Ghost. They're the only band I've seen more than once. I've seen them 3 times so far, and I will definitely go again next time they're in my area. The main thing that makes it worth it is their stage presence. They go all out on the costumes, choreography, and set design. Even the fans will get all dressed up. And their music is also super solid. Imo almost every song is a banger.
Green Day. I have seen them twice almost 20 years apart and both shows were fantastic. If you like their music, I would highly recommend seeing them live.
Green Day has been my favorite band for about 30 years and I saw them live for the first time in 2024. That show was so amazing and I was a dumbass for not going sooner. I’ll definitely go to another one.
I missed that tour, and I'm not missing another one. I was reminded last year how much I love Green Day. They sounded just as good as ever at the Super Bowl!
Dream Theater. Simply because I'm a big fan, and their live shows always has something their studio recordings don't have, such as a song suddenly containing an improv section.
Been to four of their shows so far.
EDIT: Oh, and Devin Townsend. He was the warmup act of the previous DT concert, and I didn't know such a high entertainment/mass ratio was possible in a single person.
I unfortunately can no longer stand Labrie's live vocals. I saw them in their latest tour, just so I could see them back with Portnoy, but that's probably the last time for me. I shouldn't be comparing them, but because they are contemporaries, Russel Allen (with Symphony X) just blows him out of the water as he's still amazing live.
He puts on an incredible show every time. The costume changes alone put most artists to shame. He's just as enthusiastic and active as he was over 40 years ago (Seriously, the man is 66)
And of course the songs and skits are hilarious.
We have tickets to see him this year for the second time on his current tour.
Seen Al 4 or 5 times in the last 30 years. A fantastic show each time. Drug some friends to the last one, all of which were not real Al fans, and all of which said they enjoyed the show way more than expected.
Aside from his regular-ish parody tours, we’ve also seen him do an acoustical tour of only his own music without any parodies, costumes, etc. We also saw him tour with a 30+ piece orchestra. Two words: “OBOE SOLO!”
Primus. I was fortunate enough to see them a couple times before Herb left the band again, and a couple times after.
This last show I saw, they had a moment where they walked offstage, projected a TikTok of a podcast clip of a woman talking about how Primus was the worst band she had ever seen, and then Les just started fucking murdering those bass strings as they walked out again.
Iron Maiden. They just keep on rocking. Their shows are great and they're not mired in controversy (afaik). I think it's great they are repeating all the old tours.
Both times I went were in nasty weather. I went to the show Billy Strings played at, and didn't even get in the gate in time to see him, even though we got there an hour early. The parking was that bad.
That said, I had eaten like 3 grams of shrooms, and it was still one of the most awesome concerts of my life. Those Maynard in the Hospital intermissions hit hard that show. 😂
Rained all my sessanta shows too, heh. Fly out for 2 nights red rocks and get rained on the whole time. Oh wait it switched to pissing ice for a bit, then back to the rain. Colorado in the spring..but still.
Yup! Knocked red rocks of the bucket list \m/
Next claypool tour is claypool gold. Primus, Frogs, Delirium. Will be like sessanta swapping w/ all on stage together.
Yeeees. Lennon on guitar and Waters on keys this last run. Took my 11 year old to that charlotte show, she rode the rail all night like a trooper (in dragon wings)
Clutch 100%. I’d see them every time. Flogging Molly were fantastic but the venue had awful acoustics which was kind of a drag, so I owe it to myself to see them again.
I’ve been lucky to see Bad Religion over a dozen times in the last 25yrs and they never let me down. They’ve been dropping hints on their socials that their touring years might be coming to a close though. But they’ve earned their retirement. Everything must cease.
I’ve seen GWAR 18 times, going on 19 this April. There’s nothing like it. It’s so absurd and fun and over the top. It’s true “art” in the sense that it’s all their creation and all an expression of how they feel about things, but covered in space jizz.
Their tours are a single piece of a larger story. One tour is different than the next. It’s not episodic, but if you’ve been to one you’ll see recurring characters and themes in another. They have comics and their music to further fill in the pieces of the overall story of GWAR.
My wife & I have seen Weird Al 4 times now and will be seeing him again this summer. While he mostly does a big show of his parodies with costumes & props we’ve also see him do a low-key acoustical tour where he only played his original music and none of the parodies. We also saw him tour with a full 30-piece orchestra, which was really fun as well.
Umphrey's Mcgee, more times than I can count. They're a jam band that does a lot of improv, excellent jams, they get really prog-y, and they do amazing covers.
Spafford. Also a jam band. Some of the best jams and guitar playing I've seen.
All Them Witches. Heavy blues/psychedelic rock. I just love their sound so much.
I always forget to listen to Spafford. Seems like everytime I do (with each time a more recent show) I like them even more. As someone who doesn't follow them closely, do their fans feel like they just keep getting better or is it just me getting to like them more?
They've gone through phases over the last couple years but they do keep getting better. I feel like I constantly find myself saying "spafford is crushing it right now."
They took a break for a while (I think Aaron had some substance abuse issues) and then came back and toured. Last I saw, they're taking a break again, I think for mental health reasons. I'm a terrible stalker so you'll probably want to look it up yourself if you want accurate info.
If you haven't already, look up Mikey and his Uke 👍
Mikey is a guitarist in a band, and during Covid he started doing solo shows on YouTube, covering rock songs on the ukulele. He started getting other punk band members joining in, and they did full covers of songs, sometimes getting members of the original band to play too.
