Obviously not accurate, but reasonably so… not in order, but ordered.
1x Metal, 2x Electronic, 2x Alt Rock, 2x Pop, 1x Alt Country, 1x Garage Rock, 1x Alt Pop š
10. Metallica, 1993, Auckland
The venue was commonly known as Logan Concrete Centre. They made it vibrate. My ears rang for 3 days :). I never got to see the others of the big 4 š Yet.
9. Ed Harcourt, 2002, Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne
Extra special because he was new, raw and beautiful. And I shared the experience with a then TV star, and we hung out with Ed’s manager and then Ed. He’s been one of my favourite singers since, regardless of meeting him.
8. Queen, Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, 1985
No video. Apparently Freddie was drunk. No matter – he ruled the crowd. Like nobody else ever7. Iggy Pop, 1991, Reading Festival
Old but not yet too old. He slayed it.
6. Kraftwerk, 2003 Big Day Out, Melbourne
I was leaving, and popped my head into the tent to see what was in there. And I stayed, entranced. I had no idea that a band that just pressed buttons could be so damn good. The video does not do it justice.
5. And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, 2002, Prince of Wales, Melbourne
Very intense duo who you’d swear were brothers, sharing duties, in a small enough venue for me to be right at the front. Energy and passion.
4. Gary Numan, 2014, Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne
I had been a fan since I was a teen, and whenever I was in the UK I couldn’t see him because he sold out a year or more in advance. To me, he is the ultimate “pretending to a rock star” and thoroughly enjoying it. With great, unique, pounding music.
3. David Bowie x3
I was fortunate to see David Bowie play two huge stadium shows in Auckland, and also Tin Machine in Glasgow. The latter was odd because you could get to the front, and I actually liked their stuff. The man was perfect and I couldn’t have an unbiased opinion
2. The Fall, 1998, The Fillmore, San Francisco
I didn’t know a lot of their music but I was young and loving the city and the venue was famous. Quirky, odd and the tightest musicians I had ever seen.
1. Ryan Adams, 2002, Melbourne
He wasn’t that well known back then. I saw him years later with The Cardinals – it was boring, and he had his back to the audience all night. But this night, 2002, he was an arrogant, petulant rock star. Which might not make him a great person, but man was it entertaining.
As someone recently wrote, after his #metoo revelations:
January 22, 2002-Ryan Adams @ The Metro in Sydney. I knew of him from his Whiskeytown daysā¦but I think this may have been his first gig in Australia. The excitement was palpable because āGoldā was just an amazing recordā¦and we all had heard āHeartbreakerā. A 28 song set listā¦.if you were there you will never forget that gig.