The U2 rehearsal lists that are going around have given me an idea.
I want to hear from you. Post your dream concert in the Comments below.
- Pick an artist. U2, Springsteen, Over the Rhine, Emmylou Harris, David Bazan, Iron & Wine… anybody.
- Pick 20 songs from their catalog that you’d like to hear them play.
- List them in the order they should perform them.
- Set off 3 of those 20 songs as encores.
- If you want, make one of those songs a cover of someone else’s song… just to spice things up.
If I get three responses to this invitation, I’ll go ahead and post a dream show or two for my favorite artists…
I’ll admit from the start that this bends your rules a little bit. But it’s my dream, so that’s just the way it’s going to have to be.
It’s a Peter Gabriel concert. The lights come up on the stage as Peter, Tony Levin, Manu Katché, David Rhodes open with “Mercy Street,” complete with backup vocals by Youssou N’Dour, Michael Been, Jim Kerr, Ronnie Bright, and (it’s my dream, so why not?) Kate Bush.
As the final vocal line fades away, the low bass drone sustains. A spotlight flicks on to illuminate two Armenian doudouk players as they begin to play the haunting opening strains to “The Feeling Begins.”
From there, it’s the entire “Passion” album…. talking drums, children’s choir, L. Shankar’s double violin, even a resurrected Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
The. Whole. Thing.
I don’t think there’s an encore. How could there be?
And then I wake up.
Oh man, I’m such a diehard fan of The Avett Brothers (Concord, NC) that I can’t resist replying to this one. It goes without saying that I’m in the front row surrounded by other diehards, including my brother & best friend (she introduced me to the band).
1. Shame
2. At The Beach
3. St. Joseph’s
4. Me and God
5. Tear Down The House
6. Love Like the Movies
7. Jenny and the Summer Day
8. Matrimony
9. Paranoia in B-Flat Major
10. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Led Zeppelin Cover)
11. Left on Laura, Left on Lisa
12. November Blue
13. Walking For You
14. Talk on Indolence
15. Nothing Short of Thankful
16. I & Love & You
17. Go To Sleep (they walk off stage as the crowd continues to sing the “la-la”s until they return for the encore)
(Encore)
17. Murder In The City
18. Please Pardon Yourself
19. Laundry Room
Radiohead is my favorite band. I have long thought about the perfect setlist, but now you have given me the opportunity to finally type it out. So, here goes:
1. Reckoner
2. Lucky
3. Everything In Its Right Place
4. Airbag
5. Nice Dream
6. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
7. The Bends
8. You and Whose Army?
9. Idioteque
10. Bodysnatchers
11. There There
12. Videotape
13. Just
14. 15 Step
15. Pyramid Song
16. Karma Police
17. Street Spirit
(Encore)
18. Polyethylene
19. Paranoid Android
20. Grace (Jeff Buckley cover)
I love every Radiohead song, so this was difficult to choose!
I was going to post something here, but I’m just going to have to agree with Zalm…Passion Live with Mercy Street as an opener…I’m not sure I can top that.
My dream concert would be Thrice.
1. Image of the Invisible
2. The Lion and the Wolf
3. A Song for Milly Michaelson
4. The Sky is Falling
5. For Miles
6. The Messenger
7. The Arsonist
8. Weight of Glory
9. Deadbolt
10. Cold Cash and Colder Hearts
11. Broken Lungs
12. Atlantic
13. The Artist in the Ambulance
14. Under a Killing Moon
15. Trust
16. The Whaler
17. Red Sky
Encore:
18. Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
19. That Hideous Strength
20. The Earth Will Shake
OK, first of all I don’t like long sets, so I can’t do 20 songs, but here’s a dream Sixpence None the Richer set. They would be playing with their circa 1996 lineup, a string quartet, and an extra guitar.
1. We Have Forgotten/Anything/The Waiting Room
2. Love, Salvation, the Fear of Death
3. Within a Room Somewhere
4. The Lines of My Earth
5. Melody of You
6. Still Burning
7. I’ve Been Waiting
8. A Million Parachutes
9. Too Far Gone
10. Meaningless (for like 20 minutes)
Keane
Frontman Tom Chaplin, pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, and drummer Richard Hughes.
