music meme from Renee

Here's what you do: Copy this list; leave in the bands you’ve seen perform live; delete the ones you haven’t, and add new ones that you have seen until you reach 25. An asterisk means the previous person had it on their list. Two asterisks means the last two people who did this before you had that band on their list.

I've listed my entries in order of frequency seen

1. Metallica: many memories after having seen these guys oh so many times. Cliff Burton popping pills onstage. Metallica blowing Ozzy away at the Colosseum in Johnstown. Jason's birthday in PGH. Caught in a snowstorm on the drive back from Syracuse. Met them a few times, the most memorable being the last time in PGH when we saw Lars walking away from the Arena toward the hotel. Myself & Chris & Denise & Dave Runayn in the car, pull up to Lars to say "hi" & did he need a lift. Lars invites us up to the hotel to party...until he sees Dave behind the wheel.

2. Grateful Dead: more great memories from many shows. Did I ever tell you about the show at the Arena where cops were beating hippies outside for no reason whatsoever? Granted, I think there were gate crashers inside the venue. But we were outside in Shakedown -with Nikki who was maybe 3 or 4 months old, babe in arms. Literally terrified for our safety when the melee broke out, we ran across the street to watch & cry & wonder about the senseless violence.

3. Anthrax: For one tour, Bryan had air brushed this huge Judge Death banner on a sheet. I held it up at the tour bus outside the Arena & was invited on the bus. The band invited me & my friends to come see them in Cleveland the next night & hang out backstage. We got to sit at the sound board for the show. Backstage was boring enough that I didn't want to hang out but rather wanted to hit the road for home.

4. The Allman Brothers Band: I've only seen these guys at Red Rocks. Of course, it doesn't get any better than that. The last time I saw them was a few years ago. Maddie was still a toddler. Greg had oxygen handy at his seat behind the piano. BUT they rocked out!

5. Mickey Hart: Aside from the Dead, I've seen Mickey Hart a couple times with Further Fest & once at the Paramount. The Paramount show was freaking awesome. And the drumming/dancing continued outside on Glenarm. Always such a feel good time. AND I'm going to see Mickey again TONIGHT at the Boulder Theatre!! Yay!!

6. Soundgarden: first saw these guys at a roller skating rink/concert venue in Penn Hills. Argh, I can't remember the name of the place. Chris Cornell had long hair, shirtless with long cut-offs, wide black leather belt, combat boots -typical grunge attire. Super sexy. And that voice. OMG. He had amazing vocal ability. Faith No More opened. Equally sexy Mike Patton. And Voi Vod was the headliner. Really? Yes, really. My "friends" left me inside the show while they went outside with FNM guitarist Jim Martin (ironic, that's G's dad's name) to have a little smokeout. I had a blast, though, stage diving & moshing. I miss those days.

7. Testament: saw this band a few times at a small theatre in South Hills Pittsburgh. The first show was also the first day I hung out with Denise in 1987. The last time we saw them it was another beatdown by the cops. Metal heads, this time. Saw this boy get taken torward a backdoor of the theatre and thrown up against the wall in a stranglehold. The scene outside was pure mayhem with kids running away & cops chasing & beating them. When we got home we tried to notify several t.v. stations & newspaper agencies. We found one sympathetic ear who wrote an article in the paper. This was about the time when cops in PGH started wearing black leather gloves...the less likely to leave fingerprint evidence, we surmised conspiratorially

8. Megadeth: 1st show was at the roller skating rink venue. Dave Mustaine threw a hissy fit b/c the lighting wasn't on HIM. Dude, you're playing in a skating rink. How much prima donna attitude do you really deserve here? Met them at Eides when it was on Penn Ave, the first location. Saw them that night at McKee's Rocks at some bar. Always the diva, Dave Mustaine had on this long glittery jacket a la Ozzy Osbourne. I was ripped, out of my mind, literally. I thought Dave Mustaine was satan & I had to "save" my friends by getting them all to leave. It was an interesting night, to say the least.

9. The Police: I just saw them for the first time this summer. The show was so incredible. I started blogging about it when I first got home that night while I still high from the adrenaline rush. I may finish & post it just because it was so awesome.

10. The Rolling Stones: the first and only time I will ever pay such an exhorbitant price for a concert. It was the Steel Wheels tour at Three Rivers. Great show! Mick Jagger had so much energy, I couldn't believe it. He was/is the same age as my dad. I can't even imagine my dad jumping around like that, let alone singing all the while. (I could never understand why some performers insist that they "have to" lip synch so that they can dance too. Mick Jagger does just fine).