Their cover of Jaded / The Crowd by Operation Ivy is one of my favourite songs, and introduced me to Bad Cop / Bad Cop 🤘😁
Enter Shikari, incredible shows every single time. I’ve never seen a band generate so much hype and a positive vibe like Enter Shikari does at their shows.
My favourite show was close to Christmas and they had a snowman up on stage while they covered Merry Christmas Everyone.
All 3 put on pretty great shows for different reasons. Com Truise for that nostalgia vibe in a basement venue feeling, DMB sitting outside on the grass old jam style, Prof big energy rap show always a blast.
By far, the band I've seen most often is local band that plays klezmer-inflected psychedelic blues rock, and that description I think is enough to cover the why.
...I'm with the other person, I get why you might not want to share but my fuck do I want to hear this. PM if you're more cool with that than sharing here?
Before Dave Brockie died, I'd go see GWAR anytime we were both in the same state. Always good. Always worth it.
RX Bandits are easily worth seeing again and again. Just a powerhouse live energy and some of the most underrated song writing/composition.
They are one of those bands I don't tell people about until I'm sure they have decent taste in non-mainstream music. They are touring right now, just got tickets.
Less Than Jake used to be one of those "assemble all our musician friends, LTJ is back on tour" bands.
I've seen Hieroglyphics a good number of times. Always worth it.
The Smoking Popes were an amazing show every time I've seen them as well.
R.E.M. (3 times)
Beastie Boys (2 times)
Prodigy (2 times, and going again later this year)
David Byrne (1 time, but seeing him again in July!)
Puressence (2 times)
That's funny, I saw REM exactly once and that was one too many times. Way back when they were getting started. One of the worst shows I have ever seen.
I wish I could remember what they called themselves later on, but my friends' band in highschool. (They originally called themselves "Kill the Messenger")
I definitely would see them again if they got back together. Before they all went to different colleges, they sounded exactly like The Mars Volta and I kept trying to encourage them to send samples to producers because they were really fucking good. They never did tho 😮💨
Flogging Molly! Took my girlfriend (now wife) to see them for the first time 23 years ago. She loved it, so I figured she was worth keeping. We've seen them eight times now over the years, always a great show. Thankfully Dave King made it through his head injury and coma, so the band may be back playing again this year.
Mastodon, Lamb of God, and Tool - bonus points for getting a few of them together on tour. Awesome live shows, great lights/pryo/etc and 100% crowd participation.
I just saw my favorite band for the 50th time. They're called The Slackers. I first saw them when I was 12 in 1998. I keep coming back to see them because they have a massive catalog of hundreds of songs, and they always switch up their rotation. They have a cool hybrid of ska and soul music combined that I love. They get pretty political too which I appreciate. The biggest thing I like about them is how hard they work. They do well over 100 shows a year, and have been at it for over 30 years. I've seen them on big stages and small clubs, and they always entertain. And their ticket prices are always reasonable too. Highly recommend, and give their new ep a spin too, it's fantastic!
Husband and I have seen The Decemberists something like 6-8 times. I love this band, I love its unique style, and they put on a show that just lifts my spirits every time. Even the time the whole venue was signing Everything is Awful in unison. I’ve seen them in KC, Omaha, Oakland, and London. When I see they’re touring, I buy tickets. Simple as.
I was going to say none but then I remember I've been to multiple electronic festivals and shows. I think in my old age I prefer venue/characteristics to individual performers. The idea of huge concerts is not appealing to me these days.
I don't know if any of them will tour again anytime soon, but I'd definitely recommend seeing them live if possible.
The reason is that it's beautiful music played honestly. There's nothing else to it.
I started college when Ocean Avenue was their newest. He up super religious, even after beginning to socialize after coming out of a homeschool hostage kinda situation, kept most of the thinking and such through high school.
The only "secular" music I listened to was country.
So that summer I built my first PC at my friend's house while learning how it all worked, and then like the next week attended my first LAN party at the same place.
Someone brought a drive with a bunch of ripped music and the it on the network, and I copied a bunch of it.
Later when back at home I started browsing just to see what was there. Chose yellowcard first because yellow is my favorite color. Album shoved decent so it got picked more often.
That was my first non-country (read: actual music), non Christian music I ever really listened to (other than clips of pop stuff in the background of commercials). I was still far from losing belief at the time, but it really struck me how good it was for being "satanic rock music".
Haven't really dug into their personal lives or anything, but I don't get bad vibes at all, and still enjoy their stuff.
It was a big touchstone moment for me in several ways. That memory has so much nostalgia attached to it because of how it kinda kicked off me becoming who I am, even if I didn't finish cooking until probably less than 5 years ago. I had a really slow start though.
I had a chance to see Pearl Jam and the Pixies in Hyde Park, London. In the end I settled for a wet weekend in a caravan with my kids and my wife's fam as we'd planned it ages before. My mate went and sent me a video of Video of them playing Even Flow, on a glorious sunny evening at the gig. I could have cried!
Damnit Zach. His brother was always a preachy young earth creationist etc so guess I'm not shocked. Havnt spoken to either of them in probably 20yrs.. shame they're both stupidly talented musicians
King Crimson. These guys will die on stage playing like gods.
GY!BE. They come and go on stage like powerful winds leaving a mess behind.
