Big Bad Concert Rankings: 100-91

Fifty-50. Half and half. Little of this, little of that. Right now I’m writing this listening to a band that doesn’t appear on this or any other my lists because they keep having shows on days were I want to see someone else slightly more — The Districts.

Even this coming year, their new tour has a stop in Detroit on March 17. The same night as the Silversun Pickups, a bucket list band, of sorts. It’s a theme in this list, seeing something in place of another, or finding the time to go from one show to the next.

Half of these shows I paid to see. Half I worked. Three of them had fewer than 100 people, while the others were close to selling out, or could have sold out, if not for something bigger going on the same night. Everyone has a choice, these are the ones I made.

100 - Quinn XCII

Add one part local talent, one part new album, and 2,600 parts of Millennials looking to party on a Tuesday, you’ll have yourself a kickass show. Labeling Q92 as a rapper is also a disservice, as the multi-genre performance went on, each new style, from rock to reggae to hip hop and R&B injected new life into the sold-out show. I do think this was a one-off, however, as if seeing this show outside of Michigan would lose a lot of the appeal and energy.

99 - Rise Against

Looking back at my text message for Brand New, I came across an eerily similar back and forth with my friend about Rise Against. Yet another popular band I was unfamiliar with, my friend put me on a minor listening path and told me I wouldn’t regret it.

“Do you know a band called Rise Against?”

“I’ve only been listening to them non stop for the past week, why?”

“I have an open day in a couple weeks in July while I’m in Milwaukee. They’re playing and the only one that sounded rock-ish.”

“They’re suuuuuuper good. …
Or I actually made a Spotify playlist of the best stuff I can share if you want.”

My choices were between the zoo and Rise Against. I saw the band, ran into my cousin. The stares I got when all of me showed up to the front rows where he and his friends were sitting, whew. I think everyone behind me sensed I didn’t know the lyrics and I could feel their ire darting me in the back of the head. Right before the encore, I saw my cousin’s friend go crazy, take off one of his shoes and throw it into the crowd.

He did not get this shoe back.

98 - Trampled By Turtles

I first found TbT on an episode of AV Undercover covering Arcade Fire’s Rebellion. It was a Bell’s Eccentric Cafe beer garden show in the rain. Solid band, respectable banjo work, and really cool merch. Minnesota band had a few shirts I was fond of before deciding on a maroon and gold (blech) tee with mirror-imaged narwhals. They ended the set with a cover of Where is My Mind which brought the house down.

Reasons the show isn’t higher: Mainly Minnesota.

97 - Fitz & The Tantrums [Twin XL]

This may be really high on my brother’s list (it was his Christmas present) but for me something was missing. I may have overhyped this show in my head, seeing what crowds they pulled at Summerfest and on other shows along the tour, I expected a sellout, show-stopping, pop-rock hootenanny. For some reason, Fitzpatrick and Scaggs never got the crowd (which was not a sellout) to match their energy, which is a real shame.

96 - Blues Traveler [Magnolia Boulevard]

In my experience, you know the show’s going to be good when the opener is good. And if they’re not good, then they better have energy. Luckily Magnolia Boulevard had both, and a cool tee design. Sadly, they were too green to have music for sale.

John Popper’s voice holds up, with and without harmonica, which is all you need for a good Blues Traveler show. I heard that their first foray into 20 Monroe was mixed, as well as their short set at Founders Fest a couple years back. I’m glad they course corrected for a long show.

95 - Two Door Cinema Club

There are three distinct scenarios when you see multiple bands on the same day in slightly different locations. The first is something like MoPop or New Rock Fest, co-headlining legacy concerts where each performer has a shorter set to accommodate them all being in the same place. The second is more akin to Summerfest, where each time slot gives each band enough leeway to perform their full set despite them all being in the same place on the same day. That’s why some entrants on this list are from the same Summerfest day (a full show) and some are one-off festivals (MoPop). Two Door Cinema Club is the third category.

Watching a full early concert then running halfway across downtown to get to another show that starts at a later time.

Two Door Cinema Club is a refreshing Northern Irish pop rock band that by all accounts shouldn’t have ever been to Grand Rapids. But they were, and it was good and got me bopping along to all their hits. And once their show ended I high-tailed it to Gogol Bordello Show No. 2 (104).

94 - Still Corners

It takes a lot to pry me away from the bar and potential profits of a Saturday night. To make matters more interesting, I think I counted 35 people in the venue at the time of show start. Including bartenders, security, merch, sound and lighting, and band members.

Obviously, the show was good enough to make my Top 100 in spite of the low attendance. And clearly the rest of the city had better plans for their weekend. But I didn’t care. What stood out was the use of traditional instruments in a live show in contrast to heavily digitized album sound. For only two Londoners, they made a big splash on a Saturday night.

93 - Off With Their Heads [Single Mothers, The Letdowns]

Twenty nineteen was truly the year of punk music. Between buying punk music, going to punk shows, and even talking to (and hoisting) the artists themselves, it was a good year for experiencing the more raucous nature of my music tastes. My friend and I saw OWTH at a local dive bar venue in Lansing called Mac’s Bar. Dive bar might be generous, actually. The opener gave out communion wafers from a Costco-sized drum full, the second band offered up one of my favorite tees of the summer, and the final band’s drummer played the whole set with a shirt that said KISS MY FAT ASS. If that’s not punk enough for ya, I don’t know what is.

92 - King Tuff

Two things happened in this show that I will never forget. No 1) the lead singer stepped on stage in a long, flowing, purple and gold crushed velvet cape. And No. 2) an unexpected acquaintance showed up and yelled, at the top of his lungs, “HAIL SATAN!” in between songs. To which Tuff replied, “Hell yeah, man.”

91 - Third Eye Blind [ Smallpools]

Ain’t no party like a mid-90s alternative rock party. I honestly don’t have much to say about this one. It was just … wholeheartedly good.