My Favorite Concert: 2023 Edition

I am a late bloomer, when it comes to going to concerts. As of 2018, I had been to a total of four concerts, my entire life. Sad, I know. I still remember them to this day. As much as music is a part of my daily life, one would think that I am always gone to concerts. At least once a month, someone stops me and asks if I am a part of a band due to my dress style. Until 2018, I had saw Van Halen, Bush, Veruca Sat, Gin Blossoms, and a country music tour. 

That all changed in 2019. When Karl and I met, he regaled me with his concert stories and, immediately, I was enamored and wanted to have similar experiences. We made plans and my first foray into concert-dom was the The Birthday Massacre Tour with Julian K. We followed them across the United States for six shows, I think. I was hooked. We caught their next tour a few months later and did the same thing. Since then We have seen some really incredible shows and even more incredible bands. Today I want to share with you My Favorite Concert: 2023 Edition.

My love of music

I have a lot of memories of my childhood, from vacations, birthdays, to punishment. What stands out most to me is that music was always present. My mother would have the radio playing in the car, everywhere we went. As a baby, it was part of what relaxed me enough to sleep, that and the car ride. 

As my mother was teaching me basics before kindergarten, she often tried to teach me with music. She repeated to me that learning something as a song was a perfect way to remember it. Think about how true that is, for just a moment. When we first learn our ABC’s, we are taught to sing them. Now, every time you hear the alphabet or think about it, I bet you still hear the alphabet song. Building on this, my mother taught me to memorize our phone number and my social security number by singing them. She did it with our address and so much more.

Where teachers would tell kids to do homework in environments where there were no distractions, like tv or music, I knew that didnt work for me. I retained information best when I had music in the background.

With this love of music, you would think that I would know how to play at least one instrument or be a singer. Nope, that is the furthest from the truth. The only instrument I ever learned how to play to any degree was the recorder in elementary school. I started learning piano and keyboards but didnt stick with it. None of that changed my love for music.

My music styles

Over the years, my music tastes have changed immensely. LIke I said, it felt like music was there everyday of my childhood. Growing up, my mother would sing 50s and 60s classics. Dad listened to classic rock like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Johnny Cash, but he also listened to country. He grew up singing in the Methodist church, what little singing they had. 

Those were the foundations of my musical tastes. By the time I got to elementary school, the bus always played the local pop station. I got a mixture of a little disco and what rock and pop were becoming in the early 80s. Queen and Kiss were familiar to me. Pop icons like Madonna, Prince, and Michael Jackson. 

MIddle and high school brought me more into the rock genre. I became fascinated with AC/DC, Motely Crue, and more. By the time I was in high school I had started to hear a little of the industrial scene, mostly in movies. We lived in a small town in the middle of the mountains of Virginia, so our diversity of music was fairly limited. Most high school time, I had fallen for The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Their music felt liberating and like it was fighting against the system.

By college, my high school love of goth slowly merged with the early industrial scene. KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Gravity Kills, and Front Line Assembly were the groups I started listening to and, together, they began my love with those two genres.

Concerts over the last two years

I started planning concerts with Karl in 2019 and then Covid hit and ruined our plans. The bands we had lined up canceled and we were left to watch old concert videos on his couch. The stories he had about the bands he had seen were enthralling. I wanted experiences like that. So we continued to plan.

After Covid restrictions lightened up a little, we planned to catch the Birthday Massacre on their concert tour. This tour had Julien K as one their main openers. If you aren’t familiar with Julian K, they are an American electronic rock band formed by former members of Orgy. Truth be told, Julien K is made up of the two core members of Orgy, Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh. I was not familiar with their catalog before the concert but that changed after our first show in Philadelphia. They had a similar sound to Orgy, obviously, but diverse enough that it was like seeing a long lost friend who was much cooler than you remembered.

At their Massachusetts stop, they had a local opener called Man1k1n. When the two members of that band came on stage, it was a commanding presence. From the skeleton encased microphone to the dread locked drummer, this band was darkly alluring. Their onstage presence sold it for me and instantly became a new favorite.

