some publication asked me the best gigs I ever saw, this is what I said in circa 2006
my bloody valentine at ULU
butthole surfers at ULU
orbital at progeny
chemical bros at
animal collective at bowery ballroom
young gods at ULU side room
basement jaxx (somewhere in South London? or on the Frying Pan in NYC? or both)
world domination enterprises in croydon 1987 (possibly still the greatest gig i've ever seen)
janes addiction at
zapp at hammersmith (so good i went the next day as well - still good but a mistake to go so quickly in succession)
meat puppets at that really gross shabby venue in Hammersmith (clarendon?)
since 2006?
gang of four that same year or thereabouts
buzzcocks and chris and cosey at Tilburg, Holland festival
scritti politti at bowery ballroom
the go go's at Hollywood Bowl
LCD Soundsystem at Bowery Ballroom
pre-2006 omissions from the first time round
killing joke - twice (Friars Aylesbury and a place in Dunstable)
adam and the ants (Friars)
23 skidoo (Scamps, Oxford)
bad brains (a big venue in London whose name escapes me)
world of twist at astoria
pulp at a venue in Islington in that moment between "Legendary Girlfriend" and "Babies" when they were just starting to take off
stone roses somewhere in London at their very peak
seefeel (unusual venue in North London, Main also good that night)
PJ harvey at cbgbs
a class of their own: kraftwerk
(seen them several times - first at Brixton Academy - the middle one at Roseland NYC might have been best but then I was on one. the most recent, Disney Hall, was spectacular (3D Spex) but the volume was too low)
electrifying for not strictly musical reasons
John Martyn with Danny Thompson at Joe's Pub, NYC, not long before he died
never seen them give a really good concert
smiths or morrissey
far from a complete inventory this....