Travis. Yeah, you read well. These guys have a tremendous chemistry with their audience, they sound so damn good in live shows that I l9k forward to see en playing again.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are absolutely incredible live.
They're a genre-agnostic psychedelic band from Australia that play an ever-evolving span of of styles.
You might see them play one of their metal songs at a show, and the next time you see them they'll re-work it as an electronic microtonal funk jam. They're indescribably creative.
We saw J Roddy Walston and the Business every time they came through, such a powerful live act and nice guys.
We have seen Bleachers a lot, Antonoff can't dance to save his life but 2 drummers and always a good time.
Leon Bridges every time he has played here. Amazing, great show.
When I was a teenager I was driving to LA across I -10 at the same time the Descendants were on their tour so I saw them here, then in New Orleans, then in California.
If I like an artist I will go to their show, live music is one of the best things in the world.
I’ve seen Fox Stevenson and Yue twice. Yue was the opener for Fox at both shows that were a year apart. Both times were a ton of fun with good crowds and well priced drinks.
I’ve also seen Three Days Grace twice. Once as part of a festival and another time as the headline act.
I’d generally see any band or artist more than once as long as the first time was fun and the price is agreeable.
Smaller scale than most of the other answers here, but if B.A.Johnston is in town, I'm fucking there unless I'm sick or dealing with some kinda crisis.
I've seen Haken and Thank You Scientist at least 3 times, and I won't hesitate to see them again. Just virtuosos so it's always great to see people of that skill play their instruments. Meshuggah I've only seen once, but will definitely go anytime I have the chance. Heaviest band I've ever seen live.
It's been quite a while, over 20 years, but Dog Eat Dog at a local venue was a blast. They brought a huuuuge bottle of martini and went absolutely wild. One of the best, funnest shows I ever attended.
My partner and I try to see Jeff Rosenstock any time we can. Its been probably 5 or 6 shows now haha. Parquet Courts is another one, we've seen MJ Landerman a few times as well. Would recommend all.
Kaki King. Been seeing her for years every time she comes to my area. Safe signed my guitar after a show many many years ago and I cherish it dearly. She's super sweet and super cool.
BTBAM - 8x - They're just phenomenal live. It's a shame their crowd is on the older side now because they were one of the scary bands when I was younger. Like you'd go in their pit and be afraid. Now everybody is bopping around and there's less chaos. But they are just as phenomenal now as they were 20 years ago.
Periphery - 5x - Same as above except their crowd is a bit younger. The shows still get rowdy. Everybody has a love or hate opinion on Spencer(their singer) but once you see him live it's magical. Their last record is IMO their best period and I really have to see them play a couple songs off that one.
I have seen Tori Amos several times. Her shows are always unique, and even the "hits" get reworked and are not performed the same way every time. She's definitely my favorite artist to see live.
Coheed and Cambria is my current obsession. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen them. Their sets are basically the same for a whole tour, but they put their hearts and souls into every performance and their fanbase is an amazing group of people.
Saosin, Circa Survive, LS Dunes ... I would listen to Anthony Green sing directly out of the phone book no matter who's backing him.
Alkaline Trio was my favorite band in the early 2000s. I lost count of their shows, too. They have less energy these days, and Matt Skiba's voice isn't what it used to be. But we had a helluva lot of fun at their gigs back in the day.
Others I've seen multiple times include Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Thursday, Chris Cornell, Taking Back Sunday, The Decemberists, Toadies, Reggie and the Full Effect, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and I'm sure I'm missing at least a couple of others.
Missing out on live music is my only regret about leaving the US to live abroad.
Slowdive - always sound great, always a truly live experience, never stagnant and only about the past, and most importantly the music has always been amazing
Guster: omg it is so much fun to watch the unique drum set, and their stage show is always fun
The Mountain Goats: I mean they are my favorite band, I love the existentialism in their music.
The thing their shows have in common is they are having a lot of fun, they respect their fans, they appreciate that their fans came to see them, and they still love making music.
I saw Jonathan Colton once, and he talked with such disdain toward the audience. It was so disparaging towards his fans I refuse to listen to his music now. Kind of the opposite of what I'm describing.
Grateful Dead (not to be confused with Dead and Co)
Would do anything to take that ride again.
Nothing even comes close to what that was like.
No two shows the same. Not even the songs played exactly the same with a different setlist everytime.
Not a whole lot of bands come along that you are willing to travel and see every show of the tour. It used to be really fun to travel the country without maps and cell phones.
you really think he toured the world for decades, leaving a cloud of drugs in his wake at every stop, and no one got hurt?
nobody?
oh sure you probably only see the 'upside', the great music....ugh... one or two decent songs does not justify all that cult shit. and yeah, people who flock to and follow a psychedelic fueled jam band for decades are sad and probably became trumpers.
None unless it was free. I don't understand the appeal of live as the studio work is going to be much cleaner. honestly when it comes to most anything. sports, music, theater. I would rather go to at most college level. College, high school, and even grade school can be good and is real cheap and any money they make goes to the school. The cutoff for me is college things that are to professional like big 10 or whatnot. Give me a nice triple A.
It doesn't sound like you'll ever enjoy live music but let me help you understand the many appealing things to me as someone who does: Drugs. Just kidding, you can do those at home, too.
