Bands that at one point or another have blown my mind

[flawd101]

iron maiden
 AFI
 gwar

[TheREALHunter]

I took the original title of the thread to refer to bands that had a period of time where they could seemingly do no wrong with what they released as opposed to particular shows but since that's the direction that the thread has taken I won't veer off course haha; however I'm going to change it up slightly and list shows that kicked my ass where I had very little to zero knowledge about the band beforehand, sometimes those are the most rewarding.
 
 Melvins DC Space Summer 1990
 (If you know the volume of the Melvins and knew the size of DC Space then nuff said)
 
 Five-Eight 15 Min Club DC Summer 1993
 (actually the openers Kepone were pretty goddamned amazing as well)
 
 Dwarves 9:30 Club Fall 1990
 (Best 20 minutes of live punk rock I've ever seen hands down, will still kill for a video of this show as I saw and collided with at least 2-3 people filming)
 
 Ernie Isley Riverpark Tulsa OK Summer 1990
 (opening for SRV and IMO blew him off of the stage which I know is blasphemous given SRV's deceased status but I saw Ernie Isley again at the Ritz in DC 2 weeks later after begging them to let my then-underage ass in and it wasn't a fluke)
 
 Shudder To Think 9:30 Club Summer 1990
 (I wished I had seen these guys a little earlier on as opposed to catching them when I did but in retrospect I was glad I got to see them a few times before the original lineup started to disintegrate)
 
 Nation of Ulysses St Stephens Church DC Fall 1991
 (Starting off riffing on Coltrane and then descending into chaotic noise for the next half an hour but it worked)
 
 Eric Gales Band 9:30 Club Summer 1991
 (Opening for King's X, I think he was like 16 at the time and I figured he was destined for future guitar god greatness but haven't heard much from him in the past decade unfortunately)
 
 Chris Duarte Club Dada Dallas TX January 1994
 (Why this guy doesn't get more recognition is beyond me, what he can do with a guitar is beyond all fucking comprehension)

[Shadrach]

I stand by my notion from the other thread, that while I have seen some AMAZING live shows, I just don't get the whole "mind blowing" experience. Maybe I just don't do the right drugs or have enough booze in my system, who knows?
 
 There have been a handful of shows over the years that have been life changing in the sense that I was sincerely won over as a lifetime fan, but I've never left feeling like I was just witness to something so unique or ground breaking that my mind was blown:
 
 Clutch (9:30 F St.)
 Ray Lamontagne (9:30 V St.)
 Alice In Chains (Ritchie Coliseum)
 Tool (Hammerjacks)
 Teenage Fanclub (Hammerjacks)
 Prong (The Bayou)
 AC/DC (The Capital Center)
 The Jesus and Mary Chain (Lalapalooza â?¢ Lake Fairfax)

[Relaxer]

Originally posted by Shadrach:
  I stand by my notion from the other thread, that while I have seen some AMAZING live shows, I just don't get the whole "mind blowing" experience. Maybe I just don't do the right drugs or have enough booze in my system, who knows?
 
 There have been a handful of shows over the years that have been life changing in the sense that I was sincerely won over as a lifetime fan, but I've never left feeling like I was just witness to something so unique or ground breaking that my mind was blown:
 
 Clutch (9:30 F St.)
 Ray Lamontagne (9:30 V St.)
 Alice In Chains (Ritchie Coliseum)
 Tool (Hammerjacks)
 Teenage Fanclub (Hammerjacks)
 Prong (The Bayou)
 AC/DC (The Capital Center)
 The Jesus and Mary Chain (Lalapalooza â?¢ Lake Fairfax)

I think you might be taking the whole "mind-blowing" concept a bit too literally/seriously. It's pretty much as hyperbolic as saying a performance was life-changing.

