Concert Recommendations by Genre

Due to the return of several concerts and festivals (and my recent attendance of concerts since Covid started), I am introducing a new series that I will call The Concert Series.  In this series, I am going to discuss various topics related to concerts I have attended. 

For this post, I have provided a list of artists who I would recommend seeing live, broken down by one act per genre.  I chose to do one per genre because I thought it would give a better representation of what to listen to rather than recommending my favorite live bands (many of which are alternative or metal).  If I didn’t have a genre where I saw an act I felt strongly enough about discussing, I did not include the genre.

 

Alternative:  Muse

I saw Muse in 2013 at Mohegan Sun.  While there are several other bands that are often grouped in with alternative music that fought for a spot here, I was able to fit most of them into other categories, making Muse the clear choice here.  At this point, they were starting to shift away from their progressive rock alternative style of music that had defined them until that point and released The 2^nd Law with singles like “Madness” and “Panic Station”, but that didn’t stop them from playing around with their songs, readjusting certain parts (such as extending multiple songs), and even incorporating other riffs to start their own songs.  Whatever they tried seemed to work, whether it was something seemingly corny like the “Madness” glasses or something that made too much sense like an extended and long version of “Uprising”.  They also must have thought it worked; they came out for a second encore after “Uprising”.

 

Country:  Love & Theft

I saw Love & Theft in 2013 at Quinnipiac University.  This one is fairly easy considering I have seen two country acts live and, in my opinion, the other (Jana Kramer) was not particularly good.  While I didn’t know any of there music and hadn’t really heard of them long before the show, but they are an entertaining act.  They got everyone excited for any song they played, even ones that weren’t big hits, and seemed to have this joy about performing live.  On top of that, the duo is talented and is a skilled live band.  They aren’t a group that will headline any festivals, but even as a smaller name in a lineup or as an opener they are worth attending.

 

Electronic:  Captain Capa

I saw Captain Capa in 2014 at Warped Tour.  There’s a case to be made that Captain Capa should be considered in the electronic rock category to follow due to their electropunk influence (in which case Drama Club would most likely have to be the replacement), but they also have a strong enough techno and electropop influence that I have considered them here.  They are a band that largely stuck with performing their music rather than doing remixes or recreations of other music, but it worked out for them.  A lot of their music contains a glimpse of the energy they play with, but this set gave a more complete version of what they can do.  The group appears to be on a hiatus, but if they reunite, they are a group to try to see live.

 

Electronic Rock:  Breathe Carolina

I saw Breathe Carolina in 2014 at Warped Tour.  I considered listing them in the electronic category, but ultimately went with this due to their emo and post-hardcore influence in their music that made them a bit heavier than Captain Capa.  There are a few groups to consider here, including The Naked and Famous and Capital Cities, who both implement electronic music into their songs, but there was something special about Breathe Carolina.  This was a group that was clearly made to perform on a stage.  They come out and instantly had two massive beach balls that seemed to be half the size of the stage and threw them out into the crowd.  Later, they went into the crowd on a massive raft and performed while riding over the crowd.  Was the music any good during the performance?  Honestly, I don’t even remember; I don’t remember it being terrible, but I was having so much fun that it made them a band that can’t be missed.

 

Electropop/Synthpop:  PVRIS

I saw PVRIS in 2015 at Warped Tour.  There’s a case to be made that they shouldn’t be in this genre, but I ultimately went with them here.  Capital Cities also deserves a shout out here, but ultimately PVRIS is such a fun act to see live that I couldn’t resist.  They seem to absolutely love performing and appeared elated whenever they saw crowd surfers during their set.  Lead vocalist Lynn Gunn is a commanding singer who can absolutely take over a stage, which was a tall order considering they just followed Blessthefall, who did the same right before.  Their music can be catchy at times, making it infectious to not sing along.  That said, even if you don’t know all their music (which I didn’t), they are still an incredible band to watch and be blown away by their performance and stage presence.

