The 5 Coolest Random Things That Can Happen At A Concert
Coldplay were in town this Tuesday and Wednesday playing a couple of excellent shows at the United Center. The fans at the sold-out Tuesday show were treated to an extra surprise- Coldplay were filming the show for the video to their new song “Lost!”. Now they all can tell their grand-children someday that they were in a video on TRL. (That show will definitely still be on then, trust us)
It got us to thinking, what are the coolest random things that can happen at a concert to make it more memorable? Sorry Coldplay, the video thing was cool, but it doesn’t make the cut.
#5. A Surprise Special Guest - We’re not talking about the avalanche of guests that Dave Matthews often features. This is for the more off-the-cuff partnerships like John Mayer joining Buddy Guy on stage at legends. Or even Jay-Z performing “Big Pimpin” with Phish in Brooklyn. Those are the kind of moments that create one-of-a-kind musical creations.
#4. Equipment Malfunction - If Janet Jackson accidentally exposes herself to millions of people at the Super Bowl that’s one thing, but anytime something goes wrong onstage you get the chance to see whether you’re favorite band is cool under pressure. Wouldn’t it be hilarious to see something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CukuwxkMk5A at a real show?
#3. Someone Gets Arrested Onstage - Nothing says Rock ‘n Roll like trouble with the law, and sometimes a rock star can be so hard to get that onstage is the only place the cops can get him. It would be pretty cool to see a guy get taken off the stage in handcuffs, and you know the band would play an extra-long set to hold off the cops Blues Brothers-style. Bonus points if the arrest doesn’t involve Jim Morrison exposing himself onstage.
#2. The Show Becomes A Live Album - Whether you’re seeing the Who in Leeds, Cheap Trick in Japan, or Johnny Cash in prison, if your show gets recorded and sold to millions of people, you know it was a special performance.
#1. It’s The Last Performance Ever - Sometimes a band will announce ahead of time that a show will be their last, but its more exciting to see a band self-destruct and storm offstage like the Sex Pistols did at their last show. Or the end could be more tragic like Stevie Ray Vaughan’s death in a helicopter crash as he left Alpine Valley immediately after a concert. Either way, a band’s unexpected last show is guaranteed to attain legendary status.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I’m dying to know if Coldplay ran up to the 109 section and sang two songs up by the audience on Wednesday like they did on Tuesday?
Thanks,
Krina
July 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Uh…. How about
#6. The Encore Lasts Longer Than The Concert.
I love to go shoe shopping with Gwyneth!
July 25th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Uh…. How about
#6. The Encore Lasts Longer Than The Concert.
I love to go shoe shopping with Gwyneth
July 25th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
oh! or, how about the “we’re having so much fun we don’t want to leave, so we’ll do some random covers” encore!
at the july 2000 counting crows show in kalamazoo michigan, the band was giddy from being on the road after not touring for years. working on a new album and being out in public was aparently doing adam a lot of good - so much so that the band was messing around with teasers of thunder road and cold as ice….suddenly they called gigolo ants back onstage with, “come on - let’s end this thing right!” they did an impromptu jam of sweet home alabama that had everyone on their feet and singing along.
then after the show, the band came outside and hung out for like an hour while the buses got loaded, just chit-chatting and signing autographs. OH - that should be #8 - the hanging out after the show with the fans. CC and Guster are awesome for that reason!
July 26th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Straight from the mouth of Chris Martin, 7/23 audience was more intense! Yes, they came up by the 109 section, I was @ 210… very close and busted my vocal chords from the shock! This concert was so much fun. I woke up with a smile the following morning and thanked God, my sis who was with me and Coldplay for such a great experience. This is my 3rd time seeing them in concert, their best yet. I can totaly tell Chris is much more confortable with his star status and is now far more charismatic with his adoring audience than in his early concert playing years.
July 27th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I really think it cool when a band opens up by playing their entire new lp track by track.
Just think of being in the audience when THe Who performed “Qudrophinia” in its entirtey, or seeing Pink Floyd perform the entire “Wish you were Hear” lp or Bon Jovi doing “Loss Highway”
I was lucky enough to experience shows like these in my concert going life-time and I really enjoy it when bands showcase their new material.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am
How about #7 The artist comes out to meet the fans… I’ve heard tales of festivals where bands come out to party with the campers and fans and maybe even play a couple jams… how awesome would that be? Just gotta be in the right place at the right time I gues…
August 5th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I have to say that seeing Coldplay at the United Center might be the best concert I’ve ever seen before. The energy that eminates from their music just gets into you, no matter where you are in the building. Their video and lights are the best I’ve ever seen. There were a lot of random things: running up to play in the middle of the sections and playing a song at the end of one of the stage runs. The only random thing that would have made it better would to be walking home and have Coldplay pick you up in their tour bus and take you to their next show and party the whole way there.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I love when artists destroy they’re equipment on-stage. I know that its not a new concept, but its pretty random, meaning you don’t see it after every show. The coolest end of a concert that I’ve seen was watching a drum set go up in flames after Green Day’s encore.
September 11th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Nice good blog!