Live Shows...

[Ben_Jamin]

I was responding to the "Why They Let MP Go" thread, and this had come across my mind, and something I have also noticed whenever I attend shows. And I try to go to the various genres of shows, when I can.

There was a weird trend in the Live Music business. That Trend is the Album Anniversary Tours. I've noticed that more bands were doing this around that time, and before, the Astonishing was released, and even after.

This led me to notice something a bit sad and unfortunate , and bands see this too, is the lack of people wanting to go see a live show. It's like Fans expect things from a show, something to give them a reason to go see the band play live. What those expectations are, is all personal.

To Me, I am there to see the band play the music I enjoy in front of me. I am there, to hear and feel for myself, the vibrations and tones emanating from their instruments or voice. These vibrations and tones you feel and hear, are those of the ones playing. I want to experience those vibrations and tones they are emitting to me by way of their music. It's a reason why changing ONE member of the band can drastically change the sound, even to the point where you don't enjoy the bands vibrations and tones anymore because the ONE member was the reason you enjoyed the bands sound.

My question then is...

What are the reasons why you go see a live show? And..What are the reasons (show related) that prevent you from seeing a favorite band live?

[HOF]

I personally do not enjoy the noise level of rock concerts. I’ve been to a few in my lifetime, but I’m always just kind of miserable in that environment. Also not a huge fan of crowds in a small area. I do like to watch a good live performance on film though.

I will say the two best concerts I’ve ever attended were country/blue grass related (Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek), in part because the sound wasn’t a problem, but also because those are some really talented musicians.

[Stadler]

Ben, you're close. 

But with the exception of a few shows - Maiden, Kiss - I've also been leaning to smaller shows, and part of the thrill is being up close and making the music personal.   I was lucky enough to be on stage with Gene Simmons (I'm something of a Kiss fan ), I've been lucky enough to be close enough to say "Thank you!" to both Slash and Myles AND have them repond... For me, I work, I'm a dad, I'm a son, and I make concerts a break.  I'm usually sober for the shows, but not to say I don't go have a couple beers, go to the show, and escape for a couple hours before going back and hitting it hard.

[Anguyen92]

Reasons I like to go to live shows is mainly because I want a reason to get out of the house sometimes.  I'm not the most sociable guy.  Despite living in Southern California all my life, I don't go to beaches.  I have a skin condition and my skin itches like hell if I get too much sunlight or stress at a certain point.  I use live shows as a way to attempt to socialize with people that have similar interests as mine (which is obviously the bands we go the shows for or bands that we like).  Sometimes, I want to get out of the house so much that I'm willing to travel out of state to see a band (only reversed for Alter Bridge and Myles Kennedy solo).  It's a good feeling to have to do something out the norm and live concerts fits that need for me.

Now reasons I don't go to concerts.  Mainly if I am pretty sick and really really exhausted.  I remember sitting out a Starset concert early October 2019 because I was pretty darn tired after what I went through a few weeks before (turns out seeing Iron Maiden and two Alter Bridge concerts in three different cities in two different time zones will do that to you).  I also don't go to concerts if the show is too expensive for me or seats are in horrible nosebleed sections or the setlist is too static for my taste. 

I remember not going to see DT in Riverside last year, because the cheapest seats just wouldn't give me a good view and I already saw the tour set in LA in March 2019, and the wow factor wouldn't be there a second time.  That's where I'm not a huge fan of the album anniversary tour concept.  Oddly enough, I went to two Switchfoot shows that year in the same locations that DT would do their shows in SoCal (LA and Riverside in the same venues) and Switchfoot modify the setlist enough in the second show and they were great shows to me.

[Ben_Jamin]

I personally do not enjoy the noise level of rock concerts. I’ve been to a few in my lifetime, but I’m always just kind of miserable in that environment. Also not a huge fan of crowds in a small area. I do like to watch a good live performance on film though.

I will say the two best concerts I’ve ever attended were country/blue grass related (Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek), in part because the sound wasn’t a problem, but also because those are some really talented musicians.

I've experienced some Very Laid Back shows where you could bring a chair on the lawn, Those are nice and always a good vibe and environment. Country shows here in New Mexico, along with Hip-Hop/Rap shows, tend to have rowdy crowds, but that's due to drinking and assholes. Metal/Rock crowds, depends on the band, but usually not as many drunken assholes. It's also funny how you can spot a metal fan at a Hip-Hop concert, because we usually throw up the devil horns, or as Dio Grandma says "When someone gives you the evil eye, give them this."  Whenever a Hip-Hop group has a live band, its even better, even just a drummer adds to the Hip-Hop show. Although, I don't really enjoy DJ only sets, it's still not bad hearing them do what they do best and that is Rap, even going Freestyle, which is always.

