I had a conversation about concerts with a friend recently, and I was asked what my all-time favorite shows were. I answered off the top of my head, but we agreed I should blog about it. So here’s my more thought-out top 5 (not necessarily in order, except for the top 2). If anyone reading this feels like commenting with a couple of your favorites, please do. Or even do a top 5, if you feel like putting that much effort into it.
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#5. Brandi Carlile - April 11, 2009: This was an acoustic show, in a really nice theater in Des Moines, Iowa, with a respectfully quiet audience. This was in advance of the release of her third album, Give Up the Ghost, and she road-tested several new songs, including “Dying Day,” and the awesome “Before It Breaks.” Plus, she closed the encore with a solo acoustic cover of “Hallelujah,” which was amazing. This was also one of the very few shows I’ve seen where I was so impressed by the opening act that I went to the merch table after his set to buy his album. The opener-- Gregory Alan Isakov (more about him in a bit).
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#4. Bruce Springsteen - March 14, 2008: This is my favorite Springsteen show, because of the setlist. We got “Adam Raised a Cain,” “Because the Night,” “The River,” and “Thunder Road,” which are all favorites of mine; and it was my first time seeing the first three live. I also met some friends for dinner before the show, which was fun. Our seats weren't together, but I usually go to shows alone, so it was nice to meet up with friends beforehand. Often, the events surrounding a show help make or break the experience. More on that later.
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#3. Gregory Alan Isakov - May 20, 2012: One of my absolute favorite artists, at an intimate venue in Lincoln, Nebraska. Isakov was touring behind his incredible album, This Empty Northern Hemisphere, so that made up most of the setlist. This was the third time I’d seen him, and I’ve seen him five times since then. But this show was the only time I've seen him play my favorite song-- he closed the main set with “Master and a Hound” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUYYO2cA3Yw ). And he nailed it. Even his bandmates on stage were visibly into the performance-- his violin player just stood on stage with his eyes closed until his time to join in. And this show was the day before my birthday, which was awesome.
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#2. U2 - December 15 2005: Now we get to the upper echelon. Like I said earlier, sometimes the events surrounding a show make the difference. This show was sold out for months. But, a couple weeks before the show, I attended a Keith Urban show, then drove home afterward because I had to work at the radio station the next morning. So, a) running on almost no sleep, b) still under the influence of post-concert euphoria, and c) having just received an invitation that morning to a friend’s college graduation party, to be held in the same city the day after the U2 show, I decided I had to find my way into the show. I ended up paying $220 for a scalped general admission floor ticket. And the show was awesome. Being in the middle of an arena-wide sing-along of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was basically a religious experience. This stood as my favorite show for a long time.
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#1. Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran - Rock in Rio USA, Las Vegas - May 15, 2015: I think I wrote a blog here about this show shortly after it happened. I’m counting these shows together, because they were part of a festival, they were back-to-back, and they felt like co-headliners. I saw Charli XCX and Echosmith on this day also. Sheeran is a super fun performer, and the show had a great vibe. And Swift? C’mon-- I was in Las Vegas, attending my first music festival, seeing my favorite artist perform songs from her best album, on the first U.S. show of her tour. Of course this is my new #1.
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I've been really lucky to have the time and money to see a lot of great shows over the years. I'd like to see Taylor Swift on her upcoming tour, but it's a stadium tour, which is kind of a pain in the ass. The nearest show is at least four hours away from where I live, and tickets are probably going to be ridiculously expensive (plus, you sit SO FAR AWAY at a stadium show). Tickets go on sale this week, and I still haven't decided what I'm going to do. I guess I'll have to see how bad ticket prices actually are.