my top 10 concerts

my recent trip to tampa has got me thinking. where exactly do the police rank on my all-time list of concerts? so, here's another of my overblown and self-indulgent lists. top ten concerts i have attended thus far:

10) the ramones - 06/27/96 - longview lake - kansas city, mo - lollapalooza '96: with little exaggeration, quite possibly the worst experience of my life. but that is for another post. this particular festival was rife with big names...but it didn't seem to matter. metallica? sucked. soundgarden? sucked. rancid? sucked, (but they are pretty much supposed to suck.) the only glimmer of "non-awfulness" was getting to see the quintessential punkers play from about 20 feet away. the energy was there. the attitude was there. joey was as terrifying in person as i could have ever imagined. it was a slice of rock history that made me forget about the long, gray, horrible pair of summer days that i was in the middle of.

9) phil collins - 07/25/94 - sandstone amphitheater - bonner springs, ks - despite the inherent uncool factor, mr. collins has always been a favorite of mine. and he puts on a dang good show. he got his start in theatre...then genesis (which WAS theatre for the most part) so it's no surprise his shows were always deeply theatrical. from the set all the way to the ending (a 15 minute version of "take me home" which saw each band member disappear from the stage until just phil was left singing as he put on his coat and hat and left) the show was pure entertainment.

(NOTE: this is the only entry on the list that took place at my least favorite venue of all time. i have seen many of my favorite bands at sandstone (REM, toad the wet sprocket, even chicago) and all the shows were mediocre at best. if a person could have a place as a nemesis...sandstone would be mine.)

8) midnight oil - 07/09/02 - beaumont club - kansas city, mo - imagine for a moment, that you are back in high school. now picture your top 4 favorite bands at the time. now fast forward 10 years and imagine yourself seeing one of those bands. not in a large arena as the other 3 have long since come to tour through, but rather a small club in the bar district of your hometown. midnight oil played that night to about 100 of us. they were all pushing 50 and half a world away from home...and still played like they loved music more than life itself. in it for the fans. in it for the music. what's not to love?

7) beck - 01/28/00 - midland theater - kansas city, mo - for the love of crimony, go see this man in concert. you will not be disappointed. words can't describe how crazy and how awesome he is live.

6) over the rhine - 07/02/94 - cornerstone festival - bushnell, il - the first time i ever saw OTR. they were still a 4-piece. the entire stage was lit with candles and very little else. it was a midnight show. karen was radiant. linford was lost in the music. it was unbelievably beautiful.

5) ben folds five - 10/24/95 - the hurricane - kansas city, mo - hardly anyone knew who they were, this little band from north carolina with the brilliant front man. they tore the 'cane apart. i've seen ben several times since, this was the only time i saw the five. i liked their debut album before that night, but i was a "fan" after it. if you ever got a chance to see one of your favorite bands before they hit it big, you know exactly what i am saying.

4) the police - 07/11/07 - st. pete times forum - tampa, fl - the questions were abundant. can they possibly still be as good as they were 20+ years ago? will it be worth the ticket price? will they play some of their lesser known stuff? will stewart storm off stage in the middle of the show, thus ending the reunion? the answers, gloriously: yes. yes. yes. and no. three crazily talented and egotistical rock icons that play together better than anyone. it was well worth the wait. and special kudos for the best use of lights/video i have ever seen. and special SPECIAL kudos to the drunk in front of us for "keeping it real."

3) waterdeep - 05/01/04 - new earth coffee house - kansas city, mo - the "farewell to touring" concert of the greatest band that no one has ever heard. all of their concerts were great. but this one at the new earth, their birthplace and home for 10 years, was special. 2-hour acoustic set upstairs followed by a 2-hour electric set downstairs. the kicker was that ALL of the ORIGINAL MEMBERS came back and played on their respective songs. watching the original five guys play "to chase away the birds" was something i never thought i would get to experience again. the whole evening was magic. i think i smiled for a month afterward.

2) U2 - 05/26/05 - fleet center - boston, ma - 1992-the zootv tour: my ticket was sold to someone else because of a miscommunication. 2001-elevation tour: couldn't make the road trip with a group of friends at the last minute. 2005-vertigo tour: i wasn't going to miss it. it's as someone described to me once...a "religious experiecne." i wept. i admit it.

1) depeche mode - 10/17/93 - st. louis arena - st. louis, mo - saw them twice on this tour, but the outdoor version had NOTHING on the original. a newly-clean dave gahan led this charge into modern-rock perfection. the opening (ceiling to floor sheets with 40 ft silhouettes of the band fading in and out to the driving swell of "higher love" erupting into a frenzy of "i feel you") and closing (a completely drained crowd singing along to "everything counts" despite voices that had long been shot) alone would put it in the top 10. fortunately, they had about 20 songs in between that churned this concert to the front.

honorable mentions (aka- rounding out the top 15): johnny cash, garbage, billy joel WITH elton john, lionel richie circa 1984, planet party '93 (midnight oil, matthew sweet, TMBG, and another awesome drunk guy.)

let's hear yours. go.