Anyway, first off "cleaner" doesn't necessarily mean better because music is very subjective. There are songs I've thought I didn't like until I saw them live...turns out I just didn't like the album version. Live audio also depends heavily on who is running the board. I've been to shows that sounded so good I focused on the instruments to confirm they werent just playing an mp3.
It's a rendition but there's a million ways to play a song. And sometimes the enjoyment is just hearing an artist play the song differently.
Then there's the energy. I don't really dance and generally avoid crowds but there's something about everyone being all hyped for the same thing that's just....energetic. Then add to that the music physically synchronizing everyone, it's great. It's a real feeling of "oneness", like the crowd is one big animal. And that energy feeds the artists making for an even better performance
And the "live" aspect can't be discounted. You might hear a new song, you might hear a cover, you might hear a deep cut from their first EP! They might play a bizarre interlude that confuses you until it all comes together into a song you know! A lot of artists interact with the crowd in fun ways, too.
Damn now I want to go to a show but I don't have tickets until May
Live music is performance art. I will take the experience over just listening to a recording anytime I can, and that is where my music budget has always gone.
I don't like big arena shows at all though. With you on that. Bars and small venues, and once a year a festival but not a big one. I want to see the performance not a jumbotron.
Rammstein, their shows have always been bigger and bigger each time. And their ticksets are only ~100€, well worth it if you ask me.
Ghost. They're the only band I've seen more than once. I've seen them 3 times so far, and I will definitely go again next time they're in my area. The main thing that makes it worth it is their stage presence. They go all out on the costumes, choreography, and set design. Even the fans will get all dressed up. And their music is also super solid. Imo almost every song is a banger.
Ghost is damn good. And the show I saw them at it was said they used no backing tracks (which sure they could be lying, but why?). Such talent
Tool, I have seen them three times in concert. They put on a fantastic show.
Green Day. I have seen them twice almost 20 years apart and both shows were fantastic. If you like their music, I would highly recommend seeing them live.
Green Day has been my favorite band for about 30 years and I saw them live for the first time in 2024. That show was so amazing and I was a dumbass for not going sooner. I’ll definitely go to another one.
I missed that tour, and I'm not missing another one. I was reminded last year how much I love Green Day. They sounded just as good as ever at the Super Bowl!
Dream Theater. Simply because I'm a big fan, and their live shows always has something their studio recordings don't have, such as a song suddenly containing an improv section.
Been to four of their shows so far.
EDIT: Oh, and Devin Townsend. He was the warmup act of the previous DT concert, and I didn't know such a high entertainment/mass ratio was possible in a single person.
Been a fan since Images and Words, finally saw them last year. Can confirm the live show is incredible.
Can’t wait to catch another one.
I unfortunately can no longer stand Labrie's live vocals. I saw them in their latest tour, just so I could see them back with Portnoy, but that's probably the last time for me. I shouldn't be comparing them, but because they are contemporaries, Russel Allen (with Symphony X) just blows him out of the water as he's still amazing live.
Genuine answer: Weird Al
He puts on an incredible show every time. The costume changes alone put most artists to shame. He's just as enthusiastic and active as he was over 40 years ago (Seriously, the man is 66)
And of course the songs and skits are hilarious.
We have tickets to see him this year for the second time on his current tour.
Seen Al 4 or 5 times in the last 30 years. A fantastic show each time. Drug some friends to the last one, all of which were not real Al fans, and all of which said they enjoyed the show way more than expected.
Aside from his regular-ish parody tours, we’ve also seen him do an acoustical tour of only his own music without any parodies, costumes, etc. We also saw him tour with a 30+ piece orchestra. Two words: “OBOE SOLO!”
Primus. I was fortunate enough to see them a couple times before Herb left the band again, and a couple times after.
This last show I saw, they had a moment where they walked offstage, projected a TikTok of a podcast clip of a woman talking about how Primus was the worst band she had ever seen, and then Les just started fucking murdering those bass strings as they walked out again.
I'm never missing a Primus show near me.
Primus fucking sucks! 🤘
Primus is touring this summer with the Frog Brigade and the Claypool Lennon Delirium. All the Les you can handle.
NOFX I see them if they come within an hour drive from where I am.
I would love to see NOFX sometime
I’m sure they’ll come out of retirement and tour again in a couple years, most of the band doesn’t have Fat Mike money.
I heard that Erik Melvin is suing Fat Mike and the band over money. Mike even wrote a song about it a few months back.
That wouldn’t surprise me at all
Iron Maiden. They just keep on rocking. Their shows are great and they're not mired in controversy (afaik). I think it's great they are repeating all the old tours.
Full blown fireworks battle between Bruce and Eddie!
I was not expecting that, and it totally went off. :^]
I like their music, and so far their ticket prices haven't become outrageous.
Primus! We try to hit at least 4-5 shows a tour. All the Claypool projects really. It's a whooole nother vibe getting your face melted on the rail.
Fuck yeah, Primus sucks!
Did you get to go to Sessanta?
Sessanta is amazing, don't miss it!!
Are they doing it a third time???
Both times I went were in nasty weather. I went to the show Billy Strings played at, and didn't even get in the gate in time to see him, even though we got there an hour early. The parking was that bad.
That said, I had eaten like 3 grams of shrooms, and it was still one of the most awesome concerts of my life. Those Maynard in the Hospital intermissions hit hard that show. 😂
Rained all my sessanta shows too, heh. Fly out for 2 nights red rocks and get rained on the whole time. Oh wait it switched to pissing ice for a bit, then back to the rain. Colorado in the spring..but still.
