Tonight I caught about 15 minutes of the Depeche Mode 101 tour airing on some satellite station called Fuse. I immediately felt transported back to their concert at the Salt Palace, when General Admission was still in effect, 21 years ago. It was one of the best concerts - my ass was grabbed, I bought a poster that pretty much covered half of a wall, and I totally lost my voice. Not to mention the incredible eye candy that is David Gahan! (I am sure there are those of you thinking "blech, pasty white englishman with a skinny body and not a lot of muscles". Let me just say, that man can dance. Being able to dance does a lot for me. Well, that and his nose. )
This blast from the past got me thinking about previous concerts and my favorite events. I am therefore making this a project say something and listing my top ten favorite concerts.
1. Neil Diamond (all of them) - I have seen him in concert at least 3 times, maybe more. I never get tired of it, even if in some ways it is the same show. I addressed my Neil Diamond obsession once before, so I won't go into it again. Suffice it to say, he makes me happy, he makes me love my parents, my childhood, and life in general.
2. Erasure the Wild Tour - If you have never seen Erasure, you cannot understand why they are the most fun and energetic concert. Andy Bell is a riot, the crowd is into it, the music rocks, there are multiple costume changes, and it is just fun. Memorable moment, the stupid girl from High School that my friends brought along who said after the third song "I didn't know he was gay! I want to go home, this has ruined their music for me!" Uh, hello stupid twit. (I bought a bad ass poster from this concert too)
3. True Colors Tour 2006 - This is a concert that raises money for the Matthew Shepard foundation and awareness for gay rights. For this show, Cyndi Lauper closed the show, since it is her brainchild, and she was as great then as when I saw her for my first concert at 13. Erausre performed, along with Blondie, Dresden Dolls and more. There were drag queens, tall lesbians, people with blinking tiaras and feathered boa's - we bounced big beach balls around, danced like crazy, and drank a lot of alcohol...awesome, awesome, awesome!
4. Sarah Brightman La Luna Tour - Not only is she phenomenal, her stage presence is amazing, at least 12 costume changes, incredible vocals, and very theatrical show, but on this night I discovered I was pregnant with my first daughter. It therefore will always have a special place in my heart.
5. Elton John and Billy Joel - OK, this was most cool because we had backstage passes and got to meet Billy Joel! He signed some CD's, shook our hands, took pictures,etc. All this after we walked in on him putting his pants on..yeah, it was an awkward moment. The concert itself was at least 3 hours, the music is better live, and their stage banter was hysterical. Elton had 6 costume changes, Billy had 1.
6. Alison Krauss and The Union Station - I have loved her for years and she sings my wedding song, so that is a big reason also. I saw her at Red Butte and Deer Valley, both were great. She really chats with the crowd and is funny, so it makes it enjoyable. Her band also does songs of their own.
7. DM 101 - See above for why, but I did see them for the Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion tour, both of which were also great.
8. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - Saw them at Red Butte for the "My Baby Don't Tolerate Tour" and again at Deer Valley a year later. He is so funny, I love his voice and energy with the band and crowd, and he sings for a really long time. He kept weaving all these funny stories in between numbers, I kind of felt like an old friend by the time the night was over.
9. David Francey - Saw him at the Ogden Nature Center and wrote about it in another blog last year. So I liked this concert because it changed my life, or at least my viewpoint. He helped me refocus and for that I am grateful. He was another of those that was just funny as hell, so the show was very enjoyable. His song "Come Rain or Come Shine" as become our new song.
10. Gaelic Storm - They should be higher as I love them every time I see them, but it was a hard ordering, so here they are. Great fun show, funny does not do it justice, it was fucking hilarious (sensing a theme?), and the music is outstanding. People get up and dance, they drink beer on stage...good times.
The person that I HAVE to see in concert is Michael Buble'. Hopefully he will make it to my top ten and live up to my expectations.
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