unfortunatley NJC:-( My first concert was in 1997(yes, i said '97:-), i was sixteen and thought Jewel was really really good. She blew me away with the opening song- Near You Always. For anyone tht has never heard Jewel do this song live, i highly recommend it, she *really* makes it work! Far better than second time i saw her. The opening act, Simon Warner or something, must get an award for being the *worst* opener i have ever seen! So, that's the first concert i went to. There are three gigs that i class as being the "best" of all the gigs i've been to; Patti Smith playing in Ocean, London in July past. What a wonderful venue. What a wonderful show. She was so charismatic. She was chatty and funny; it was the last night of her tour and she was looking forward to going home for a while. Obviously, she didn't sing *every* song i would have wished for, but it was an utterly magical experience. The start of the show was odd, there was no opening act. The house music was still playing and Patti and the Band strolled on stage, and she said "Hey" to the audience and then launched into a song that i can't remember. I'm no good at remembering set lists. Patti Smith doing "Be My Baby" has always amused me, but seeing her do it live was surreal.....amazing. REM in Lansdowne Road stadium here in Dublin in 1999 was equally as impressive. Patti had no opening act, but REM had Paddy Casey and then Divine Comedy. That was such an amazing gig. They had been slated for a gig they played in London just days before the Irish gig, so Michael Stipe swore that the Irish gig would be special. It was an amazing show. They sang all the hits (except, i might add, Nightswimming) , to satisfy both contingents of concertgoers- the hardcore fans and those that only know Automatic AND they sang new songs, obscure songs, and many of what i would call their best songs:-) The third in this list is Placebo (yes, in hindsight they were actually better than Radiohead). I think that Brian and the boys were on top form the night i saw them. It was a small rickety venue in Dublin called the SFX. It feels and looks like a school hall. The band were great. I read a critique of the show afterwards and the critc said that rarely are they this good. I guess i'm lucky then to have made it to that show. GARRET
