CONCERTS!

I keep meaning to post a blog detailing all of the concerts I have been at and some thoughts about them. Lets see if I can remember them.

1995-White Zombie/The Ramones - What a hell of a first concert eh? This was the Astro Creep 2000 tour and I love that album. There were fireworks, pyro and it was jamming. I had never seen anything like it. The Ramones opened for them. First time I ever heard them. I went out the next day and got their greatest hits. I became a fan that day. It was their last tour for both bands. Also the Supersuckers opened for both.

1996-Stone Temple Pilots/Local H - I am a huge STP fan and seeing them was great. Local H was great too. Used to cover some of their songs in my old high school band.

1996-Metallica/Corrosion of Conformity - This was a great show to see. I should go see them again.

1997-Stone Temple Pilots/Cheap Trick - I saw STP twice on the same tour. This time I was on the floor for the first time and Cheap Trick opened. I was very close. Caught a pick from Rick Nelson. I still got it. I love Cheap Trick!!

1998-Queensryche - Saw them perform on the HEAR IN THE NOW FRONTIER tour. They played a lot from the Operation Mindcrime and Empire albums. This was the last tour with Chris Degarmo, one of their main songwriters.

1998-Rob Zombie/Korn - Seeing Rob Zombie again was a great treat. He always puts on a great show. Korn was the other act. I used to be big into them and it was a good performance as I recall. A band called Videodrone opened for them.

1999-Roger Waters - The "In the Flesh" tour. It was a great show. Half Floyd, half Waters solo stuff. There were obnoxious and scary drunk people right in front of us. Almost ruined the show for me. But I stuck it out and I am glad I did.

2001-U2 - The "Elevation" tour. Easily in my top 5 concert tours of all time. I love this show. I got a bootleg of it on audio. I listen to it often.

2001-Bob Dylan - This was his "Love and Theft" tour. I was on the floor and damn close. Man, once the band started, all I could smell was weed. The pot smoke clouds in there were so thick!

2002-Third Eye Blind/Eve 6 - They came to my local college campus and I think my ticket was free. It was an okay show. Third Eye Blind was actually better than I thought they would be. I was on MTV as a result, as it was part of the "campus invasion tour."

2004-Neal Morse - He played at a local church in Hastings, MI. I made flyers for the show and took them around to Christian book stores (He's a christian artist now). I made a good lifelong friend out of the promoter. Great things came out of this show!

2005-Neal Morse - Same place, same situation. Although this time I got to help out at the show a bit more and be there for everything. It was great fun.

2005-Meatloaf - My parents cashed in points and we saw Meatloaf when he came to the casino. I've always loved his stuff. It was a great show and he played with the audience a lot. Some old lady tossed her bra and panties at him. He tied them to his mic stand.

2010-Roger Waters - This is when he performed THE WALL live in Chicago. His 4th stop on his new tour. It was a well oiled machine and it was great to see my favorite album performed live. Wonderful show!

2010-Transatlantic - In a small theater in Downtown Chicago. Real intimate and it was great. The band came out after and signed stuff and took pics. Saw Neal Morse yet again and got my 80th autograph from him. Met Roine, Pete and best of all, Mike Portnoy! My favorite drummer. Made my best friend jealous with that one.

2011-U2/Florence and the Machine - East Lansing. My back yard! This is still considered the largest and highest grossing concert tour ever. And it was a great show. Took the wife to it and I think she gained a new respect for U2 after this. New band Florence and the Machine opened for them and they were good.

2011-Paul McCartney - Might stand as my favorite concert I have ever went to. It was in Tigers' Stadium. I sprung for floor tickets, pretty close to the man himself. It was an emotional night for me. I teared up several times. I sang along with each song. It was just awesome!

So there ya go. My concerts so far. I love going to shows. But my favorite bands are starting to wither. Either they are broke up or dying off. So my shows are starting to get fewer and fewer.

Concerts I'd still love to go see (and could see):

--AC/DC - Seems like a staple act that I should experience live.
--Metallica - I'd love to see them again. Been a long time.
--Tom Waits - this one is a no brainer for me.
--Rush - Again, a no brainer.
--Paul McCartney - AGAIN! AGAIN! MORE PLEASE!
--Dream Theater - If Portnoy rejoins ever, I might go see em.
--U2 - I'd gladly go see them on each tour they do.
--STP - Ditto

Anyway, those are the first ones that come to mind that are possible. But I'd be up for any show that sounded appealing. I almost got tickets to the Van Halen concert coming up, but they sold out. Oh well! I'm not a mega fan of theirs or anything anyway.

BONUS: COMEDIANS I have seen live!

2004-Mitch Hedberg, Gilbert Godfried, Jessica Kirshon

2006-George Carlin

(I need to see more comedy shows!)