Yup! Knocked red rocks of the bucket list \m/ Next claypool tour is claypool gold. Primus, Frogs, Delirium. Will be like sessanta swapping w/ all on stage together.
Fuck yeah! Hopefully I can see them at RR!
I saw his Fearless Flying Frog Brigade perform Animals front to back along with their own material. Amazing show.
Yeeees. Lennon on guitar and Waters on keys this last run. Took my 11 year old to that charlotte show, she rode the rail all night like a trooper (in dragon wings)
Why? They are good bands who play well live and I like their music.
Clutch 100%. I’d see them every time. Flogging Molly were fantastic but the venue had awful acoustics which was kind of a drag, so I owe it to myself to see them again.
I've only seen Flogging Molly once, but that might have been the most fun I've ever had at a show. Good people and good vibes all around.
I’ve been lucky to see Bad Religion over a dozen times in the last 25yrs and they never let me down. They’ve been dropping hints on their socials that their touring years might be coming to a close though. But they’ve earned their retirement. Everything must cease.
I’ve seen GWAR 18 times, going on 19 this April. There’s nothing like it. It’s so absurd and fun and over the top. It’s true “art” in the sense that it’s all their creation and all an expression of how they feel about things, but covered in space jizz.
I saw them once. I did not understand what I was in for. I had a great time.
Is the performance unique every time? Or do they do the same act from one night to the next?
Their tours are a single piece of a larger story. One tour is different than the next. It’s not episodic, but if you’ve been to one you’ll see recurring characters and themes in another. They have comics and their music to further fill in the pieces of the overall story of GWAR.
Interesting... So if you go to two shows in the same tour, they'll probably be mostly the same?
The Hu.
https://youtu.be/FpOjUCuk-5I
Primus. Fricken kill it every time.
Crown lands. I wanna see em again so bad but they are just not popular and they're too broke to tour.
Shinedown. While many say its divorced welder dad rock (and it is) those guys put on a great show and genuinely care about the music.
Native howl. Damn good thrash grass.
Blacktop mojo. Another hardworking band that should be world famous.
Municipal Waste - top notch crossover thrash, insane live shows, insane pits, never a dull show.
Saw them once. Absolutely tore shit up. No question I'd go again.
Hell yeah bro! 🤘
My wife & I have seen Weird Al 4 times now and will be seeing him again this summer. While he mostly does a big show of his parodies with costumes & props we’ve also see him do a low-key acoustical tour where he only played his original music and none of the parodies. We also saw him tour with a full 30-piece orchestra, which was really fun as well.
Weird Al Yankovic! He's cool! Love him!
Umphrey's Mcgee, more times than I can count. They're a jam band that does a lot of improv, excellent jams, they get really prog-y, and they do amazing covers.
Spafford. Also a jam band. Some of the best jams and guitar playing I've seen.
All Them Witches. Heavy blues/psychedelic rock. I just love their sound so much.
I always forget to listen to Spafford. Seems like everytime I do (with each time a more recent show) I like them even more. As someone who doesn't follow them closely, do their fans feel like they just keep getting better or is it just me getting to like them more?
They've gone through phases over the last couple years but they do keep getting better. I feel like I constantly find myself saying "spafford is crushing it right now."
I saw All Them Witches open for The Sword once. Amazing show!
Ween.
Seen them a half-dozen times and they kick ass every time. I'll see them any time they come to town (if budget and schedule allow).
They took a break for a while (I think Aaron had some substance abuse issues) and then came back and toured. Last I saw, they're taking a break again, I think for mental health reasons. I'm a terrible stalker so you'll probably want to look it up yourself if you want accurate info.
Deaner does fishing tours near where I live. Always wanted to go but I would want to bring a friend, I'm the only one that listens to Ween lol.
Somewhere around here I have a Brown Troop Fishing (or something like that) sticker from when he first started doing it.
Were I not on the other side of the country, and if I had much interest and aptitude for fishing, I'd say we could buddy up.
I have a few on my list I would see again.
If you haven't already, look up Mikey and his Uke 👍
Mikey is a guitarist in a band, and during Covid he started doing solo shows on YouTube, covering rock songs on the ukulele. He started getting other punk band members joining in, and they did full covers of songs, sometimes getting members of the original band to play too.
Their cover of Jaded / The Crowd by Operation Ivy is one of my favourite songs, and introduced me to Bad Cop / Bad Cop 🤘😁
Thanks for the rec! I looked them up a bit and it looks right up my alley. The cover of Dookie songs on the front page is perfect :)
No worries, hope you enjoy them 🙂
Enter Shikari, incredible shows every single time. I’ve never seen a band generate so much hype and a positive vibe like Enter Shikari does at their shows.
My favourite show was close to Christmas and they had a snowman up on stage while they covered Merry Christmas Everyone.
Com Truise, DMB, Prof
All 3 put on pretty great shows for different reasons. Com Truise for that nostalgia vibe in a basement venue feeling, DMB sitting outside on the grass old jam style, Prof big energy rap show always a blast.
By far, the band I've seen most often is local band that plays klezmer-inflected psychedelic blues rock, and that description I think is enough to cover the why.
...I'm with the other person, I get why you might not want to share but my fuck do I want to hear this. PM if you're more cool with that than sharing here?