It's really fascinating how certain genres can inflict a different style of enjoying the music. Even, creating a different audience vibe. Just goes to show, just exactly how powerful music is.

[Ben_Jamin]

Reasons I like to go to live shows is mainly because I want a reason to get out of the house sometimes.  I'm not the most sociable guy.  Despite living in Southern California all my life, I don't go to beaches.  I have a skin condition and my skin itches like hell if I get too much sunlight or stress at a certain point.  I use live shows as a way to attempt to socialize with people that have similar interests as mine (which is obviously the bands we go the shows for or bands that we like).  Sometimes, I want to get out of the house so much that I'm willing to travel out of state to see a band (only reversed for Alter Bridge and Myles Kennedy solo).  It's a good feeling to have to do something out the norm and live concerts fits that need for me.

Now reasons I don't go to concerts.  Mainly if I am pretty sick and really really exhausted.  I remember sitting out a Starset concert early October 2019 because I was pretty darn tired after what I went through a few weeks before (turns out seeing Iron Maiden and two Alter Bridge concerts in three different cities in two different time zones will do that to you).  I also don't go to concerts if the show is too expensive for me or seats are in horrible nosebleed sections or the setlist is too static for my taste. 

I remember not going to see DT in Riverside last year, because the cheapest seats just wouldn't give me a good view and I already saw the tour set in LA in March 2019, and the wow factor wouldn't be there a second time.  That's where I'm not a huge fan of the album anniversary tour concept.  Oddly enough, I went to two Switchfoot shows that year in the same locations that DT would do their shows in SoCal (LA and Riverside in the same venues) and Switchfoot modify the setlist enough in the second show and they were great shows to me.

That leads me to...This part of my post...

"It's like Fans expect things from a show, something to give them a reason to go see the band play live."

What are some things Fans expect from a band, that will get them to go see them live when they come to their town, or get them to drive such a distance to see them play live?

And what about seeing them live again their next tour, what are the expectations then to get someone to see them live?

[Stadler]

For me, watching people who are good at their craft.  Doesn't mean they have to be Yngwie Malmsteen - one of the best guitarists I've ever seen was Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze - but I like that feeling of "this could be happening in my living room".    When I saw Bruce Springsteen on Broadway, there was a moment where I could hear Bruce's guitar and vocals live - no amplification - and it gave me chills.  The fucker was singing to ME.   

[TAC]

I'm in my 50's, though not nearly as old as Stadler or Kingshmegland, and I really only go to a handful of shows per year. It's a pretty select group of bands too.


But I've seen all of the bands I ever wanted growing up. But like Stadler said, I'm also a husband and father, and while my kids were growing up, we didn't really do babysitters, so going to shows was fairly difficult. I'm not a go solo person at this point in my life. I did that a lot when I was younger, and it probably contributed to me getting divorced.

The Lovely Mrs TAC is not really into me being out till the wee hours, and I can't blame her.  But if she knows a band is important enough for me to see, she'll just come with me.

So right now, lifestyle is a big factor.

Another current big factor is the price. I'm not going to go "Back in my day" on you, but tickets were just cheaper. And by cheaper, they were less of a burden budgetwise. I can't imagine being in high school or college and have to come up with $100 to go to a concert. When I was younger, there weren't just more reasonable priced, but they were reasonably priced relative wise.

To go see Iron Maiden a couple of years ago, it cost $250 for us to go. I actually felt guilty about spending my family's money.


The OP mentions full album tours. As an extreme one off, I can deal with it, but when DT said they they were doing SFAM, I almost considered not going. I won't behoove a band from making a living, but I feel album tours reek of desperation and of being a money grab. Again, that's their prerogative, but I'm generally not interested in these on principle.




As far as what do I expect. I expect the band to act like they're happy to be there. Bands like Rush would wear this on their sleeve. They could be so invested in the show and it would be awesome, but on other nights, you could tell it was a job for them.
I also like thinking that...bam there they are...in the same room as me. Being a fan and seeing someone live, especially up close is such a cool thing. Even though I saw Helloween in 1987, I spent the next 40 years idolizing (er..being a huge fan of) Michael Kiske. Then a couple of years ago, seeing the reunion tour, there he was 30 feet from me. That's amazing.

