Friday Fun: Live Music

[Craig Nodwell]

The last couple of days I've been wondering what exactly would I write, that seems to be a bit of a theme with these Friday fun articles.
Live entertainment:
Music has that ability to touch thousands of people, all at the same time, and in the same way.  There's not many other things that can do this.
I'm not going to judge on what kind of music you prefer, or where you engage in your live musical activities. 
Music is personal.
As for me I'm a rock & roll kind of person.
In 2018 my wife and I decided we would not take a vacation, instead we would do as many concerts or live shows as possible throughout the year.
It was a great year.
We seen everyone, paid through the nose and did a lot of VIP/meet the band.
We went to plays.
We went to comedy shows.
We went to rock shows.
I got to meet my idols from a little band from Texas -- RIP Dusty Hill
I found the venue had a lot to do with the experience.
From outdoor to intimate the venue seemed to control the crowd, the mood, and the atmosphere of the show itself.
This all said, where do you get your live entertainment?  Do you prefer the large banging crowd of a stadium, or a small intimate affair in a club.

[Johanna Pichotka_APTIS_]

I'm usually more of a small club live entertainment person. I love sitting in a club/bar anything and listening to someone playing guitar or piano and singing to that. That really is so amazing. 

But still I'm excited to see Ed Sheeran in September for my first ever big concert which is really cool. 

Now that we finally can do all this again I'm excited for more and exploring all kinds of venues as well. 

[Craig Nodwell]

We saw two shows big name performers in very small venues. 
It was like they were in our living room.  I feel you're meaning on this.
Anyone else want a cookie LOL

[Bharathi]

Great to know about you and your liking for music @Craig Nodwell

I'm more of a country, folk and jazz music person and have attended just a handful of live shows in my country, India. Music has always been my stress buster and I prefer hearing to it, both in a large banging crowd of a stadium, or a small intimate affair in a club. :)

[Craig Nodwell]

LOL I always joke because of my age.
Is that Country & Western or Just Country?
What ever happened to the New Country? 
Did it grow old so the New got dropped.
My wife is a huge Country fan, there were a couple of those country folks on the list of concerts that year.
Myself when it comes to country I'm more of the enjoy the fringes of fame folks.
Angel From Montgomery 
Magnolia Wind 

[Marjorie]

Bharathi, me too.  music heals me...

[Andy Gladstone]

@Craig Nodwell thanks for the Friday Fun! 

I am a classical music buff. I love sitting in a large concert hall - and luckily living in NY I have access to Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center - and not only listening to an orchestra, but watching them. The perfect choreography of the sting instrument bows moving up and down or left and right, the movement of the brass instruments, the fingers on the woodwinds, are all enhancements to the sound and feel of the music. 

In the mid 1990's I was a member of the Lincoln Center Society and I would get four passes per year to concert day rehearsals. My all time favorite was the New York Symphony Orchestra playing with Yo Yo Ma. Everyone in their jeans and t-shirts, super loose and having a great time really exposed the personalities behind the music. 

[Craig Nodwell]

I've crossed into that lane ;) most folks don't know that about me.
My grandson recently called into a radio station to request Wagner ... what 17 year old does that!! LOL
Sounds like the sounds move you, couldn't ask for more.

[Marjorie]

Yo Yo Ma???!!!!! So jealous

[Marjorie]

I love it all!  My favorite bands I got to see: RUSH, Queen, Journey.  Saw Jackson Browne in high school. 

Saw Norah Jones (introduced my husband to live music-his first).  indoor and outdoor.... 

Santana was outdoor and small venue, by far, the most entertaining.

Seen Garth Brooks twice (who is an amazing entertainer).

Saw Ed Sheeren (in Arrowhead Stadium) which was fantastic.

OH and got to see the Face to Face tour, Elton John and Billy Joel.

And, took my husband, for his birthday, to see BB King right before he left us (at 80+ years old, he was flirting with all the women on the front row!!)

My next goal is to see someone at Red Rocks in Colorado... 

Rock, Indy, Pop, Country, Blues.... music is the elixir to my soul!

[Marjorie]

OH.... my first was a small club that my parents took me to see Ricky Nelson.... 

[Craig Nodwell]

That's a nice list.
A real nice list.
Your parents did you justice :) 
All hail Mr. King

[John Funk]

I love listening to music, but I don't see it live much. It's just way too expensive for the most part, and not worth the money to me. 

