As Husband Styro and I listened to Brian Wilson's newest CD in the car on Sunday, I started trying to mentally rank my favorite concert experiences. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order.
Brian Wilson at the Michigan Theater 2008 - the first half of the show was all Beach Boys and Brian Wilson solo hits. A real blast. The second half of the show was a complete, live re-creation of his latest CD, That Lucky Old Sun. His band is amazing, and his voice still sounds great after all these years. He gets help on some of the high notes by Jeff Foskett, and Scott Bennett.
Randy Newman at Interlochen 2000 - see more details about this show here.
Billy Joel at Chrysler Arena, probably late 1984 - this was the tour for his Innocent Man album. He was at his peak, with tremendous musicians, and great voice. The song I remember most is Goodnight Saigon, which he intro'd with Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.
Peter Gabriel's Us Tour at the Palace, probably early 1993 - this whole album can still make me melt. There's something about Gabriel's smoky voice, along with the rhythms he puts together. I can sway along with the best shoe-gazers in town. This show had a round stage, out in the middle of the crown, connected to the main stage by a conveyor-belt. The theatrical aspect of this show is unsurpassed, in my experience.
Donald Fagen's New York Rock N' Soul Revue, probably Summer of 1993 - we saw this at Pine Knob (now called the DTE Energy Music Theater [blech]), which is consistently rated one of the best places to see a rock concert. This show featured lots of great soul music, in addition to some of Steely Dan's stuff, and a few Fagen solo numbers. It also feature Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow, and Michael McDonald. Walter Becker made a guest appearance, as well, a precursor to their reunion in the very late 90's.
Paul Simon's Graceland Tour at Pine Knob, probably Summer of 1987 - In addition to featuring the finest sound engineering I have ever experienced at a concert, this show featured Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. An amazing experience all around. A version of the same show was recorded in Africa, and is available on DVD. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Elvis Costello's solo tour at Hill Auditorium 1989 - remember the date on this one because I was pregnant with Marie at the time. The opening act at this beautiful, old venue was Nick Lowe, who came out to play with nothing more than a guitar and amp, which he switched for a bass and amp for a solo version of Jumbo Ark. When E.C. played, he was on stage, alone, playing guitar and singing audience requests. Really! A pink gorilla wandered the aisles, picking people who got to come up on stage, meet the man, and pick a song for him to play. And there were no drugs involved, as far as I recall.
k.d. lang at Pine Knob, probably summer of 1993 or 1994 - I saw this show not long after the release of Ingenue, still one of my favorite CDs by k.d. The rockin' part? We had front row seats. Nobody was in line that Saturday morning when tickets went on sale, and we put a request for three seats into the Ticketmaster terminal, just for grins. When first row seats came up, I nearly fainted.
R.E.M. at Cobo Arena 1989 - Another show I remember the timing of because of pregnancy, and although R.E.M. was great that night, I remember this show mostly because it began my association with Indigo Girls, who opened for that night's show. I like listening to music, but I mostly love to sing. Amy and Emily spoke to my heart, and in my key! They blew me away the first time I heard them, and went looking for them at my favorite CD store, Repeat the Beat in Dearborn, the next day. Roman didn't have any, but had had several requests just that day, so I placed an order, and have loved them since.
Amazing how long I can natter on about such inconsequential things, isn't it? Your turn. What's the best or most memorable concert you've ever seen?