I loved growing up and going to concerts. It was my favorite thing to do. Life has changed, but I still see my favorites and when I do, I always feel like it's like hitting my life reset button.




Regarding seeing other genres, it's not something that interests me. I'm a hard rock fan. That's all I'm paying for.

When I was in high school and college, I worked a lot of county fairs, so I saw a lot of live bands, many of them cover bands. So whether it was country, southern, bluegrass, I sat through many of these and always enjoyed the live experience.

[Ben_Jamin]

That's a lot to digest TAC...

"Another current big factor is the price. I'm not going to go "Back in my day" on you, but tickets were just cheaper. And by cheaper, they were less of a burden budgetwise. I can't imagine being in high school or college and have to come up with $100 to go to a concert. When I was younger, there weren't just more reasonable priced, but they were reasonably priced relative wise."

I wish Ticket Prices were still this cheap. I contribute the high ticket prices to the Ticketmaster Monopoly. The fees are pretty much more than the actual ticket price themselves, or end up to being half the price of the actual ticket price, That is just insane. It's a reason why I also don't really like going to Our Venue where all the Big Bands/Artists go, and it's Live Nation sponsored, so that's just shitty. Then they began doing "Platinum Tickets" and I find that to be their pretty term for "Let's Scalp and shove this ticket where it hurts" Taking away the seats closer to the band, while leaving the last 4-5 rows with the actual price for the lower bowl.

The OP mentions full album tours. As an extreme one off, I can deal with it, but when DT said they they were doing SFAM, I almost considered not going. I won't behoove a band from making a living, but I feel album tours reek of desperation and of being a money grab. Again, that's their prerogative, but I'm generally not interested in these on principle.

Since Dream Theater rarely tours here. I got lucky when they came to with Gigantour, and got a pretty good set time and set list, unfortunately, I was just beginning my Dream Theater Fandom, so didn't get into it as much, but It was still a great show, getting to hear TGP, and TDS back to back. It's how I got to like Endless Sacrifice. I believe JLB was pretty good as well, he wasn't shit, I know I would've remembered that. Then when I found out they were coming here for the I&W&B, at an even more smaller auditorium venue, I had to go (It's called Kiva Auditorium if you want to look it up and see its layout). I sat front row and was in front of JP, that is until I had to leave before they finished BAI, sadly, but I had my reasons. I did finish the Images and Words section in Dallas though, and that was worth it being the last show of the tour, that's especially special. So that was a pretty good trade-off, If I say so myself.

When they toured for D/T, and announced Scenes, I was, a bit disappointed because I want to see a set where there is no "concept" in mind, like these anniversary concepts. Being the only one I saw was at Gigantour and wasn't a fan as much as I am now. (excuse the puns)...

I am hoping, once live shows are a go again, the band having released a new album, just goes full on, "We'll rehearse a good amount of songs, and then choose out of these whatever we feel like playing that given night (meaning still have a set-list written down, but there's still a possibility to switch up to a different song, if it feels a good time and idea to play that other song).



Overall, TAC, I dread the day when I won't be able to attend shows due to age. Which is why I am seeing as many bands as I can now, especially those that are old and can croak any moment. One I kind of have a regret not going to is Tom Petty.

[TAC]

Overall, TAC, I dread the day when I won't be able to attend shows due to age. Which is why I am seeing as many bands as I can now, especially those that are old and can croak any moment. One I kind of have a regret not going to is Tom Petty.

I've seen a shitload of shows through the years. I can tell you that if I was single, I'd be going to a lot more shows...but the tradeoff is that I'd be single.

I don't really have concert regrets.

[King Postwhore]

Double edged sword. Small venues are how I want to see bands, but standing all night and staying up really late is tough when you get older.

[SoundscapeMN]

make memories.,

[Cool Chris]

I didn't go to many live shows when I was single mainly due to not having much money and/or no one to go with. If I had disposable income it went to buying CDs. Live shows where just never my thing.

