-Ranked in order from worst to best
-I'm not including the time I saw the sitar player for The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man," Dave Mason, because I don't remember it
-I will not include underground Twin Falls or Logan shows I've been to :(
-But I am including opening acts (I can remember)
-I'm also including a show I went to on mistake
-Rankings are based on how good the actual band's performance was, personal experiences from the concert, how likable the band's personality was, the "live experience," the set-lists, etc.
20 Parachute (2013)
My first spring semester at USU, I heard there was a free concert at The Spectrum. I'd never heard of the band before. Thought I'd show up. There were tons of people there! Mostly girls! Part of me was like: "Wow, I must be in the right place! This local band is gonna get some exposure, and I can stand anywhere and meet some girls!" Turns out, Parachute is a popular "pretty boy" band, famous for songs like "She Is Love" and "Kiss Me Slowly." As these young men entered the stage with their skateboard shoes and tight, ripped jeans, the stadium full of white college girls went crazy. I left early.
19 Styx (2006)
Styx was my favorite band at age 10. I liked them for the entirety of my early teenage life. I thought I'd be ecstatic to see them live when I was 15! I have very few memories from this show. It was over 100 degrees outside. I knew every song they played. Never felt overly stoked. The operatic Dennis DeYoung was no longer a band member, thus they didn't play "Come Sail Away." And a Styx concert without "Come Sail Away" ceases to be a Styx concert.
18 Mike Doughty (2006)
Opening act for Barenaked Ladies. Mostly a adult contemporary guy. Although he did this cool remix jam called "More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle." He then did an acoustic cover of "The Gambler" seguing into an acoustic cover of "Paradise City." I laughed and winced simultaneously.
17 Twin Shadow (2014)
These guys sucked. Their lead singer has this great voice, but he only used it to sound like a Bryan Adams impersonator. Quote of the night: "I dedicate this song to all the girls out there who wanna make out with me on Capitol Hill or something like that."
Oh! And also, there was this shirtless old man there in a cowboy hat, smoking a doobie and swingin' his hips to every song. To quote my friend with me that night: "Now that's entertainment."
16 CSS (2013)
At least these guys made me dance. Also, they were the sole reason my buddy Via showed up.
15 Average White Band (2003)
Yes, they played "Pick Up the Pieces" and that's all we could ask for.
14 Elf Power (2014)
13 Eddie Money (2003)
I remember he wore a green jacket covered in $ dollar signs. Some guy played a saxophone that had 2 horns on it. He played "Take Me Home Tonight." That's why we came, Eddie.
12 Flying Lotus (2012)
Flying Lotus is one of my favorite modern artists alive. I didn't know much of his stuff back in 2012. But even if I did, I would've been just as disappointed with this show. It was basically a rave. The music sounded generally cool, but not jazzy in the least. He drank onstage the whole time and got drunk to the extent it wasn't entertaining. He opened up a mysterious box he simply called "The Box", where he presumably was sorting through types of marijuana. He said something about Vancouver and smoked it, back to the audience.
However, he finished the show with this catchy club banger he said he'd been working on with Thundercat. The song was released an entire year later on Thundercat's Apocalypse and was titled "Oh Sheit It's X." A great live moment.
11 Boston (2004)
I was 13 and Boston rocked! They brought out a giant guitar that required 2 people to play it. The organ intro for "Foreplay /Long Time" was about 10 minutes long. When I heard the opening riff for "Smokin'" the entire place suddenly smelled like nicotine. Brad Delp almost couldn't hit his high note on "Peace of Mind," but was heroically saved by a band-mate. This is what classic rock shows are about! However, it was at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, CA, which made for the most awkward sentence ever yelled from a stage: "We love you Concord California!"
10 Night Terrors of 1927 (2015)
I interviewed the band for the USU paper after the show! This included The Honorary Title's Jarrod Gorbel as well as former Boy Meets World actor and Rilo Kiley guitarist Blake Sennett!!!
