Alternative Nation: The Fediverse's Alternative and Indie Music Community

Stone Temple Pilots + Meat Puppets at William and Mary Hall. Sweetness.

Supertramp... mid-80's.

My buddy's car broke down on the way home. Long before cellphones were a thing. Took a long time to get help and parents were freaked by time we called home.

Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians

nice try, I'm not giving away my password hints 😉🤣

A punk rock show featuring Agent Orange. It’s been downhill ever since lol.

Poison, Slaughter, and Bulletboys - June 4th 1991, Kingswood Music Theare Canada’s Wonderland.

https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/poison-at-kingswood-music-theatre-june-4-1991

The last gasp of hair metal, couple of months later Nevermind came out…

Next concert was Pantera & White Zombie.

My grandmother took me to see Liberace. Am I sure she enjoyed it more than I did.

Saw a relatively popular (at the time, and in Australia) alternative hand called TISM, supported by a pretty new act called Regurgitator that later became something of an institution on the Aussie alternative scene.

Mine was Mike and the Mechanics. A free concert in a park in St Pete, FL. The Pursuit of Happiness opened for them and stole the show, imo.

My parents were young when I was born so I know I went to concerts with them but the first I know I attended was The Beach Boys somewhere in Atlanta. The first one that I have distinct memory of was Jimmy Buffet at the Fox Theater.

lol

Mariah Carey in 2003 (I think) in Berlin. My first gf, her friends and their mothers were my company. They got the tickets as a promo thing, one of the mothers worked at a radio station. At the time I was already listening to rock, punk and metal etc, I only went because I thought my gf would break up with me if I didn't.

Only been to a handful of concerts in my life… the first was a Village People tribute band when i was a kid.

The drive there was quite long. My friend’s father (who was taking us there) turned on an old pop radio station to get us in the mood. That drive introduced me to the Weather Girls “Its raining men”.

Ended up spending the whole concert thinking about that song instead of the live band playing.

millencolin, supported by all American rejects and a really terrible local band called trilby. This was in Glasgow very early noughties.

Highlights included the singer of trilby smashing his microphone into the face of his guitarists by swinging it round his head, the trilby guitarist trying to crowdsurf with his guitar and no one being particularly fussy about catching him, two half naked Swedish dudes got in a what could only be described as a martial arts contest (all in fun), my friend Shawn had permanent hearing damage cause he didn't know you weren't supposed to spend the whole night 3 inches from the speakers and finally when trilby's lead singer shouted "how we all doing tonight Glasgow?" and was met by complete silence except from one lone Glaswegian reply of "fuck of ya arsehole".

10/10

Don't judge me. A double bill featuring The Osmonds and Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods. It was the mid-70s in southern california and my older sisters dragged me along with them to a concert at the local baseball stadium.

The Osmonds, for anyone not familiar

https://youtu.be/Q3Ax1yA9q74

The first concert I chose to see was The Vandals and like 5 other punk bands in a warehouse in L.A. in the early 80s. Much better.

The Pixies at Manchester Apollo, maybe 1990 /91

My friend had a spare ticket and I'd never heard the band before....Within a few seconds of the first song playing I realised I liked them. I ended up buying their albums and began my alternative/indie music journey

Front 242, with a few other industrial acts I can’t remember.

Phoenix Festival 1993 near Stratford in the UK. Lots of awesome bands- https://www.setlist.fm/festival/1993/phoenix-festival-1993-3d68dcf.html

Umphrey's McGee around 2008. My friends and I were really into them and other "jam bands" in high school. It wasn't until college when I started getting more into indie and alternative music.

Madonna. the Girlie Show tour in Melbourne, something like 1993 I think. I (a 12 yr old boy) went with my sister and her friends (3-4 years older).... Man I felt awkward throughout - having a crush on one of my sister's friends did not help.

Sigue Ros, just a couple years back

10/10

I think Venetian Snares. Some guy spit his snus-bag at him at the end of the show and he just said "fuck this and fuck you" and left the stage and left his stuff screeching this unbelievable noise on the stage for at least 15 minutes. It seemed like he was gonna go on for a while longer. Sorry Aaron that my fellow countrymen are mentally challenged.

The other possibility is Mark Lanegan (I really don't remember when these shows were) at his peak after Bubblegum. You could feel his voice resonating in your fucking lungs and it was absolutely magical. RIP Mark.

(Australian here) The Living End with End of Fashion at an all ages gig at the Metro in Perth.