Vie’s Verses – Bands I’ve Missed Out On
Every hard rock fan has them. No matter how long you’ve been banging your head to your favorite rockers, there are just some bands that you have missed seeing live. Maybe the price was too high. Maybe you were sick when they came to your town. Maybe you didn’t have anyone to attend with and didn’t want to fly solo. Whatever the case, we all have certain bands that we missed out on, but really want to see.
I am almost ashamed to admit some of the bands that I have yet to see live. Hard Rock Hideout might take away my headbanger’s license and I may even lose some hard rocking credibility. But yes, there are several bands that I have missed out on. I hope to rectify that sometime in the future. For some of these bands, I’d better act fast, because they aren’t getting any younger.
Black Sabbath
Not only have I never seen Black Sabbath live in concert, but I’ve never seen Ozzy Osbourne either. And it certainly isn’t due to lack of opportunity. Several Ozzfests and Sabbath reunions have rolled through the NY/NJ area, and yet, I’ve attended none of them. Sometimes it was due to not liking who else was on the bill. A couple of times it was due to financial restraints. And then for the Maiden/Ozzy Ozzfest, I just have no excuse. To this day I do not know why I missed that one. However, all that will be rectified because this summer I will finally get to see Black Sabbath. It may be without Bill Ward, but ¾ of Sabbath is better than none.
Metallica
Don’t ask me why, because I really don’t know, but I have never seen Metallica live. I even got a last minute invite to attend the Big Four at Yankee Stadium and had to turn it down due to work. Looking back now, I should have called in sick that day. From what I’ve heard, Metallica puts on one of the greatest concerts in the history of hard rock. I’ve been a fan of the band since Master Of Puppets, so there really is no excuse. I guess the next time they come around I will have to make it my mission to see their show.
Megadeth
This is another band that I just keep missing. Lately I haven’t liked who they have been touring with. I know that shouldn’t prevent me from seeing the band, but it does. I can’t sit through bands I don’t like just to see Megadeth. So when it was announced that they were opening up for Iron Maiden this fall, I was extremely excited. Unfortunately, there are no tour stops even remotely close to me. I’ve been considering travelling to see this show, but so far the financial impact has prevented me from moving forward with that plan. That’s not to say it won’t happen, but as of now, it’s not looking too promising.
Alice Cooper
Even I can’t believe that I’ve never seen Alice Cooper in concert. I have had several opportunities to do so and it just never happened. I am so stymied by this that I gave a long hard debate on going to see him this summer for his tour with Marilyn Mason. There’s just one small problem with that. I can’t stand Marilyn Manson. I like one song (“Beautiful People”) and I think his remake of “Sweet Dreams” is okay. Other than that, I don’t like Manson. And the worst part is that I’ve seen Manson live (he opened for Nine Inch Nails back in the day). And yet, I’ve never seen Cooper. Do I bite the bullet and just go into the venue late?
Judas Priest
This one hurts most of all, because if statements are to be believed, Judas Priest will tour no more. Their last tour was their last tour and I missed out. Once again, work got in the way of this one. I really need to learn how to tell my job to shove it more often. Anyway, this is the one band that I think will bother me the most, because I just think Judas Priest is a band that you have to see live once in a lifetime. Granted, I am not a huge fan. As a matter of fact, I am a bigger fan of all the other bands on this list, but Judas Priest is still a band that I wanted to see in concert. Hard Rock Hideout’s esteemed editor, Rob Rockitt, has told me that they are absolutely amazing live. He was even nice enough to send me pictures the last time he saw them in concert. Damn was I jealous. I suppose all I can do now is hope that they will come around for a reunion tour someday.
Those are the major bands that I’ve missed out on. What about you? What bands have you missed seeing live that you are still kicking yourself about today?
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Most of the band members live where I live, and I’ve loved the band since I first heard them, but I’ve never seen Slayer…it’s disgustingly embarassing.
Dude…I know what you mean. Thanks for fessing up. There are bands that we love but have never seen live and we kick ourselves for. I’ve never seen Sabbath or RJD live, but it never worked out. The band I’ve never seen and totally had the opprtunity to see was Y&T. And I was on the MOR cruise and they played twice. Shame! I think there was a conflict between Loudness and JSRG (Vixen) and had to see them. Not an easy decision. Never saw Metallica or Megadeth either.
However, you gotta see Alice. Just once. Time’s rolling on and hate to say it, but who knows how long he’ll be playing. If he’s playing with Orianthi, get seats in the left section….You gotta see Priest as well. My first time was in the early 80’s and they kick.
Luckily in my life I encountered a bit of a winfall and have seen pretty much every band I’ve wanted to see, but that winfall is falling short these days, so I’ve been doing the VIP packs and sorta saying goodbye to most of the bands I’ve loved at their prime, before they pack it in for whatever reason. (I’m close to 50 and it feels real weird to type that.) That way, I can go to my deathbed and say that I’ve seen/met them all and get buried with my lp of Kiss Alive…purchased when it was released.
Perhaps another topic….bands I’ve ended up seeing, but never thought I would…Doro, PBF, Tuff, Loudness, Vixen, Styx, Bulletboyz, Slaughter, Frank Zappa, Springsteen, New York Dolls, Paul Stanley solo, Hendrix Experience….
W.A.S.P. I’ve never seen them and they have not toured extensively in recent years. Also, I would give just about anything to see Jorn.
Interestingly enough, hard rock fanatic though I am, the two acts that I kick myself for not seeing live, are not hard rock artists. Several years ago, John Lee Hooker played at a club in San Diego. I don’t know why I didn’t go, but I wish I had. He died shortly after that and I never got to see him. The same thing goes for Pinetop Perkins. He played at a free music festival, and i didn’t go because I was sick. he also died shortly after that.
Back to hard rock, Judas Priest is actually the first band I ever saw live. It was 1979, and they opened up for KISS at the Philadelphia Spectrum. I can still remember holding my ten-year-old ears whenever Halford would let out one of those piercing screams. 🙂
Megadeth is touring this summer on the Gigantour with Black Lable Society & others. I know the are in Camden early august. Probably have a date in the NY area.
Thank you for the heads up on that. I am going to have to look into seeing Gigantour this summer….!
I haven’t seen Black Sabbath (but I did see Heaven & Hell with Dio and that was pretty awesome!). I haven’t seen W.A.S.P., Deep Purple, Europe or Krokus. I would love see all of those bands. There are still many 80’s hair bands I haven’t seen. I am grateful that M3 brings some different ones every year. Would love to catch VAIN, or Dangerous Toys live.