The band's music is actually pretty crappy, and the interview was awkward. But whatever.
9
TV on the Radio (2014)
This show would be ranked lower, but I joined the mosh pit during "Wolf Like Me" and it was legit! TVOTR was one of my favorite bands as a teenager. The show as a whole didn't live all the way up to its potential nostalgic value, but I made it fun. Great drummer. The real bummers were that they didn't include as much vocal harmony as they do on their records, and they didn't play an encore :(
8
Bachman Turner Overdrive (2003)
My dad knew one of the security guards, and he let us stand front row! At age 12, I was ecstatic about touching the stage. Also, I saw their drummer taking a pee! This show was on the University of Pacific football field; he did it right on the ground, side-stage, and probably thought nobody was watching. But we were right up there! All because my dad student-taught this dude at Fresno State! I don't remember much about the actual performance, other than they didn't play "Let It Roll on Down the Highway" :(
7 Swearin' (2012)
For an opening act, these guys are okay. They get extra points because I stood next to the lead singer (Allison Crutchfield) during the Japandroids show! She's awesome! A punk show is no place to chat, so I had a brief conversation with her. Something along the lines of this...
"Hey, you guys rocked!"
"Thanks!"
"Japandroids rock!"
"Yeah!"
6 Future Islands (2014)
I guess at the end of the day, Future Islands are just another indie 80s-throwback synth-pop band. Even their band members dress like it. Except their lead singer (and greatest man who ever lived), Samuel Herring. The band gained viral success after their performance of "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
on Letterman. That dance he does in that video? He has a crazy dance for
every song. He stands up there in a black t-shirt, sings like he's freaking Phil Collins, and every song has dramatic movement to it. Whether he's dancing like a monkey or re-enacting
Phantom of the Opera, Herring is one of the greatest entertainers I've ever witnessed.
5 Barenaked Ladies (2006)
Confession: The Barenaked Ladies were my favorite band growing up. When it comes to pre-show excitement levels, this concert was easily #1. My favorite band on my 16th band birthday! And I admit, universally, it was a freaking fun show. The band even still had Steven Page, who undoubtedly is the greatest singer I've ever seen. And the set-list was awesome! They played all of my favorite Steven songs ( i.e. "Break Your Heart"). They did an improv rap about libraries. They did a 10-minute rendition of "If I Had $1,000,000." I loved it.
They ended the show with everyone switching instruments, where drummer Tyler Stewart took the mic saying: "Usually when the drummer starts singing, the whole show goes to hell. But tonight, in Mormon Town Utah, we're going to heaven!" Then they played "Feliz Thanksgiving" ("Feliz Navidad," but replaced "Navidad" with "Thanksgiving" every line... genius).
4 Neutral Milk Hotel (2014)
Neutral Milk Hotel is a hollowed name in the indie-sphere. This was the band's first tour in over 15 years. And I saw them. No photography was allowed at the show. This was a one-time-only experience and I had to take everything in. I was there with my buddy Taylor and some dude she met via Tinder. We watched from the front row! Apparently Jeff Mangum has a beard now... and I don't mean a "I'm-a-college-guy-trying-to-get-a-girlfriend" beard... I mean long and gray, like the prophets of old.
Few words were uttered from the band between songs. The beardless Julian Koster, who looked like a pale-skinned 5-year old wearing a 2-foot long stocking cap, spoke in a backwoods child's voice: "We just love you guys!" And Jeff Mangum (who never smiled once) would close his eyes and put his hands together as though praying, and whisper: "Peace. my friends." Great show, great crowd to boot. Everyone sang along to "Two-Headed Boy." And the place went freaking bonkers when they played their bagpipe jam "[untitled]."