 

Emo:  The Used

I saw The Used twice:  once in 2019 at Disrupt Fest and once in 2021 at The Palladium Outdoors.  This Wild Life deserves some love here in my opinion, but ultimately The Used is a show like very few others.  First off, lead vocalist Bert McCracken is outspoken, arguably insane, but absolutely hilarious.  That said, it’s one thing when a member of a band is hysterical but another when the entire group just kills it.  They rearranged some songs (most notably “The Bird and the Worm” the last time I saw them), blended cover songs into their original songs, and the dedication for a level of perfection that very few bands seem to strive for.  It absolutely worked for them; the fans were always beyond ecstatic to see them and The Used had an amazing time as well.

 

Garage Rock:  Black Keys

I saw the Black Keys in 2013 at the Xfinity Theater (also known as The Meadows by CT residents).  I’ll be blunt when I say this one:  well, this was an easy decision.  They had a band with them for certain songs, the group also performed as a duo for several songs, which often featured extensive riffs and jamming.  While the focus was songs from El Camino and Brothers, they also performed several songs from their previous albums.  The encore might have been the highlight of the show, which was surprising given how perfect “Little Black Submarines” and “Lonely Boy” were.  The first encore track was “Everlasting Light”, which featured a disco ball, and “I Got Mine”, which featured more jamming for a pair of incredible guitar and drum solos at the same time.  The show was almost 2 hours long and every second of it was worth the price of admission.

 

Glam Rock:  The Struts

I saw The Struts in 2019 at The Webster Theater.  While Black Veil Brides deserves at least some love, The Struts seemed to be a band that is made for the stage.  They had so much fun on stage and it was absolutely infectious.  The group has a devoted fanbase which was built from touring.  While their style is kind of reminiscent to a style that would be massive in the 70’s or 80’s (similar to the way The Darkness is), they played with a combination of energy and perfection that doesn’t make sense for an act to be able to play with of any style.  While they have several songs that are great recordings, their live versions are better because they are a group that is absolutely restricted by the studio.  To show you how much I recommend them, they were an incredible live group despite performing in a room with such bad ventilation that even The Struts were sweating profusely yet they had a ton of fun as did the crowd.

 

Grunge/Post-Grunge:  Live

I saw Live in 2019 at Epicenter.  Technically speaking, Foo Fighters are a post-grunge band who had a better performance than Live (part of that was out of Live’s control), but I was able to add them to the next category.  I’m not that into grunge or post-grunge, but I was adamant to see Live over Killswitch Engage (who I love) because I knew middle school Matt would be thrilled to see them.  Evidently, I was so adamant to see them that I waited for them to get there 40 minutes into their 50-minute set after being postponed by a tornado that went through the festival that they performed the night before.  That said, they got there and spent a little more than 10 minutes performing their most known songs:  “All Over You”, “I Alone”, and “Lightning Crashes”.  I remain such a sucker for the first of those that I was put into a great mood.  I thought all the songs were excellent, but I thought even “All Over You” was much better than the studio recording, which is surprising considering they ran off the bus to get onstage.  In short, 3 songs was enough to convince me they are a band worth including.

 

Hard Rock:  Foo Fighters

I saw Foo Fighters in 2019 at Epicenter.  While The Protomen also deserve a shout out here, Foo Fighters are the best live band I have ever seen by far.  They are one of the funniest and most fun bands to watch perform due to their banter on stage (e.g., they once had Rick Astley join the stage for a U.K. festival to rickroll the crowd).  Even with that, to be the best, you also have to play the best (that’s the expression, not beat the best, right?), which Foo Fighters were able to do.  They sometimes played extended versions of their songs, such as an 8-minute-long version of “The Pretender” when I saw them, sometimes mess around with other songs to make them work, such as mashing “Imagine” and “Jump”, but ultimately performing their songs in such a way to show that their studio recordings could not contain the group’s energy and talent.  To add to that, the group also performed for more than 2 hours before they were told they had to get off the stage.  It was an amazing show and a must-see act.

 

Hardcore punk:  Dying Wish

I saw Dying Wish in 2021 at The Webster Theater when they opened for Silent Planet.  Doing this post provided a surprising revelation to me:  despite loving hardcore punk, I have yet to see a true hardcore punk band live (I would have had Epicenter occurred in 2020 though).  As such, the closest I could do was either Ho99o9 (who is included in a later genre) or Dying Wish, who is probably best described as metalcore though they incorporate several other genres, including hardcore punk.  The group plays with an energy level and intensity that you hear from many metalcore bands, but they also have a willingness to explore different genres in a manner that fewer are willing to.  There are times where they dive into melodic death metal, melodic hardcore, extreme metal, and even deathcore, but they are unified by vocalist Emma Boster’s distinct screaming.  Like the headliner of this show, they were interactive with the crowd, frequently encouraging moshing and circle pits.  If you like heavy screaming music, this might just be the band for you.