No problem! Here's another good track: Technical Jelly at the Harmony Bar
I want to hear them, but I get why you might not share
I have shared in the past, but nobody ever seemed to care, so... 🤷♂️
They've been putting everything online lately, so this is just an example: Let It Out by Honor Among Thieves.
well they have one more fan now. been listening to them the last hour.
Sounds kinda like how I'd describe Man Man.
Six-Demon Bag is such a great album
Before Dave Brockie died, I'd go see GWAR anytime we were both in the same state. Always good. Always worth it.
RX Bandits are easily worth seeing again and again. Just a powerhouse live energy and some of the most underrated song writing/composition. They are one of those bands I don't tell people about until I'm sure they have decent taste in non-mainstream music. They are touring right now, just got tickets.
Less Than Jake used to be one of those "assemble all our musician friends, LTJ is back on tour" bands.
I've seen Hieroglyphics a good number of times. Always worth it.
The Smoking Popes were an amazing show every time I've seen them as well.
R.E.M. (3 times)
Beastie Boys (2 times)
Prodigy (2 times, and going again later this year)
David Byrne (1 time, but seeing him again in July!)
Puressence (2 times)
That's funny, I saw REM exactly once and that was one too many times. Way back when they were getting started. One of the worst shows I have ever seen.
Oh wow - I'm kind of jealous, even if it was a bad show. I'd love to have seen them in their early days!
I'm glad to hear they got better!
Ha - well, I think so, anyway. Personal taste of course. I might have loved the show you didn't, impossible to tell 😁
Seen Collective Soul 3 times. They bring so much energy and each show was different.
I just missed their last tour. Still grumbling about that
I wish I could remember what they called themselves later on, but my friends' band in highschool. (They originally called themselves "Kill the Messenger")
I definitely would see them again if they got back together. Before they all went to different colleges, they sounded exactly like The Mars Volta and I kept trying to encourage them to send samples to producers because they were really fucking good. They never did tho 😮💨
Flogging Molly! Took my girlfriend (now wife) to see them for the first time 23 years ago. She loved it, so I figured she was worth keeping. We've seen them eight times now over the years, always a great show. Thankfully Dave King made it through his head injury and coma, so the band may be back playing again this year.
Sonata Arctica.
Lead singer has amazing crowd presence, and every time I've seen them they've been amazing
Dead Can Dance.
I’ve seen the Grateful Dead and Phish many times.
But others I’ve seen multiple times and would see again (if possible):
Paul Simon Stevie Wonder King Crimson Joe Walsh Santana Neil Young Weird Al Camper van Beethoven Jethro Tull James Taylor David Bowie
Mastodon, Lamb of God, and Tool - bonus points for getting a few of them together on tour. Awesome live shows, great lights/pryo/etc and 100% crowd participation.
I saw Mastodon a couple of times when they were on tour with Coheed and Cambria in 2019. Those guys are great at what they do. 10/10, would recommend.
Tool has been fantastic every time I've seen them. Tool fans, on the other hand, can be a mixed bag.
I just saw my favorite band for the 50th time. They're called The Slackers. I first saw them when I was 12 in 1998. I keep coming back to see them because they have a massive catalog of hundreds of songs, and they always switch up their rotation. They have a cool hybrid of ska and soul music combined that I love. They get pretty political too which I appreciate. The biggest thing I like about them is how hard they work. They do well over 100 shows a year, and have been at it for over 30 years. I've seen them on big stages and small clubs, and they always entertain. And their ticket prices are always reasonable too. Highly recommend, and give their new ep a spin too, it's fantastic!
Converge. I don't know how but the keep getting better. They have so much groove life, its hard to resist the pit.
Husband and I have seen The Decemberists something like 6-8 times. I love this band, I love its unique style, and they put on a show that just lifts my spirits every time. Even the time the whole venue was signing Everything is Awful in unison. I’ve seen them in KC, Omaha, Oakland, and London. When I see they’re touring, I buy tickets. Simple as.
They are an incredibly talented group, and they really put on a great show.
I was going to say none but then I remember I've been to multiple electronic festivals and shows. I think in my old age I prefer venue/characteristics to individual performers. The idea of huge concerts is not appealing to me these days.
Down. Always a great show
blur, Suede, Pink Floyd.
I don't know if any of them will tour again anytime soon, but I'd definitely recommend seeing them live if possible. The reason is that it's beautiful music played honestly. There's nothing else to it.
Yellowcard. For several reasons.
I started college when Ocean Avenue was their newest. He up super religious, even after beginning to socialize after coming out of a homeschool hostage kinda situation, kept most of the thinking and such through high school.
The only "secular" music I listened to was country.
So that summer I built my first PC at my friend's house while learning how it all worked, and then like the next week attended my first LAN party at the same place.
Someone brought a drive with a bunch of ripped music and the it on the network, and I copied a bunch of it.
Later when back at home I started browsing just to see what was there. Chose yellowcard first because yellow is my favorite color. Album shoved decent so it got picked more often.
That was my first non-country (read: actual music), non Christian music I ever really listened to (other than clips of pop stuff in the background of commercials). I was still far from losing belief at the time, but it really struck me how good it was for being "satanic rock music".
Haven't really dug into their personal lives or anything, but I don't get bad vibes at all, and still enjoy their stuff.
It was a big touchstone moment for me in several ways. That memory has so much nostalgia attached to it because of how it kinda kicked off me becoming who I am, even if I didn't finish cooking until probably less than 5 years ago. I had a really slow start though.
