Top 3 live shows

I went to The Prodigy all night (my first) at Brixton in December 1995. The Chemical Brothers were support then too. That gig was phenomenal. One of my top 10.

I was at that one too! After seeing the March show, convinced a bunch of mates to come up from Kent for the December one - no one was disappointed :smiley:

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  1. Dizzee Rascal, Benicassim 2010

This was Dizzee at the height of his fame playing the main stage on a hot Saturday night. Started off with the classics with Fix Up Look Sharp and Sirens being particular stands out then closed out with the one-two punch of Dance With Me and Holiday. Being part of thousands of people losing their shit was one of my most memorable live experiences and Holiday especially just summed up the entire festival. Amazing.

  1. Hadouken!, Bournemouth Old Fire Station, 2009

Hadouken! were always far from my favourite band but I was still fully on board the nu-rave craze in the late 00s. What made this gig wasn’t the music at all it was the atmosphere. There were hundreds of us packed into this tiny venue to the point where you couldn’t even move. The heat was ridiculous, we were all drenched in sweat and security ended up having to pass round water bottles through the support acts just to keep us all from fainting. Then Hadouken! played and everything went mental. It was just this crazy mess of jumping, screaming and fighting to stay upright in the madness. And to top it off I caught the singer’s towel when he threw it into the crowd so I even got a memento. Just insane.

  1. Marina and the Diamonds, Southampton Joiners, 2008

I fucking love Marina and the Diamonds. I love her so much that in the space of 2.5 years I saw her live 7 times. It was really cool seeing her go from this unknown act all the way through to playing the O2 Academy. This was the first time I saw her and it’s always been my favourite cause it was such a small intimate gig. Less than 50 people, Marina was literally right in front of me and all her songs were corkers. Marina :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Saw the first of the ‘reunion’ shows in Le Pub. Was incredible

  1. Blur – Glastonbury 2009
  1. Bruce Springsteen – London 2013 (the Born In The USA full album show)
  1. Pearl Jam – Amsterdam 2012 (Night 2 of their two night run there)
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I was at the Springsteen gig. It was excellent. Very slightly let down by the state of the “park”. It was a semi building site and I remember being stood on gravel/stones all night. That aside brilliant gig.

Hah, yeah - I also seem to recall some sort of weird astroturf covering some of the park now that you mention it.

I initially read this as being stood on gravestones all night :unamused:

Not sure I can narrow it down to three, but I’ll try, off the top of my head;

Rocket From The Crypt @ Manchester Academy 2 1996
The Scream Dracula Scream tour, I’d only just discovered them and they were incredible, crowding the small stage in their silver lame suits. I don’t think I could wipe the grin off my face or the ringing from my ears for days!

The Prodigy @ Doncaster Dome 1997
Soon after Fat of the Land came out, amazing gig and atmosphere even in a sports hall in Donny! Danced my arse off!

Ned’s Atomic Dustbin @ Sheffield Boardwalk 2004
As a massive fan but not a gig goer I never saw them live at their height in the early 90s so when they announced they would tour as they needed some cash I had to attend! A tiny venue in Sheffield I’d not been to before (or since actually), sweaty, loud and stupidly fun, I was soaked, bruised and knackered at the end but this was another gig where I just couldn’t stop grinning during and afterwards!

The Wall - Roger Waters

Radiohead - Glastonbury 2003

Muse - Reading 2002 - not even that much of a fan anymore, but this was on the Origin of Symmetry your and it was stupendous. It had been raining, we had to endure sum41 and the Hives and I hand a blinding headache. All forgotten within 2 minutes flat.

Can I mention another?

Grails, Harvey Milk, The Jesus Lizard @ Kentish Town Forum May 2009
I saw The Jesus Lizard at Reading Festival in 1994, I’d never heard of them before but was assured by my companions that I wouldn’t regret it, they were right! I was hooked, David Yow’s on stage antics (diving from the Reading main stage into the mosh pit for example!) and the band’s electric performance meant I sought out everything they’d done when I got home. So when they announced their one UK gig post reformation I got a ticket, booked two days off work, got the train from Leeds and stayed in a horrible b&b but my word it was worth it! Fifteen years after Reading and as soon as they start Yow takes a running jump into the crowd from the back of the stage, the man’s in his 50s ffs! Grails and Harvey Milk made up a great bill, awesome show!

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When I saw them he grabbed a ladder that had been left in the building and stood on the very top of it in the middle of the crowd screaming his guts out! It was pretty damn memorable!

Thee Oh Sees - Forum- 3/9/2018
Million Dead - The Boxing Club, Reading - 5/8/2005
Nine Inch Nails - Reading Festival - 2007

First probably Mogwai at the Sage. Despite the fact they didn’t play Mogwai Fear Satan it was brilliant. My first time seeing them. Christmas Steps was a particular highlight.

Second might be Ash at the Whitley Bay dome. They were playing tiny venues after Nuclear Sounds tanked and there must have only been a hundred people in there. The atmosphere was electric.

Third - and you might see this as a bit lame - was Kiss at the Newcastle Arena. I’m not even that much of a fan and I got the tickets for free but the sheer circus-spectacle of watching them live was kinda thrilling.

Nirvana - Bierkeller Bristol - first term at uni, just after Nevermind came out, nuff said

NIN - Astoria - their first UK show I think, I have one of their smashed guitars in the loft somewhere (ties with FNM at same venue probably, which was my first gig)

Primal Scream and Death In Vegas - Shepherds Bush Empire - at that one moment in time the perfect pairing and the perfect gig

Seen hundreds of gigs since then so slightly alarming I can’t think of any that make the grade after 2000… however top 10 would include Twilight Sad at the Garage, FOTL at the Lexington, Swans at Roundhouse, FBs with the Bug and the Field at Kentish Town, Massive Attack at Brixton (100th Window tour), some others

Got into the Jesus Lizard just after they did this. Remember looking to see whether there was any chance of a reunion and finding out I’d just missed one! Raging.

I think they had some shows in the US recently so hopefully we haven’t heard the last.

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I think I’m right in saying that their first ever UK show was supporting Guns N Roses at Wembley Stadium a couple of weeks before the Astoria date (although obviously a vastly inferior experience). I was there and as a metal kid was all geared up to rock out to Skid Row and GNR, but even in the inauspicious surrounds of first act on at Wembley however, NIN blew my mind. Not just me - one of my mates from school went out the following Monday and bought Pretty Hate Machine and in time-honoured tradition did cassette copies for all of us. Lovely stuff :+1:

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Ah, my first gig as a spotty, greasy-fringed youth!

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Radiohead @ Roundhouse, May 2016
The Mars Volta @ Roundhouse, July 2008
Smashing Pumpkins @ Astoria, February 1994

Somewhere else in the top 10: Fucked Up, Rolo Tomassi (with Conjurer), Shady Bard, Low, Afghan Whigs, Three Trapped Tigers and Metallica.

Holy shit, their Reading 94 set is on youtube! 26 year old me is on that crowd somewhere!

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