The Concert Thread

We had our last gig of 2025 last Friday in Manchester, Of Mice & Men. They were very good and to top it off my Son caught a pick from Phil Manansala too.
 
Been meaning to post for a while, bit life's been busy. Anywho, went to Dark Tranquility like two weeks ago and it was awesome. They played a 2 hour show which I loved and hated. I hated it, because it reminded me of when Amorphis only played for 45 minutes. Someone had suggested it might be the singing style ... Well, nope. Anyway, up next is Symphony X. I'm hoping Helloween will come back to my city and the reunited Angra will come by too
 
First concert of the year was Alter Bridge a little while ago. It was fine, even if the venue had disgusting floor and almost no air circulation
 
Getting my New Wave on in June with Devo and the B-52's in Manchester. I've been a huge Devo fan for quarter of a century and I was convinced I'd seen Devo for the last time when they played Hammersmith in 2023 but it looks I've got a fifth date with them. And I'm no more than a casual B-52's fan, only have a couple of albums, but I'm dead chuffed that I'm going to get to see them live at least once. I saw Cindy Wilson solo a couple of years ago and she was good, but it's not quite the same.
 
Caught a light cold, not making it to Peoria tonight. (Just don't want to deal with 2.5hrs+ of traffic) At least have a friend coming in town this weekend so I've got a full slate of stuff to do so the weekend's not a total waste.
 
I meant to post this in December, but better late than never. I saw 13 concerts in 2025 (down from 18 in 2024). These are roughly ordered from best to worst:
  • Iron Maiden - I flew to Budapest to see the first two shows of the Run For Your Lives tour. I've written about the experience in more detail elsewhere. (A quick sumamry - my first impression was I found the setlist underwhelming, with too many predictable songs. Still, I can't complain about a concert featuring "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", "Phantom of the Opera", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "Killers", "The Clairvoyant", and "Powerslave". I enjoyed visiting Budapest and walked 150+ kilometers over seven days, nearly pushing myself to the point of exhaustion. Highlights included exploring Lake Balaton, hiking to the summit of Mount Prédikálószék, eating paprikash, and going to a thermal bath).
  • Wishbone Ash - for the second year in a row, I saw the quartet perform two shows at a pub in Upstate New York. I was front and centre both nights. Like last time, on the first night, they played "Argus" in its entirety. I spent three days doing long day hikes in freezing cold weather, and eating local dishes (beef on weck & trash plate).
  • Geoff Tate - in October, I drove to Buffalo to see Geoff Tate perform "Operation: Mindcrime" in its entirety. Initially, this was supposed to be the last-ever live performance of this album, but Tate extended the tour. It was a good performance of one of the greatest metal albums of all time. I had a great seat (fourth or fifth row, towards the centre). I spent the unseasonably warm day exploring Buffalo (visiting the art gallery, eating a beef on weck sandwich, and walking for hours).
  • Bat Sabbath - I've seen Black Sabbath three times, but I was always far from the stage. This time, the Cancer Bats (a hardcore punk band from Toronto) performed as "Bat Sabbath", at a small venue. (Earlier that night, there were two other bands who performed covers of the Misfits and Slipknot). During the main event, I stood front and centre (so close to the stage that I nearly got hit in the head by the bass guitar). This is the way Sabbath was meant to be experienced! There was so much energy (from both the crowd, and the band). I couldn't think of a better way to have started my winter break.
  • Tom Morello - I was surprised to see Morello, one of the greatest guitarists of all time, book a number of events at smaller venues outside of Toronto. (This show was at a community theatre, with capacity of under 650). Morello spent around half the show talking about his life, and half playing songs. (The highlights were "The Ghost of Tom Joad", featuring a lengthy solo, and "The Garden of Gethsemane", a ballad dedicated to Chris Cornell). Morello found an appropriate balance between righteous anger and optimism. Granted, if I had the choice between this and two hours of RATM covers, I'd choose the latter, but it was still an enjoyable night.
  • Oasis - I had read a lot of bad things about the newly-built Rogers Stadium. I was pleasantly surprised by the venue. Oasis played their greatest hits in front of 45,000+ fans. Halfway through, it started raining. It felt somehow appropriate to listen to these songs on a warm, drizzly summer night.
  • Judas Priest and Alice Cooper - this was my 4th time seeing both artists. Corrosion of Conformity was the opener (they were solid, but unmemorable). Priest was up next. They played 14 songs - a good mix of greatest hits, new material, and obscure songs. Rob Halford's vocals were strong, but he appeared to be in pain during the show (at one point, he had to support himself on the speakers). Alice Cooper played a variety of songs. I'll give him credit. He's not a great musician, and he easily could have slid into irrelevance twenty years ago, but he has an entertaining stage show, and has surrounded himself by young, talented musicians. I gladly would have traded 20 minutes of Alice Cooper's set for more Judas Priest, but the concert was still enjoyable.
  • Sum 41 - this was billed as the Canadian punk band's final show. I'm not sure why I waited so long to see them. Although they primarily play pop/mainstream punk, guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh is quite talented, and the band obviously respects the classics. (One of their hits features the line "Maiden and Priest are the gods that we praised"). They played a career-spanning setlist - but they didn't spend much time talking about this being (supposedly) their final show ever. (If this really was their final concert, I got to be a part of Canadian rock history - and if they get back together, I'll be sure to see them again). I also got to see Gob, another local pop punk band. I listened to them a lot in university - it was my first time seeing them live in 21 years.
  • Incubus - I got caught in heavy rain walking to the venue, and I was too stubborn to call an Uber. I got there early (and went to my seat), but the downpour became so severe that they wouldn't let any more guests into the amphitheater. Eventually the storm passed. The band performed "Morning View" in its entirety, then played a few big hits. I enjoyed the show, but it was at the end of a very busy month. I felt unusually tired (sitting in soaking wet clothes didn't help).
  • The Who - the band played two shows at Budweiser Stage (capacity of 16,000 each night). Management appears to have badly overestimated the demand (and prices were outrageously high). I bought a lawn ticket for the second night, and got upgraded to a good seat. For two octogenarians, Daltrey and Townshend performed remarkably well (particularly the singer, who was obviously pacing himself, but, at times, still had surprising power). Obviously the performance was less energetic than it would have been decades earlier, but it was still good to hear these songs one last time.
  • Classic Albums Live - I've tried marijuana less than ten times. Before this show, I ate five cannabis gummies, and barely made it to the venue on time. CAL performed Pink Floyd's "Animals". It was a bizarre experience, listening to these long, complex, and dark songs while stoned. I alternated between focusing intensely on the music, and spacing out. "One of These Days" was the highlight of the second half.
 
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Hmm. I just realized I don't have much circled for this year besides Run For Your Lives in Tinley and... somewhere else TBD in North America. Parc Jean Drapeau seemed like a neat venue to try. These French Duolingo lessons will have me prepared this time in Montreal.
 
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