When I go nowadays, I always go by myself, because 1) it is cheaper, 2) my wife doesn't like my music, and 3) if she doesn't go we don't need a babysitter. I am not in to music as an art form the way many of my fellow forumers are. I don't want to heat the music played exactly like it is on the album. I don't care to see how technical the drummer is, or how precise the guitarist is. The vibe of the show is more important to me than the individuals playing their instruments. The first time being in the pit at a Maiden show was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. It wasn't because Adrian and Dave were playing intricate solos, Janick was doing crazy things with his guitar, Bruce was screaming at the top of his lungs, or because of the cool light show and amazing backdrops. But, it was because of how all those things came together to shape the experience for me, and ot enjoy it with the thousands of screaming fans around me.

[Stadler]

Agree with everything TAC, who is older than me, and King said.

Want to add this though:  I go to about 60 or 70% of shows by myself (that includes meeting people there that I know).  Not that I don't have friends - I have a buddy I go to a number of shows with - but it's more fun to me.  I get to meet people, I get to do cool shit like go up on stage with Gene, or hang out and meet Billy Squier...   it's just less stressful, wondering if someone is digging whatever it is I'm listening to (The Claypool Lennon Delirium is a good example).  When I go to see shows in NYC, I make sure I stop in McSorley's.  I see a lot of shows in a particular (seated) venue in CT; I know the people there, and I can sometimes trade up tickets.  I have met several artists there. It's just more flexible.

[Cool Chris]

...it's just less stressful [going solo], wondering if someone is digging whatever it is I'm listening to...

That's essentially how I feel about going to shows solo. There was a point in my life where I was really alone, and I got tired of missing out on things because I didn't have anyone to share the experience with. Till one day I just said "screw it! Why should going it alone prevent me from enjoying myself?"

[Stadler]

...it's just less stressful [going solo], wondering if someone is digging whatever it is I'm listening to...

That's essentially how I feel about going to shows solo. There was a point in my life where I was really alone, and I got tired of missing out on things because I didn't have anyone to share the experience with. Till one day I just said "screw it! Why should going it alone prevent me from enjoying myself?"

I have yet to go to a show where I didn't end up in line with someone or get stuck next to someone, and strike up a conversation...  it's not like we're best friends now or anything, but we're both there for the music, and so there's a commonality.   In line for Bruce's Broadway show, I was at the show with my friends, but they had tickets so they went drinking while I stood there waiting.  Turns out the couple behind me lived about three blocks from my old house in Philly, so...   

[Samsara]

Great topic, Ben.

What are the reasons why you go see a live show? And..What are the reasons (show related) that prevent you from seeing a favorite band live?

I go see live shows for the energy, and to see the artist who wrote and recorded the songs I love play them live and give me a sense of being a part of the music. It brings the music closer to you, as a fan, if that makes sense. Artists always say once they release a song, it isn't theirs any longer -- they belong to the fans to a certain extent. And I agree with that. We all identify with certain music, for whatever reason, and seeing the people who wrote and recorded it brings a certain connection that is just downright special and addictive.

There are a few reasons why I WOULDN'T go see a favorite band live.

1. Practical -- money, etc. For example, when Helloween was here last, I've wanted to see them since I discovered them in 1988. But leading up to the show, we had a bunch of crazy things happen, and although I had a ticket to the show, I had to drive down (had a rental car), stay the night (had a hotel) and then obviously stuff like food, gas, etc. I just couldn't justify it and ate the ticket to the show, and saved all the money on the travel. It destroyed me. I couldn't listen to Helloween for like a year. And while I made the correct decision not going, it still really bothers me.

2. Personal - sometimes you know a band just isn't able to replicate the music you love. That could be due to age, ability, or both. For example, I saw Tesseract on the Altered State tour in San Francisco. One of the worst shows I've ever been to, even though I love that album to death. They played with one guitarist, since the other one had an emergency and had to fly back to Europe. So instead of hiring a player, the other guitarist just piped in the missing guitarists parts. So that was one fake instrument. The fake keyboards were another (I get it, since they never had a keyboard player). But then the biggest thing -- no one but the lead singer in the band at the time, Ashe O'Hara, could sing. Well, Altered State has TONS of vocal layering. And instead of the other musicians singing along with Ashe, Ashe literally sang to an entire lead vocal backing track, picking spots here and there to actually sing.

People there loved the performance, to me, it was insulting. Complete fakery except for one guitar, the drums, and the bass. I've never seen Tesseract since (I assume they do this with the current singer too).

The age factor is also a thing. There are some bands that I would LIKE to check off the box on, but I won't because they are unable to perform to a level they are accustomed to.