They started out with U2 covers, and opened for them back in ’05. They’ve suffered comparisons to Coldplay and the Killers, which, even though they’re definitely a different sound, is pretty cool. Chris Martin wanted Rice-Oxley to be Coldplay’s keyboardist, but since Keane was already set up, he had to settle to doing it himself. Which didn’t turn out too bad.
Anyway, they’re my favorite band. I can listen to their discography straight through. Cutting this down to just 20 was tough.
1. Bend and Break – I wanted a strong opening, so this won the lotto (96,000!).
2. Your Eyes Open
3. The Lovers Are Losing
4. Under Pressure – Yes, Tom sings for both Freddie Mercury and David Bowie. Already one of the most awesome songs in existence.
5. We Might As Well be Strangers
6. Everybody’s Changing
7. Nothing In My Way
8. Early Winter
9. Can’t Stop Now
10. Is It Any Wonder?
11. Leaving So Soon
12. Crystal Ball
13. The Night Sky
14. With Or Without You (U2) – Holy cow.
15. This Is the Last Time
16. Snowed Under
17. Somewhere Only We Know – Seriously, isn’t this just a great, great song?
Encore:
18. Bedshaped – Gets me every time.
19. Hamburg Song – The most meaningful to me.
20. A Bad Dream – After we saw them in concert, my brother and I agreed; this was our favorite.
You may notice there’s barely anything from Perfect Symmetry here. =( I’ve got basically all of Hopes and Fears, which, after factoring in Under the Iron Sea, leaves little room. I’m still addicted to the old ones. There are covers and odd projects as well, so don’t think I’m stuck to them.
Anything before the final five could be in totally random order, and I wouldn’t care. They are irreplaceable and unforgettable, but they’re all so good and familiar.
But the last two before the encore, and the encore, stand. Snowed Under just excites me to no end. The final 3 are my favorite songs. I couldn’t let SOWN slip; it has to close out the main performance. It will always hold a special place in my heart as the first Keane song I ever heard. Still one of their best.
This reminds me of ESPN’s John Buccigross, writing about Game 7 of the NHL Finals, and musing on similar events. This is my favorite.
“Game 7 equals… Ne-Yo opening for Animal Collective opening for MGMT opening for Ben Folds opening for Prince opening for Blink 182 opening for Green Day opening for U2 opening for Bruce Springsteen opening for Tool opening for whatever the “Hockey Night in Canada” opening montage is for Friday’s Game 7″. (The opening montage included Don Cherry lifting the biggest real octopus I’ve ever seen out of the Detroit River).
So who would open for my guys? Well, in a perfect world, Over the Rhine and/or Regina Spektor.
If only I could get the Killers, Coldplay, and U2 to follow them… And the White Stripes, Matchbox 20, and Arcade Fire.
Of course, with me in charge, each band would end up playing almost every song they ever wrote, so maybe this should be a week-long festival instead of an all-nighter mega-concert.
*Disclaimer since I just name-dropped OtR, U2 and AF: No, Jeff, I’m not copying everything you love. We just happen to have freakishly similar (and freakishly good) tastes in music. I suppose you’re asking, “Where does Sam Phillips fit into all this?” Probably along with OtR and RS. (When I was younger, I used to think NOBODY knew about Sam and Rhine, but apparently EVERYBODY does.)*
I’ll have to come back later with the Killers, Matchbox 20/Rob Thomas, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
When I first saw this post, I thought you were looking for a dream concert bill rather than a dream concert by a single band, so I was constructing this perfect soft>loud show with Gillian Welch, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, PJ Harvey, and Sonic Youth. Since Zalm has introduced the idea of an imaginary, step-back-in-time show, though, can I see The Clash in 1979? The Who in 1971? Bob Dylan in 1965?
For the record, I only resurrected someone from the dead for my concert. But time travel? That’s crazy talk.
This would be my dream setlist for a White Stripes gig. This is an interesting concept because they are well-known for never using a pre-determined setlist. Hence, every Whites Stripes show is unique. (The covers in this list are ones they have been known to play live).
1. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
2. Black Math
3. The Big Three Killed My Baby
4. Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine
5. Red Death at 6:14
6. My Doorbell
7. Hotel Yorba
8. Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
9. We’re Going To Be Friends
10. Death Letter (Son House cover)
11. Rag and Bone
12. Blue Orchid
13. Party of Special Things To Do (Captain Beefheart cover)
14. Ball and Biscuit
15. In the Cold, Cold Night
16. Icky Thump
17. Seven Nation Army
(Encore)
18. Let’s Shake Hands
19. Isis (Bob Dylan cover)
20. Ballad of the Boll Weevil (Leadbelly cover)
I’m working on my Over the Rhine dream set-list. I’ll post it sometime this weekend. I may have to cook up a U2 set list as well.
Here are a few:
U2.
1. Grace
2. Elevation
3. All Because of You
4. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
5. Running to Stand Still
6. No Line on the Horizon
7. Bad
8. Where the Streets Have No Name
9. If God Will Send His Angels
10. Lemon
11. Mofo/Vertigo
12. The First Time
13. New Year’s Day
14. Beautiful Day
15. Ultra Violet
16. Moment of Surrender
17. Unknown Caller
Encore:
18. Stand Up Comedy
19. One
20. Falling At Your Feet (not technically U2, but would be cool none the less, hey its my concert)
Wilco
1. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
2. Casino Queens
3. I Got You
4. Theologians
5. One by One
6. Spiders (Kidsmoke)
7. On and On and On
8. Handshake Drugs
9. Passenger Side
10. She’s A Jar
11. Sunken Treasure
12. Kingpin
13. At Least That’s What You Said
14. Can’t Stand It
15. Outta Mind Outta Sight
16. What Light
17. Via Chicago
Encore:
18. Misunderstood
19. California Stars
20. Jesus, etc.
Bob Dylan
1. High Water
2. Going to Acapulco
3. Love Minus Zero
4. Beyond Here Lies Nothing
5. One Too Many Mornings
6. Tangled Up In Blue
7. Every Grain of Sand
8. Ring Them Bells
9. Cry Awhile
10. Thunder on the Mountain
11. Shelter From the Storm
12. Positively Fourth Street
13. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
14. It Ain’t Me Babe
15. Mississippi
16. Like A Rolling Stone
17. Visions of Johanna
encore
18. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
19. When the Ship Comes In
20. Boots of Spanish Leather
I don’t know, mine would probably be Bruce Springsteen. But seeing Bruce join Phish for a couple songs last week at Bonnaroo, finishing with, “Glory Days,” was enough to satisfy me for a while.
I also saw another great concert Saturday night by Over the Rhine, and am going to try to make it up to their show in a couple weeks with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.
A great way to wast… uh, refersh the neurons for further work.
++ Steely Dan ++
Green Earrings
Black Friday
Bad Sneakers
Gaucho
Here at the Western World
Pretzel Logic
King of the World
Josie
Aja
Do It Again
Reelin’ in the Years
Babylon Sisters
Jack of Speed
Everything Must Go
Peg
Kid Charlamagne
Doctor Wu
My Old School
e1The Royal Scam
e2FM
++ Genesis ++
Dance on a Volcano
Dancing Out With the Moonlit Knight
Carpet Crawlers
Abacab
Home by the Sea
Second Home by the Sea
Fountain of Salmacis
Land of Confusion
It’s Gonna Get Better
Duke’s Travels
Behind the Lines
Mama
The Lamia
The Lady Lies
Supper’s’ Ready
I Know What I Like
Los Endos
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Musical Box
It / Watcher of the Skies
OK, another… although I’m noticing that these are not fitting quite into the folksie feel of the other lists…
++ King Crimson ++
Larks’s Tongues in Aspic Pt 1
Frame by Frame
The Construction of Light
Three of a Perfect Pair
Fracture
Matte Kudasai
Easy Money
The Sailor’s Tale
The Sheltering Sky
Satori in Tangiers
Epitaph
B’Boom
Thrak
21st Century Schizoid Man
Starless
The Talking Drum
Larks’s Tongues in Aspic Pt 2
e1 Discipline
e2 Deception of the Thrush
e3 Elephant Talk
And while I’m REALLY dreaming ….
++ The Beatles ++
A Hard Day’s Night
Dear Prudence
Norweigian Wood
You Never Give Me Your Money
And I Love her
Yesterday
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
Something
Help
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Sgt Pepper
With a Little Help From My Friends
A Day in the Life
Two of Us
I Want to Tell You
Tomorrow Never Knows
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Revolution
e1 I Saw Her Standing There
e2 Carry That Weight > The End