Best free concert you ever attended

Discussion regarding other bands, movies, etc.
Message
Author
clickie
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:15 am

Best free concert you ever attended

#1 Post by clickie » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:08 am

I saw Cheap Trick play for free around 1998 at the local Labor Day festival they used to have every year. Didn't even know they were scheduled to perform. They played for like two hours , one of the best shows i've ever seen.

Also got to see The Smashing Pumpkins play a free live gig at Tower Records in the early 90's. They announced on the radio they were gonna perform in about an hour so we drove there and got there right as they were playing their first song.

I've seen a few others too but thats about all thats worth mentioning.

User avatar
kv
Posts: 8743
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:08 pm
Location: South Bay, SoCal

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#2 Post by kv » Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:10 am

One of my friends won tix to a radio only smashing pumpkins show at the roxy...turns out it was their last show with original lineup...to be fair I did take my buddies wife out for seafood since she let me go with him

User avatar
Xizen47
Posts: 456
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:47 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#3 Post by Xizen47 » Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:51 am

ENIT 1997

Won tickets off the local radio station (though I had tix already)

10th caller with the correct answer won 2 tickets and a copy of Kettle Whistle. Question was (basically) "Who is Flea replacing on the current JA tour"

I was caller, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10 :lol:

clickie
Posts: 4019
Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:15 am

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#4 Post by clickie » Mon Apr 30, 2018 9:14 am

Xizen47 wrote:ENIT 1997

Won tickets off the local radio station (though I had tix already)

10th caller with the correct answer won 2 tickets and a copy of Kettle Whistle. Question was (basically) "Who is Flea replacing on the current JA tour"

I was caller, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10 :lol:
Oh yeah I forgot, I won Sepultura tickets back in the mid 90's from an overnight metal radio show they used to have called "The Steel Mill". The host asked for someone to call in and guess what she got for her birthday and I got it with tattoo being the answer. Turned out to be a great show but was on a Monday night which kinda sucked.

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#5 Post by Pandemonium » Mon Apr 30, 2018 10:23 am

The first "Free" concert I saw was some radio promotional thing for Nightranger, a pop hard rock band doing a free show at the Santa Monica Civic in early '84. The only reason I went was to the see the guitarist Brad Gillis who had replaced Randy Rhoads in Ozzy's band right after he was killed in '82. I'm glad it was free.

I forget if the Janes reunion show at the El Cid at the end of 2008 was free or not for everyone although I didn't have to pay as someone I used to know at Warner Bros publicity got me in. I do remember paying a $10 cover for the Echoplex show a month later in early 2009. The July 2nd, 2010 Roxy show which was Duff's last gig with the band was free.

I saw Social Distortion play a short set (as in about 3 songs) at someone's back yard keg party in the Summer of '83 before they recorded their first record. My buddy and I were more or less cruising around Huntington Beach off PCH looking for a parking spot a few blocks away to go bar hopping on Main Street and stumbled on this rowdy house party spilling onto the street. We found a spot to park, walked into this party in this tiny house crammed with probably over a hundred people like we belonged, squeezed out to the back yard where the band was already playing. We were there maybe 15 minutes and Huntington Beach PD came swarming like the riot goon squad breaking up the party. LOL, people were jumping over the rickety fence into the back alley and neighbors yards to get away. Game over, man. Game over.

I wouldn't call this a concert, but it was free. At the beginning of '83, my friend and I walked into a film shoot at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood for some cheesy sci-fi flick called (I think) Dungeonmaster. We were going clubbing later that night but we were driving around Sunset Blvd in the afternoon and saw some "event" going on at the Troubadour and decided to check it out. They were filming a segment that included metal band WASP doing their silly Alice Cooper style theatrical show and wanted people off the street to fill the club for the shoot. It was more or less WASP miming to pre-recorded music and long periods or waiting for the crew to set up the next shot. We stuck around for a couple hours, got bored and left.

Although not quite free, I paid $5 to see The Cult play a show at the seedy Olympic Auditorium about 3 weeks after 9/11. They were shooting a live concert video that was announced only a week before the date and understandably due to the circumstances of 9/11, no one was going to shows so soon after those events and they were desperate to fill the place. I think the auditorium only held about 4,000 people and they barely filled half of the venue. The atmosphere in the building was really weird and subdued. On the plus side, I show up a lot in crowd shots on the dvd....