Missing members also bugs me. Bands, particularly live, really have a personality and sound to them that are driven by distinctive players. If you lose too many of those distinctive players, while you can make it sound great in the studio, it's not the same live. So that plays into whether I see an older act tour these days.

That can also be a positive, I mean, Living Colour and Armored Saint ALWAYS deliver, and they sound better now than they did 20 years ago. The dedication to performing and keeping up to the high standards is there. Sadly, not all bands care as much about that.

[The Walrus]

I rarely go to live shows because I have to travel to either St. Louis or Chicago for shows, and I absolutely f%&$ing HATE cities, so yeah. No shows this year, and only two last year - Avantasia, and ProgPower.

I like the energy of a live show, there's an electricity and a vibe you get with an audience of fans there to experience what you're there to experience, who share a similar love for something I love. It's the only situation I enjoy talking to strangers or talking much at all, because I know these people will generally know what I'm talking about and have a similar enthusiasm. I also like buying merch straight from a band's merch table, it's always part of the concert experience to go check out what they're selling and at the least get a shirt.

[Stadler]

Great topic, Ben.
2. Personal - sometimes you know a band just isn't able to replicate the music you love. That could be due to age, ability, or both. For example, I saw Tesseract on the Altered State tour in San Francisco. One of the worst shows I've ever been to, even though I love that album to death. They played with one guitarist, since the other one had an emergency and had to fly back to Europe. So instead of hiring a player, the other guitarist just piped in the missing guitarists parts. So that was one fake instrument. The fake keyboards were another (I get it, since they never had a keyboard player). But then the biggest thing -- no one but the lead singer in the band at the time, Ashe O'Hara, could sing. Well, Altered State has TONS of vocal layering. And instead of the other musicians singing along with Ashe, Ashe literally sang to an entire lead vocal backing track, picking spots here and there to actually sing.

That doesn't really factor in except in rare cases; I'm not going to see Yes now, because I've seen them 10 times, and I don't need to see "Yours Is No Disgrace" at 75% tempo.  But even though I knew Ozzy wasn't what he was, seeing the original Black Sabbath was a special treat.   Kiss isn't what they were (that is, a WAY better live band than they get credit for) but even with Paul's voice, it's a spectacle, and it's fun.

I'm okay with backing, if it's obvious and just seasoning.  I still want to hear singers sing and guitar players play. 

Missing members also bugs me. Bands, particularly live, really have a personality and sound to them that are driven by distinctive players. If you lose too many of those distinctive players, while you can make it sound great in the studio, it's not the same live. So that plays into whether I see an older act tour these days.

This is a bigger thing, but still not an absolute.  Depends on the guy; I'm not interested in Yes without Jon, Alan AND Chris (even though I love Billy Sherwood).   Just not interested.  I could care less, though, about Ace and Peter in Kiss.   I saw the original band and the last time I saw Peter, he was embarrassing (I'm 100% convinced that there was a drummer backstage; there's no fucking way he was backing that 90 minute hard rock show).  I could care less that Jeff Watson wasn't in Night Ranger when I saw them last.  Or that Squeeze's back-up band wasn't the classic one. I could care less that Wolfie is playing bass in VH.  I saw that first tour with Wolf and in the moment I didn't miss Michael even once.  I do get nostalgic at times; I missed Malcolm in AC/DC when I saw them (in '88, when Malcolm was in rehab).  I didn't really fully enjoy DT with MM because the specter of Portnoy not being there.  I love Deep Purple, but as much as I love Steve Morse, I can't help but wonder what it's like with my favorite musician of all time, Ritchie Blackmore. 

That can also be a positive, I mean, Living Colour and Armored Saint ALWAYS deliver, and they sound better now than they did 20 years ago. The dedication to performing and keeping up to the high standards is there. Sadly, not all bands care as much about that.

This is Slash to me.  I'll go any time to watch him play.   The last time I saw him was with Myles, and he literally didn't stop playing for two hours.  Even in between, he was noodling, and adding to the intros... I was front row center, and I just was awed at his musicality, his enthusiasm... it was watching a virtuoso playing his instrument for the joy (at that show - the Living The Dream tour - he was just back with G'n'R; I saw him in a 1,500 seat SRO club, whereas G'n'R was playing massive stadia.)

[Ben_Jamin]

Great topic, Ben.

What are the reasons why you go see a live show? And..What are the reasons (show related) that prevent you from seeing a favorite band live?

