What are some bands you regret not seeing live (or, just never had the chance to see in the first place)?
For me, the biggest is definitely Modern Baseball.
To set the scene, it's 2016, I was in high school, and a girl I was friends with told me about this band Modern Baseball. I liked them a lot, but I wasn't quite at my peak emo phase (that would come about a year later during my freshman year in college lol), so I didn't get super into them or anything. Anyways, a few months after that, MoBo came through our city on tour and that girl and one of our other friends literally offered to pay for my ticket to the concert if I DDed for them... and I said no.
Fast forward like 7 months and Modern Baseball goes on hiatus in early 2017, a hiatus that continues to this day, though they played a few one-off shows throughout 2017. Anyways, fall 2017 comes around and I listened to Modern Baseball more and realized I really liked them... but they're on hiatus and I missed my chance to see them!
Anyways, I mostly made this thread because the fact that I turned down going to that concert is something I still think about from time-to-time and I wish I went, but I'd love to hear if anyone else has similar stories or just stories of bands you wish you could have seen.
I regret missing a few shows when I was younger and had to work. I probably took my low paying job a little too seriously and missed out on some incredible memories.
The first show that pop into my head is the Radiohead show on the OK Computer tour (still my favorite album of theirs). It was really a expensive show for the time, it was a far drive, and I was scheduled to work. All my other friends went and said it was incredible and while Radiohead may or may not still exist, I've never had a show be an options since then so i definitely missed out.
The second would be a White Zombie/Pantera show that by all later explanations was just wild/intense and amazing. Neither of those two bands still exist, so that's a bummer. No, Rob Zombie solo isn't the same thing.
I would have loved to be able to see some of the grunge bands I listened to in early high school as well, like Nirvana and Alice n Chains. By the time I could drive myself to a show, Kurt Kobain/Nirvana was gone and Alice n Chains never came to the area.
OK Computer is still my favorite of Radiohead's albums as well. Every time I bring them up to others I always get "I love Creep" and I have to stop a minute and go "oh yeah, that's Radiohead, too." I genuinely tend to forget about Pablo Honey.
Really still? I guess it depends on who you hang around because Creep is just a faint memory for most I know. The go to mainstream songs and album is OK Computer IMO.
I saw them in 97 on that tour at a festival and it was just a perfect blend of OK and The Bends. It couldn’t have been more perfect for me as their later work really didn’t speak to me as much.
I hang out with a lot of folks who were big into Drama class in high school, and others who are Renaissance Faire regulars, and D&D players, so Radiohead isn’t usually in anyone’s playlists, so yeah… Creep is usually the touchstone, even today. Mostly they’re into stuff like either Metal like Saboton, BABYMETAL, or that one Dwarf Metal group, and/or stuff like Hozier, and Florence and the Machine. Though I haven’t checked in with this latest group a friend has me hanging with. Maybe I’ll get a vibe check on them later.
Creep has been covered a few times by newer bands, so that is likely why it has stayed a bit more relevant that it normally would have/
Pablo Honey is also my least favorite and most forgettable album (except for Creep because no one will let you forget it).
Nirvana, I am just a couple years too young to have caught them live. (Started Grade 8 in 1994).
I'm only a little older and I also just missed them. Kurt died right before I was able to buy a car and get myself to any actual concert.
David Bowie
In a past life I did security for various venues (concert, sports, etc) and as a result got to see a lot of my favorite bands while getting paid to do so, is how I met Metallica twice, and got to pick and choose which I worked. Some I worked just to see a band (Metallica, Ozzy, etc.), others for the money (Celine Dion, boy bands, etc.). and I was simply unable to make it to the last Bowie shows I had access to.
Nightwish, a band that is still around and kicking, but every time I look into them they have a new singer and a nearly completely different sound. The time I last saw them touring where I am was the era when I liked them best, and since the singer is no longer with them, the songs I would like to hear live will be incredibly different from what I would want them to be.
I completely get what you're saying, they used to be one of my favourites but I just can't get into the new singer. Similarly, I feel that Kamelot before Roy Khan left was so good that it's unlikely they'll find another singer that doesn't feel like a massive downgrade.
Daft Punk, the Alive tour is still seen as a high point for electronic performance despite happening in 2006-2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmR4zLcORNc
Chemical Brothers, pre-Push The Button era. Would have been amazing to hear tracks like Star Guitar from a true live sound system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut8R25lfplw
Just about any act at Printworks, London before it closed. The sets Bicep, Aphex Twin, Floating Points, and whatever this is played all look like once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
My friends and I were set to buy the tickets to Alive in 2006 and one of our friends asked us to wait so he could check with his mom (we were all 17). They sold out the next day. I have never forgiven him for it. Kind of joking, but it will forever be my white whale.
