Townman BigSteve‘s recent re-telling of the 1971 Stooges–MC5 show he attended before he had any idea of the significance of the event he was witnessing made me wonder if I ever saw a band live before being able to comprehend the majesty of a seminal band that I would not comprehend until a few years later.
And some of you have heard me tell this story before, but I actually saw the Stooges and the MC5 play on the same bill one night in 70 or 71, something like that. I might brag about it, especially to impress some young punk rocker, but I would never go so far as to claim I understood what I saw. The music I had grown up on did not prepare me for that night’s spectacle. – BigSteve
I believe the answer is No, I don’t think I ever had an experience like the one BigSteve describes. My band opened for some eventually successful bands that were early into their development, but 23 years later would anyone call Flaming Lips or Goo Goo Dolls seminal? OK, there’s a younger generation that may find the Lips seminal, but they would not arrive at their seminal sound until a few years later. It’s not the same as what BigSteve saw yet did not appreciate, and it’s different than seeing a big band and simply not liking them, right?
Like BigSteve, did you ever see a previously unknown (to you) band in its prime that, a few years later, made you wish you knew then what you know now?
This sort of fits…
In probably 1981, I went to see a band that was on tour (can’t recall who it was). What I recall was that they had a local band open the show. I HAD heard of the band in a few local write ups and was mildly curious about them. They were loud and ragged. I watch a few songs and decided to go to the bar next door for a cheaper beer. I still regret not staying to watch The Replacements in their early “Sorry Ma” days. Had I stayed I may or may not have “gotten” the Mats earlier then I did (When LET IT BE came out). But, I at least would had seen more then a couple songs of them in their early punk days.
Not sure this quite fits, but when I was a kid, by virtue of my dad’s job — which I now realize was THE COOLEST JOB IN THE FREAKING UNIVERSE — I got to meet/hang out with all kinds of jazz luminaries. Dave Bruebeck, Charlie Byrd, Billy Eckstine, Stan Getz… and I was all ho-hum about the whole thing. Had I known then what I know now, I totally would’ve hit those cats up for some juicy backstories!
Gentlemen, BOTH of your tales fit! Perfect. My use of the term “previously unknown” does not apply to situations such as what underthefloat described. It’s cool if you’d read a little about the band or heard friends talk about it. I meant that you saw one of these artists before hearing their music or knowing much more than their name and barely budding reputation. What will NOT qualify is a tale of seeing a band like The Clash in support of an album square in the middle of their legacy, like London Calling, and not getting them at that point.
in October of 1991, i bought a ticket to see my favorite band at the time, The Melvins, opening for Nirvana at a small club called J.C. Dobbs on South st. I had heard Bleach a few times, and thought Nirvana was a cool band name and all, but I was there to see the fuckin MELVINS man! God’s heaviest gift to the planet!!!
Well for some reason still unknown to me to this day, The Melvins weren’t there that night, and were replaced by Das Damen, who SUCKED. I had caught a video of theirs a few weeks earlier on Night Flight, and it was a cool psychadelic metal sort of thing. Live they were just crappy, and they weren’t the Melvins. After waiting about an hour and 20 minutes between bands, Nirvana played. They were amazing. Dave Grohl was the star of that show. His drumming was the most powerful thing I’d ever heard up to that point in my life. The rest of the band rose to the occasion, and when they played Teen Spirit, the whole club moved up and down in unison. We’d all known that song because local college radio played was playing it every 2 or 3 hours. A month later, regular radio was playing it 2wice an hour and PUNK as i knew it was gone forever.
Looking back, I would have enjoyed the show more if i had a clue about the magnitude of what i was seeing. I also would have liked it more if I could have stopped obsessing over the lack of Melvins.