Saw Bryan Adams concert last week (30 January) in Lisbon and it was great.
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I had the same experience with seeing Wilco open for R.E.M. on the Up tour.
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ABSOLUTELY! Totally understand that. And, if there is one thing we’ve learned over the past couple years, it’s that we all need to make the appropriate choices for ourselves while being respectful of everyone else. I hope the situation improves enough over the next month or so to feel ok going.
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Oh shit, I’m going to have to ask the husband how he feels about a quick jaunt to the UK to see Tears For Fears.
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For the indoor shows around here, vaccinations and/or negative tests within 72 hours are usually required, in addition to masks in the venue.
One of my favorite live music experiences in recent memory was the three-day Shaky Knees Festival here in Atlanta this past October (Run the Jewels, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Garbage, Arlo Parks, Living Colour, Alice Cooper, Phoebe Bridgers, The Cults, Mercury Rev, and others).
Vaccination proof and/or negative tests were required for the outdoor event. This was the first time in two years that many of the above bands had played live, and, for many of us, it was the first big event in two years. Everyone, bands and fans alike, was so happy to be there. That joyful vibe was ever-present in the air.
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I have a collection of postponed concerts that are still on the schedule - Roger Waters (an “interesting” fellow, but I love his shows), Rod Stewart + Cheap Trick (really in it for CT, but have never seen Rod), and an Elton John show. I expect to see (yet another) 10,000 Maniacs show some time later this year. They were the last band I saw before the pandemic broke and the 2nd I saw after emerging from my pandemic hole (Cheap Trick was first). We’ll see what bubbles up during the year. I’m hoping Pete Yorn tours to support his upcoming new album, but he seems a bit guarded while continuing to perform live streams.
NeoBhagwan, I have seen Cheap Trick twice in recent years. I saw them open for Poison and I saw them open for ZZ Top. With all due respect to the headlining acts, I went to both concerts specifically to see Cheap Trick.
I always joke, “Which inferior headliner will I see this year when they bring Cheap Trick along?”
Cheap Trick’s 2021 album is marvelous. One of the best surprises of last year.
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Isbell x2, DBT, Decemberists x2, Gang of Four… and I’ll throw Brandi Carlile in since they covered So. Central Rain at a benefit show a few years back.
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Saw Billy Bragg in Liverpool just before Christmas which was brilliant.
Have tickets to see Band Of Horses in Manchester in March but the European tour has been postponed.
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I have tickets for Peaches in London in June. It’s the Teaches of Peaches anniversary tour so I don’t expect her to break out A_A_A_A.
Then the Divine Comedy in September although this has been rescheduled twice already. I’ll consider them adjacent as they were the support band at the Lansdowne Road gig in 1999!
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Reminds me of my first Cheap Trick show – they opened for REO Speedwagon. I remember Kevin Cronin in an electric blue one-piece jumpsuit claiming that they rock harder than Cheap Trick (I’m sure they’re good friends being from the same area, and I assumed it was a joking comment / dig). Mind you this is the tour when “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” was a huge hit (that song still makes my skin crawl).
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Given the influence R.E.M. has on what I have listened to since the age of 16, it’s hard for me to think of anyone as not R.E.M. adjacent. Here are my upcoming shows (with adjacency defended):
Lilly Hiatt - February 12 (introduced by The Loft on SiriusXM back when they still had DJs, interest further peaked as an opener for Drive-By Truckers)
Ministry / The Melvins / Corrosion of Conformity - March 18 (1st heard on a 6000 watt commercial station that I’d have never listened to if not for R.E.M.; plus, Bill Rieflin of course played with Ministry for some time)
Beach House - March 22
Sparks - March 25
Eyelids (w/ Jay Gonzalez of DBT) - March 30 (Peter Buck produced)
Guided by Voices - April 29 (the last band I discovered by the DJ who “evangelized” R.E.M. in Norfolk, VA before she passed away of cancer in 1996)
Drive-By Truckers - May 1 (introduced to me by Drivernate)
Foo Fighters - May 20 (R.E.M. and Nirvana mutual fans, and you know the rest)
The War on Drugs - June 13 (surely R.E.M. led me here, no matter how circuitous the path; or not)
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I know they headline sometimes but it seems the vast majority of the time Cheap Trick are still an opening act all these years later. I saw them for the first time in 1978 when they opened for Nantucket and AC/DC with Bon Scott (the headliners) in Fayettevillle, NC. As much as I love them, I’ve only seen them one other time which was at a club in Goldsboro, NC (not far from where I grew up) in the early 80’s when Tom Petersson was out of the band. I have no recollection of it due to youth and alcohol. They did a headlining show a few years back in Durham but tickets were around $100 which was well out of my price range.
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Not massively close admittedly but a few years after REM split, one of my other fave ever bands, Slowdive, re-formed after nearly 20 years. In a dramatic break in tradition, they released an absolutely vital album like they’d never been away.
Seen them 5 times since 2016 and they’re recording a new album so expect a new tour soon. Catch them if you can. They could call it quits again at any time.
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War on Drugs 2/19
Drive by Truckers 2/24
Spoon coming up
Expecting to see The National, and The Hold Steady- Massive Nights shows in Brooklyn- which is a tradition of mine.
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Just pulled the trigger on a ticket for Drive By Truckers on May 1 at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC after they announced Lydia Loveless would be opening with a solo set. I was planning on going anyway but when they announced Lydia I wanted to make sure I don’t miss it.
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We’re getting Ryley Walker- which is also cool. But would love to see her. You introduced me to her, and the DBTs, and several other great bands. So cheers, friend.
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She is outstanding solo but with a full band they are a powerhouse of the likes I’ve never seen. A few years back she had the unenviable task of having to follow Grand Champeen when they ripped the fucking roof off of Tir na Nog in Raleigh during the Hopscotch Music Festival. Lydia could have have come out and tried to top it by doing something similar. Instead, they ended their set with the slow burn of the then unreleased “Out on Love” with Todd May digging the tip of his guitar into the stage floor while our ears were drenched in feedback. I don’t think there was any band on earth that night that could have followed that but then again, I’m sure I’m biased. I do hope you’re able to see her before too much longer. I don’t think you’ll be the least bit disappointed.
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Nicely expressed- saw her with just her acoustic guitar here at Heavy Metal Shop in ‘18, then later that night with the full band. Memorable show. Incidentally, Jonathan, her song ‘Wine Lips’ became something of an anthem for me and my current wife- so I have a tattoo on my arm.
We chatted with her about it, and she gave us a set list- to which she applied her ‘Wine Lips’. Cool.
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This is from my first time seeing her. Apologies if this is old news but it was one of those instances where I noticed a gap in her tour dates so I started contacting local venues and her booking agent to try to line up a show for her in the Triangle. I’d all but given up hope until a friend sent me an email telling me to go look at her website. She had been booked at Motorco in Durham. As it turns out, I ended up being the promoter of the show through Guitartown and would go on to promote several more with her over the next few years. My friend Dan Schram, a local videographer, filmed this. At one time Gorman Bechard was considering using it in his Lydia documentary but it didn’t end up making the cut. BTW, for some reason I was under the impression that maybe you hadn’t seen her yet. I’m so glad that you have and that her music impacted you and your wife so much. She has had a similar impact on me as well.
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