The Decemberists - multiple times, always a good show
The Long Winters - multiple times, always a good show
Electric Six - multiple times, absolutely amazing live, highly recommended
Weezer - past their prime, you're better off listening to the albums at home
The Hold Steady - multiple times, not that good live
The Pipettes - amazing performance, very fun
Aleks & the Drummer - multiple times, sadly now defunct but so much better live than their already great studio work
Side Walk Slam - multiple times, mostly at music festivals; really fun guys and generous to fans
Zapruder Point - once live, fun but not a big experience change from their studio recordings
The Mountain Goats - once live, venue was terrible, makes it hard to evaluate the performance
Amy Ray - electric performer, worth seeing, I'd love to see her live again
Franz Ferdinand - too commercial, very rehearsed live, no real improvement in experience over studio recordings
Torres - good energy, nice show, would see again live but not as a priority
Can't believe I forgot to mention the time I played hackeysack with Dashboard Confessional
The Pipettes?
Holy crap where did you hear about them? I thought I was the only one.
They headlined a show my wife's favorite local band was opening. I'd definitely see them again if they did another stateside tour.
That's awesome!
Which era of singers did you see?
It was the tour for Earth vs. the Pipettes
Pearl Jam every chance I get
I had a chance to see Pearl Jam and the Pixies in Hyde Park, London. In the end I settled for a wet weekend in a caravan with my kids and my wife's fam as we'd planned it ages before. My mate went and sent me a video of Video of them playing Even Flow, on a glorious sunny evening at the gig. I could have cried!
Time with the wife and kids... Ok, that's worth the sacrifice, but the in-laws... Oof that's rough.
Local H. Amazing show for only two guys. You can tell they really enjoy what they do.
They don't do that BS pricing tier where you can't say hi or meet them after the show unless you bought VIP+++.
Very cool, down to earth performers.
Zach Deputy, until I heard he was at Jan 6.
Damnit Zach. His brother was always a preachy young earth creationist etc so guess I'm not shocked. Havnt spoken to either of them in probably 20yrs.. shame they're both stupidly talented musicians
King Crimson. These guys will die on stage playing like gods. GY!BE. They come and go on stage like powerful winds leaving a mess behind. Travis. Yeah, you read well. These guys have a tremendous chemistry with their audience, they sound so damn good in live shows that I l9k forward to see en playing again.
The way you play your music makes me feel good inside!
Coheed and Cambria
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are absolutely incredible live. They're a genre-agnostic psychedelic band from Australia that play an ever-evolving span of of styles. You might see them play one of their metal songs at a show, and the next time you see them they'll re-work it as an electronic microtonal funk jam. They're indescribably creative.
We saw J Roddy Walston and the Business every time they came through, such a powerful live act and nice guys.
We have seen Bleachers a lot, Antonoff can't dance to save his life but 2 drummers and always a good time.
Leon Bridges every time he has played here. Amazing, great show.
When I was a teenager I was driving to LA across I -10 at the same time the Descendants were on their tour so I saw them here, then in New Orleans, then in California.
If I like an artist I will go to their show, live music is one of the best things in the world.
Valerie June She's got an energy that just makes me feel grounded, real, in the moment.
Jose Gonzales Amazing, either solo or with the whole group.
I’ve seen Fox Stevenson and Yue twice. Yue was the opener for Fox at both shows that were a year apart. Both times were a ton of fun with good crowds and well priced drinks.
I’ve also seen Three Days Grace twice. Once as part of a festival and another time as the headline act.
I’d generally see any band or artist more than once as long as the first time was fun and the price is agreeable.
I wish Fox would do a US tour dangit. He's the one that got me into electronic music and I still haven't seen him over 10 years later
god damn fox ... used to organise a festival in Belgium back in the day and booked him twice when it was still stan sb. times!
I’ve seen them thrice, and Friday Pilots Club always puts on a good show!
Smaller scale than most of the other answers here, but if B.A. Johnston is in town, I'm fucking there unless I'm sick or dealing with some kinda crisis.
I've lost count of how many times I've seen him, but every single time has been an amazing night out even if it's the same shtick each show.
(Who am I kidding, I'm there for the Cheezies)
Second this 100%!
Wise Guys. Wonderful band with extremely smart and funny texts. Reason no longer visiting concerts: They disbanded.
I've seen Haken and Thank You Scientist at least 3 times, and I won't hesitate to see them again. Just virtuosos so it's always great to see people of that skill play their instruments. Meshuggah I've only seen once, but will definitely go anytime I have the chance. Heaviest band I've ever seen live.
Kaizers Orchestra. First show was in 2001. Seen then more than 20 times, they're just great.
It's been quite a while, over 20 years, but Dog Eat Dog at a local venue was a blast. They brought a huuuuge bottle of martini and went absolutely wild. One of the best, funnest shows I ever attended.
Opiuo. About 10 times, including at Festivals. Just fucking great dance music.
Also Machine Gun Fellatio. Only 2 or 3 times, but what a show, even now they are all in their 50s
My partner and I try to see Jeff Rosenstock any time we can. Its been probably 5 or 6 shows now haha. Parquet Courts is another one, we've seen MJ Landerman a few times as well. Would recommend all.
