Your favorite band's peak

Guns N Roses 1988

The day I saw them in concert for the first time, Axl was interviewed in the paper saying they tended to avoid the REALLY hard drugs on the days of shows and that they were doing that for the fans.

They were opening for Aerosmith. I love Aerosmith, but GNR blew them off the stage. They had one album out but played a 90-minute set. I've never seen a "new" band do that.

You could tell Aerosmith was annoyed because at this particular venue, you couldn't play after 11, so they had to take the stage almost immediately after GNR, when everyone was still chanting for the opening act.

 

The Dead hit two really good peaks. That run in May of '77 (particularly the legendary Cornell show, which has a 13-minute Morning Dew that still blows me away) is probably the pinnacle.

But they had another really good run in the late 80s when Garcia cleaned up after his coma. Plus Mydland was a great addition on keyboards in that time.

I'm seeing two DMB shows this summer. I saw my first show in 1994. Any live show is a peak. Any studio album is a valley.

 

I saw Nirvana open for the Chili Peppers at the Cow Palace on New Year's Eve in 1991. Several years ago, Spin Magazine called it one of the top 10 concerts of the last 20+ years.

This was the poster.

 

Damn, that's a ridiculous lineup. I would have paid a lot (had I not been four years old) to be at that one.

 

Since the real Flying Burrito Brothers released just two albums, I'd say "The Guilded Palace of Sin" has to be the peak. "Burrito Deluxe" had its moments but not enough of them, since the group was generally in a drug-induced fog throughout the recording sessions.

Subsequent FBB albums, after Rick Roberts replaced Gram Parsons, sound like Poco or Firefall and not the real FBB's.

Having "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" and "GPOS" as back-to-back credits on your resume is no small accomplishment. They influence American music to this day. "SOTR" could have been even greater had McGuinn chosen GP's version of several songs instead of using his own vocals, as the box set proves.

 

Wilco ... peak started with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and rode through A Ghost is Born. I like everything else after those two records, but they're just not the same, in terms of the level of pure energy and experimentalism.

 

I completely hate you now. So friggin' jealous. Always wished I had been at that show.

 

The same lineup played the Salem Armory in Oregon a day or two later. I dragged my feet getting tickets and it sold out. Nirvana and Pearl Jam were pretty much unknown when the tickets went on sale. By the time of the concert Nirvana had hit number 1 and Pearl Jam was gaining momentum.

 

Oh, it was nuts... Most of the people there had never heard of Pearl Jam at that point. I bought Ten a day or two later. Apparently the "Alive" video had been out for a little while, but I hadn't seen it and this was when I was at the age where MTV was watched daily.

Most of the crowd was ready to pass out after Pearl Jam and Nirvana. The Chili Peppers almost seemed mellow by comparison. This was also a few months before Under the Bridge became the sensation that it was. I don't think they even played it that night. When I saw them at Lollapalooza the following summer, that was the main encore song.

I remember they closed the show with a cover of "Crosstown Traffic" which was pretty cool.

 

Apparently, they only did five dates with that lineup.

 

I'm a big Crowes guy, hence the name, and "Southern Harmony" is their "Exile."

I'd go one track up and include "Sometimes Salvation" through "My Morning Song" as the ultimate Crowes sequencing of songs. Nothing like that on "SYMM," "Amorica" or "Three Snakes," as far as straight-ahead wailing rockers for five straight songs.

I do believe they peaked before touring with Page though. By then they had put out "By Your Side" and "Lions" and was pretty much on a downward slope, although they still are the best live show I have ever seen. I'm up into the high teens on the number of shows attended and it never gets old. Always a good time.

Shortly after the Page shows they went on their first hiatus. Both the Robinson brothers took part in solo efforts, which is what they are doing now on their latest hiatus (I think third)— Chris with Chris Robinson Brotherhood and Rich is about to release a new album. Seems like they get back together just long enough to fund their solo projects and then call it quits. An easy feat when tickets are in the $60-plus range, but that is another story.

When they peaked? I'd argue it was with "SHMC." "SYMM" put them on the map and then they went a different, although stellar, direction for "SHMC" and "Amorica."

I think they gained more recognition and appreciation from other artists with those two records which led to the shows with Page down the road.

I, too, go back and forth with the Crowes and Stones as my "favorite" band. Although Drive-By Truckers are right there with them.

 

Yeah, it may have been even fewer than that. I know they had planned more than they ended up doing.

That's the all time "kick myself in the ass for not going" concert for me. I had already seen the Chili Peppers four or five times back then, dating back to a club show when their first album came out. I was a huge fan but didn't like "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" when it came out. The show was about 70 miles away and had two opening acts that were unknowns so I blew it off when tickets went on sale. By the time the opening acts were blowing up, tickets were gone.