Music

Stage presence is a big one for me. When I saw My Chemical Romance last year it was this big spectacle and just marvelous. Even though Gerard himself is not the best singer, it was just a fun time period. When I saw Slayer with Testament, Behemoth, Lamb of God, and Anthrax. It was the mood they created. The intensity was something you could literally feel from just the noise. They were really giving it their all as it was Slayer's farewell tour. But the crowd also kind of matters too.

And when concerts have disappointed me, it's usually been because the stage presence is okay at best but the audience has been terrible. There were some local hip-hop/rap festivals I would go to. And the bigger the festival got, the more belligerent the behavior got. You would have people pushing and shoving to get to the front. And since these festivals were always in the middle of summer. It was be unbearably humid. Then they switched to a venue that was all concrete and that just killed my knees entirely to be there for 5+ hours.

Loop earplugs, mostly. They're a game changer.

Energy, presence and the performers just being totally locked in. My favourite gigs, off the top of my head, have been Cash Savage & the Last Drinks, Explosions in the Sky, and Too Many Zooz. Each act went on stage knowing exactly what kind of mood they wanted to create and the crowd was totally there for it too. It all coalesced into something intoxicating.

I’ve been going to punk shows and playing in bands for years.

One of my favorite things about a show is when a band is absolutely crushing it and there’s just an electric feeling in the air. It’s hard to describe, but the music gets the entire room of people synchronized in vibe and people just want to move and have fun.

It’s a rare thing, but when it happens, it’s unreal. As a musician, I’ve been chasing this high my entire life. It’s an incredibly hard thing to do, because sometimes the best music feels like it’s on the edge of falling apart, but doesn’t… that might be what makes it so great.

i've only been to maybe 4 concerts, but i personally LOVE LOVE LOVE mosh pits lol. i'm into typically pretty high energy screamy rock music, so pits like that are pretty much always ongoing for whoever is interested, and i just really like the energy i guess and fun everyone is having with each other. the feeling of being surrounded by "my people" too who love the band as much as i do is just magical honestly. it helps that every show i've been to so far has had really kind people in the crowds ready to help you if you've lost something or anything is wrong :)

Concerts where every single PERSON in the room knows all the words to every song. That's what really does it for me. Usually this is a band like The Front Bottoms or Pinegrove, it feels like their songs were made to be shouted back at them by an audience. That kind of energy is something that larger venues/shows have never been able to capture or compare to, imo.

Best one I've been to was Lightning Bolt. Out of the numerous death metal, grindcore, and thrash shows I've seen, Lightning Bolt just had the room in a trance. Couldn't stop moving if I wanted to. The energy was insane.

I might be a bit of an outlier, but I am not at all a fan of crowds, so I strongly prefer concerts with assigned seating. I'm in a relatively small city that rarely ever gets big names, but even when we do, most of our concert venues are primarily standing-only, with very few seats available and even those are first-come-first-serve. So I try to always get there early enough to ensure a seat. I just want to see my favorite artists perform live, not get jostled around and smothered by strangers.

Not at all mainstream, but the most enjoyable show I've been to was The Protomen. They have a Megaman-themed rock opera and a good portion of the story takes the form of a few characters interacting in front of a crowd of onlookers. At their shows, they do an absolutely fantastic job of making the audience feel like they are the crowd in the songs. They're not just performing songs, they're singing to you, and about you. The audience gets to be active participants in their songs, and the energy and adrenaline is incredible.

They typically play smaller venues, which helps, because you're generally no more than 20-30 feet from the band. Being part of a crowd pumping fists into the air and chanting "We have con-trol, we keep you safe, we are your hope" has never felt so great. For a smaller band without the budget for huge screens and special effects and everything else you might see at a more mainstream show, they really manage to put on an amazing performance.

'The Will of One' from one of their live shows a few years ago.

Excellent sound quality

For me it definitely is the energy between the band and the crowd and how the band engages with the crowd. I don't like it when the band just plays their songs without interacting. It also is the crowd for me itself. I've seen Flogging Molly a few times and everybody just seems so happy to be there, enjoying the show and looking out for each other. It's just a whole other vibe.

An open minded crowd that creates an "us" without the band even beeing on stage yet and a band that knows how to and is willing to tap into that feeling and just kind of joins the crowd. As opposed to a crowd that separates into small groups where everyone eyes the others to find out who's the best or most hardcore fans or a band that's tired because it's the end of a long tour and would rather chill at home than play that gig.

surprise. it's that 'holy cow i wasn't sure i'd be into this but it's amazing'. for all the reasons everyone else has cited - stage presence, audience, engagement both ways.

alas most artists can only surprise me this way once, but the die is cast for that artist from that first time.

Alicia Keys @ Boston Pavilion was great. She seemed to enjoy herself while having banter to the crowd. She seemed so genuine. Felt like such a personal experience with her music.

I've been to a fair few concerts (mostly at metal gigs)

Gojira - they're just really good at their instruments and they sound fantastic. I notice a lot of bands sound worse live if you pay attention (and are not inebriated) but gojira sound better

Halestorm - half standup show and the coolest crowd I think I ever saw

Slayer - basically the perfect music to jam out to with a crowd of people. Disciple is a fantastic song to sing along to.

Queen (with Lambert) - incredible atmosphere.

Opeth - a combination of gojira/halestorm!

I love small shows. I hope I get to see Hamell on Trial live before I die. That guy would put on am absolute kick-ass performance even if the audience was just me and my 76 year old aunt,

If I can feel the band enjoying themselves, it really makes it for me. Being a musician myself, I thrive on seeing the interaction between the band members, mistakes, improvs, and variations that make it into the show.

If you're just up there playing the album, it's tough for me to get into.