I didn’t know Alive was happening. Let alone headlining Coachella. I regret missing these. It was truly peak. Everyone now does edm slows the way daft punk started. It would’ve been like hearing daft punk for the first time again.
I was there in 2006 (aged 17), it was the closing act at Pukkelpop (Belgium).
It was phenomenal, wasn't just about the music, but also the visuals, the whole retro sci-fi aesthetic, just perfect.
I remember folks on reddit discussing about how Daft Punk were absolutely going to do an Alive 2017 tour to follow up the 1997 and 2007 editions. It just made sense, right? Oh, how I wish it were true, even to this day...
I would love to see Florence + The Machine. She's touring this year and actually coming to cities within 4-6 hour near me, but the tickets are super $$$. Doubly jealous that in Europe she's touring with Paris Paloma. That would be a show.
Would be so amazing to see live!
Pretending I’m a time traveller from the future, letting you know that future-you is in another one of these kinds of threads 15 years from now, looking back, and saying “damn I know there were challenges but I wish I hadn’t missed this one”
Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton don't really seem on working terms, so I think my chances at a black midi revival are shot.
Oh no, I’m so sorry! Did you get into them after the, er, “iver” incident or were you just never able to make it to a gig when they were together?
I miss them so much, and despite seeing them nearly 20 times I’d do anything for just once more…
So I got into them via Cavalcade and then Schlagenheim, first thought they were great but that I liked some of the songs kinda selectively. Then Hellfire came out and I blasted it nonstop but was too busy with life, somehow missed they broke up, and suddenly it occurred to me I TOTALLY screwed up not going to the tour... Been trying to see acts after they throw out a banger album more often now.
We bought tickets to see them open up for king gizzard at Forest Hills and then my husband had a family emergency. He brought the fancy VIP tickets too. We able to sell them but still.
R.E.M. are the ones I regret not being able to see. I saw most of my 80s favourites during the Here & Now tours in the UK a few years ago, but I always return to REM for a listen.
If I find a tribute band I might go see them
They’re probably my favorite band but I only saw them once. At the Hollywood bowl with Modest Mouse. Great show!
Daft Punk
I thought there was more time
Easily ween. I tried to see them twice in two states across the country from each other and they canceled both times. Maybe they’ll get back to touring but I’m not holding my breath.
I had something similar happened when Catfish and the Bottlemen cancelled a concert (and the entire tour) like 2 days before I was supposed to see them. At least for them, they're still playing some shows, but I think all their shows since them have been in the UK and I don't love them enough to go across an ocean for them.
Although I had no chance to because I hadn't heard of her yet, I regret not seeing Hiromi when she was playing with her previous bands, Sonicbloom and Trio Project. I've seen her twice with her latest band which is okay but I don't like the songs as much.
Fortunately there are lots of great concert videos on YouTube.
I saw Hiromi with Stanley Clarke, and I would definitely regret it if I hadn't.
I had tickets to see Wesley Willis in Seattle in 2002. The show was cancelled due to his health. He sadly passed away a year later.
I had tickets to see Mayhem in 2001 but the show was cancelled because they missed their flight. I've seen them since but I really wanted to experience Maniac as the vocalist.
Not getting to see Ronnie James Dio will always be a big regret. I didn't find out till after his death that I was such a fan of his singing.
I had tickets to the Vancouver Wesley Willis show for the same tour, he didn't make it :(
That sucks a male camel's dick with hoisin sauce.
In 2012, my cousin bought two tickets to see Linkin Park in concert. He lives in the DFW area (Texas), I live in Atlanta (Georgia). The day before the concert, the friend he was going to go with backed out, so he reached out to see if I wanted to go since we've bonded over being LP fans. I was scheduled to work that day (the next day), and couldn't easily find anyone to cover for me, so I told him I couldn't. I'll always regret not just calling out and seeing Chester before he died.
Linkin Park is a big one for me as well.
I know they're playing again with a new lead, but controversy aside it's just not the same without Chester.
My tight group of friends and I were recently chatting in our group message, the topic was:
And while it was very difficult to narrow it down to just one album, ultimately I went with Meteora, as it's the one I probably go back to the most all these years later. I'll always have a special place in my heart for that album.
I'm currently teetering on a decision related to this myself haha. I got into Japanese city-pop artist Masayoshi Takanaka last year and he's about to begin a world tour (if you consider the world to be London, a few cities in the US and NZ). The tickets to their show are fairly pricey (~360-1000 USD) but as they're getting older, I have no clue if they'll ever go on a world tour again. I have a few other friends going so I might go but I also don't know if I want to spend that much money in a year where I'm already going to be spending a ton of money on other travel haha.