Image
Image

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#6 Post by SR » Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:36 am

I have a few, but two immediately come to mind and one makes my heart rate soar. The first was The Alarm...I didn't recall the year but after a quick google, it must have been 86 at UCLA. I wasn't really into the band (poor man's U2), but it was free and in our stomping grounds. I was with a couple of friends and don't think we were partying too hard, but just behind us were an odd couple we began to chat with. Long story a bit shorter....the guy was a middle aged balding mid level record exec with a ponch and his friend was a really cute young woman (old to us; she must have been in her late 20's to early 30's). He was a braggart and she was playfully engaged with my friend. As all conversations eventually led to in the 80's, cocaine managed to come up.....ultimately we were invited to the guy's house later that night. We accepted but weren't really motivated as it seemed too sketchy, but we did. End up there....the house is huge, well kept but scant in the furniture department. We all sit and it began to feel like a bad idea as there was no one else there but baldy, the young lady and my friend and I....and a HUGE bowl of blow. Turns out the girl was interested in me, which shocked bot my jilted friend and myself. I was worried about my friend and the dude, but I guess it all turned out well as no police were ever called and my friend and I remained just that


The other was much better....a few years ago my friend and I were at the Grammy Museum.....I went to go get a smoke and when I was ascending the stairs my friend came running at me like a barbarian (odd as he's a Shakes proff and fairly well contained). He coaxes me to follow saying only, "If anyone asks you're friends with Mick".....Okkk.....he ends up opening a nondescript door and we skirt past a lone security guard to a short hallway that ends up in the Grammy stage and auditorium. It seats about 250. We take a second row seat which is 10 feet from center stage where Mick Ralphs, Howard Leese (I think the same X Heart guitarist who stormed offstage in a jealous rage never to return after learning of Nancy's new beau), and Paul Rodgers were warming up. Really stunned, I asked my friend wtf? I still don't remember what he said; the band started a 8 song sound check for that nights show. It was fairly fucking awesome. The band noticed us but didn't give off any indication of concern or anger. The techs however kept a close eye on us, probably wondering who the fuck we were and if they were to approach us if they might be making an embarrassing mistake. Show ends and I am really grateful for this experience and my well contained friend begins to solicit some guitar picks from Ralphs' tech where h'se unceremoniously dismissed with one curse NO. He then trots to the stage which is raised by no more than a foot and gushes all over Mick who proceeds to give him 3 picks. Fucker didn't offer me one. :edit: Must have been 10/17...
Oct '17.JPG
Oct '17.JPG (172.14 KiB) Viewed 9872 times

User avatar
crater
Posts: 1297
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 8:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#7 Post by crater » Mon Apr 30, 2018 12:15 pm

I worked at the Concord Pavilion as a second job for a few years back in the early 90's and got to hear plenty of free shows and depending on what I was doing that night sometimes I even got to see the last few songs from whatever band was headlining. Some that stand out are Depeche Mode, Duran Duran (got to watch them soundcheck, which was cool) the Beach Boys and Yes. I also didn't expect to enjoy listening to James Taylor, but he was so good I bought a CD of his a few days after the show. I ended up giving it to my mom though :lol:

Opposite end of all that was the Lynyrd Skynyrd/Ted Nugent show. I'm not a fan of either, so having to hear their music and also deal with their fans that attended the show was aggravating to me. I know it's a joke about people screaming Free Bird at concerts, but I swear people were screaming FREE BIRD! during Ted Nugent's act and also as soon as Skynyrd got on stage people were screaming to hear that fucking song. I'd guess that by the time that they finally got around to playing it at the end of their set 90% of the people there were so drunk that they have no memory of them ever playing it :no:

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#8 Post by Pandemonium » Mon Apr 30, 2018 12:21 pm

I remember that free Alarm show. Heard about it the day of the show but didn't have a way to get to the show. I kind of liked them, I agree they were a 2nd tier U2/Big Country kinda band. I had a chance to see them open for U2 in '83 but got in to the Sports Arena too late to catch their opening set.

