Cathedrals of Sound; TMGI Day 17

The first concert I ever went to was Milli Vanilli.
That’s right.

(Inspired yet?)

It was a spectacle, girl, you know it’s true.  The constant running around and scaling of giant scaffolding, in retrospect, was obviously a way of just passing 90 minutes hoping no one would notice that they weren’t, you know, singing.  But opening for them was one of the ubiquitous all-girl singing groups called Seduction, and none other than Young MC himself.  Busting a move was far more fun than blaming anything on the rain.  Obviously, it turned out that seeing Milli Vanilli in concert was more memorable than I had anticipated because mere months later, their fraud was revealed.  I hold great gratitude for the weirdness of that first concert, though…because it served as a contrast to my SECOND concert ever – but more on that in a bit.  That first concert was just the beginning of my concert experiences – the beginning of my watching these practicioners of preformance preach in great cathedrals of sound.

I didn’t see Dave Matthews Band until I was 27, and it was everything I thought it would be.  If you’ve never heard of the band Keane, go buy their album Hopes and Fears to hear soaring Brit alt pop in its purest form.  Better yet, go see them live.  Their concert in the round at a small, local venue ranks easily in my top 5 shows ever.  I’ve seen Andrea Bocelli and Kenny Loggins and Styx…Sheryl Crow in ’94 was really good, and Brian McKnight was fantastic.  There was Vertical Horizon in the mid-2000s, and a somewhat-well-known and totally underrated guy called Freedy Johnston who was so much fun.  George Winston at Gammage Auditorium is simple, happy perfection.  And then there are a few stand-outs who rose a bit above the others listed here so far.  Tori Amos gave a nearly-3-hour, double-grand-piano performance in 1996 that felt like we in the audience were watching her play and sing alone in the theatre.  Also, Luther Vandross in 1997 was so spot-on that I left the arena aware that something remarkable had happened.  And yes, there is a rumor – a RUMOR – that I may have gone to a certain concert by some certain Boys of a certain Backstreet…and it MAY have been much better than I thought it would be.  A L L E G E D L Y.

But even as good as some of these aforementioned concerts were (and allegedly were), there are four artists whom I have seen who are in classes by themselves.  More than just good, or memorable, it feels like I caught these musicians at the peak of their craft, and being witness to that – in ANY walk of life – is absolutely inspiring.

• In 1995, a small group of 5 guys played a catchy, sometimes odd-ball set of about 45 minutes in the basement of the student union at Arizona State.  It was late in the afteroon, and there couldn’t have been more than 25 of us crammed into the small space to watch them play.  From that day to this, Barenaked Ladies has by far been the band I’ve followed most closely.  Their sound can never be confused for anyone else’s, and as an unapologetic lover of words, their lyrics floor me.  And unlike a lot of bands I liked when I was 19, BNL has gotten better over the years.  The music on their first widely released album, Gordon, is totally different in tone than their latest album, All in Good Time – and yet, it sounds as authentically them as any album has.  And can I just say, these guys put on the single most entertaining live show I’ve ever seen.

• I saw Tom Waitts last year.  At the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix.  For 2 hours.  Seeing Tom Waitts live is like all the good parts of going to church.  It’s a religious experience.

• The most impressive concert I’ve ever been to was Springsteen at Gammage Auditorium in 1996.  It was just him, no band, sitting alone on a stool in the middle of the stage, and maybe 2 or 3 guitar changes.  He played for 3 hours.  No break.  It was revelatory.  To that point I had only known his Born in the USA music, but that night in Tempe redefined how I saw him, how I heard him, and what I understood what was possible from people like him – these high priests of songwriting.  It remains the only concert that, when it ended, I walked out of the venue humbled.

• The last indellible mark I’ll write about today was actually the first one I received.  It was at my SECOND concert.  In October of 1992, at Sun Devil Stadium, I saw U2.  It was the Zoo TV tour and Achtung Baby.  It was One and The Joshua Tree.  It was the loudest, brightest, most electric environment I’d ever experienced, or experienced since.  It was Bono who filled that whole space, it was the Edge who on the one hand looks too old to be able to do what he does, and on the other hand is cooler than I ever was or hope to be.  It was in all ways and parts different from and better than my one previous concert.  And at the end of the show, Bono walked down the runway to the smaller stage, just 10-12 rows from our pretty great seats, and with only a heart-beat of drums quietly thumping, began to sing Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.  I’m not even that big a U2 fan, and that song remains the best concert moment I’ve witnessed.  Dressed all in black, signature sunglasses on his face, and reaching octaves in his falsetto that are not human, I was elevated.

Leave a comment on this article, and share your favorite concert experiences – the times that inspired You.

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