Hey, NZ being included in that is impressive :P
Nine Inch Nails is playing here literally this Sunday and that's how I've felt about it, though I think Trent Reznor will still be making music for at least a few years, I'm just not sure I can justify $400 for a single concert.
I actually should update my comment, I just saw that he's actually playing in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, not just Auckland as I had previously thought haha. I'm not too surprised by Australia and New Zealand's inclusion here since he is a Japanese artist and the distance between Aus/NZ and Japan isn't too large.
Yeah $400 is quite a lot. I'm sure Takanaka will continue doing live shows but he's very rarely performed outside Japan so this feels like a rare opportunity. We'll see if I end up going haha.
Is that still the same "Peel it back" tour from mid to late 2025? I got to see it, it was great, but I didn't pay nearly $400. I'd probably have sadly passed on it had it been that much.
It looks like yeah, it is. I think part of the issue is I live in Austin and the music scene is very popular but also most of our venues aren't super huge (and there are lots of tech bros with money to throw around). Last year, LCD Soundsystem's shows in Austin sold out in like 5 minutes, but the ones in Dallas still had tickets available for reasonable-ish prices a few days before the shows. For Fontaines DC (exact same venues and same week as LCD Soundsystem, even,) both shows had tickets available week of but they were like twice as expensive in Austin, so I actually drove up to Dallas for that one instead.
NIN has a few tickets for like $130 but from what I can see on Ticketmaster, they're in the nosebleeds and basically diagonally behind the stage, so I don't really want to pay that much for those seats lol.
Ug yeah, that's not a seat I'd want either. Maybe that venue in Austin is just more expensive for some reason.
To name just one, it would have to be Death. I have seen the sort of live jam band Death To All but with only one original band member and without Chuck Schuldiner, it is obviously not the real thing. I am glad they still tour frequently and would definitely recommend it.
Panic At The Disco in 2006
Man what I would give to have seen that tour. Definitely one of the greatest of all time.
SIT TIGHT I'm gonna need to keep time c'mon just SNAP SNAP SNAP your fingers for me!
I deeply regret never going to see Children of Bodom.
The band was pretty instrumental in getting me into heavier music.
Worst part is I had plenty of oppertunity to see them, but just never did.
Nirvana is a band I wish i had the oppertunity to see, but seeing as i was still in diapers when Kurt died it was never an option.
On a lighter note, I thought I would never get to see Rush, but they've just announced a new tour a few days ago, and I am absolutely going. I sucks that it's without Neil Peart, but I'll take what I can get.
Sigur Ros recently played in Denver with an orchestra. I very much regret not going to that.
Skinny Puppy, they did their last concert in 2023.
Agreed. I couldn't make their last tour - and was generally too young for the preceding ones. Such is life.
Metallica's S&M show.
A friend had tickets available, but I could barely afford the $40 one cost, let alone extra gas money, missing work, etc. Additionally, too many of us asked for the day off at work (we worked fast food together) and our boss basically shut us all down. So none of us went.
Second was Megadeth in 1998, as I won free tickets, but I couldn't find any friends to go with me. The one friend whom I knew would totally go didn't answer her phone and didn't have an answering machine. Fortunately, I did get to see them in 2017, but I would have also loved that earlier option.
I missed my chance for The Whitest Boy Alive. I was there at a festival they played at but didn't know them too well at the time. Wasn't long after they quit touring with the project entirely. Never had another chance.
i used to work in that world and would go to shows a few times a week and I'll never go to a show again unless whoever I go with is really into it.
Anyway, I do regret not seeing Death Grips. Even if they came now I probably wouldn't go. Most shows are so loud and I don't want to fuck my hearing for that. The loudest show I've ever been to was Fucked Up w/ Terror. I had -38db earplugs in and it was still way too loud. But yeah, Death Grips is it.
Flogging Molly. Sixteen years ago they were touring with Skindred and were playing a gig in Bristol, I didn't have anyone to go with and would have had far more reservations about going to a gig on my own - this was about two months after I turned 18.
Skindred would have also been on the list, but I did see them at Bristol Sounds two years ago when they were headlining one of the festival dates. I was actually at the very front of the crowd for almost the entire ten hours. Only band I wasn't front-row for was the penultimate act (Reef), and that's because some rude, stuck-up woman who claimed to be a superfan of the band barged in and took my spot. We did talk briefly and she made some pretty rude remarks about my autism. Then when Skindred finally took the stage, it was about 90 minutes of being aggressively shoulder-barged into the barriers because the place was overcrowded and full of moshing arseholes. I had bruises on my chest, stomach and arms for days after that.
