Jesse: Fave Concerts

December 9th, 2009

Muse @ VFest 2006

So as we are gearing down to the end of 2009, I’ve been thinking about some of my favorite concerts, not necessarily from this year, but thought I’d share some of them with you. These are only a couple that stood out in my mind. Actually, there’s another 20 that I’m trying to finish writing out, but for today I’ll leave you with these. As always, click on the hyperlinks to take you to their sites and videos, and there’s always secret links hidden throughout. So have fun clicking away.

Muse
Has to be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen from a band. I saw them at an outdoor festival in San Diego and for a band that wasn’t headlining their own tour they had one of the best crews around. They had cameras on their guitars, on the mic stand, on each drum cymbal, and all over the place. They live mixed the footage with an amazing light crew. Sitting on a grass hill in San Diego watching Muse, you don’t really need to do much with your life after that to feel complete.

mewithoutYou
I’m driving through Portland, Oregon on the way to California to live in a van on the beach for a few months when I hear mewithoutYou is playing. All engines stop and we find this tiny venue off the freeway outside Portland where they’ve settled. We cram into the over packed venue with a few hundred other people (probably a few hundred over capacity) to see a show like none I’d seen before. Not only is the energy of the band and overall structure of the music so unique, I’ve never seen a crowd so into a band. They moved with every line of spoken word. If you haven’t listened to them before, take a second to click on the link. Then watch what Aaron Weiss (lead singer) has to say here. They’ve got opinions with tons to say on every topic under the sun. Ok, maybe not. But close.

Mute Math
Saw them at Richards on Richards, which no longer does shows, but had one of the best seats to watch this up and coming southern band. It was a sight to see with their drummer duct taping his headphones to his head and thrashing around for an hour. The singer doing a handstand on his Rhodes keyboard yet somehow still playing, and pretty much overall Chaos. Their unique sound and extremely energetic performance made for a show worth seeing a few times, which I did.

Cobra Starship
I was on the road with Sherwood when Cobra Starship jumped on for the last leg of the tour. I somehow ended up commandeering a spot on their bus and spent most of our down time going around NYC with Gabe. Watching their show, seeing them interact with their fans and listening to Gabe talk about the ins and outs of the music industry and pretty much everything else to do with life made for an amazing tour. These guys (and gal) know how to perform and love to interact with their fans. They also opened my eyes to the wonderful world that is: This Is Ivy League.

The Rocket Summer
This guy put out such an amazing album with Do You Feel and put an even better tour to follow. He puts so much energy into each and every performance and puts just as much heart into every hug and handshake. It’s hard to find anyone who has anything bad to say about Bryce.

Relient K
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen these guys. It was a tradition to drive down every summer to the gorge in George Washington to see them and camp out under the stars for a week. Every year the show and the songs got better. They did old covers mixed in with their own hits and always got the crowd involved which made for an interesting and energetic show.

Tags: cobra starship, concerts, jesse giddings, muse, mute math, vjs