 

Indie:  Arcade Fire

I saw Arcade Fire in 2018 at Red Hat Amphitheater.  There is a serious case to be made that The Kooks should be listed here and lesser case for The Joy Formidable, but Arcade Fire makes too much sense.  This set was their first set in North Carolina since the bathroom bill law had been passed and they went all out for it.  They performed multiple songs that hadn’t been performed in at least 4 years, performed a song live for the first time, and incorporated “Free Fallin’” into one of their songs.  The group also had a stage set up halfway in the crowd which members occasionally walked over to and performed on that during parts of songs.  They performed a lot of music from Everything Now, which they were promoting on tour, but were still able to perform a lot of music from their older albums, including a bunch from The Suburbs.  It was a fun concert and one that included several excellent performances.

 

Indie Pop:  Fitz and the Tantrums

I saw Fitz and the Tantrums in 2014 at the Dome at the Oakdale.  I also considered Capital Cities, The Naked and Famous, The Colourist, and Echosmith for this slot.  While Capital Cities (who co-headlined the tour with them) is most tempting, ultimately Fitz and the Tantrums had more songs to choose from, which I thought made it a better variety.  The group’s performance was fun thanks to their confidence and energy, as well as the ease it is to sing along with their music.  While they largely stuck to the book with their music and didn’t jam or experiment with it, the harmonies between vocalists Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs were perfect that night and made it work.  Even if the harmonies are ever off, Scaggs is such a talented singer and has a talented voice that seeing her makes the group worth watching.

 

Instrumental:  Mark Wood

I saw Mark Wood in 2007 (I think; it might have been 2008 though) at the Connecticut Convention Center.  I could also include Tom Morello here, but Wood, formerly a member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, holds a special place in my heart because this was the first concert I ever saw.  I saw him because I was performing at some event with a fiddling club through orchestra (I was a cellist) and he happened to be performing down the hall, so they let us go in after.  He mostly performed covers but was able to make those cover songs his own due to his knowledge of music and his skill.  The highlight of the show must have been his cover of “Stairway to Heaven”, which he extended while jamming some.  He is such a skilled musician that I would implore you to try to see live if possible; if nothing else, you get to see an incredible musician who can put on a great show.

 

Melodic Hardcore:  Beartooth

I saw Beartooth in 2019 at Mohegan Sun when they opened for A Day to Remember.  While Four Year Strong deserves an honorable mention since I’m not as big a fan of them but they thrived on stage, I love Beartooth and didn’t consider them disappoint.  Vocalist Caleb Shomo was absolutely the star of the show (he is the most essential member of Beartooth) and he showcased his skillset despite not really playing instruments frequently during the show.  As the second opener out of 3, their set was short, leaving them to perform only some of their biggest hits, but Shomo showed no malcontent regarding this and performed with a passion that set a high standard for the remaining acts to meet.  While the audience was excited to sing (or mosh) along to several tracks, the highlight for many fans was when they closed with “In Between” and the audience sang along to every song.  While many openers may not have received that same kind of love, Beartooth earned every ounce of it with their performance.

 

Melodic Metalcore:  A Day to Remember

I saw A Day to Remember in 2019 at Mohegan Sun.  I wasn’t really sure whether to include ADTR in emo, pop punk, or metalcore, especially since they were a blend of the three, so I cheated and called them melodic metalcore.  If there’s one word to be used to describe this show, it was utter chaos.  During their set, there was a floor wide mosh pit, surfers on top of crowd surfers, a t-shirt gun, rolls of toilet paper thrown out into the crowd, and fireworks at an indoor venue.  That said, limiting the show to utter chaos is totally unfair to the group, as they encouraged the chaos but fed off it.  The performances of each song were incredible and their devoted fanbase loved every second of it.  I would consider them the second-best live act I have seen behind Foo Fighters due to the combination of energy and strong performance.  I met fans there that travelled all over the country to see them and based on this show, I don’t blame them.

