Dec
This post by the Andersons inspired me to make a list of all the musical acts/musicians I’ve seen perform live. It’s not a long list, but there are some gems, for sure. All of these are in Kansas City, unless otherwise noted.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Dallas, TX – House of Blues. With Mr. Awesome. Good crowd and another great venue. Kate was especially awesome. She’s incredible. May 9, 2010.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Houston, TX – House of Blues. With Mr. Awesome. Really cool venue and another great show. May 8, 2010.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke - Austin, TX – Stubb’s. With Mr. Awesome. It was hot and crowded, and I nearly passed out. But the music was great, as usual. May 7, 2010.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater. With Mr. Awesome. Three shows in a row and hardly any repeated songs over the course of those three incredible nights. April 19, 20 and 21, 2010.
Radiohead Tribute Show – The Record Bar. With Mr. Awesome, Brian and Courtney. Some fantastic musicians playing some great songs. Some were a little more interpreted than we would have liked, but good music is good music. December 11, 2009.
Ben Folds with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra - Minneapolis, MN – Orchestra Hall. With Mr. Awesome. It’s cold in Minneapolis at the end of October, so it was a great thing that our hotel was connected to the venue by a skywalk. Being that it was Halloween, Ben and the conductor dressed as Sonny and Cher. It was wonderful and the crowd was one of the best ever – after the encore, the entire crowd stood and demanded another, chanting and screaming for a full five minutes before he did come out for one more song. A very memorable show. October 31, 2009.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Madison, WI - Overture Center for the Arts. With Mr. Awesome. The venue was beautiful, and Madison is a lovely little town. Kate was fantastic, and so was Ben. October 30, 2009.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall. With Mr. Awesome, JPar and Vanessa. Again, this was a great show thanks to the presence of good friends. Lots of audience interaction. October 26, 2009.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion. With Mr. Awesome. The venue was a circular building in a semi-truck yard. The stage had a clam shell, like the Hollywood Bowl. It was weird, but the show was another good one. October 25, 2009.
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant. With Mr. Awesome, JPar and Vanessa. This was one of the best shows ever, thanks in large part to the presence of JPar and Vanessa. Ben played many songs I hadn’t heard performed live before – including Song for the Dumped in Japanese. Great, great show. September 28, 2009
Ben Folds with Kate Miller-Heidke – Bloomington, IN – Indiana University Auditorium. With Mr. Awesome. Holy crap. Kate Miller Heidke, from Australia, is going to be a huge megastar one day and we can claim we saw her first. I mean, jesub, that woman can S-I-N-G. Oh, and Ben was fabulous also. September 27, 2009.
Ben Folds with the National Symphony Orchestra – Washington, D.C. – Kennedy Center. With Mr. Awesome. The opportunity to see our favorite artist perform in this place with this symphony? Yes please. September 24th, 2009.
Ben Folds with Rachel Unthank and the Winterset – Grinders. With Mr. Awesome. Don’t be fooled: VIP tickets at Grinders do NOT get you “special parking,” “private waitress service,” “free drink” and “front-row viewing.” They get you crammed up at the front of the stage in a cattle pen with 200 other “VIP” ticket holders. That sucked. The show, however, was fantastic. Nice to see one at home for a change. May 30th, 2009.
Ben Folds with Rachel Unthank and the Winterset – Fayetteville, AR – Arkansas Music Pavillion. With Mr. Awesome. The AMP is actually part of a mall parking lot converted to a mostly-outdoor music performance venue. We were on the front row, and had a M&G after the show. The opener was okay. Despite being under the weather, Ben rocked it. Plus, thanks to some screaming 13-year old girls at the front of the stage, he played Bitches Ain’t Shit for the first time in a while. Good show! May 29th, 2009.
Barclay Martin Ensemble – Jardine’s. With Mr. Awesome, Elam and Megan. Once again, they were terrific. Beautiful harmonies, soring vocals, great instrumentals. What more could you want? April 28, 2009.
Clem Snide – The Record Bar. Oh man, I’d been looking forward to this one for almost a year, and it was even better than I anticipated. Eef Barzelay is an incredible performer and his music is some of the best anywhere. I could have listened to him play that guitar and sing ironic shit all night long. April 15, 2009.
