Summer 2015 Concert Rankings

Summer’s almost over, but my summer concert tour has already wrapped up. To reflect, I thought you may be interested in my rankings. Please note that I enjoyed every single one of the concerts I attended. Just because a concert is at the bottom of the list doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. It just means I liked the others a bit more. This was very difficult to do, by the way.

Without further ado, I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up to the number one spot.

9. Danzig: Danzig was a thoroughly enjoyable show, but I have several reasons for putting it last in my rankings. The mediocre sound quality was a huge bummer as I couldn’t hear Danzig’s voice as I had liked to. The strange rules in Danzig’s contract and getting clocked in the face helped cement this show in my ninth spot. Enjoyable, yes, but the least so.

8. Imagine Dragons: This was a great show; better than I expected. However, I didn’t enjoy Metric’s performance at all. Imagine Dragons is not a band that I regularly listen to, which also costs them points. However, they put on a fantastic performance which keeps them out of the bottom spot.

7. Mastodon & Clutch: This concert is so far down on my list only because my hopes were too high, I think. Clutch was wonderful, but I was slightly disappointed with Mastodon. (But only very slightly.) People were also spilling beer all over the floor, so it was a bit hard to get into the mosh pit situation.

6. The Appleseed Cast: It’s my own fault for waiting 15 years to see this band. The immense heat in the Constellation Room and the irritating guy with the purse is the reason for the #6 slot.

5. Incubus & Deftones: A solid show, right in the center of my rankings. The sound mixing and mediocre first act prevented this concert from rising higher in my ranking, but the fantastic performances of both Incubus and the Deftones cements this show at #5.

4. The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson: Marilyn Manson was surprisingly good, and The Smashing Pumpkins were flawless. Had it been the original lineup (and the sound mixing was improved), this may have taken the top slot. As it were, it’s at a solid #4.

3. Coheed and Cambria: Coheed and Cambria is one of the best live acts I’ve ever seen. The crowds are always great, and you can feel the joy and energy coming from the musicians. The only reason this isn’t my top pick is because I liked two other concerts better than this one. Pretty much a flawless show.

2. Animals As Leaders & Between the Buried and Me: This would have taken the top slot if I wasn’t such a fanboy of Mike Patton. I’m totally not objective. The crowd was awesome, the mosh pit was a lot of fun, I attended with a close friend, and I got to discover a new band (The Contortionist) that I’m really enjoying. Perfect show, solid #2.

1. Faith No More: Of course, Faith No More takes the top slot. Everything came together for this one. I attended with a good group of guys and girls, the venue is great, the sound mixing was flawless, and the performance was amazing. It was a thrill to hear new Faith No More songs, and most of the old songs were off of my favorite record. I couldn’t ask for a better night of music.

That’s it for this summer! Hopefully I can attend a few more before the year is up, but I’m very satisfied with what I was able to see this year. Get out to some concerts and support artists you like. Thanks for reading!

Concert Reviews

2013

• Tomahawk (feat. Retox)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. BTBAM & Russian Circles)
• Palms
• Black Sabbath (feat. Andrew WK)
• Vampire Weekend (feat. Beirut)

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2014

• Fit for a King & For Today
• ††† (Crosses) (feat. Omniflux & Spirit in the Room)
• Soundgarden & NIN 2014

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2015

• Dr. Octagon (feat. Avalon, Gap Dream & No Parents)
• Faith No More (feat. The Urinals)
• Mastodon & Clutch (feat. Graveyard)
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Seahaven)
• The Appleseed Cast (feat. Adjy & Coaster)
• The Smashing Pumpkins & Marilyn Manson
• Danzig (feat. Cancer Bats & Saviours)
• Imagine Dragons (feat. Halsey & Metric)
• Between the Buried and Me & Animals As Leaders (feat. The Contortionist)
• Deftones & Incubus (feat. Death from Above 1979)
• 2015 Summer Rankings
• Blindside (feat. Hearts Like Lions)
• Puscifer (feat. Luchafer)

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2016

• The Black Queen (feat. Drab Majesty)
• Joe Satriani
• Coheed and Cambria (feat. Glassjaw, I the Mighty, Silver Snakes)
• Killswitch Engage (feat. Memphis May Fire, 36 Crazyfists, and Toothgrinder)
• Andrew Bird (feat. John Grant)
• Lamb of God (feat. Clutch and Corrosion of Conformity)
• At the Drive-In (feat. Le Butcherettes)
• The Dillinger Escape Plan (feat. Author & Punisher)
• Guns N’ Roses (feat. The Cult)
• Animal Collective (feat. Stuart Copeland)
• Alice in Chains (feat. The New Regime)
• Temple of the Dog (feat. Fantastic Negrito)
• Giraffe Tongue Orchestra (cancelled)
• Metallica
• 2016 Concert Rankings

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2017

• August Burns Red (feat. Protest the Hero, In Hearts Wake, ’68)
• Norma Jean (feat. He Is Legend, Capsize, Comrades)
• Red (feat. Wolves at the Gate, Message from Sylvia, Death Therapy) (coming soon)
• Mastodon (feat. Eagles of Death Metal, Russian Circles) (coming soon)
• Pixies (coming soon)
• Tool (feat. Clutch, Fantomas, Primus, Melvins, Crystal Method) (coming soon)
• Rise Against (feat. Deftones, Thrice) (coming soon)
• Green Day
• Dead Cross (feat. Neil Hamburger, Ho99o9) (coming soon)
• Banks (coming soon)
• Between the Buried and Me (feat. The Contortionist, Poluphia, Toothgrinder) (coming soon)
• The Offspring (feat. Well Hung Heart) (coming soon)
• Russian Circles (feat. MGR) (coming soon)
• Our Lady Peace (feat. Smashing Hearts) (coming soon)
• Animals As Leaders (feat. Periphery and Astronoid) (coming soon)

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