Big Bad Concert Rankings: 160-151

Aug 20

Aug 20 Big Bad Concert Rankings: 160-151

I had to reach way far back in the memory for some of these. Do you know what I didn’t do? Go back in my camera history for them. Unless you’re brining a state-of-the-art DSLR camera or an HD recorder, what’s the point? I think there should be a limit on what you can record at shows and share on social media.

Snapchat, Instagram Live, Facebook Live all get 3 total minutes. Photos get a max 10 per concert.

Do I break these rules? All the time. But that doesn’t mean they’re any less valid.

160 - Louis the Child

If it weren’t for seeing some other confetti-clad shows higher on this list, LTC’s performance would easily be higher. As the show got on, however, the stage theatricality became primary to the mediocrity of the music, which is never a good thing.

159 - DMX

Shows up late. Set under 45 minutes. Played Ruff Ryders Anthem. All is forgiven.

158 - Sublime w/Rome

I don’t get the Rome hate. Most Sublime fans never saw their best music played live with the original lineup. The other members of the band still needed to play. It’s like the people who comment on Queen + Adam Lambert videos that they prefer Freddy. No? Really? So does everyone, but he died before you were born so get over it.

157 - Buddy Guy

Brilliant guitarist. Magnificently short set. Only 50 minutes without an encore.

156 - Dirty Heads

All those other songs you like that aren’t 311 or Sublime are Dirty Heads songs. And they played them all.

155 - Violent Femmes

The Summerfest edition. I chose to see them instead of Gnarls Barkley and after reading the review the next morning (in the Newspaper!) I made the right call. It was a better show than one that ranks higher on this list only because of who else was at the festival with them at the time.

154 - 21 Savage

So many white kids in basketball jerseys and calf-high black Nike socks. You can tell 21 Savage is going to be huge by the number of teenagers I kicked out for underage drinking who were so disappointed they were going to miss his show.

153 - Bishop Briggs

If you want to get real technical, GGOOLLDD played before Bishop Briggs who played before Passion Pit, but it’s Summerfest so everything is different and tours don’t really matter. River just came out and the rain was just starting to trickle off the lake.

152 - Rascal Flatts [Taylor Swift]

She wasn’t that famous yet. RF brought some of the best light and LED screen rigging I have yet to see bettered. And as much as I didn’t like the movie Cars, Life as a Highway was an all-time memorable song.