Ben Folds with Jukebox the Ghost – Manhattan, KS – Bramlage Coliseum. With Mr. Awesome and JPar. Sometimes buying tickets first isn’t always the best, as in this case where we were way over to the right of the stage in front of the subwoofers. This made it hard to see AND loud. Regardless, Jukebox the Ghost was better than the first time, and Ben was even better – really chatty and funny, and treated us to first-time performances (for us) of both Sentimental Guy and Trusted. April 8, 2009.
Missy Higgins with Justin Nozuka – Beaumont Club. With Mr. Awesome. Much of the rather young crowd was on hand to see Nozuka, who had some hits on the WB or something. He was alright, but we were there to see Missy and she was incredible. We had great seats on a raised platform and could see her really well. Lots of audience requests for her, to which she humbly complied. Good times. March 18th, 2009.
Ben Folds with Jukebox the Ghost – Omaha, NE – Omaha Music Hall. With Mr. Awesome and JPar. After a long drive to Omaha after work, Omaha gave us good parking and a great show. This was our first time seeing Jukebox the Ghost. They are talented, animated and all-around great. The Ben portion of the evening was also great, and we ended the show with our third meet-and-greet. March 17, 2009.
Barclay Martin Ensemble – Jardine’s. With Mr. Awesome, Elam and Megan. We didn’t technically go with Elam and Megan, but ended up sitting next to them so that was great. So was the band. First song was “Queen Of This Town,” so I was instantly happy. March 3, 2009.
Ben Folds with Miniature Tigers – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle. With Mr. Awesome. Long wait outside in the rain led to a really great show to wrap up our tour. Ben played my requests and the Mini T’s were great, too. February 27, 2009.
Ben Folds with Miniature Tigers – Charleston, SC – North Charleston Performing Arts Center. With Mr. Awesome. After an incredibly lovely day in Charleston (one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited), we saw another seated show and had another meet-and-greet. This time, I was prepared and asked him to perform Best Imitation of Myself and Underground at the show in Atlanta the next night. The night before I had asked Charlie Brand of the Mini T’s to play Hot Venom, and they did. One of the best shows ever. February 26, 2009.
Ben Folds with Miniature Tigers - Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center. With Mr. Awesome. Finally, a show with seats, so we didn’t have to stand in line. The crowd was a bit more reserved at this one, but no harm done to the performance of either band. February 25, 2009.
Ben Folds with Miniature Tigers – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel. With Mr. Awesome. Before the show, we had some delicious burritos. The wait in line was horribly cold and crowded, but we met some great people. The show was, as usual, terrific. February 23, 2009.
Ben Folds with Miniature Tigers – Knoxville, TN – The Valarium – With Mr. Awesome. The Valarium. The first of a five-show mini tour for us. We won a meet-and-greet, which was awesome. The was our first time seeing the Miniature Tigers live, and they were in-cred-ible. February 22, 2009.
Grasshopper – O’Dowd’s Little Dublin in Zona Rosa. With Mr. Awesome. We were jonesing for some live music and found this guy on a Sunday night. One guy with a guitar doing some excellent covers. He asked what the crowd wanted to hear. I was going to yell for some Ben Folds, but reconsidered since he’s a piano guy. Grasshopper must have read my mind because when no one replied, he busted in to Brick. Loved it and will have to see him again. January 18, 2009.
Alacartoona – Jardines. With Mr. Awesome. An early dinner show that’s going to be a monthly affair throughout 2009. Fun, quirky, sexy show and a great crowd, too. January 15, 2009.
Monkey Finger – Depot 9, Ameristar Casino. With Mr. Awesome. We were jonesing for some live music, what can we say? Made up of five guys old enough to be my dad, they totally delivered some solid classic rock. Even threw in some Foo Fighters. Pretty good, actually. January 3, 2009.
Mark Lowery’s Ben Folds Tribute Show – The Record Bar. With Mr. Awesome, JPar, Elam and Megan. Wowza. If you can’t be at a Ben Folds show, this is the next best thing. Will go again and again, every time he decides to do it. December 26th, 2008.
