Quote:
I hate this thread
All you lucky sods who had the possibilty of seeing all the greats
I do envy you during the years.
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Hey Rogor I have often felt the same way, but I have managed to see some great gigs in my time. Some for just the music, and some for being with friends and creating memories, and some for both.
Yes - Beziers,France, 1984. I was on holiday with 3 friends in the south of France in Perpignan, and whilst there saw a poster for Yes playing in about 4 days time in Beziers so we moved to a hotel thereand managed to get tickets and were in for a great gig. It was in an old amphitheatre and it was a beautiful, sunny evening. The sunset, thousands of people throwing paper aeroplanes, the view.....and that was before the band came on. It was the 90125 line-up with Trevor Rabin and the band were excellent. The laser show on the French skyline only added to the music and we all left with very big grins.
Ozric Tentacles - various UK festivals 1986/87 If there was one thing you could pretty much be sure of at that time.... ozrics would turn up and play - often for hours, or all night, in a little tent with a generator. Improvisation was always the name of the game and when they were on form they were unbelievable and unmissable.
Cardiacs - Sheffield, UK (1988) Cardiacs were intense. A mixture of prog, punk, psychedelia and theatre they were / are almost uncategorisable (is that a word?). Some of their material could easily slip into the moon - some would certainly cause some moonies to choke on their cornflakes! If anyone feels like checking them out
http://www.cardiacs.com/ - you may never be the same again.
NDR Symphony Orchestra - conductor Gunter Wand - Edinburgh 2001
Over about 3 years this orchestra and conductor would come and play Bruckner at the Edinburgh festival. The conductor was a frail old man who had to be physically helped onto the podium. Bruckner's music stands out from other "romantic" composers in the way that he uses big blocks of sound and builds up magnificent musical architectures - often intense, often very beautiful. Hearing this music conducted by a man who virtually lived and breathed Bruckner's music was a profound experience. After a few minutes from the start this frail old man seemed transformed, animated as if he was plugged in to some higher force. Awesome.
Caravan- Old Buckenham School, Norfolk, 1991
In 1990/1991 I lived in a tiny village in the Norfolk countryside where there was a shop and a pub about 1 mile away. One day after walking to the shop I noticed a small poster in the window advertising Caravan playing at the local school! At this time I was unaware that Caravan were playing together as they had not had any of the later, more publicised reunions. Could it be true they were going to play in the middle of nowhere? On the night of the gig I couldn't believe it was true - apparently they band knew the headmaster of the school or something and he had persuaded them to come and play. The original line up of Caravan - playing nearly the whole of In the Land Of Grey and Pink, with a real explosion at the end of Nine Feet Underground as well...unbelievable. It was kind of surreal because it was in a school and the school kids had stalls selling orange juice and biscuits - not the usual rock gig environment! The whole thing was fantastic.