Metal

Thanks for asking, I have a few that were all the best concert I have ever attended.

It all started in '91 when Slayer, Megadeth, Suicidal Tendencies and Testament were doing Clash of the Titans (I assume it was an attempt to rival Monsters of Rock) in KB Hallen in Copenhagen. My first concert. I was way to drunk and high and most of it is a blank. As far as I know, Testament didn't play. I got lost from my friends and recognized a girl I knew on the way out and she helped me board the right train home. It was a great show or so I've been lead to believe.

The greatest was Pearl Jam in '92 at the Roskilde Festival. Grunge was still a new thing. As far as I remember I had bought Nirvana's Nevermind but not yet Ten, so I only knew a couple of songs from MTV. It was a sunny day and the vibe in the audience was possibly the best and most loving I have ever experienced. People spontaneously held hands and hugged and I felt like I sort of understood that this whole grunge thing wasn't just about being sulky. It was also my first festival of many.

Without comparison though, the greatest concent was Portishead back in 1998, also on Roskilde Festival. It was a very hot summer and I was probably a little sunburned, but the concert took place on a stage under a tent and inside the air was cool and a little humid and it was not very crowded. For anyone interested, the playlist was quite close to what was released on their PNYC album/concert movie. As far as I remember they had still only released the first album. On stage Beth Gibbons does not move much and I think she actually tries to make herself invisible, but that only made the experience more intense. The few times she did raise her head, she stared right into my soul and sang into it too.

Shortly after, the dark times started. Wife and kids. Youth over. End of disposable income, concerts and fun in general.

For a while.

I took my wife to see Skunk Anansie in 2022 and Skin is still one of the most intense frontpersons of a band. The venue (DR Koncerthuset) is seated, it is designed for classical concerts and we sat on first row. There was so much eye contact and I can only repeat that she is very intense. At one point (during the song Everyday Hurts) they invited to a stage invasion and we jumped up. That was a wonderful experience to share with my wife and she saw that not all the concerts I go to are long-haired, white, angry dudes. Some of them are bald, angry, black women. Also, the guitar player gave me a pick. He didn't flick it, he handed it to me. Because game recognize game. That makes it the greatest concert I've ever been to.

The last concert I was at is always the greatest. Two days ago I saw Baest play a small Danish festival and they kicked ass like they always do, bringing an unmatched energy to the stage where they can look evil, pose and growl about meathook massacres and the next moment smile and joke around.

There are so many more concerts that blew my mind. Neil Young literally unlocked memories from my childhood by playing stuff my dad listened to when I was a child. PJ Harvery showing up unannounced at a Nick Cave concert. D-A-D closing down Roskilde Festival after the 2000 tragedy. Ennio Morricone performing Ecstasy of Gold and then again during the encore. Roger Waters doing The Great Gig in the Sky made me shed a tear. Going to festivals with my kids. Recently Beth Gibbons doing solo stuff was moving and beautiful, but when they started playing a Portishead song (Roads) I cried.

I probably forgot some.

Thanks for reading. Now go see a concert, especially when you're young because those memories tend to stick better.