My Favorite Live Bands

As a lot of my friends know, I love to rock! Although rock is my favorite music genre, I at times listen to just about anything except modern country and bubblegum pop. With that in mind, here's a list of the best bands I've seen live in concert from the last decade or so, listed alphabetically by artist:

Black Stone Cherry - a good southern rock/blues band that I saw open for Sevendust in 2008. They played originals from their debut album, and closed with a enthusiastic cover of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" complete with the guitar playing behind the back, with the teeth, etc.

Bush - I think frontman Gavin Rossdale has since disbanded this group, but I saw them play through their best songs at Halenbeck Hall a few years ago during the height of their popularity about a decade ago.

Cheap Trick - I went to see these classic rockers for my very first show at the Paramount Theatre in downtown St. Cloud a few years ago. They played all the hits, and I even got to see guitarist Rick Nielsen use his legendary five-necked guitar during the show.

Cold - another favorite modern rock band, that I finally get to see as an opening act for Sevendust at the Lighthouse in St. Joe. I hear they've broken up and reformed now. Looking forward to hearing new music from them soon, too.

Evanescence - although this concert at Halenbeck was delayed a few months by the departure of guitarist/cofounder Ben Moody, the band played most of their debut album, plus spirited covers of Soundgarden's "Fourth of July" and the Smashing Pumpkins' "Zero" to a packed house.

Everclear - got to see this band at Halenbeck Hall at SCSU a few years ago, before most of the members went their seperate ways. This was a good, long show filled with their hits.

Faster Pussycat - another 80's/90's hair band (or "Torb rock" as we used to say in high school) that played at the Red Carpet a few years ago. Interesting and fun show.

Firehouse - saw this band once at the old Del-Win in St. Joe years ago, and again in October 2009 at the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud. They played their hits, and they play around the Upper Midwest so often, I'm sure there's hardly any rock fans who haven't seen them in concert before.

Flipp - I don't think this high-energy rock band is around any more, but they sure played some entertaining shows at the Red Carpet a few years back.

Great White - Their cover of "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" was an anthem for my senior class in high school. Got to see the current lineup at a tiny country bar in Regal a few years back, but Jack Russell and co. still did a good job of playing their hits.

Hinder - although they fronted an unusual show in September 2010 at Northern Lights in Walker (the show was in a large tent outside the casino, and they played 4 hours after the opening act Saving Abel started), but they were good, and previewed 4 songs from their upcoming release All American Nightmare.

Incubus- another popular rock band that I got to see live at Halenbeck a few years ago, when they were touring in support of the album A Crow Left Of The Murder. Very good and kinda laid back rock show.

Jonny Lang - got to see this guitar virtuoso as a 15-year old performer at the Red Carpet back in the 90's - he shredded guitar riffs better than people twice his age!

Ludacris - I went to this Halenbeck show to write a concert review for Muse Magazine, and have to say that my first rap concert was an enjoyable one. I think I enjoyed watching the crowd get into the music more than anything.

Nickelback - they were an opening act for the Everclear show - haven't seen them as headliners yet. They previewed a couple of songs like "How You Remind Me" several months before their breakthrough album Silver Side Up was released.

Queensryche - finally got to see this popular rock band from Seattle at Northern Lights in Walker in May 2009. A band known for concept albums, this was a kind of concept concert, as they only played songs from 3 albums: 1986's Rage For Order, the new release American Soldier, and the 1990 classic Empire. Closing the night with Empire's title track as an encore made for a perfect ending to a perfect show!

Saliva - another popular modern rock band, which I saw in 2008 at Trobec's Event Center (formerly the Del-Win and the Lighthouse) in St. Joe, an arena which has since unfortunately closed. Good show - they played all the hits from their first 4 CD's.

Saving Abel - this southern rock band opened for Hinder at Northern Lights in Walker in September 2010, and I think they were the better band of the day. They played hits from their first 3 albums, including an acoustic 3-song set in the middle of their set, which included a cover of CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" and their latest single "The Sex is Good."

Sevendust - one of my all-time favorite hard rock bands, I've seen them live 5 times so far, the last time at the legendary First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis in November 2010. I've never understood why this band isn't more popular - they play great rock, tour constantly, and have a dedicated fan base. They're also some of the nicest people you'd ever meet (I've met them all and gotten their autographs twice), and they really appreciate their fans.

Shinedown - although they've changed guitarists quite frequently over the last several years (drummer Barry Kerch and singer Brent Smith are the only remaining original members), Shinedown still rocks! They played a great show in September 2009 at the casino in Walker, MN, including 7 songs from The Sound of Madness, and a few classics, including a good unreleased song called "Junkies For Fame."

Sick Puppies - finally saw their video for the hit single "You're Going Down" last night - I was pleasantly surprised by this three-piece rock band from Sydney, Australia as they opened for Shinedown. Good balance between rock and and softer songs.

Slash - I had the opportunity to see him and his touring band (with Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy on lead vocals) play at Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN in May 2010. The show was a good mix of old Guns N' Roses songs, a few songs from his new CD, and even covers of Zeppelin, Alter Bridge, Velvet Revolver, and even a Slash's Snakepit song thrown in for good measure.

Slip Twister - can't mention Red Carpet shows without bringing up their former house band. Although they don't play too much of their original music anymore, they're still good to see live at local events.

Soul Asylum - a Minnesota original, got to see these guys play the Red Carpet a couple of times, and again at the Mississippi Music Fest in St. Cloud. I don't think they play too many gigs now after losing bassist Karl Mueller to cancer, so if you catch one of their shows, you're in for a rare treat!

Staind - just saw this band at Northern Lights Casino in Walker in April 2009. They put on a great show, and I'm still amazed at how frontman Aaron Lewis' voice cascaded through the auditorium when he stepped away from the mike to sing the encore.

30 Seconds To Mars - fronted by actor Jared Leto, this spacey rock band opened for Sevendust at the Lighthouse in St. Joe a few years ago, playing a handful of songs from their debut album.

10 Years - this is one of those bands that I heard on the radio and liked, but never really knew much about until I started buying their CDs before I saw them open for Sevendust at First Avenue. Great vocalist and great energy in concert - the lead singer even crowd surfed during the end of the song "Shoot It Out" from their latest album Feeding the Wolves.

Vince Neil - this was an interesting show last year at a tiny club called Trocadero's in Mineapolis in April 2008. Vince and his solo band played Crue classics, nothing newer than songs off 1989's Dr. Feelgood album.

Here's some bands I haven't seen yet, but hope to in the future:
- Breaking Benjamin
- Disturbed
- Seether
- Godsmack