Davey Havok. He and fellow AFI member Jade Puget were on tour promoting their side project. I shook Davey's hand after the show and was in shock for the next week.
9. Jimmy Eat World (The Orpheum, October 2007, I think). Yet another one of the best live bands I've ever seen. The music is even more perfect and beautiful live. And the fans are pretty chill and normal, so it's nice not to have to deal with screaming teenyboppers all night. 10. Fiona Apple (Bank of America Pavilion, July 21, 2006). Fiona is a little kooky to begin with, and when you put her on stage, she becomes even more insane. She flails around like she's possessed, but boy, has she got some pipes. Her music sounds amazing live. 'Nuff said.
So there are my top 10 concerts. What are yours? What bands do I need to see still?