2. Personal - sometimes you know a band just isn't able to replicate the music you love. That could be due to age, ability, or both. For example, I saw Tesseract on the Altered State tour in San Francisco. One of the worst shows I've ever been to, even though I love that album to death. They played with one guitarist, since the other one had an emergency and had to fly back to Europe. So instead of hiring a player, the other guitarist just piped in the missing guitarists parts. So that was one fake instrument. The fake keyboards were another (I get it, since they never had a keyboard player). But then the biggest thing -- no one but the lead singer in the band at the time, Ashe O'Hara, could sing. Well, Altered State has TONS of vocal layering. And instead of the other musicians singing along with Ashe, Ashe literally sang to an entire lead vocal backing track, picking spots here and there to actually sing.

People there loved the performance, to me, it was insulting. Complete fakery except for one guitar, the drums, and the bass. I've never seen Tesseract since (I assume they do this with the current singer too).

Periphery pretty much was a 3 piece when I saw them live with Plini and Arch Echo. Mark was home dealing with personal stuff, Spencer was still sick, they followed Animals As Leaders and don't have a bassist. It was just Misha (guitar), Jake (Guitar), and Matt. So it wasn't really that great of a show. Although Arch Echo, and Plini, were the main draw as everyone I talked to said Arch Echo, and Plini were better than Periphery.

But, if you watch the Herman Li Twitch Stream with Misha, they talk about touring, and how bands pretty much, make a commitment to finish the tour, regardless, Cancelling a show is the last resort thing a band wants to do. They'd be out money, instead of profiting, if they didn't complete the tour. It's also why bands sometimes sell old merch from last tour, because they still need to make profit, you pay up front for Merch.

[cramx3]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

[mike099]

I just feel the longer this virus goes on, the more smaller bands that I enjoy(Rivers of Nihil, Anciients, etc.) could hang it up.

Something TAC said about not going to many shows on his own.  My wife has offered to go to Haken, Opeth, DT, etc, but basically I told her I would rather not put her thru listening to a concert I know she probably would not enjoy.  There is a venue called 'The End' next to another popular venue the 'Exit Inn' and Rivers of Nihil was going to be there and she was not really keen on me going once she saw pictures of the venue.

Within the past year, we did go to Atlanta together to see Phil Collins.  I was not expecting to enjoy the concert, but it was great.  Of course with his limited mobility and over all health, the backup players he had covered well and were fantastic.

[Stadler]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

Don't underestimate this part.   "Pride" isn't quite the right word, but there's a sort of... satisfaction to be able to say "yeah, I saw Maiden back with Clive!"   Or "I got to see Page AND Plant on stage together!".  I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act!  I love telling those sorts of stories.  I was at the Hartford Pearl Jam show where the cops gassed the lawn, and PJ put a note in the live album about that.

[The Walrus]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

Don't underestimate this part.   "Pride" isn't quite the right word, but there's a sort of... satisfaction to be able to say "yeah, I saw Maiden back with Clive!"   Or "I got to see Page AND Plant on stage together!".  I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act!  I love telling those sorts of stories.  I was at the Hartford Pearl Jam show where the cops gassed the lawn, and PJ put a note in the live album about that.

I hate this because, living in the midwest, all my east coast friends see basically any band they want as long as they come somewhere along the east coast, and not only that, they'll see the same band multiple times in the same tour, and I'm like, cool, I got to see this one band one time and that was my highlight of the year, and it's just another Wednesday for them 

[cramx3]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

Don't underestimate this part.   "Pride" isn't quite the right word, but there's a sort of... satisfaction to be able to say "yeah, I saw Maiden back with Clive!"   Or "I got to see Page AND Plant on stage together!".  I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act!  I love telling those sorts of stories.  I was at the Hartford Pearl Jam show where the cops gassed the lawn, and PJ put a note in the live album about that.

It gives you some street cred.  Like those conversations ALWAYS happen with random people I chat with at concerts and it's always fun to hear other people's stories and to share my own and then see the young guy listening to the chat with his jaw dropped of jealously  and I can say I've been that young guy before

[Ben_Jamin]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

Don't underestimate this part.   "Pride" isn't quite the right word, but there's a sort of... satisfaction to be able to say "yeah, I saw Maiden back with Clive!"   Or "I got to see Page AND Plant on stage together!".  I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act!  I love telling those sorts of stories.  I was at the Hartford Pearl Jam show where the cops gassed the lawn, and PJ put a note in the live album about that.

