5 Concerts I Would Love to Attend

I am getting a chance to see two of my favorite bands tonight, Manchester Orchestra and Thrice, at Bogarts in Cincinnati. It's going to be good and I'm very excited. But it got me thinking about all the concerts I've been to. Since I was a kid, my dad, who was a youth minister at the time, would bring me along to summer Christian concert festivals. So when I was little, I was seeing bands live. Then I began to think about all the good shows I've seen. Radiohead is certainly up there. With a 23 song set, I was in alternative rock euphoria. This past summer I had a chance to see Wilco, and it wasn't a bad show, but the venue was not my favorite for a rock concert.

From time to time though I like to look at the glass half empty. There are bands I have yet to see that I would love to drop dollars for a ticket someday. I tried to come up with a presentable list of five. I hope you enjoy.


Ben Folds
The profane piano man of my generation. His live shows are unpredictable and hilarious. He is great with the crowd and has a large and fun catalogue of songs. He has done everything from play with an orchestra to putting his crowd on chat room Russian roulette during a show online. And who else can cover Dr. Dre in a piano ballad?




Say Anything
My latest guilty pleasure. A lot of their material seems very studio reliant, but they manage to recreate themselves in order to pull it off. In addition, Max Bemis seems to write the most memorable lyrics I've ever heard. It would be an hour long punk rock sing-along. I would have liked to see them when they come through Cincinnati this spring, but they open for Angels and Airwaves, who have bloated the price beyond what it would be worth to see the opening band.




The Flaming Lips
I've gotta be honest, I do not know a lot of Flaming Lips songs. Sure, everyone likes "Do You Realize??" and they've been known to cover classic rock songs by Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd, but this is so much more than music. Their live shows are out of this world and more of a crazy rave set to trippy music. And the selling point, they're the only guys that do it like this.




Gorillaz
Gorillaz is the brain child of Damon Albarn, ex-frontman of Blur. The band is known for the presentation of four cartoon characters with an in-depth story line and background. And through this fantasy, Albarn has created trip-hop, alternative rock pop songs that are both catchy and bazaar. This past weekend, Gorillaz actually headlined Sunday night of the Coachella music festival. They are cartoons, yes. So the band played beneath a gigantic screen with the animated band above them. Complete with special appearances and sailors outfits, I have become determined to see this act while I still can.




Brand New
I missed my chance back in the fall for reasons I won't get into right now. How foolish of me. Brand New puts on an intense show with low lighting that makes the crowd feel like they've walked into a loud tent of a circus. The band has nothing short of a cult following, which adds to the atmosphere in a way that Brand New doesn't even have to work at it. I will see this band before I die.