 

Metal:  Black Label Society

I saw Black Label Society in 2019 at Epicenter.  While there is a case to be made that Bring Me the Horizon or Atreyu should be here instead, I am including Black Label Society because it was one of the wildest performances I have ever seen.  Guitarist and lead vocalist Zakk Wylde was the star of the show, which was totally justified considering how talented and skilled of a guitarist he is.  After just a few songs Wylde had already performed multiple solos, then a tornado was around the corner.  The festival had people start to evacuate due to the tornado, but Wylde kept playing since he was in the middle of a guitar solo.  He finally stopped after they unplugged everything at the end of the song and seemed visually frustrated that he had to stop, showing his dedication to performing and music.

 

Metalcore:  August Burns Red

I have seen August Burns Red live twice (once in 2015 at Warped Tour and once in 2021 at Toad’s Place) and watched two livestreams they did during the pandemic.  I love metalcore so I have seen several acts that (at least arguably) fall into the genre; some excellent live ones include Fit for a King, Bring Me the Horizon, Blessthefall, Architects, While She Sleeps, I Prevail, and Atreyu.  That said, I am adamant that ABR is one of the best live bands I have ever seen, likely in the top 5.  The biggest part of what makes them so great is that, as great as their studio releases are, their energy and explosiveness cannot truly be captured by a recording studio.  There’s a lot of what you’d expect from a metalcore band:  a lot of moshing, vocalist Jake Luhrs encouraging moshing, a song stopping for at least one wall of death, a lot of breakdowns, excellent performances, and technical perfection.  I never heard a subpar performance of a song in either time that I saw them live and even considered going up to Boston to see them two days after seeing them this year.

 

Nu Metal:  Hyro the Hero

I saw Hyro the Hero in 2019 at the Disrupt Tour.  He is currently the default for this category since he’s the only good nu metal act I have seen, though I hope to see Slipknot next month so this could change.  That said, Hyro the Hero’s blend of rap, rap rock, and nu metal has garnered attention from many bigger names in hard rock and metal, as have his live performances.  While I have said that Fever 333 reminded me of a modern-day Rage Against the Machine, Hyro’s rapping style reminds me a lot of Zack de la Rocha.  He and his band were precise with their style but were also full of energy, which makes him an intriguing artist for several hard rock and metal fans to check out.  During the show, he jumped off a pile of stacked amps and started a mosh pit to end his set.  He is quickly rising in the hard rock/metal scene and his live performances will only help him.  As a side note, I met him after, and he is also an amazing guy.

 

Performance Art:  Blue Man Group

I saw Blue Man Group in 2012 in New York City (I don’t remember the venue, but I think it was Astor Place Theatre).  If you haven’t heard of Blue Man Group, they’re basically a trio of performers (they have several different performers) who wear blue paint and can play a variety of instruments but make a show out of playing unorthodox instruments and experiment with different things.  Probably the most normal thing they have done is drumming with colored water coming off the drums, which is often a stretch for most people.  They also frequently include comedic parts in their sets and never say a word.  If you’re not necessarily a concert fan, this is more than a concert; it is a performance and an experience, particularly one that is worth it to check out.

 

Pop:  Jason Derulo

I saw Derulo in 2015 at Quinnipiac University.  I have seen very few pop acts (in fact, it might be surprising to many that I saw him live).  Alas, he came to the school I went to for undergrad, so I decided to go.  He largely performed his hits, which is an unbelievably long list to choose from and contains several I had lost track of.  It was a fun show to be able to sing along to his songs (especially for somebody who doesn’t typically listen to his music), and he seemed to have an amazing time as well.  Just when you thought that maybe the show could get a little boring with him singing, he also did a lot of dancing, which is also a strength of his to say the least.  Even if he didn’t sing his name as much as he does in his songs, it was an enjoyable concert and was definitely worth attending.

 

Pop Punk:  Panic! at the Disco

I saw Panic! at the Disco in 2014 at the Dome at the Oakdale.  This group is arguably closer to pop rock or pop, but I have decided to call them pop punk due to their early releases and ethos as a band at the time (prior to vocalist Brandon Urie changing it to a solo project the following year).  There are several pop punk bands that could give Panic a run for their money, including Bowling for Soup, Meet Me @ the Altar, Four Year Strong, The Wonder Years, We the Kings, and Icon for Hire.  What separated Panic from these other acts, many of whom were exceptional live, was due to Urie’s stage presence.  I thought most of the instrumentalist parts were somewhere between good enough and solid, but he is quite the performer.  He has the ability to turn a good band into a great band once he takes the stage and he consistently did that no matter what song it was.  As a result of this, I think turning this into a solo project was the right move and will make it an even more enticing group to watch live.