11. Van Hagar: This was the Monster's of Rock festival show at Three Rivers. Metallica again! I was about 8 months pregnant with Nikki in one of the hottest summers in history. My legs were like sausages when we got home that night.

12. Indigo Girls: my first show at Red Rocks. 1992. We were visiting my brother & I specifically planned the trip to coincide with this show. I had chills up & down my spine the whole show.

13. Goo Goo Dolls: Chris & I saw them at The Banana (AKA the electric banana). Super small venue of many underground & local bands. Small like couple hundred people max. Small like the stage was knee height. Speaking of The Banana, I remember when Suicidal Tendencies came & "hardcore" folks were all pissed off b/c the band had a stylish & comfy RV. WTF. The things that are important when you're 19....

14. Widespread Panic: I took Maddie with me to see them play at Keystone about 6 years ago. It was a good show. Good people. Really I only went b/c I had never seen them & I wanted to go to that type of "spreadhead" show that I missed so much from dead tour. And Madddie's father used to be really into them. It was one of those things that I wanted to check off my list of "been there, done that" activities.

15. Cyndi Lauper: I drove with my friends Faith McClurg & Stacey Wells to State College for this show. We must have been about 16 or 17. Stacey's brother was at school there so we hung out with the cool college kids in the dorm. Cyndi Lauper was so influential in my life then; her inspiration gave me courage to believe that it was okay to be "different" from the herd in high school. Very different. Not an easy task in a small aggie school of 600 students 7th-12th grades. There was a massive rainstorm on the way home (3 hour drive) and I was driving Faith's dad's car. It was automatic except for the steering. (remember when cars had that kind of steering??? thank god for advanced technology) ARGH! Not fun hydroplaning in that thing.

16. Neil Young: Star Lake with my sister. He just reminded me so much of my brother it was surreal. Incredible energy for an old guy. I just couldn't get past the brotherly resemblance, though. Even the guitar solo that I thought was too long & eventually boring was something my brother would do.

17. Paul McCartney* I saw his first "return" tour at the Arena in PGH. High energy & great music. From Beatles to Wings to Michael Jackson to whatever he was currently writing. It was all good.

18. The Violent Femmes** I took my friend Shannon to this show because it was the Femmes opening for the B52s and she was really into them. A fun, high energy show

19. Tom Petty* Another Civic Arena show. Every song was excellent. He started that whole persian rug onstage, barefoot performer thing with this tour, I think. Everyone else have been followers.

20. Dead Can Dance: Boulder Theatre. 1996. The show was just so very excellent. Indescribable. Ecstasy without drugs kind of show. Earlier in the day, Brendan came into Traders of the Lost Art, which was around the corner from the venue, & bought some Guatemalan drawstring pants from me. After the show we hung out behind the theatre with Brendan's brother who was a band member.

21. Cheap Trick: Clarion University basketball court -turned concert venue. 1983. I was so excited to be there & see this band that I'd been listening too since elementary school. I was sorely disappointed in the horrible horrible accoustics.

22. KISS - first tour without make-up. Wished the whole time that they still had make-up. Someone threw a roll of toilet paper onstage. Nice. Oh, and a Michael Jackson doll. (remember those?) Can't remember Paul Stanley's retort.

23. Sinead O'Conner: Star Lake. Worst concert ever. She sang for about 10 minutes then left the stage. Turns out she was pregnant & wasn't feeling well that night. No, we did not get a refund. Well, she should have cancelled the freaking tour, or at least the show so that the fans could get a refund. But no, she went on & played for 10 minutes so that she honored her contract & still got paid & the fans were left burned & really, ripped off. Funny my brother asked if I saw her in concert last week. Hell no. Never again. Actually, this is just a notch lower than Mazzy Star at the Boulder Theatre when Hope stormed off the stage -towards the end of the show anyway- because some audience member wouldn't be "quiet" during "six string serenade". Too bad because the rest of the show was fab. (Hope also did some shopping in Traders before the show)

24. Three Dog Night: This was the annual Oldies concert at Three Rivers Stadium that we went to with my mom. It was always a blast. All day event with picnic food & blanket etc. I wish I could do that again. I wonder if my mom still goes?

25. Black Sabbath: It was the Tony Iommi/Black Sabbath tour 1986. Um, I don't recall who was singing for this tour. I do remember the cop jabbing me in the ribs with her billy club for standing on my chair (like everyone else, ya moron). Yes, we got down...momentarily, until she walked away & of course we got back up on our chairs. This was a show at the now defunct Syria Mosque in Oakland. Yeah, that historic building that was torn down to make room for a parking LOT. Tony Iommi was incredible.