User avatar
Artemis
Posts: 10344
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:44 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#9 Post by Artemis » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:31 pm

I'm going to go with Genesis in 1981 at Maple Leaf Gardens. I won the tickets from one of the local radio stations here. They were looking for the 10th caller which happened to be me! At the time, I was 13 and in 7th grade. Even though I wasn't much of a Genesis fan, I was so happy to have won something on the radio! The tickets were on the floor, about 10 rows back from the stage in the centre. My parents and my friend's parents allowed us to go by ourselves to the concert, so needless to say, I felt pretty grown up and cool. :lol:


Hmm, another free show that still stands out is The Cramps in 1986(I think). A friend of mine was going out with one of the bouncers at the venue and he let us in the back where they load in all the gear. We didn't meet the band or anything like that, but we got some free beer and food.

Hokahey
Site Admin
Posts: 5394
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:51 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#10 Post by Hokahey » Mon Apr 30, 2018 5:59 pm

Rage Against the Machine. 1997, Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis.

Technically I bought a lawn ticket, but my friend gave me his front row center seats. He was only there to see Wu-Tang who cancelled.

Needless to say, it was one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. Zack was like a man posessed the entire night. He kept riling up the crowd. People were all banging on their seats and throwing shit. It looks and sounded a lot like a riot was on the verge of breaking out. Keep in mind, this was the same venue in St. Louis as the infamous Guns n Roses riot.

User avatar
JOEinPHX
Posts: 6637
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:55 pm
Location: The Sea

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#11 Post by JOEinPHX » Mon Apr 30, 2018 8:42 pm

I won tickets to see Pearl Jam in... I think... 2006.

The show was right around my birthday, and I couldn't get tickets through my usual avenue (the fan club) because they drew my name for 2 other shows that I went to.

Great show.

And then I saw Fitz and the Tantrums do a free show at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in the summer of like... 2010 or 2011. Right before they blew up. They are so fucking great live. They sweat their asses off on a tiny outdoor stage playing for only 400 people at most. I already dug their music but they earned my respect that day with their live show. :rockon:

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#12 Post by SR » Tue May 01, 2018 6:35 am

Pandemonium wrote:I remember that free Alarm show. Heard about it the day of the show but didn't have a way to get to the show. I kind of liked them, I agree they were a 2nd tier U2/Big Country kinda band. I had a chance to see them open for U2 in '83 but got in to the Sports Arena too late to catch their opening set.
I feel like I've seen Big Country too. I remember them as a bit of a quirky punked up band with a country flair. I think they had a hit that I didn't hate. I was/am a huge fan of Lone Justice and Maria McKee inparticular to this day though. I had a huge crush on her....I know they opened for U2 as well. She had a quick thing with Adam Clayton. Along with Eva Cassidy, she has one of my most favorite female voices, and her lyrics are on par with Steely Dan and PF ver 1.
MM.jpg
MM.jpg (248.36 KiB) Viewed 9819 times

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#13 Post by SR » Tue May 01, 2018 6:41 am

Hokahey wrote:Rage Against the Machine. 1997, Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis.
This band and is part of my bands I regret never seeing thread.

lollapaloser
Posts: 250
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:42 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#14 Post by lollapaloser » Tue May 01, 2018 10:21 am

Lolla 92. My Mom's friend was working the gate.

Best show that was actually free (no charge to anyone) was the Black Crowes in 1998 in Lowell, MA at a state park.

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#15 Post by Pandemonium » Tue May 01, 2018 10:22 am

SR wrote:
Pandemonium wrote:I remember that free Alarm show. Heard about it the day of the show but didn't have a way to get to the show. I kind of liked them, I agree they were a 2nd tier U2/Big Country kinda band. I had a chance to see them open for U2 in '83 but got in to the Sports Arena too late to catch their opening set.
I feel like I've seen Big Country too. I remember them as a bit of a quirky punked up band with a country flair. I think they had a hit that I didn't hate. I was/am a huge fan of Lone Justice and Maria McKee inparticular to this day though. I had a huge crush on her....I know they opened for U2 as well. She had a quick thing with Adam Clayton. Along with Eva Cassidy, she has one of my most favorite female voices, and her lyrics are on par with Steely Dan and PF ver 1.
MM.jpg
Scottish band Big Country got some flack early in their career for "making their guitars sound like bagpipes." A kind of cross between Thin Lizzy and War era U2, I thought they were an outstanding live act when I saw them on their first few tours in the US. Frontman Stuart Adamson was a vastly under-rated guitarist. Sadly, he committed suicide at the end of '01 about a year after the band played their farewell show. To bring it full circle, Mike Peters from The Alarm fronted the band a few years ago for a "reunion" album and tour.

