Best Concerts

Ok, several aspects are involved in what makes a concert great. Obviously, the band is essential. But the venue and the company make a large impact, as well as when the concert occurs in the span of your life. With all these elements in mind, here are some of the best I've been to. In order:

1) Weezer, Cain's Ballroom, 09/2000. This is probably the smallest place Weezer has played in a very long time. The crowd was packed so thick you literally could not move. I remember getting my arm stuck between some people and have to wait for the crowd to shift to get it back. That's pretty damn packed. People were puking from the heat close to the stage and bouncers were pouring bottles of water over the crowd. Awesome.

2) Robert Earl Keen, Stubb's BBQ, 05/2006. What a great night altogether. This was a cool concert for sure, my introductory experience with PBR, and CCR opening was a great surprise as well. Mostly this concert was about the entirety of the night though. Outdoor concert in downtown Austin, free access to roam from concert to bar back to concert, Jeattle Sean being a jackass all night... Great memories.

3) Flaming Lips, Red Rocks, 08/2009. This was like two days ago. The only reason this one isn't number two is due to the "company" criteria. But the story is cool. Scored a backstage pass from an old friend who was running sound for the opening act. Going to a concert alone is not ideal, but this did give me the opportunity to branch out and make some friends, which I did in the parking lot after the show. Also worth mentioning is that Explosions In The Sky also played and were one of the most compelling acts I've seen yet.

4) Death Cab For Cutie, Red Rocks, 07/2009. This concert meets all of the necessary criteria and just barely gets edged out by No.'s 2 and 3. The seats at Red Rocks this time were not near as close as for the Lips, but had their own charm in that you could see the entire city from them.

5) John Mayer, Smirnoff Amphitheater, 07/2007. This was actually Ben Folds and John Mayer, so that's a double whammy. But really Mayer stole the show. If you are a fan of good guitar playing, particularly blues guitar, then this was a night not to miss.