This could be ranked higher if not for the sad backstory. My buddy Via pre-ordered her tickets, but she couldn't get into the show. At age 24, she apparently doesn't have a driver's license. The show was at a bar. All she brought was Missouri driver's permit from 2006. Apparently this wasn't enough evidence to get her into the venue :(
3
Beck (2014)
Beck was my hero when I was a junior in high school. I even bought a Beck t-shirt with 2 turntables and a microphone on it. To see him on tour for his new
Morning Phase album-- for $5, mind you-- was huge for me! I went with a random crew of friends who just wanted a fun Thursday night. And we sure got it...
It was a Twilight Concert Series show at Pioneer Park in SLC. The crowd was freaking NUTS. We were caught in the thick of it, towards the front. I showed up in my 80s-themed "Kanye glasses," but lost them by the end of the show. My buddy Andrew got stepped on and hurt his foot so bad, he left the crowd. I had no idea he was away from me the whole time. Mostly because I was moving the entire time. With all the people pushing each other and crammed so tightly, I never stood still once for the entire show. Discomforting, but memorable. Beck told the audience multiple times to
"take care of each other out there" and mentioned that this was
"the craziest crowd I've seen since like, 1996." I'll never forget the look on his face when he started playing his softest, most melancholia single "Lost Cause." The crowd freaking erupted and he was standing with his acoustic guitar, looking at us in pure confusion.
There were people watching the show from the tops of trees. I ran into a guy I served my mission with and a guy I went to high school with. That was cool. The whole place smelled like pot and I'm pretty sure I got second-hand high. I remember driving home the wrong way and smiling real big the whole time, feeling elated yet numb all at once. And I was super hungry. But what the hey. Beck played 15-minute versions of "Debra" and "Where It's At." It was a great time.
2
Japandroids (2012)
OK, I don't like Japandroids
nearly as much as I used to. But their live show will make a believer out of anyone. These 2 working-class guys take the stage in their white t-shirts and just play their hearts out. The Urban Lounge is a small venue, but the show looked big. Lights hit them from every side. They motion their bodies melodramatically. The guitar tones sound better live than on the records. Hard to deny the magic in the room when they played "The House That Heaven Built."
My story: I was alone. I was supposed to watch the show with mission buddy Josh Lambert, but he never showed up. And I showed up an hour too early. I stood alone in my Vancouver Canucks Roberto Luongo jersey, in homage to the band's hometown. As I stood outside the club, this guy walks out, girl-in-arm, and says:
"Hey man, nice shirt!"
I thanked him as he walked away. I thought: Funny, that guy looks like the lead singer. IT WAS! Brian King complimented my Canucks jersey! A night to remember!
1
Flaming Lips (2013)
This show has no cool stories about seeing a rare band or meeting it's members. But as part of Twilight Concert Series, I paid $5 to watch. The entertainment was worth much more.
The fact that I made it there was a miracle. My car wasn't functioning, and I told this girl I'd drive her to SLC for the show. A couple hours before the show, some random chick we didn't know offered us both a ride! Flaming Lips lovers of Logan united to make this night happen!
And the show was just all spectacle. Wayne Coyne stood in front of us in a shiny blue space suit, holding a plastic baby and raising his hand in the air in a traditional greeting pose. Crazy psychedelic lights were flashing everywhere! I remember just staring at people throughout the show and not thinking anything. I'd stare to the stage and my eyes were melting off my face. I don't know much about technology, but when it comes to
sound, it was an artistic triumph. I guess all the instrumentation was technically "live," they just didn't sound like "instruments."
Wayne noted that it was the Utah holiday Pioneer Day and he called it "Pie and Beer Day." The crowd wasn't as historically weird as with most Flaming Lips shows, yet he still referred to us as
"the weirdest bunch of freaks" (as he probably does for every show). And I did see a fan who began the show fully clothed, but by the end was standing alone in his underwear. And this couple behind me kissed each other for the entirety of "Do You Realize??" Not making out, not even any movement of their faces. They were like a statue of people kissing. Also, I think I got secondhand high. I can't think of a better band for that to happen to someone.