Great band (wish they performed Set It Off), but wouldn't recommend standing front-row for them.
Other bands I had the chance to see (semi-recently) and missed out on were Kaiser Chiefs, Electric Swing Circus, Caravan Palace and Busted. But I am starting to tick off my bucket list again this year. Seeing the Brand New Heavies and Steel Panther in the next few months.
Mamamoo (yes, I know, you've never heard of them) had a concert tour of the US back in 2023, just about the time I discovered them, and I didn't get to see them when they had a stop in Texas. I may get another chance however, as they have announced a new album coming out in June, followed by a world tour with a fair number of events in the US. If they schedule a concert anywhere close by, I'm going to try to make it.
I got let go right when Katseye was playing in NYC and now one of their members is on hiatus so we'll see if I'll be able to see them as a full group :(
oof, yeah - I was hoping for an European leg of their tour but Manon's hiatus might put a wrench in that.
The Primitives: I discovered their catalogue last year and it sounds so fresh I was genuinely surprised when I found out they were from the 80's. They're apparently still doing the occasional show but not touring.
FurtherMore: My brother got to see this guy live when we were both in highschool and he was still rapping. He moved on to other artists names and musical styles but I really wish I could've seen him them.
Imagine Dragons - I had two separate chances to see them and somehow chickened out of both, despite me loving both Mercury and Loom.
Looking forward to their next project and maybe third time is a charm for me.
I'm not particularly into rock/pop concerts, so I don't have any particular regrets on that front. However, my cousin (once removed) was old enough to have attended Woodstock. He did in fact go, and had a good time, but by Monday morning he and his buddies were worn out, the weather sucked, and they were worried about the epic traffic jam that was sure to ensue as tens of thousands of spectators tried to depart from a field in the absolute middle of nowhere in upstate New York. So they left before the last act.
The last act at Woodstock was Jimi Hendrix.
He still speaks regretfully of it more than fifty years later.
I would LOVE to see Dire Straits performing live at their best time, arpund 1985. Well, I just got born at their prime time.
From my time period, I'd love to see U2. But they don't come to our country, too small venues here, I presume. And I couldn't really afford going elsewhere because of combined price of travel, tickets and accomodation.
I'm glad I could have seen Shania Twain!
If you can catch Nine Inch Nails, they're still killing it, even with Trent at 60. The current Peel It Back tour is phenomenal.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs was a phenomenal show I saw at a local venue in a rather small room with maybe 100 people. Surprisingly chill concert with very heavy music, Matt Baty is a hell of a frontman, and it was all just good vibes and solid music.
Sunn 0))) is on my bucket list, I'll fight God himself to see them live, and bring ear protection. Their shows are described as nothing short of religious experiences with large pressure waves of sound washing over the crowd, which is one of my favorite things to experience at a show.
clipping. is phenomenal. I saw them in Los Angeles and was positioned in front of a speaker when they hit this part of the song "All In Your Head" was probably a peak concert experience for me. It's a two minute build to this wall of sound with beautiful singing and blew my mind when I was just standing there, facing the speaker. I was actually supposed to see them in February but the concert got postponed.
A thing I would recommend is also to just find smaller artists in niche (tolerable-to-you) genres. They don't need to be local, but if you go to larger venues or arenas mostly, go to something smaller, you'll have a good time.
Best concert I've ever been to was when I saw my favorite band ever, The Wrecks, on their first headlining tour. It was the last show of the tour and it was between the end of the semester and finals during my sophomore year in college. The venue fit like 200 people max, maybe? And it was amazing.
Nowadays they're a lot bigger (like ~1000 person venues maybe?) but that concert in a restaurant basement was still the best. I definitely try go to concerts when bands I even kind of like come through town and go to any smaller venues.
Also regret not seeing Sonic Youth, even though all the members are still alive, they'll never get back together again.
Of musicians who I had a realistic chance to see, I regret never seeing Sonny Rollins (still alive but retired due to emphysema) and Mose Allison (deceased). I had many chances to catch both of them but always missed them because I was broke, or had to work, or had gigs of my own at the same time.
There are two bands I wish I could have seen live but they both broke up before I was of age: Gentle Giant and Wrathchild America (obscure thrash band from Baltimore; they had Shannon Larkin on drums). The ship has sailed on a Gentle Giant reunion because a couple of the key members have passed away, but there's still a chance for Wrathchild America, and if it ever happens I will be there no matter what.
Hold up, no one's going to mention Queen at Wembley stadium, or Pink Floyd?