 

Pop Rock:  Imagine Dragons

I saw Imagine Dragons in 2014 at Mohegan Sun.  Other acts in consideration for this include Goo Goo Dolls, Metro Station, and Echosmith, but this one honestly isn’t even close.  Look, I know that the group is now the newest iteration of a group hated as much as Nickelback, but 2013-2014 was a different and magical time for the group.  Their debut album, Night Visions, was an album that I loved at the time and, despite not breaking any new ground, is still a release I consider a quality album.  While they had several performances that were excellent, from the reworked “It’s Time” to the video incorporated in “Amsterdam”, there’s no denying that the highlight of the show that still stands out is their extended version of “Radioactive”, complete with extended drumming by each member.  While it might be more difficult to recommend now considering I haven’t been as crazy with several of their songs since, this concert is one of the greatest shows I have ever seen, making the band worthy of recommendation.

 

Post-Hardcore:  Sleeping with Sirens

I saw Sleeping with Sirens in 2019 on the Disrupt Tour.  I was considering between them and Thrice, another band on this same tour, but I’m a bigger fan of Sleeping with Sirens, so I went with them.  While they weren’t the highlight of the day (that honor would probably go to The Used, though Circa Survive and Atreyu have a case for that), Sleeping with Sirens was a fun set.  They immediately played a newer song (“Leave It All Behind”) and got the audience excited even just with how good that performance was.  They proceeded to play most of their more popular songs from there, which was a lot of fun to see.  They seemed excited to be there and appeared to be thrilled to perform songs that people loved in front of them.  Also, near the end of their set they had a kid who was backstage crowd surf for his first time, which will probably be a lifetime memory for him.  Their performance was a welcome sight on this tour and it did not disappoint one bit.

 

Progressive Metal:  Silent Planet

I saw Silent Planet in 2021 at the Webster Theater.  I will confess that the group likely isn’t long on this list considering I hope to see Dream Theater in November, but for now the metalcore band who also sways into progressive metalcore will be the representation for this genre.  This band is one of the most interactive bands I have ever seen, as they typically encourage crowd surfing and stage diving (they didn’t do it during this show due to Covid, though one fan still ended up on stage hugging the lead vocalist).  They play with an energy level that is infectious, making it impossible to not scream alongside the group with them and feel alive during the show.  There’s a chance that I may be biased since this was my first show back after Covid (excluding a free local Celtic concert hosted by my town’s library), but even still they are such a good live band that can not only create utter chaos but also puts an impressive show.

 

Progressive Rock:  Coheed and Cambria

I saw Coheed and Cambria in 2021 at The Palladium Outdoors.  I seriously considered Circa Survive here, but Coheed and Cambria was something magical.  While their studio recordings are good, their live performances take you to a totally different place (I was sober, so I’m not suggesting it was a literal psychedelic trip or something of that nature).  The group contains some of the most skilled musicians out there and constructed a bunch of music that seems to work best live.  While they interacted with the audience some, they mostly stuck to the music, which worked since the music was so good.  They also proved me totally wrong with the perfect final song:  I thought the perfect song to finish their set was “The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut” (which was used as the final song prior to the encore), but they proved me wrong by finishing the encore with “Welcome Home”, a song that truly is the epitome of how good they are live.

 

Punk Rap:  Ho99o9

I saw Ho99o9 in 2019 at Epicenter.  While I first heard of them in 2014 when they were an experimental rap group, I finally got to see them 5 years later, by which time they also managed to incorporate hardcore punk into their style.  If you haven’t heard of them, the show was a bit chaotic and so much fun.  If you do know them, their show was about what you’d expect:  one of the many amps blew out during their set, main instrumentalist Eaddy showed up wearing a dress, lead vocalist theOGM jumped into the crowd to start a mosh pit while Eaddy tried telling him to stay out there since the feedback was better, their set ended with Eaddy shouting “We’re f***ing done”, and the chemistry between the two and former Black Flag drummer Brandon Pertzborn was perfect.  They recreated several of their songs, most notably transforming “Bone Collector” from an experimental hip hop song into a brash, aggressive horrorcore/punk rap song while keeping the beat similar.  If you like punk rap, horrorcore, industrial, hardcore punk, and experimentation, then this is the group for you.

