BEST MAJORS:
1) Replacements - RE: their 3 records "Let it Be", "Tim" and "Pleased to meet Me"...I don't think there has been as good a trilogy by any band before/after - got to see them on their "Don't Tell a Soul" and last tour (too bad it was after Bobby got fired and Chris quit) for "All shook Down" at Bogarts/Cincy where we heckled the Goo Goo Dolls so bad that their fat bass player stopped playing mid-song and got into a shouting match with us. Who woulda thunk that they would strike it rich by basically stealing the 'Mats' sound and hitting the top 10 billboard. On that last tour, the 'Mats were polished and incredible. I then saw PW at least 10 times solo in the 90s with an even BETTER Band and once in the 00s playing by himself (he was brilliant!!!) at the WFPK show with Sonic Youth and that guy from the Velvet Underground...one of my top 3 songwriters/performers of all time.
2) R.E.M. - much like the 'Mats, their 3 record + E.P. were a pretty amazing run - "Chronic Town", "Murmur", "Reckoning" and "Fables of the Reconstruction", the band was mysterious and haunting when they 1st started YET the jammed hard (Folk Punk?). I saw them in Miami Oh on their "Life's rich Pageant" tour which was amazing but I missed them at their peak, would've liked to see them in their heyday of playing dive bars VS an arena w/ 10 K other fans. The next day, I went to a record store to see if they had the Connells' new record "Boyland Heights" and they didn't -BUT- they GAVE me a promotional cassette copy of it for FREE because nobody there knew who they were...I was in heaven that trip.
3) U2 - saw them on their "Joshua Tree" tour - closest thing to a revival through a rock band with 20+ K people at Kiel auditorium in STL. I saw the Connells the next night at Blueberry Hill, see more below. Best 2 day rock experience of my life!!!
4) OZZY Osbourne/Blizzard of Oz - My 1st concert when I was 12 years old in '82. I got to see Randy Rhodes 2 weeks before the helicopter accident that took his brilliance from us. He is by far my favorite guitarist to ever live. This show actually had to be rescheduled because OO had bitten the head off a bat a month earlier. I won an autographed copy of the "Diary of a Madman" L.P. from K-SHE 95 that week.
BEST INDIES:
1) Camper Van Beethoven - what a fun live band, I saw them 5 times throughout this region on their "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" and "Key Lime Pie" tours. One of the most exceptional/underrated guitarists of the 80s, as well as the rest of the group. I got to see Jonathan Seagull twice before he left the band and really fell for his replacement, she was pretty in an Indie chick way and very talented. IMO. def. very inventive stoner rock from a small surf town in California.
2) The Connells - the polarity of seeing U2 the night before and then seeing and hanging out w/ the Connells just blew my 20 year old mind. It was the 1st time I saw them and I actually had a beer with Mike Connell and we sparked up a friendship that lasted 6 years. His down to earth attitude made me realize that maybe I could do music myself. I kept in touch with him through the U.S.P.S. for several years and sent him tapes of my originals. He was very encouraging and I basically was on their guest list any time they made it to Louisville, Cincy and St. Louis. I've seen them at least 30 times over the years. Did anyone here see them when they played UK during their "Ring" tour? That was actually one of my favorite shows and 1st time I partied at UK.
BEST LOCALS
1) Love Jones
2) Paul K and the Prayers
3) Crain
4) Kinghorse
5) Peter Searcey/Big Wheel (wish I could've seen Squirrel Bait, unfortunately they broke up before I moved to Kentucky)
6) Hula Hoop
7) the Julia Set
8) Bush League
9) The Belligerents - Louisville's answer to the 'Mats
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