Kaki King. Been seeing her for years every time she comes to my area. Safe signed my guitar after a show many many years ago and I cherish it dearly. She's super sweet and super cool.
BTBAM - 8x - They're just phenomenal live. It's a shame their crowd is on the older side now because they were one of the scary bands when I was younger. Like you'd go in their pit and be afraid. Now everybody is bopping around and there's less chaos. But they are just as phenomenal now as they were 20 years ago.
Periphery - 5x - Same as above except their crowd is a bit younger. The shows still get rowdy. Everybody has a love or hate opinion on Spencer(their singer) but once you see him live it's magical. Their last record is IMO their best period and I really have to see them play a couple songs off that one.
I have seen Tori Amos several times. Her shows are always unique, and even the "hits" get reworked and are not performed the same way every time. She's definitely my favorite artist to see live.
Coheed and Cambria is my current obsession. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen them. Their sets are basically the same for a whole tour, but they put their hearts and souls into every performance and their fanbase is an amazing group of people.
Saosin, Circa Survive, LS Dunes ... I would listen to Anthony Green sing directly out of the phone book no matter who's backing him.
Alkaline Trio was my favorite band in the early 2000s. I lost count of their shows, too. They have less energy these days, and Matt Skiba's voice isn't what it used to be. But we had a helluva lot of fun at their gigs back in the day.
Others I've seen multiple times include Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Thursday, Chris Cornell, Taking Back Sunday, The Decemberists, Toadies, Reggie and the Full Effect, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, and I'm sure I'm missing at least a couple of others.
Missing out on live music is my only regret about leaving the US to live abroad.
Slowdive - always sound great, always a truly live experience, never stagnant and only about the past, and most importantly the music has always been amazing
2 bands:
Guster: omg it is so much fun to watch the unique drum set, and their stage show is always fun
The Mountain Goats: I mean they are my favorite band, I love the existentialism in their music.
The thing their shows have in common is they are having a lot of fun, they respect their fans, they appreciate that their fans came to see them, and they still love making music.
I saw Jonathan Colton once, and he talked with such disdain toward the audience. It was so disparaging towards his fans I refuse to listen to his music now. Kind of the opposite of what I'm describing.
I’ll second Guster. Seen them 3 times? Good performers, good music.
last time i saw guster they had a puppet show, which was delightfully unexpected
That must’ve been a fun show.
Grateful Dead (not to be confused with Dead and Co)
Would do anything to take that ride again.
Nothing even comes close to what that was like.
No two shows the same. Not even the songs played exactly the same with a different setlist everytime.
Not a whole lot of bands come along that you are willing to travel and see every show of the tour. It used to be really fun to travel the country without maps and cell phones.
so glad jerry garcia is dead. so very, very glad.
Often wish death on people that have nothing to do with you? Particularly people who really did absolutely nothing negative to you?
What kind of shit life do you have that you are glad a person who wanted nothing more than to play music is dead?
you can admit it, this is a safe space. the guy was a monster.
I think you might be. Or a troll. I am pretty sure you have no idea what you are talking about.
you're entitled to your opinion, seabass.
No opinion. Fact. You have no idea what you are talking about. Ask Elizabeth Cotten. Well if she was alive anyway.
you really think he toured the world for decades, leaving a cloud of drugs in his wake at every stop, and no one got hurt?
nobody?
oh sure you probably only see the 'upside', the great music....ugh... one or two decent songs does not justify all that cult shit. and yeah, people who flock to and follow a psychedelic fueled jam band for decades are sad and probably became trumpers.
Punch Brothers. They're essentially the peak of what bluegrass can be, mixed with baroque, mixed with indie.
Not their best song, but a good display of their musicianship.
None unless it was free. I don't understand the appeal of live as the studio work is going to be much cleaner. honestly when it comes to most anything. sports, music, theater. I would rather go to at most college level. College, high school, and even grade school can be good and is real cheap and any money they make goes to the school. The cutoff for me is college things that are to professional like big 10 or whatnot. Give me a nice triple A.
It doesn't sound like you'll ever enjoy live music but let me help you understand the many appealing things to me as someone who does: Drugs. Just kidding, you can do those at home, too.
Anyway, first off "cleaner" doesn't necessarily mean better because music is very subjective. There are songs I've thought I didn't like until I saw them live...turns out I just didn't like the album version. Live audio also depends heavily on who is running the board. I've been to shows that sounded so good I focused on the instruments to confirm they werent just playing an mp3.
It's a rendition but there's a million ways to play a song. And sometimes the enjoyment is just hearing an artist play the song differently.
Then there's the energy. I don't really dance and generally avoid crowds but there's something about everyone being all hyped for the same thing that's just....energetic. Then add to that the music physically synchronizing everyone, it's great. It's a real feeling of "oneness", like the crowd is one big animal. And that energy feeds the artists making for an even better performance
And the "live" aspect can't be discounted. You might hear a new song, you might hear a cover, you might hear a deep cut from their first EP! They might play a bizarre interlude that confuses you until it all comes together into a song you know! A lot of artists interact with the crowd in fun ways, too.
Damn now I want to go to a show but I don't have tickets until May
I've always enjoyed live albums more than studio work. Personal preference I guess.
Live music is performance art. I will take the experience over just listening to a recording anytime I can, and that is where my music budget has always gone.
I don't like big arena shows at all though. With you on that. Bars and small venues, and once a year a festival but not a big one. I want to see the performance not a jumbotron.