 

Psychedelic:  MGMT

I saw MGMT in 2013 at the Dome at the Oakdale.  Yawn also deserves some love, but MGMT almost literally brings you to another planet with their performances.  Every song is beautiful and mystifying enough to feel like you weren’t on the planet (yes, I was totally sober for this concert, though far from everyone at the show could say the same) and seemed to know what was perfect for their music, whether it was a trippy video during “Time to Pretend”, an extended version of “Kids” that approached 10 minutes, and changing the key of a song whenever felt appropriate (yet it worked).  Their consistent background video helped the mindset of feeling totally out there.  To add to it, they were totally unapologetically themselves with their setlist decisions:  while it would have made sense to have included their biggest hits to either open the show, close the show, or be in the encore, they had “Time to Pretend” as the second song, following “Flash Delirium”, “Electric Feel” in the middle of the set, and “Kids” as the second to last song in the main set…since “Alien Days” had to close out the main set.

 

Rap (Mainstream):  Chance the Rapper

I saw Chance the Rapper in 2017 at the Xfinity Theater (also known as The Meadows by CT residents).  While some of his openers deserve some love here, especially Dej Loaf, Chance is one of the greatest live acts I’ve ever seen.  Say what you will about how his career has gone since The Big Day was released, but the release of Coloring Book represented a truly magical time in his career where I considered him one of the biggest rappers in hip hop with his gospel-infused rap.  Most of the songs he performed were from this album and was an absolutely incredible performance for a sold-out venue.  I could go into details about how incredible songs like “All Night”, “Angels”, and “No Problem” sound, how he made an excerpt of “I Love You So Much” or how “Blessings” was an absolute masterpiece that sounded even better live, but I think the best way of putting it is this:  I left the show feeling energized, ecstatic, and inspired, something I have never felt after a show.

 

Rap Rock:  Air Dubai

I saw Air Dubai in 2014 at Warped Tour.  While the group that is a blend of alternative and hip hop has been on a hiatus since 2015, their live performances were even better than their studio recordings.  They didn’t jam, improv, remix, or extend any of their performances, but they didn’t need to with their recordings to make it work.  Their mixture of rapping, soulful singing, and live instrumentations makes them an act worth seeing.  The highlight of their show might have been the (at the time) recently released single “Warning”, a song whose chorus is enhanced by the live performance of the instrumentation.

 

Rap (Underground):  Immortal Technique

I saw Immortal Technique in 2014 at Quinnipiac University.  While many fans were surprised by the omission of “Dance with the Devil” from his set, which he normally performs, but his set was still spectacular.  He had several other rappers that performed alongside him and put together some great performances, and he allowed each of them to thrive and didn’t take away their shine while they were performing.  That said, he was the most talented rapper in the building by far and genuinely seemed so excited to just perform music for the crowd of fans of not only rap and hip hop, but of his as well.  He is probably the most skilled rapper I have ever seen live and, while the production work is good on his albums, a live concert allows him to thrive and grants him more freedom.

 

Ska Punk:  The Interrupters

I saw The Interrupters in 2019 at Epicenter.  The group is my recommendation by default considering I was underwhelmed with Sublime with Rome, who was the only other ska punk group I have seen live.  They are a band that clearly loves playing live and enjoys promoting a positive message.  It shouldn’t be too much of a secret that, like almost all ska punk bands, all their rhythm guitar riffs were identical, but they were so much fun that I didn’t care about it.  Their at times clever and at times quirky approach of getting audience involvement worked for both the genre and themselves, such as effectively a Wall of Love instead of a Wall of Death, where they had everyone go towards each other and high five the person they come in contact with.  Their performances were largely to the books based on the studio versions, but they are talented enough to make each song still sound excellent.  If someone who isn’t a fan of ska punk and often makes fun of the genre is encouraging you to see them, you know they must be good.

 

What are some concerts you loved and would recommend others see?  Let me know in the comments!