But if I happen to be out and can catch a local artist at a free or lost venue - then that's something I enjoy. 

[Craig Nodwell]

Today's market can be shameful I agree, especially for big name artists.
Toronto has lawns at the Molson Amphitheatre that are very reasonable even for big name artists.  I would hope most other places have something like that as well. 
Small venues are special, free shows even more so ...  I'm glad you have that. 

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

I've had too many amazing live music experiences to recite here.

One unexpected work perk is that I am able to travel to many great cities — frequently solo. Thanks to the smartphone, an app I will almost certainly fire up wherever I go is Bandisintown. It scans my Spotify account for music I like and tells me which artists are playing near me.

Frequently, there's a lone seat somewhere near the stage available right up to show time!

That app. has provided me with lots of great, up-close, experiences.

But, way before smartphones, I was lucky enough to catch The Police and Tom Petty when they were still doing the bar scene. It's a little like being part of history. 😊

[Craig Nodwell]

Wow.  A great perk, way better than Friday muffins LOL
When I was at RIM (a long time ago) they brought in Aerosmith for a private concert as a Christmas bonus.
That is still a great memory.
Also thanks for the app tip.

[Stuart Capel - London]

I love love music, so glad it's back after COVID. I saw Green Day at London Stadium a few weeks ago. I'm lucky to be near so many great venues. Moderat at Alexander Palace is next on the cards

[Summer Hogan]

Hi Stuart! I love Green Day! I saw them last year at Petco Park in San Diego during the Hella Mega Tour! 

[Stuart Capel - London]

They're like comfy old rock n roll slippers! I've seen them a few times over the years - still going strong!

[Summer Hogan]

TOTALLY!

[Jack Brickey]

My wife and our our huge music fans. Her family has a long history of great musicians. We lived in Austin for 18 years and that place filled our souls with great music.

One of our favorite venues was The Backyard (before it got relocated). We saw: Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo, Lyle Lovett, Nora Jones, BB King, and more there. We loved the new Moody theater too: Tedeschi Trucks (one of my favs), Bonnie, Crosby Stills & Nash, etc. One of our all time favorite shows was at Stubbs outside - John Hiatt with Sonny Landreth with guest Robert Cray. We never sat down during that jam session. There were tons of small venues downtown with countless artists. Man I miss Austin when I think of music.

[nina_schmidt]

I love every kind of venue when it‘s „my music“. The band if see five times now is Giant Rooks, a young German indie pop band now touring Canada and the US too. Awesome to see how they evolve over the last five years.

the most recent concert was Guns ‘n Roses three weeks ago - what a show!  

[Andy Gladstone]

Having been a GNR fan in the late 80’s and early 90’s I’m not only shocked that they are still playing but that they are still alive!

[nina_schmidt]

Yes they do, more breaks for Axl after some high notes - but that brings more solos for Slash 👍

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I think I have a scale of event that works for me.  I love the music whatever the scale, but I definitely prefer small over large.

I've thoroughly enjoyed all the Reading festivals I've been to, loving the music but I think I only tolerated the festival "experience" because I could walk home and get a proper shower and my own bed at the end of the day.

Stadia gigs have been great, but the offering has to be good for me to want to make the effort.

Theatre and smaller suit me well - it's an afternoon/evening out and doesn't overload me with too many people.

I definitely prefer the pubs and clubs and smaller venues (for a recent one, this was a singer/songwriter at a local vineyard, so some rather good wine on top).  Not because "too many people", but because a lot of the acts are new, different, and doing it for the love of their art, which can improve the experience just so much. 

But a slightly unusual one - we're looking at popping into London, to the cinema.  To re-watch "Star Wars, A New Hope".  Not really a lot to do with music, apart from John Williams scoring some damn good classical stuff, right?  Yes, but they've removed the soundtrack from the film, and replaced it with a live philharmonic orchestra playing it instead...

[Ivan Lima]

Small ones, and most classical music. I've been playing and studying classical guitar since I was 8. I'm fortunate to have had a chance to see great names like John Williams, and David Russell, among others. For those who enjoy classical guitar, you can take a listen to my album. I recorded it about 15 years ago with my professor at the time and a colleague who is now one of the greatest Brazilian classical guitar players.

