Nevermind The Posers

TNT’s Top 5
5. Modest Mouse – I often question what it’d be like seeing these guys live, so they had to make the list.
4. Little Jackie (Imani Coppola) – I am always singing her songs, she’s just phenomenal and I need to catch her live asap.
3. Local Natives – As soon as I find out that Local Natives are in town and attempt to buy tickets, the show is already sold out.  I will see you soon, mark my words!
2. Ida Maria – She’s another artist whose concerts sell out at a drop of a hat.  I absolutely love her and have been hip to her jive for a few years now.  Her music is making her way around hit movies, tv shows and commercials…and “Queen of the Night” has been my ring tone for the last year and a half.
1. AWOLNATION – When are you coming to NYC??!  I have a disease and the only cure is AWOLNATION…and more cowbell of course.

Angela’s Top 5
This list made me think, due to the fact that I make it a point to see as many bands live as humanly possible.  As a result, there are few I have yet to conquer and I’m now sitting here going, “Who HAVEN’T I seen live?”  After combing through my CD collection and finding those few gems, here are the bands that have escaped me thus far.
5. The Aqua Bats – The music is filled with silly fun, mixed with a blend of ska perfection.  Though I haven’t seen them yet, I believe I’m going to be changing that within the next month or two.
4. The Offspring – Growing up, I was a huge fan of The Offspring.  I’m not quite sure WTF happened with the Americana album but hey, we all make mistakes.  (Seriously, how do you go from a song like “Bad Habit” to “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”?  Other than that, I’ve always wanted to see them and test whether Dexter’s voice can hold up live, as I’ve heard it doesn’t.
3. No Doubt – I like their music and I hear good things about them live.  They would be a nice addition to my “seen ’em!” list.
2. System of a Down – I’ve been told they tear it up live, and as a fan of their music, I can only imagine the crazy intense energy that exudes from the stage into the audience.
1. Tool – I’ve seen A Perfect Circle and gotten some of my Maynard fix, but I’ve heard such amazing things about the mind fuck that is Tool live; the darkened stage, a ceiling that looks like crawling bodies…definitely something I would love to experience.

Hoverbee’s Top 5
5. U2 – I’ve heard that U2 shows have tons of eye candy in addition to the wonderful tunes.  Although I’m not the biggest fan of the last few albums, I’d love a chance to catch a show and hear some of the classics.
4. Franz Ferdinand – This Glasgow foursome is said to have started the band to create songs that are fun and make people want to dance.  Well, they succeeded!  I’d enjoy a chance to dance at a show.
3. The Killers – I admit I disliked the single “Somebody Told Me,” but upon the insistence of a good friend, I listened to the rest of Hot Fuss and was hooked.  Although Sam’s Town was a departure from Hot Fuss, I was still intrigued enough to listen.  I loved Day & Age and would kill (pun intended) to see them live.
2. The Pixies – Need I say more?
1. The White Stripes – Here lies proof that a big sound need not arise from a large number.  This dynamic duo packs an awesome punch and I’d love to be socked in the ear.  Pow!  Blam!

Mark’s Top 5
5. Asian Dub Foundation – An electronic cluster fuck of punk, jungle, reggae, dub, surf, rock and hip-hop, drawn together with culture conscious lyrics and rhythmic protests, making them Europe’s answer to Rage Against the Machine, minus the shittiness and self-righteous lyrics.  What’s not to love?  They find the time to tour all over the world, including some third-world countries, and yet have never found a reason to tour the U.S., at least not since they toured with the Beastie Boys in the mid-nineties.  TOUR THE U.S. FOR FUCK’S SAKE!
4. Pet Shop Boys – From what I have seen on past tour videos and heard from various fans, they put on a grand and theatrical live show.  And being that they are 80’s new wave/synth-pop icons, that makes them all the more appealing to me.
3. Failure – Though they are now just a distant memory, part of the often overlooked side of the grunge movement, namely the actual talented and experimental sect, not to mention less shitty and self-important bands, they are still quite influential and a great listen.  One could only imagine how amazing their live shows would have been, as they ceased playing in 1997.
2. Boston – Although the original line-up has been broken up since the late 70’s, founder and guitarist Tom Scholz is still touring the world with one of the first rock bands that I have ever heard, and for two decades of admiration, I must satisfy the urge to catch one of their live rock-outs.
1. Kraftwerk – The electronic pioneers of the late 60’s are still alive and kicking, and playing capacity shows all over the world.  Although as of 2010 the group has only one original member (co-founder Ralf Hutter) they are still worth seeing, if not for the electronic multi-media experience, then for the ability to say that I got to see them live.

Klone’s Top 5
So, does this ever happen to anyone else?  I totally fail to realize just how many bands/artists I’ve seen until I finally sit down to try to think of the ones I still haven’t.  On the one hand I’m glad to know I’ve made so much progress as a fan of music, but on the other, it’s hard to narrow down the already narrow list…but here goes…
5. Disturbed – Probably the greatest gift to new metal from the early millennial change-over.  Other than the veterans of the days of rock gone-by, like Metallica, there’s not much left in the metal world that I feel would be worth spending my cash to see.  Disturbed rocks, hands-down, period.
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Sometimes you just gotta say, ‘Thank God some bands get back together.’
3. Nine Inch Nails – Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails…and watching them on Blu-Ray DVD has only made me realize how much I need to see NIN live before I die.
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Hey, oh…want to see their show, oh-oh-oh.  I got to go, oh, see RHCP’s show, oh, oh.1.
1. Tenacious D – I feel like this would be something of a religious experience.  After all the DVDs and internet videos I’ve seen of these guys, live would almost be too much to handle, but I’ll risk my musical sanity to test that theory.

Honorable Mention: Phil Collins – Technically I saw him over this summer, but he wasn’t performing his own material…it was a controversy since he advertised the show as his own, but it was supporting a 60s soul cover album he had just released.  The show was an epic fail.

Stigz’s Top 5
Disclaimer: This was super tough because I’ve seen a ton of bands live (working in radio is awesome – free tickets to almost anything)
5. Bayside – Never saw them live, but they are in the same vein (excuse the pun) as Alkaline Trio, but I have never caught them live.  I’ve had tickets, but just never made it there, and one of these days, I have to.
4. R.E.M. – I don’t know why, but I wish I could see these guys live.  I’m only a mild fan, but think it would be a great live show to see.
3. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic – Yet again, someone had an extra ticket, but I couldn’t make it.  It would be an immense pleasure to see P-Funk and Clinton rock out in their legendary fashion, which cut them into the American music landscape forever.  Horn sections, funky bass lines, flamboyant garb and a dude in a diaper?  Come on!  That’s entertainment.
2. Reel Big Fish – I’m still pissed about not seeing them at Warped Tour, but who the hell goes on at 2:30??  Lol.  Joking aside I’ve always wanted to see them live, as many of their tunes just exude a feel-good, dance-like-nobody-is-watching attitude, and I would love to experience it live.
1. Nine Inch Nails – From what I hear, one of the wildest live shows you can catch (save for the obvious giant, crowd pleasing acts, like Gwar or in my sister’s case, Bon Jovi), and I wish I could have seen them on the NINJA tour – Nine Inchs Nails and Jane’s Addiction.  Additionally, I hear they pull out all the stops, and even use crazy gadgets like 15-foot-high, touch screen drum machines which would make an audiophile like me pop one in their trousers.