13 Favorite Concerts

Thirteen #3 FAVORITE CONCERTS 1. Bruce Springsteen at JazzFest 2006: This is probably the concert that I will always compare others to. This to me, was the best, the zenith of concert experiences. It was the start of his Seeger Session tour, it was the first JazzFest after the hurricane. I've never been at a concert where the audience was literally in tears from the songs, until this one. When Springsteen did "My City of Ruins" I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. The most emotional concert I've ever been to. 2. John Hiatt Solo at House of Blues August 25, 2004: This was the first time I saw John Hiatt in concert. I could have picked any of his later concerts I've seen, he puts on a great show, but something about him doing his songs with just him and his guitar up there on stage....it brought an immediacy to his songs. And inbetween his songs his liked to tell stories about his life and where the songs came from that made this just an all out great show. Also this is the concert that introduced me to Will Hoge, who opened for him at this show. 3. Will Hoge at Bonnaroo June 11, 2004: And speaking of Mr. Hoge. I could have easily picked just about any of his shows I've seen, and I've probably seen more shows by Will Hoge than just about anyone else. Will never gives a bad show, but the last one I saw at TwoJaques in the French Quarter was probably as close as I want to come to a bad show, it wasn't bad, but Will played as if indifferent, like he wasn't all there that night. I almost picked his first show I saw, his acoustic show, with just him and his guitar, to me that will always rank as one of my favorites. But in the end I had to go with his show at Bonnaroo. Among all the big name acts there that weekend for my money Will blew everyone away. He played in this small tent with maybe a hundred people in the crowd like his life depended on it. I've never seen him play with more passion that night. 4. Theresa Anderson at Gretna Heritage Festival Oct 28, 2006: Theresa is a local artist that I've seen a few times, mainly at JazzFest and such. She always puts on a good show but this show was beyond just a good show. It was a beautiful day, one without the humidity that New Orleans is known for, with just a nice warm sun and her up on stage just singing her songs and wowing the audience with her voice and talent. 5. Wilco at Orpeheum Theatre New Orleans April 23, 2004: This was my first concert for Wilco. I've been a Wilco fan for a long time and the previous year had tickets to their show when they had to cancel because Jeff Tweedy checked himself into rehap. So I was eager for their show. And they didn't disappoint. Jeff has a good stage presence, joking with the crowd inbetween songs. But of course it is the songs that matter and that night they played them and made them matter. I'll still never forget when he asked a girl in the front that looked faint if she wanted to come up and sit on stage for a few minutes till she felt better. 6. Paul McCartney at New Orleans Arena Oct 12, 2002: What can I say? It was Sir Paul. This is as close to the Beatles as I'll ever get. And saying all that he put on a great show. Paul is a natural born showman. He did his greatest hits and a lot of Beatle songs. He even had some funny stories to tell. 7. Joss Stone at HOB April 27, 2004: This was the first time to see Joss for me. She was just starting to get famous, she still wasn't that well known yet. What can I say about that voice of hers? It's great. It was nice watching her on stage, seeing her not that used to being up there. After a hearty round of applause she would blush as if she wasn't used to it. 8. Shannon McNally at Louisiana Music Factory Aug 6, 2005: The Music Factory is a record store that caters to local artists. On one side they had a small stage set up and do local concerts there. It is about as intimate an affair as I'll ever get for seeing a concert. I'm standing in front, not more than four feet from Shannon, the stage is only about a foot high, so she's not that high above me, I could literally reach out and touch her if I wanted. Picking a favorite show of Shannon's is another hard one, I've seen a few and they are all good. This one was just a fun show and I enjoyed a lot. 9. Bob Dylan at UNO Lakefront Feb 17 1999: Another performer that I could have picked multiple shows from. I just picked this one as one of the ones I've seen, seeing Dylan is always an experience. He never sings his songs the same, he always puts a new spin on them that makes you think they may mean something different than what you thought before. 10. Buddy Guy at JazzFest 2005: For a man in his advanced years Buddy knows how to rock. As a blues singer he can wail and moan the blues, but he can rock. He was all over the stage. At one point he actually comes out in the audience and walks around, playing his guitar as he goes. 11. Gatemouth Brown and Friends at HOB parish July 24, 2005: This was not long before Gatemouth died. He was weak from his cancer at this point. The parish is a smaller room above the main room at the House of Blues. The stage is smaller and closer to the floor. I like seeing concerts here better than the main room, just for the fact that it's always the lesser draws and there are usually less people and it brings you so much closer to the singer. This show was a tribute to a legend while he was still alive. Sonny Landreth started out, than Walter "Wolfman" Washington came on and finally Snooks Eagin played. And in the end Gatemouth came out. He was hooked up to an oxygen tank and you could see how frail he was. I was front and center that night. I could see him struggling with the words. He played only a few songs before he had to leave, but it was still inspiring. 12. Brian Stoltz at JazzFest 2005: Brian Stoltz played with the Neville Brothers and a lot of other big names. He has only put out two solo albums under his own name. But after seeing this show I went and bought his new cd and had him sign it. He put on that good a show. 13. Who at LSU Concert Center 1979 (?): This one was so long ago I'm not even sure of the date but it had to be in the seventies. Moon was dead, Kenny Jones was on drums, but the other three members were there. I remember during one song, it was the Tommy suite that they started getting quieter and quieter, the instruments just amping down, and as the music got quieter the lights started dimming around the stage. It was all just a little at a time, so you started leaning forward to hear and see what was going on. Than suddenly the lights and sound exploded into Pinball Wizard. Everyone jumped backed as one.

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