I hate this because, living in the midwest, all my east coast friends see basically any band they want as long as they come somewhere along the east coast, and not only that, they'll see the same band multiple times in the same tour, and I'm like, cool, I got to see this one band one time and that was my highlight of the year, and it's just another Wednesday for them 

Oh yeah, Those East Coast guys don't even know how good they have it with shows they are able to get.

[Stadler]

I gotta say, word to that.  Living in Charlotte and North Carolina was tough. We got all the big tours - Van Halen started their tour in Charlotte - but the club gigs are few and far between.

[Samsara]

Even living in Northern California -- I get nowhere near the shows I used to as a Long Islander going to NYC and the east coast in general.

Sure, LA gets everything, but it isn't an hour and a half train ride like it is from Long Island to NYC. You have to drive like six hours. Makes it completely not doable. The Bay Area and Nor Cal in general is sadly not really a hot bed for rock. We get the prog bands, and we certainly get more than places like Charlotte, but I was spoiled growing up in New York with my access to live concerts.

[cramx3]

Lot's of reasons which can just boil down to "the experience" but here they are:

Seeing the band perform the music in front of you and feeling it pulsate through your body (I don't care if it's not perfect, but I prefer it to be real and live)
Being surrounded by other people, regardless of age/sex/race/whatever, and everyone is "united" in a sense
Meeting people or even the bands themselves
I personally love capturing my favorite moments or songs on video
The "party" atmosphere.  Have a few drinks, maybe some smokes, and BS with people between sets, maybe hang out around the venue before/after the show.
Letting out my own negativity and anger by releasing the energy in a mosh pit, or maybe just jumping and singing along, raising fists whatever
To say I saw so and so band during so and so tour 

Don't underestimate this part.   "Pride" isn't quite the right word, but there's a sort of... satisfaction to be able to say "yeah, I saw Maiden back with Clive!"   Or "I got to see Page AND Plant on stage together!".  I saw Bon Jovi as an opening act!  I love telling those sorts of stories.  I was at the Hartford Pearl Jam show where the cops gassed the lawn, and PJ put a note in the live album about that.

I hate this because, living in the midwest, all my east coast friends see basically any band they want as long as they come somewhere along the east coast, and not only that, they'll see the same band multiple times in the same tour, and I'm like, cool, I got to see this one band one time and that was my highlight of the year, and it's just another Wednesday for them 

Oh yeah, Those East Coast guys don't even know how good they have it with shows they are able to get.

Hey, I totally know how good I have it.  I'm in such an amazing spot for catching concerts and I certainly use that to my advantage.  Huge amphitheater (PNC Bank Arts Center) basically down the street from me for all the huge summer tours, a mid sized GA venue (Starland Ballroom) 20 minutes away that hosts concerts all year long, the hotbed of NJ live music (Asbury Park with multiple venues on the Jersey Shore) about 35 minutes away with outdoor venues for the summer and smaller indoors for the winter, NYC is a 70 minute train ride from my house wiht countless venues, and Philly is a 90 minute drive.  Plus to stretch further, Boston/Washing DC are about 4 hours from me.  It's easily my favorite thing about where I live and probably the number 1 reason why I can go to so many concerts in a given year.

[Zantera]

The concept of live shows did start to feel a bit stale for me but I got into Phish this year and their approach to live shows really is a breath of fresh air. Unexpected covers, random setlist from show to show and switching around their own songs to the point where you might listen to 15 concerts and still not get a 'fan favorite' song depending on rotation. I'm sure other bands have similar approaches to the live shows and to me it just makes it exciting. It just feels like so many bands and artists are lazy with the live shows. You get the same setlist of 15-20 songs every night through a tour, MAYBE they switch around 1 or 2 songs but the main structure is there. I get why they do this but there's nothing worse than a very predictable setlist IMO.

[Ben_Jamin]

The concept of live shows did start to feel a bit stale for me but I got into Phish this year and their approach to live shows really is a breath of fresh air. Unexpected covers, random setlist from show to show and switching around their own songs to the point where you might listen to 15 concerts and still not get a 'fan favorite' song depending on rotation. I'm sure other bands have similar approaches to the live shows and to me it just makes it exciting. It just feels like so many bands and artists are lazy with the live shows. You get the same setlist of 15-20 songs every night through a tour, MAYBE they switch around 1 or 2 songs but the main structure is there. I get why they do this but there's nothing worse than a very predictable setlist IMO.