[Giles]

Orbital (9:30)
 Chemical Brothers (Nation)
 Stereophonics (Morfa Stadium: Wales, UK)
 Mogwai (Black Cat)
 Art of Noise (Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco)
 Coldcut (9:30)
 Curve (9:30 Club F Street)
 Faithless (9:30)
 The Prodigy (9:30 Club and HFS'tival)
 Kraftwerk (9:30)
 Manic Street Preachers (V97 - Chelmsford UK)
 Tripping Daisy (9:30 Club F Street) (1994)
 The The (Lisner Auditorium)
 System 7 (Big Top Festival - Capital Ballroom)
 Basement Jaxx (9:30)

[TheREALHunter]

Originally posted by Shadrach:
  I stand by my notion from the other thread, that while I have seen some AMAZING live shows, I just don't get the whole "mind blowing" experience. Maybe I just don't do the right drugs or have enough booze in my system, who knows?
 
 There have been a handful of shows over the years that have been life changing in the sense that I was sincerely won over as a lifetime fan, but I've never left feeling like I was just witness to something so unique or ground breaking that my mind was blown:
 
 Clutch (9:30 F St.)
 Ray Lamontagne (9:30 V St.)
 Alice In Chains (Ritchie Coliseum)
 Tool (Hammerjacks)
 Teenage Fanclub (Hammerjacks)
 Prong (The Bayou)
 AC/DC (The Capital Center)
 The Jesus and Mary Chain (Lalapalooza â?¢ Lake Fairfax)

Just curious...was the Clutch show when they opened for Jawbox? And Prong when they opened for Flotsam and Jetsam?

[Bombay Chutney]

Originally posted by Relaxer:
  I think you might be taking the whole "mind-blowing" concept a bit too literally/seriously. It's pretty much as hyperbolic as saying a performance was life-changing.

But I think that's the whole point...to move beyond "great shows" and think about the ones that were just completely over the top, taking you places you never thought music could go, making you totally rethink everything you thought you  knew about music, changing the way you experience every aspect of listening to music from that point forward.  It's more like a religious experience than anything else.  
 
 Of course "mind-blowing" is hyperbolic.  "Life-changing" doesn't need to be though.

[Relaxer]

I agree that a concert can be life-changing (but then, a 10%-off sale at Olssons can also be life-changing). The point I was making was that Shadrach was crapping on the "mind blowing" concept, but then says he's had life-changing experiences, and I'm saying that they're the same thing, in terms of how we're using the concepts.

[Vas Deferens]

forgot to include:
 
 underworld (1999 warfield)
 delgados (2003 bimbos)
 nick cave (1998 warfield - some girl actually crapped her pants during this show....)
 
   

Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
  sigur ros (2001 fillmore SF)
 bjork (1998 warfield SF)
 portishead (1998 warfield SF)
 pj harvey (1998, 2001, 2005 warfield SF)

[sonickteam2]

this thread is so ghey.

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
  forgot to include:
 
 underworld (1999 warfield)
 delgados (2003 bimbos)
 nick cave (1998 warfield - some girl actually crapped her pants during this show....)
 
   

Originally posted by wanderlust j. marshmallow:
  sigur ros (2001 fillmore SF)
 bjork (1998 warfield SF)
 portishead (1998 warfield SF)
 pj harvey (1998, 2001, 2005 warfield SF)

[/b]

joe, you go to more shows than anyone else here (with the possible exception of ixkpd-bk), all over the country although mostly on the east coast... but you've only ever been to mind-blowing shows in SF?  really?   :p

[xneverwherex]

this goes back to the early 90's but I cant quite remember years on most of these shows:
 
 Erasure @ Cow Palace, SF - the cowboy tour was just awesome! But I think their earlier shows had even better costumes.
 
 Morrissey @ The Greek Theater (Berkeley) - 1991
 
 Catherine Wheel @ Slims, SF
 
 Manic Street Preachers @ Bimbos, SF
 
 Dandy Warhols @ fillmore, Sf - an evening with.. 3 hours of dandy warhols bliss!
   
 Jesus & Mary Chain/Mazzy Star @ Palladium, LA - 1994
 
 Gene - San Diego - 1997?
 