The Three Wise Men – Jardines. With Mr. Awesome. Fabulous jazz trio that played some fabulous holiday music. Can’t wait to hear them again next year. December 23, 2008.
Angela Hagenbach – Jardines. With Mr. Awesome and Elam. Terrific Jazz singer. December 20th, 2008.
Alacartoona and Barclay Martin Ensemble – The Record Bar. With Mr. Awesome. Alacartoona was terrifically quirky modern cabaret, while Barclay Martin Ensemble plays a sort of adult-alternative jazz fusion. So good. December 12th, 2008.
Jake Banton Quartet – Jardines. With Mr. Awesome, Elam and Megan. A good jazz quartet that was a bit more improvisational than I prefer, but we enjoyed them nonetheless. December 1, 2008.
Coldplay - Sprint Center – With Mr. Awesome and the Andersons. We were pretty far from the stage and weren’t too happy with our seats… until about halfway through the show when the band ran up our isle and played a couple of songs about 10 feet away from us. Mr. Awesome touched Chris Martin’s sweaty shirt. It was a beautiful moment. November 13, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – Uptown Theater. With Mr. Awesome and Heather. JPar beat us to the line by mere minutes, but we all had spots under the overhang and out of the rain, unlike the rest of the crowd who arrived later. Missy was over her cold and perfomed everything I wanted to hear. Our 15th Ben show was incredible. October 22, 2008.
David Byrne – Uptown Theater. With Mr. Awesome. We got to hear “Once in a Lifetime” performed live. A terrific musical moment for me. October 20, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – Kirksville, MO – Truman State University. With Mr. Awesome. A last-minute decision outside of Des Moines brought us here. JPar secured tickets and a great place in the front of the line for us. After so many shows in clubs and theaters, it was a nice change to be in a college fieldhouse again. Great show all around. October 18, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – St. Paul, MN – Myst. With Mr. Awesome. A cold wait in line with Allison, Brooke, Nikko and Paul was made better by being allowed to use the restroom while the band was doing sound checks. Fantastic show. October 17, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – St. Louis, MO – Pageant Theater. With Mr. Awesome, Adam and Rob. Missy had a cold, but still sounded good. We all had a great time. October 16, 2008.
Death Cab for Cutie - Green Bay, WI – Resch Center. Okobos Music Festival. With Mr. Awesome. Big, loud sound. Played everything I knew and then some. Pretty much what I expected, in a good way. October 11, 2008.
Ben Folds - Green Bay, WI – Resch Center. Okobos Music Festival. With Mr. Awesome. Shorter set than normal, but still very good, as usual. October 11, 2008.
M. Ward - Green Bay, WI – Resch Center. Okobos Music Festival. With Mr. Awesome. I had only sort of heard of M. Ward prior to this performance. He was absolutely incredible. I was mesmorized the entire time he played. Will definitely see him again, if possible. October 11, 2008.
Ingrid Michaelson - Green Bay, WI – Resch Center. Okobos Music Festival. With Mr. Awesome. Just her and a keyboard for a very short set. She verbally smacked down someone who was talking while she performed. Cool. October 11, 2008.
Jewel – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center. Okobos Music Festival. With Mr. Awesome. Jewel was very talkative, polite and affable. She took requests from the crowd, and was surprised and happy when some people yelled for obscure stuff. October 11, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – Chicago, IL – Congress Theater. With Mr. Awesome. Our 10th Ben show took place on 10/10/ 08. Met up with some friends in line. Nikko and JPar gave friendly reminders to not yell “Rock this bitch.” Very high energy and a crazy-good show from both Ben and Missy. October 10, 2008.
Ben Folds with Missy Higgins – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Theater. With Mr. Awesome. Our first time hearing Missy, and she was incredible. Also our first time seeing the Primal Smirk tour with the video screens. Different and terrific. October 9, 2008.
Ben Folds with the Louisville Symphony – Louisville, Kentucky. With Mr. Awesome. We had box seats just above the piano, which made for an excellent view. October 4, 2008.
Ben Folds with the Nashville Symphony – Nashville, TN. With Mr. Awesome. Beautiful. Cologne with a choir was the highlight. September 7, 2008
Ben Folds with Julia Nunes- Cary, NC – Koka Booth Amphitheater. With Mr. Awesome. Julia was okay. Ben’s family was at this one. One of the most beautiful venues anywhere. May 30, 2008.
