#1. Best concert I've been to was Radiohead at the Blossom Music Center in Ohio, right after they released Kid A. Great show, with the band showing off all of their new skills. The most memorable part of the show for me was that during Idioteque, the band started improvising and it appeared that Yorke walked off-stage (to my right). I was about 20 rows back and to the right of center, and could see Yorke cross the stage curtain, then instead of going to the back rooms, he headed down the ramp to the crowd area and stopped around the 5th row and started watching alongside the people. Basically he came down to actually see how their show looked to everyone, but the fans were so fixated by the show on the stage that they didn't realize Yorke had just walked up and was watching alongside them. I've been lucky enough to see Radiohead 4 times now, but this was by far the best experience.
#2: This is a regret for many reasons: Around 2000, we had tickets to see Rage against the Machine and the Beastie Boys down by Columbus. Days before the show, one of the Beastie Boys fell off his bike or motorbike and broke a leg so they canceled the show. Rage split up pretty much right after that, and I never got to see either group.
#3: I saw Primus after they released Antipop. Les Claypool is just an amazing stage presence, and it was a smallish venue (~1500 people) so he was really engaging the crowd the way only he can. An amazing experience, musically. About 30 minutes after they finished the show, while the roadies were cleaning up, he came out and just sat at the edge of the stage and started talking to those of us who had stuck around.
#4: Sonic Youth in New York. Enough said.
#5: This one is more a musical experience / continuum, but in a short few weeks in 2010, I saw Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem (w/ Hot Chip opening) in successive concerts in Minneapolis / St. Paul. Sad part of this was that I had to pass up Deerhunter as it was the same night as LCD Soundsystem. I'm not sure I made the right choice.
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