 Polyphonic Spree, Im From Barcelona, Daft Punk - Lollapalooza 2007
 
 Stereophonics - 9:30 Club
 
 Basement Jaxx - Webster Hall, NYC
 
 Faithless - Webster Hall, NYC

[Shadrach]

Originally posted by TheREALHunter:
   

Originally posted by Shadrach:
  I stand by my notion from the other thread, that while I have seen some AMAZING live shows, I just don't get the whole "mind blowing" experience. Maybe I just don't do the right drugs or have enough booze in my system, who knows?
 
 There have been a handful of shows over the years that have been life changing in the sense that I was sincerely won over as a lifetime fan, but I've never left feeling like I was just witness to something so unique or ground breaking that my mind was blown:
 
 Clutch (9:30 F St.)
 Ray Lamontagne (9:30 V St.)
 Alice In Chains (Ritchie Coliseum)
 Tool (Hammerjacks)
 Teenage Fanclub (Hammerjacks)
 Prong (The Bayou)
 AC/DC (The Capital Center)
 The Jesus and Mary Chain (Lalapalooza â?¢ Lake Fairfax)

Just curious...was the Clutch show when they opened for Jawbox? And Prong when they opened for Flotsam and Jetsam? [/b]

Clutch was headlining and Karma to Burn opened.
 
 Prong was also Headlining with a band called Course of Empire in support.

[Shadrach]

Originally posted by Relaxer:
   

Originally posted by Shadrach:
  I stand by my notion from the other thread, that while I have seen some AMAZING live shows, I just don't get the whole "mind blowing" experience. Maybe I just don't do the right drugs or have enough booze in my system, who knows?
 
 There have been a handful of shows over the years that have been life changing in the sense that I was sincerely won over as a lifetime fan, but I've never left feeling like I was just witness to something so unique or ground breaking that my mind was blown:
 
 Clutch (9:30 F St.)
 Ray Lamontagne (9:30 V St.)
 Alice In Chains (Ritchie Coliseum)
 Tool (Hammerjacks)
 Teenage Fanclub (Hammerjacks)
 Prong (The Bayou)
 AC/DC (The Capital Center)
 The Jesus and Mary Chain (Lalapalooza â?¢ Lake Fairfax)

I think you might be taking the whole "mind-blowing" concept a bit too literally/seriously. It's pretty much as hyperbolic as saying a performance was life-changing. [/b]

No, I admit that I am taking things a bit literally. I guess I just hear that term tossed around all the time and I was just curious from one live music fan to another what qualified a show as mind-blowing.
 
 I think a few folks did an admirable job of explaining their concept of mind-blowing; something they've never seen before, a show that leaves them speechless, a once-in-a-lifetime performance. That's all well and good, I get that and I'm definitely not trying to poo-poo anyones taste or style.
 
 As for me, if I say a show was life-changing, I'm basing it on something tangible, something that I can see the effect of on my life, something that others can see. For example, I don't think it's any secret that my favorite band is Clutch, well since seeing them the first time, I've traveled all up and down the east coast to see them. In the process I've met people and made friends. I first talked to my fiance because she was wearing a Clutch shirt and the first time we hung out together was at a Clutch show. I traveled to England and followed Clutch around for nine days and experienced things I may not have if the Clutch bug had not been under my skin.
 
 So for me life-changing means something about that time and place and the overall experience is so intertwined with the music that they are forever connected. I've just never left a show thinking "wow, that was mind-blowing."

[ayates]

The White Stripes (Cannery Ballroom / Merriweather)
 Faith No More (9:30 Club)
 Rage Against the Machine (Coachella)
 Daft Punk (Coachella)
 General Patton vs. the X-ecutioners (Irving Plaza)
 Muse (Austin City Limits)
 Hot Chip (Coachella)
 Nine Inch Nails (Merriweather & House of Blues)
 Tool (Tower Theatre)
 Andrew Bird (Coachella)
 Death From Above 1979 (Wachovia Spectrum)
 Peeping Tom (Coachella)
 
 To name a few...