Big Country at their peak....

User avatar
kv
Posts: 8743
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:08 pm
Location: South Bay, SoCal

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#16 Post by kv » Tue May 01, 2018 12:11 pm

Marie Mckee :heart:

80's were just all over the place...

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#17 Post by SR » Wed May 02, 2018 6:20 am

Pandemonium wrote:
SR wrote:
Pandemonium wrote:I remember that free Alarm show. Heard about it the day of the show but didn't have a way to get to the show. I kind of liked them, I agree they were a 2nd tier U2/Big Country kinda band. I had a chance to see them open for U2 in '83 but got in to the Sports Arena too late to catch their opening set.
I feel like I've seen Big Country too. I remember them as a bit of a quirky punked up band with a country flair. I think they had a hit that I didn't hate. I was/am a huge fan of Lone Justice and Maria McKee inparticular to this day though. I had a huge crush on her....I know they opened for U2 as well. She had a quick thing with Adam Clayton. Along with Eva Cassidy, she has one of my most favorite female voices, and her lyrics are on par with Steely Dan and PF ver 1.
MM.jpg
Scottish band Big Country got some flack early in their career for "making their guitars sound like bagpipes." A kind of cross between Thin Lizzy and War era U2, I thought they were an outstanding live act when I saw them on their first few tours in the US. Frontman Stuart Adamson was a vastly under-rated guitarist. Sadly, he committed suicide at the end of '01 about a year after the band played their farewell show. To bring it full circle, Mike Peters from The Alarm fronted the band a few years ago for a "reunion" album and tour.

Big Country at their peak....
Yes, and after hearing this I realized the "hit" I remembered was In A Big Country. It was all over the radio.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#18 Post by SR » Wed May 02, 2018 6:38 am

And a really interesting article on BC that reminisces on tropes like the "grace of men" to the Oz behind the curtain Steve Lillywhite (and others) who forged their sound. Comparisons as diverse as Wishbone Ash to U2 to The Cure are interesting enough to me to explore more too.

https://www.loudersound.com/features/th ... rt-adamson

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#19 Post by Pandemonium » Wed May 02, 2018 9:47 am

SR wrote:And a really interesting article on BC that reminisces on tropes like the "grace of men" to the Oz behind the curtain Steve Lillywhite (and others) who forged their sound. Comparisons as diverse as Wishbone Ash to U2 to The Cure are interesting enough to me to explore more too.

https://www.loudersound.com/features/th ... rt-adamson
Thanks for that link. That article is a pretty good summery of Adamson's life and the band's history. It was pretty shocking when Adamson was discovered dead. I was on the Big Country message board at the time and manager Peter Grant was posting almost daily asking fans for any info on the whereabouts of Adamson, that there was a lot of worry that he'd gone off the rails on some serious blackout and no one knew where he was. A few days later, Adamson's body was found in Hawaii hanged in his hotel room - the worst outcome you could imagine.

It's funny that Big Country's bass and drummer kind of get overlooked but those guys have played on a lot of surprising albums from other artists. One that didn't get mentioned in that article was bassist Tony Butler's iconic bassline on the Pretenders first single after half their original lineup died - noteably "My City Was Gone."

If you (or anyone else) is looking to explore Big Country's discography, my recommendation is the entire first album "The Crossing." Like a lot of bands, they came up with their best, most iconic and fully realized music on their debut. Their second album "Steeltown" is really good as well but sonically, it's a tough listen in places because it's like they piled as much instrumentation on every track as possible creating a wall of sound even for some of the more mellow tracks. After that, succeeding albums have the great single here and there (Look Away, The Teacher, King Of Emotion, Save Me, John Wayne's Dream, etc) but at that point, you're better served going for one of the numerous Greatest Hits compilations.

Since Adamson's death, there's been literally dozens of cash-in compilation, rarities, demos, and live albums released of varying quality.

