Which performer or band do you wish you had seen live? I have a few. And an eclectic bunch they are- Janis Joplin, Prince on his Purple Rain tour and most of the bands at Woodstock just off the top of my head.
Me too Paula, I now have so many. Without delving into ones I know I could not have seen (The Beatles, Hank Williams), I guess with my listening tastes these days I'd have to say Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Nancy Griffiths. More mainstream artists I'd wish I had seen would be David Bowie in the 70s. There's a few artists I dearly wish I hadn't seen too lol
John, artists you wished you'd never seen is whole other (long) list!
Do they now have to be dead or at least not performing anymore?! I have my guilty AOR pleasure and would have loved to see Boston - also early 70s Chicago with Peter Cetera and Terry Kath. My usual defence of Chicago btw is that Jimmy Hendrix said that Kath was a better guitar player than him. This *amazing* song was basically a tribute to Hendrix!
R.E.M. Still don’t know how I contrived to miss seeing them live. Sometimes I have to work quite hard to be this stupid.
Not to rub salt into any wounds Cam but although my music taste in the 80s was pretty embarrassing (I was aged 7-17 was my excuse) I did manage to see REM on their Green tour at the NEC in 1989. If it's any consolation I can hardly remember anything about it.
R.E.M is getting to be a popular choice, they played my Uni', if I told you the ticket price you'd laugh, but I was skint.
John Stewart - couldn't persuade anyone to go, so I didn't either. Last time I made that mistake - he died pretty soon after.
Neil Young - Hammersmith Odeon, I'd seen CSN there just before this was announced and the sound was iffy at best, and the only seats left for Neil were pretty much the same place. So I didn't.
Mostly though - I try not to regret those I missed. I had the chance, I didn't go, can't change the past.
Bob Marley and the Wailers. I was in London when they played the Lyceum in 1975 but I must have had what I thought was a better offer because I didn’t even try to get a ticket. One of life’s little regrets.
@markamericana Mark, your honesty has forced me to remind everyone that Leon Russell used the Chicago horn section on his Americana album. So, maybe there was more to them than I thought at the time. Mind you, I’m not tempted to try and disprove my old self wrong.
I didn't know that! Have a listen to that track I posted once the intro is done from about a minute in Martin, it's honestly epic (although doesn't have any horns)
@markamericana Echo’s of Hendrix’s “Little Wing”in parts. I will admit that their cover of the Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m A Man” in ‘69 and their own “25 or 6 to 4” in 1970 did for a little while pique my teenage interest.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, also The Band
The Band certainly. And The Byrds although I have seen McGuinn.
Those who know me will wonder how I have contrived not to see Van Morrison in all my years. I guess that is fixable though.
Just to widen the debate a little whilst live recordings/albums aren't really my thing there are a couple of things I wished I'd been at. Sam Cooke "Live at The Harlem Square Club" is one. Also The Global Village Trucking Company's contribution to "Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall" would have been a corker. Also wouldn't have minded being at The Ramones "It's Alive" recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on New Year's Eve 1977. Fun fact: our very own Paula Cooke was, in fact, there. She used to write for punk fanzines back in the day under the moniker 'Ruth Putrid' and had access to these occasions. Not that I'm jealous or anything...
