I love live music. I hate live music in large venues.

I refuse to go to concerts being held in stadiums, amphitheaters, and arenas. The last arena show I attended was Peter Gabriel on his most recent tour, held at the United Center in Chicago. The only reason I was there was because Peter was on my “must see live” bucket list, and the odds of him playing a club gig was highly unlikely. When that show ended, I declared my official retirement from large venues.

If the venue holds more than 5,000 people, I ain’t going.

To me, a concert is about connection. I want the band to know I’m there! Not by doing anything obnoxious, mind you. A little eye contact is more than enough. How the hell am I supposed to connect with the band from the upper deck of Soldier Field? You can’t. So, I won’t.

I made a vow to endure arenas for Peter Gabriel, Tool, and Radiohead. I’ve seen all of them. Hockey arenas can usually accommodate more than 20,000 people. Nope. Too big. I did make a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater in 2024 because that venue was on my bucket list. Its capacity tops out at around 9,500. Now that I’ve been there, I’m good with eliminating it.

For me, A venue holding half the amount of Red Rocks is pushing it. The two largest venues I’ve attended in Chicago are the Auditorium Theater and the Chicago Theater. Both hold just under 4,000. It has to be a really big show to get me enthusiastic enough to attend. I’m much happier in a club or small theater.

I also love live albums. I get a thrill out of listening to a band work without a net and giving their all to play their songs right in front of us, warts and all. And some of these albums save me the trouble of being amongst a throng of thousands of people ruining both my sightline and my ability to hear the band properly.

I’ve always said that Genesis’s Seconds Out is my favorite live album of all time, with Supertramp’s Paris coming in second. Well, Supertramp has moved down to number three. David Bowie’s A Reality Tour slid into the second spot. I just adore that release, be it on CD or video.

Reality … was recorded in Dublin, Ireland in November of 2003. Some 12,000 people lost their collective minds watching Bowie and his spectacular band run through Bowie’s extensive catalog over nearly three hours. The show is nothing short of transformative.

Here’s the funny thing. I look at all the people in that crowd, standing and having an absolute blast. I feel for them because there’s no doubt they were at the venue a couple of hours before the show and stuck there for another hour or so trying to get out and go home.^ That’s a long time to be on your feet, especially if you’ve just expended a great deal of energy during a fantastic concert.

For the longest, I declared again and again that I’m glad I wasn’t there. I’m perfectly happy watching the band kick ass from the comfort of my living room via my big screen television.

But you know what? I wish more and more that I could’ve been there. Crowd be damned, this is one of those shows. A once in a lifetime event I’d be willing to tolerate all the bullshit just to say I got to see the show in person.

That’s how special this concert is.

The best concerts waste no time bringing band an audience together. The energy created is almost tangible. The audience feeds off the band and the band feeds off the audience. Everyone is standing. No one sits, ever.

That’s precisely what happened in Dublin. Bowie and company came out swinging via “Rebel, Rebel,” sending a charge through the crowd. The people were eating it up. And things only got better.

Bowie’s Reality album material was well received, starting with “New Killer Star” and going all the way through “Bring Me the Disco King.” But Bowie also knew how to keep the crowd invested by breaking out classics like “The Man Who Sold the World.” Like the everyone else, I went mildly berserk when he announced the tune beforehand.

A true highlight came courtesy of bassist/vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey, who subbed for Freddie Mercury and absolutely took command of and shredded “Under Pressure.” Like everyone else in the band, she was no doubt feeding off the room’s energy. It was glorious.

I could gush forever, but you get the point.

So, why would I want to attend this gig when you’d have to drag me to any other venue accommodating more than 4,000 people? After all, this show was performed in front of three times that amount.

All I can say is “listen to the band.” I’m quite sure that would’ve made it all worthwhile. No doubt I would’ve gone home tired, sweaty, and bracing for the aches and pains I would’ve had to endure the next day, but I’m also quite sure it would’ve been worth it.

Some things are so special, you might have to break the rules to truly appreciate it, even if said rule is self-imposed.

That’s me for this show. I wish I could’ve been there.

#cirdecsongs

If you enjoyed this or any of my other content, please leave a like. It really helps.

If you would like to have your music reviewed, contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com