Music Monday: The Top 5 Concerts of My Life (So Far)

If you're a semi-frequent Twitter user, you're familiar with #MusicMonday. I've never gotten involved, but I've always wanted to. So enjoy my completely non-sports-related Music Monday offering, The Top 5 Concerts of My Life So Far (with video evidence):

Dishonorable Mention: Rise Against, Lollapalooza '09 (video: Prayer of the Refugee)
Don't take this the wrong way. I love Rise Against. In a music scene littered with far too many Nickelbacks and Hinders; bands who play crappy, corporate rock devoid of any real passion, Rise Against is one of the few bands today who still have actual testosterone. Re-Education (through Labor) is a staple of my workout playlist on my iPod. If I was ever holding a rally of some kind, I would be playing Prayer of the Refugee in the background. Quite simply, they can turn it up like no other band in the past decade.

So this should've kicked major ass. In theory, Rise Against is the ultimate live band. Live shows are about more than just the music being played: they're about the energy, the interaction between band and crowd, the special effects. It's a combination of everything, coming together in a rich tapestry of ass-kicking and name-taking. But this show fell flat. No energy. Minimal crowd interaction. If you watch the above video and queue up the guitar solo, you'll notice that they're not even bothering to fake it--the music is piped in, and they are just there for the paycheck and the afterparty. This show was the adult equivalent to discovering that Santa Claus wasn't real, or having a girlfriend admit that she regularly faked orgasms. Took my hopes, and smashed them.

Now, on to the actual list:

5. Dropkick Murphy's, Summerfest 2009
Couldn't find a good video of this one, but this is proof positive of how much a crowd can influence a show. DKM was going on at the same time as The Offspring--me and a few friends decided to check both out, and play it on the fly based on which one was better. The Offspring was overcrowded--by which I mean you were packed nut to butt all the way back to the food stands. The only way to get into position to actually see the band was to get there in the mid-afternoon and pray. Get there later on, as we did since I had to work, and you're stuck out of earshot of the band, with a group of passerbys who aren't really sure who is supposed to be playing. Dropkick, on the other hand, seemed to be Diehards Only Night--which meant that everyone knew the songs, was into the show, and as is to be predicted with a Celtic punk band, was piss drunk and unashamed of the fact. Just a great time all around.

4. Snoop Dogg, Lollapalooza 2009 (video: Gin & Juice)

A friend of mine won all-weekend passes to Lollapalooza this summer, and me and him drove down to Chicago for an experience we could not have ever predicted. Coming in, other than Rise Against, Snoop was the show I wanted to see the most. He's one of those shows that you don't think of when you think of the "Guys I'd love to see live" list, but when the opportunity comes up to see Snoop Dogg, you don't pass it up.

And I'm glad I didn't. Combine the act (Snoop, one of the godfathers of West Coast rap) with the crowd (90% white, 95% stoned out of their minds) and you've got a recipe for unintentional hilarity. Some of the best moments:
-The repeated Old School references by a number of random people around me (Come on, bring your green hat!). Would you hear this at a Snoop show at The Rave? Not in a million years.
-The several obligatory crowd shots on the Jumbotron. "Nothin' But a G Thang" played to a pan-over of white college kids and yuppies? Slayed me.
-I would not be far off to estimate that five kilos of weed were smoked during the duration of the show. You couldn't even see behind the crowd at one point--not because it was so packed, but because there was a massive cloud of smoke obscuring your view.
-Continuing this trend, the guy stuck in front of me for most of the show. He was white, fat, and wore nothing but a throwback Jordan jersey--leaving a full view of his abundant bacne. Some of the worst white trash I've ever seen, bar none. But he lit up 6 joints to himself during the show (seriously--I counted), and as repulsive as he is I've gotta respect someone who could do that in 95 degree heat, with no water anywhere in sight, and not die.

3. Reel Big Fish, Summerfest 2007 (video: Trendy. Far from my favorite RBF song, but the only video I could find from that show)
Put it this way: they covered Enter Sandman, and segued into In The Air Tonight. Name another band who can cover Metallica and Phil Collins back to back without sounding retarded. Go ahead. I'll wait.

You can't. And the crowd factor is off the charts for this one, too. People dancing on picnic tables, people singing along into their beer bottles, you name it. "Fun" is the only way to describe it.

Major penalty points for playing "Sell Out" and "Beer" as encores, even though they had already played both songs during the setlist though. Huge letdown. Any aspiring musicians out there, take a note: do not EVER do this. This show would've ranked as #2 easily otherwise. If there's any chance of an encore, have something ready for it. Don't just re-hash something we've already seen.

(And as a side note, finding videos of Summerfest shows is harder than I would've ever thought. Milwaukee, we need to step up our copyright infringement. I'm disappointed in us.)

2. Kaiser Chiefs, Lollapalooza 2009 (video: I Predict a Riot)

If Rise Against marked my biggest disappointment of the summer, Kaiser Chiefs was the best pleasant surprise. I was not a fan of theirs, and my friend and I went mostly because there was nobody else at that time slot we wanted to see. It was hot, it was the middle of the afternoon, and they flat-out rocked it. Coming out into the crowd to play, drinking beers onstage (and insulting Budweiser in the process), climbing up the stage, and even saluting one of their road crew, who was retiring after the show in the above video (This one's for you. Take a bow... and don't forget to go fucking mental). There is nothing in the world more awesome than a band having the time of their lives on stage, and being a part of it.

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bradly Center, 2007 (video: Can't Stop)
Despite the crappy quality, I picked this video for a reason: this song completely made the show. The band members came out one by one for about 5 minutes, joining in to the jam session, the video picks up as Anthony Kiedis walks onstage (the huge ovation), and the band transitions seamlessly into the intro to Can't Stop as the lights turn on and the crowd cheers at exactly the right moment. I still get goosebumps watching that video.