• https://soundcloud.com/ickraix

I was hoping to make some music with Atlassian stack, but I'm still unsure about that. Sometimes I get lost thinking about the melody that particular automation or a transition would sound... 🎶

[Brant Schroeder]

I have been to a number of live performances of many different genres.  My favorites have been in small venues where the setting is a little more intimate.  I have been to some larger shows that were also fantastic.  I would say that those shows were very entertaining because the band was singing but were also entertaining.  

[Lars Maehlmann]

I love small venues and a more private atmosphere. I love small Jazz clubs, punk in the basement, or Hip-Hop Jams with barbecue in the park.

I definitely prefer small venues. It also means there is always a chance to discover new artists or get surprised by the performance. I totally agree with the intimacy of smaller venues. Another point for me is the money I spend on bigger venues. I don't like to pay up to 100 Eur in a stadium and to be far in the back and not getting any details of the show  (except on a screen :-( ).

Also for me dance hall sound systems and DJ performances (RZA in NY show, the 36 chambers original movie with his own soundtrack underneath) I enjoy a lot. I still try to find a smooth beat for setting up customers' Atlassian suite or cleaning up old systems during migration progress into the cloud  ....

[Summer Hogan]

My boyfriend and I are huge music fans. We mostly love rock and roll and my boyfriend loves old metal bands like Tesla, Wasp. and Warrant and he is the biggest KISS fan I know. I love those bands, but PUNK is really my thing! Recently I've seen Green Day at Petco Park during the Hella Mega Tour, Godsmack, System of a Down, Imagine Dragons and seeing Tesla and Stevie Nicks, and Warrant later this year. 

[Craig Nodwell]

I love being the oldest guy at a Godsmack show.
I was once asked for my autograph at a Stevie Nicks show, long hair great seats and drunken 40 somethings I suppose... they withdrew the request when I said "Sure, but I'm just a guy named Craig.... who would you like me to sign this too??"......

[Alex Koxaras _Relational_]

When I was younger I did prefer large venues and festival due to the fact that I could see more bands with less cost, and relax on the back with my friends, while drinking beer and singing! The last concert I went to was this summer, at a festival to see Jinjer \m/ .

However, I do prefer small venues and relative unknown bands. Less crowd, cheaper entrance and beer and a greater chance of meet the band. Almost feel like a VIP when watching these gigs. :)

[Christian Happel]

I'm normally not going to a lot of concerts, but if I do it's mostly bigger crowds:

For example this year we finally were able to see Coldplay here in Germany. Two of my kids by now are really big fans of Coldplay (11 and 13), so I went together with them.

My wife isn't that much of a music person. However, we met at one of the biggest rock-festivals in Germany 18 years ago. I'm glad she made it to that festival ;-) Rock am Ring (rock-am-ring.com)

[Rob Horan]

I'm still Rona-phobic, so I've been avoiding indoor concerts.  Still, I plan to see Mercyful Fate in Brooklyn this week.  Some shows are worth it.

Otherwise, the last show I saw was Rammstein, and that was absolutely incredible.

What do I prefer?  Generally I prefer small to medium sized venues, but it depends on the show. I'm too old for the pit, so when there's a surge I need an exit strategy :P

Now that L'Amour is gone, I will say there is one venue that I do truly love - the Warsaw in Brooklyn.  The stage looks like a giant picture frame and they sell pierogis and keilbasa on the side.

[Rob Horan]

Mercyful Fate was indeed very much worth it.

[Derya Ozdemir _Appfire_]

This is such a fun thread, thanks for sharing! 
My favorite bands that I got to see are Opeth and Camel. Both were truly fantastic.

[Dan Breyen]

If one could get the best of both worlds, it would be to see your favorite band in a small intimate setting.  My preference is to see my favorite band when they're playing by themselves, because their set is usually longer.  Not like when they're touring with 1 or 2 other bands and they have to cut back the setlist.

By the way, go see Styx or Dennis DeYoung on tour, they're fantastic!

[Kelly L. Anderson]

I'm to the point that I hate staying up late so bad that I will only go to shows involving  Maynard James Keenan- Tool, A perfect circle or Puscifer. 

[Dan Breyen]

Seeing Styx in concert when they're by themselves w/o an opener is an amazing concert.  The put on a heck of a show with several different people able to sing lead, and they know how to use the stage to their advantage keeping the crowd involved.