The Birthday Massacre did a follow up tour a few months later with two other bands, Korine and Dead Posey. Both bands were good but I have to be honest and say that Korine blew me away. I didnt have any expectations about them going in. I listened to a couple songs on Spotify and thought they could be catchy but nothing more. I was mistaken, I can say that now. Watching Korine perform, you could see the dedication they had to their craft and fans. Each break between songs were them telling fans how appreciative they were for them coming out and supporting them. Their music was entrancing and familiar. I only want to see them in concert again.

A tour of Psyclon Nine gave us an introduction into the bands Corvin’s Breed and Clockwork Echo. Both bands were a great addition to the Psyclon Nine tour. Too often, the openers seem out of place with the headliner, not the case here. Each of them built up the anticipation for them to come on stage. Corvin’s Breed had an amazing drummer that just seemed to entrance the audience. Their stage presence was commanding and shocking for a band that doesn’t have a huge following.

You would think these all fell into my favorite concert so far, wouldn’t you? Well, you would be wrong, the best is yet to come.

My Favorite Concert 2023 edition

October 19, 2022 we queued up outside of the House of Blues in Cleveland to see Aesthetic Perfection’s farewell American Tour, or the American Psycho tour. I was not overly familiar with Aesthetic Perfection (AP)  before the concert. Karl has listened to them for years and I had a few songs that showed up in my playlists, but they always seemed a tad too poppy for me. I wanted to give them a chance and see them live. Karl was excited for me to go because I would get to see Joe Letz perform with them. He was sure that I would love Joe’s drumming.

I will be honest here, I dont remember the first opener for AP. It mostly consisted of a Robert Smith look-alike singing with his keyboard. Okay, that was a bit derivative but there were some sound issues with his performance. It mostly went by without making a big impression.

The next opener took the stage. Karl leaned into me to say he thought he knew the keyboardist as he looked like a member of a local band called Filament 38. While they were setting up, Karl asked him if that was who he was and he said no. We also happened to notice someone we DID know, the drummer from Man1k1n – Cristian Carver. He noticed us, we asked if he was with Man1k1n and we just talked for like five minutes. He apologized he needed to finish up and woudl catch us after the show. That was when the lead singer for the next band came on stage – Josie Pace.

In her platform shoes and platinum mohawk, Josie stand around 5’10 and is full of energy. Josie is trained in classical and jazz guitar but she has a voice that is infectious and haunting. If you need an image, think Annie Lennox but as the lead singer of an industrial band like Stabbing Westward. Power drive electronic tracks with vocals that just tear at your mind and soul. This was the performer I needed for my concert days. We instantly fell in love. 

We watched her show with Aesthetic Perfection, instantly bought tickets when we saw she was performing at Darkforce Fest and almost freaked out when we found out she would be opening for the Birthday Massacre in Flint, Michigan. 

It is rare to see a strong, powerhouse of a female front person in the industrial scene and even more rare that they don’t rely solely on the absurdities of sexuality to propel their image. As Josie takes the stage, you know she owns it. You are her guest and you better be prepared to be served what she is offering.

What makes a concert great

If I had to answer “What makes a concert great,” I would say the number one answer is the energy of the performer. Many would say they need to sound amazing or put on a good show. There are a lot of factors that can cause a set to sound bad and most do not fall to the responsibility of the performer. Energy is solely their own.

I remember seeing Van Halen in concert, many many many years ago, and was not impressed with how then lead singer, Sammy Hagar, interacted with the audience. It was more like he was bored with being there because it interrupted his drinking and drugging. Josie is a polar opposite. She is welcoming and enticing. Whether you know the words or not, her songs begged to be sang out loud. She present power and presence and as her set winds down, you are left wanting it to continue. She has catapulted herself to the top of my music indulgences.

What are some memorable concerts you have been to and why were they memorable? Were there bands that left an impression on you that you still have to this day, good or bad? Let me know in the comments below. And, as always, if you enjoyed this article, be sure to share it with someone else who may enjoy it.