Ben Folds with Julia Nunes – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap. With Mr. Awesome. Great venue. Julia was alright. Got suburbs.uk shirts from Allison, Mel and Brooke. May 28, 2008.
Ben Folds with Ben Lee – Duluth, MN – University of Minnesota – Duluth. With Mr. Awesome. Ben Lee wasn’t memorable again. One of the best Folds concerts we’ve seen. He performed almost 30 songs. April 20, 2008.
Ben Folds with Ben Lee – St. Peter, MN – Gustavus Adolphus College. With Mr. Awesome. Met Allison, Brooke and Paul for the first time. Ben Lee was not memorable. Folds paid the crowd a compliment by saying the band had found aplace to eat dinner “that didn’t suck.” April 19, 2008.
Ben Folds with Eef Barzelay – Swenney Rec Center, UMKC. With Mr. Awesome. The crowd was bad, but Eef was terrific. Our not-as-of-then friend JPar was attending his 50th show. We got a solo of The Last Polka to celebrate. April 6, 2008.
Ben Folds with Eef Barzelay – Springfield, MO – Missouri State, Juanita K. Hammonds Hall. Mr. Awesome and I saw our first Folds show on our Wedding anniversary. It was incredible. Eef played a solo set with an electric guitar that completely changed the way I hear that instrument. At one point, Ben played the drums while Sam Smith played piano. That hasn’t happened at any other show since. April 2, 2008.
Keb ‘Mo - Midland Theater. MoveOn.org’s Vote for Change show. Went with my mom and Steve. Okay, but not the best. October 5, 2004.
Bonnie Raitt - Midland Theater. MoveOn.org’s Vote for Change show. Went with my mom and Steve. Fan-freaking-tastic. That woman is a force of nature. October 5, 2004.
Jackson Browne – Midland Theater. MoveOn.org’s Vote for Change show. Went with my mom and Steve. Great show. October 5, 2004.
Blink-182 with Alkaline Trio – Sandstone Amphitheater. For my sister’s 16th birthday. Went with my sister, step-mom and Mr. Awesome. The company was good, but both bands were unremarkable.
Barry Manilow – Sandstone Amphitheater. With my mom and Steve. He was freaking awesome. 1999.
Sting with Lyle Lovett – Sandstone Amphitheater. Saw this with my mom, Steve and Mr. Awesome. Lovett opened for Sting with a subdued set that didn’t really grab the crowd. Sting was fantastic. 1996.
Michael Crawford – Starlight Theater. More free tickets from mom. I cried when he sang “Music of the Night.” Sometime in the mid 1990s.
The Judds – Starlight Theater. Again, mom got free tickets. They were terrific. Sometime in the mid 1990s.
Reba McEntire – Starlight Theater. My mom got free tickets. She was pretty good. Sometime in the mid 1990s.
Nancy Lamott – New York, NY – Tavern on the Green. Saw this with my mom, Kandi Kos and Kandi’s mom. Nancy was unbelievably good. Her voice was simply amazing. Spring of 1994. Nancy died of complications from uterine cancer in December of 1995.
Bob Dylan – Penn Valley Park, Liberty Memorial. At Spirit Fest, sometime in the early 1990s. I couldn’t understand one word.
Wynonna Judd – Kemper Arena. Saw this with Michelle Chapman from high school. I don’t know what became of Michelle, either. Sometime in the early 1990s.
Harry Connick, Jr. – Starlight Theater. Saw this with Maggie Shelley, Drew Martin and Lisa Reagan from high school. Probably 1992 or so.
Janet Jackson – Kemper Arena. Rhythm Nation tour, 1989. First concert without adult supervision. Saw this with Dan Turner from middle school. I wonder what ever became of him? UPDATE – I found him on Facebook and he gets to taste ice cream (among other, less intersting tasks) for a living at a dairy.
BB King – Penn Valley Park, Liberty Memorial. At Spirit Fest, sometime in the late 1980s.
I keep thinking that I’m missing something, but I don’t know what. So it goes.