What bands have you guys seen live? Which have been the best? Which have been the worst? Have you ever gone to see bands you've never heard of before?
In my mid to late teens, I pretty much only went to small/local gigs. They'd be friends bands, or whichever up and coming punk and metal bands that would play at my local pub. My first ever "big" show, was catching the Taste of Chaos tour when it hit Manchester back in 2008. Mucc, this Japanese metal band I was obsessed with at the time, were one of the main acts, so getting to see them was incredible. A couple of months after that, I got to see Pendulum play a full band set in Dublin and that was another great experience.
For a good few years after that, it had only been local or up and coming bands that I went to see. From 2017 til now, I'd be going to them on almost a weekly basis. Living in Cardiff during that time had been great because there was a lot of passion for the local music scene. Venues like Moon Club and Fuel Rock Bar especially played host to some amazing bands from around Wales and England. These were some of the best gigs. Because the venues are really small, performances tended to be far more intimate. The floor would be jam packed full of sweaty moshers and the like, headbanging to some awesome music. The amount of times people would slip and fall over spilt beer was hilarious, but it was all cool because everyone helped each other back up. One of my highlights from these kinds of shows was when this rock band from London, called The Kut, played at Moon Club and we got to rock out on stage with them. (Highly recommend checking this band out, by the way, they are incredible. There's a whole bunch of their stuff on YouTube.)
The best gig I'd ever been to though, was in 2016 when I went to see Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk band. They were insanely passionate and enthusiastic, and it was infectious! Everyone was dancing and having a great time.
This year, I went to my first ever music festival as well. Download festival. There, I got to see the likes of Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Skindred, Tool, Def Leppard, Slayer, Halestorm... It was one of those festivals that had been on my bucket list for a good few years but I could never find anyone to go with. This year, I just bit the bullet and rocked up there on my own. So, it was a pretty daunting experience at first! I got to meet some really cool people though and, being one of those festivals that caters more to rock and metal, it was easy to find stuff in common with people. It was awesome and I'm aiming to go again next year because the line-up is looking pretty damn sweet!
As for bad gig experiences... can't say I've really had any! Except maybe not being able to get inside one of the tents at Download to see The Hu. Really wanted to see those guys, but evidently hundreds of others did too so there was literally no room to get in there haha.
So what are some of your best and worst gig experiences?
In my mid to late teens, I pretty much only went to small/local gigs. They'd be friends bands, or whichever up and coming punk and metal bands that would play at my local pub. My first ever "big" show, was catching the Taste of Chaos tour when it hit Manchester back in 2008. Mucc, this Japanese metal band I was obsessed with at the time, were one of the main acts, so getting to see them was incredible. A couple of months after that, I got to see Pendulum play a full band set in Dublin and that was another great experience.
For a good few years after that, it had only been local or up and coming bands that I went to see. From 2017 til now, I'd be going to them on almost a weekly basis. Living in Cardiff during that time had been great because there was a lot of passion for the local music scene. Venues like Moon Club and Fuel Rock Bar especially played host to some amazing bands from around Wales and England. These were some of the best gigs. Because the venues are really small, performances tended to be far more intimate. The floor would be jam packed full of sweaty moshers and the like, headbanging to some awesome music. The amount of times people would slip and fall over spilt beer was hilarious, but it was all cool because everyone helped each other back up. One of my highlights from these kinds of shows was when this rock band from London, called The Kut, played at Moon Club and we got to rock out on stage with them. (Highly recommend checking this band out, by the way, they are incredible. There's a whole bunch of their stuff on YouTube.)
The best gig I'd ever been to though, was in 2016 when I went to see Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk band. They were insanely passionate and enthusiastic, and it was infectious! Everyone was dancing and having a great time.
This year, I went to my first ever music festival as well. Download festival. There, I got to see the likes of Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Skindred, Tool, Def Leppard, Slayer, Halestorm... It was one of those festivals that had been on my bucket list for a good few years but I could never find anyone to go with. This year, I just bit the bullet and rocked up there on my own. So, it was a pretty daunting experience at first! I got to meet some really cool people though and, being one of those festivals that caters more to rock and metal, it was easy to find stuff in common with people. It was awesome and I'm aiming to go again next year because the line-up is looking pretty damn sweet!
As for bad gig experiences... can't say I've really had any! Except maybe not being able to get inside one of the tents at Download to see The Hu. Really wanted to see those guys, but evidently hundreds of others did too so there was literally no room to get in there haha.
So what are some of your best and worst gig experiences?