That's a problem I have with Coheed and Cambria, I love the band, but the sets of New songs, A recent album song or two, and then the hits.

The reason for that is those hits are what the fans know, and the bands know they'll see the show if they play those songs. This originated from the idea of Singles and Radio. It made it even more worse when music videos arrived.

These bands, I don't bother looking up the set much, but I still go see them. In the instance they might bust out a surprise, gem.

I prefer seeing bands that don't give a shit and play whatever they feel like. Phish, and those Jam bands, are good examples of that. I wish more bands would do this as well.

Rap and Hip-Hop sets are neat as well. It's a bit different in how they transition, but they are able to just bust out a song if they want to. The Hardcore Rappers like Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, Dead Prez, Tech Nine, all have a distinct vibe that they bring out, where all they need is a mic, and a beat, to bring that energy out. I laughed when Immortal Technique was going to go into one his awesome jams "You Never Know", DJ started the beat, and he goes "Nah, cut that shit, these guys ain't ready for that." Then he busted out into a rap, and the DJ got the next jams beat ready, while IT transitioned into the Intro Rap of the song. It was cool.

[cramx3]

The concept of live shows did start to feel a bit stale for me but I got into Phish this year and their approach to live shows really is a breath of fresh air. Unexpected covers, random setlist from show to show and switching around their own songs to the point where you might listen to 15 concerts and still not get a 'fan favorite' song depending on rotation. I'm sure other bands have similar approaches to the live shows and to me it just makes it exciting. It just feels like so many bands and artists are lazy with the live shows. You get the same setlist of 15-20 songs every night through a tour, MAYBE they switch around 1 or 2 songs but the main structure is there. I get why they do this but there's nothing worse than a very predictable setlist IMO.

Well that's definitely the best reason to go to multiple shows from a single band.  I remember seeing 3 local shows (NYC, NJ, Philly) for 311 across one week and seeing something like 55 different songs.  Unless it's an Iron Maiden or DT (AKA a personal favorite band), or something with friends, I don't see too much reason to see the same band multiple times on a tour.

Those types of shows, if you do see them multiple times, you start to notice how exactly the same the performances get to be even sometimes down the words said between songs.  Some bands can still keep it fresh, but when it becomes robotic, it's a bit of a turn off.

[Stadler]

The concept of live shows did start to feel a bit stale for me but I got into Phish this year and their approach to live shows really is a breath of fresh air. Unexpected covers, random setlist from show to show and switching around their own songs to the point where you might listen to 15 concerts and still not get a 'fan favorite' song depending on rotation. I'm sure other bands have similar approaches to the live shows and to me it just makes it exciting. It just feels like so many bands and artists are lazy with the live shows. You get the same setlist of 15-20 songs every night through a tour, MAYBE they switch around 1 or 2 songs but the main structure is there. I get why they do this but there's nothing worse than a very predictable setlist IMO.

Well that's definitely the best reason to go to multiple shows from a single band.  I remember seeing 3 local shows (NYC, NJ, Philly) for 311 across one week and seeing something like 55 different songs.  Unless it's an Iron Maiden or DT (AKA a personal favorite band), or something with friends, I don't see too much reason to see the same band multiple times on a tour.

Those types of shows, if you do see them multiple times, you start to notice how exactly the same the performances get to be even sometimes down the words said between songs.  Some bands can still keep it fresh, but when it becomes robotic, it's a bit of a turn off.

One of the real eye-openers for me as I grew older; hearing Paul Stanley (and Bruce Dickinson!) delivering the exact same rap between songs across multiple shows.   How they make it sound so legit for planned patter is a skill itself.   

[cramx3]

Yea, Bruce definitely says the same things.  But I cut them slack because they are my favorite band and their live show is superb.  So they are kind of the band that goes against my own rules. 

[Stadler]

Yea, Bruce definitely says the same things.  But I cut them slack because they are my favorite band and their live show is superb.  So they are kind of the band that goes against my own rules.

Well, Bruce has so much energy, and he SELLS it.  Remember the speech before Blood Brothers in Brooklyn?  I was like "WOW that is so cool!" and then I heard another show and he said the same thing, but it was so cool to hear it myself that I don't care! It helped that it wasn't the typical "You are the best audience ever, BROOKLYN!"