Here is one of my favorite later tracks, one they rarely played because it was recorded in the time their original drummer was out of the band:


User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#20 Post by SR » Thu May 03, 2018 6:28 am

Nice rec's. As to the Pretenders, I heard the new music after JHS and PF passed with really sad and cynical ears. I was having none of it. I liked Middle of the Road, but really almost as a different band and certainly on a totally different level than the first two albums. Actually, the Pretenders was another "free" concert for me as my friend's sister picked up the tab for it.....Santa Monica Civic in September of 1981. I was 14 or 15. I can highly recommend this live album as well....this was the concert I was at by chance; their sound was really rich, rude, and snarling compared to the album versions. I spoke with Martin at length via Pledge Music on the sound; He attributed it to the sound guy almost exclusively.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/prete ... /197221524

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#21 Post by Pandemonium » Thu May 03, 2018 11:46 am

SR wrote:Nice rec's. As to the Pretenders, I heard the new music after JHS and PF passed with really sad and cynical ears. I was having none of it. I liked Middle of the Road, but really almost as a different band and certainly on a totally different level than the first two albums. Actually, the Pretenders was another "free" concert for me as my friend's sister picked up the tab for it.....Santa Monica Civic in September of 1981. I was 14 or 15. I can highly recommend this live album as well....this was the concert I was at by chance; their sound was really rich, rude, and snarling compared to the album versions. I spoke with Martin at length via Pledge Music on the sound; He attributed it to the sound guy almost exclusively.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/prete ... /197221524
Heh, I was at that Santa Monica show too, the only time I saw the original lineup. I will say, when the first MKII lineup single came out in early '83, I really liked Back On The Chain Gang/My City Was Gone. But when I saw them debut at the US Festival a few months later, yeah, it was a whole different band that completely lacked any of the punky fire and danger of the original lineup and the rather tame "Learning To Crawl" album kind of postmarked my interest in them. When I saw them open for U2 in late '87, they were utterly boring even though I think they had Johnny Marr on guitar at the time. It wasn't until the mid/late 90's when they released "Last Of The Independants" and "Viva El Amore" that I had any interest in them again.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#22 Post by SR » Thu May 03, 2018 3:09 pm

Shit, I thought JM was still the guitarist. Apparently it's a five piece now and their last album, "Alone" released in '16 was CH alone with studio musicians. I read her boo, Reckless. It was a bit of a bore, but I still love her. Feminists (with the exception of Paglia) likely hate her fucking guts, but she's a true no nonsense person and as I've stated, her first two albums are masterpieces. Her rise through her happy accident as a journalist and bangin Sid Vicious to other exploits all while coming up in Ohio are just fantastical.

User avatar
Pandemonium
Posts: 5720
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:18 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#23 Post by Pandemonium » Thu May 03, 2018 3:27 pm

SR wrote:Shit, I thought JM was still the guitarist. Apparently it's a five piece now and their last album, "Alone" released in '16 was CH alone with studio musicians. I read her boo, Reckless. It was a bit of a bore, but I still love her. Feminists (with the exception of Paglia) likely hate her fucking guts, but she's a true no nonsense person and as I've stated, her first two albums are masterpieces. Her rise through her happy accident as a journalist and bangin Sid Vicious to other exploits all while coming up in Ohio are just fantastical.
One of the few times I got to talk to Damned/Lords guitarist Brian James back around '86, he mentioned he tried to teach Chrissy how to play guitar when they hung out together in the late 70's.

User avatar
SR
Posts: 7838
Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:56 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#24 Post by SR » Thu May 03, 2018 4:23 pm

Interesting. She was never great, but very new to it while writing the first songs for the band. I’m not sure, but I’d like to believe that in the live version of The Wait I linked just before the solo she says “watch me!” and the subsequent solo is hers. :noclue:

phenobarb_bambalam
Posts: 363
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:09 pm

Re: Best free concert you ever attended

#25 Post by phenobarb_bambalam » Thu May 03, 2018 9:27 pm

JA flash mob in London, 2003. Had hounded Perry several nights in a row for "My Time" and they played it as one of the five songs that night - it was a perfect moment.

Danny Boy :cheers:


Post Reply