We were fortunate enough to see a lot of great shows in 2019. Here are our top 19 shows! 19. Greta Van Fleet Greta Van Fleet performed a...
We were fortunate enough to see a lot of great shows in 2019. Here are our top 19 shows!
19. Greta Van Fleet
Greta Van Fleet performed at the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre on May 15th.
18. Cher
Cher is still Cher. Full of sass, a great performer, and ready to mesmerize you with her voice and her outfits. Point blank: if you have a chance to go see Cher, you must take it! Remember, she is 500 years old.
17. Lil Wayne/Blink-182
When Lil Wayne and Blink-182 announced a co-headlining tour earlier this year, it turned more than a few heads. The tour rolled into Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion on July 23rd and we were there to take in the rap and rock spectacle.
16. New Found Glory
Singer Jordan Pundik came out dressed in a stars and stripes boxer's robe, pants, and even a boxing glove as the band launched into their cover of Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" from the Rocky III soundtrack. The night was heavy with covers as the band clocked in eight in total, including five from their excellent From The Screen To Your Stereo 3. But the band didn't turn their back on fan favorites either! They played iconic tracks like "Hit Or Miss," "Head On Collision," and "All Downhill From Here."
15. Nelly/TLC/Flo Rida
But for me, the concert belonged to Flo Rida. Maybe it was the fact that he was my favorite going into the show, maybe it was the fact that he played hit after hit after hit after hit (seriously--you almost forget how many hits the man's had), or maybe it's because he surrounded himself with four scantily-clad dancers. Whatever it was, Flo Rida came out, quickly took control of the crowd, and set the stage for the entire night. He performed "GDFR," "Club Can't Handle Me," "Low," "Wild Ones," "Whistle," "My House," and "Right Round." See? The man has had a huge number of awesome hits! The crowd loved them and so did I!
14. Smashing Pumpkins/Noel Gallagher
They put on a killer show. The light show was amazing, the band was tight, and Corgan sounded awesome. Despite the band they were in a different city (they called us "Charlottesville" numerous time), the Charlotte crowd didn't seem to mind and begged for more.
13. Songs & Stories Tour
Everclear's Art Alexakis brought his Songs & Stories tour to Charlotte's McGlohon Theater on May 22nd. Marcy Playground's John Wozniak, Eve 6's Max Collins, and Fountains Of Wayne's Chris Collingwood accompanied him for an evening of witty banter, soul-bearing tales, and killer tunes.
12. Garbage
Along the way, they played their hits like "Stupid Girl," "#1 Crush," "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Push It," and "Only Happy When It Ways," along with deeper cuts. The band sounded amazing. Manson sounded as great as ever. The band seemed genuinely psyched to be there and loved the crowd's fervor. It was an amazing concert that was capped off by our personal favorite Garbage song, "When I Grow Up."
11. Paul McCartney
Despite being 76 years old, the man puts on an incredible show, a performance that shames artists a third his age. True, he's not doing backflips onstage, but he's lively, an incredible musician, funny, interacts with the audience and reads their signs, and while he might've been a bit under the weather (or maybe it was our notorious North Carolina pollen getting to him?) because he did break his no-water-drinking rule while performing, Paul sounded superb.
10. Post Malone
Post Malone brought Swae Lee, Tyla Yaweh, and his Runaway Tour to Raleigh's PNC Arena on Thursday, October 17th and while it's only been eighteen months since Malone came through our area, it feels like a lifetime of trends, personalities, and music has come and gone since. Malone, fresh off the release of his excellent Hollywood's Bleeding album, has shown that even after three albums, he can still knock you out with a killer hook.
9. Ben Folds/Violent Femmes
For the Ben Folds Five fans, he performed "Brick," "Battle Of Who Could Care Less," "Do It Anyway," "Underground," and show closer "Army." He performed "Annie Waits," "Still Fighting It," "Landed," "The Ascent Of Stan," "Not The Same," And "Rockin' The Suburbs" from his early solo career and more recent songs like "So There," "You Don't Know Me," and "Moscow Mitch," his recent song about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. As always, Folds was witty, sarcastic, and his piano playing was amazing.
8. "Weird Al" Yankovic
Al makes more costume changes than a pop diva, or about as many as New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik. And like Pundik, his costumes fit the songs. For "Smells Like Nirvana," he donned a striped shirt, ripped jeans, a guitar, and a blonde wig.
7. KISS
They sounded great. They looked great. They put on hell of show. Fireballs. Blood. Lasers. Solos. It was all there. I can understand that KISS's music might not be everybody's cup of tea, but everyone should be able to find something to love in a KISS concert.
6. Jenny Lewis
By far, the best act we saw at Hopscotch 10 was the incredible Ms. Jenny Lewis. From the opening notes of "Heads Gonna Roll," we were under her spell. Along the way, she played hits like "Red Bull & Hennessy," a few Rilo Kiley songs like "Silver Lining" and "With Arms Outstretched," and even had the Watson Twins join her for an amazing "Rise Up With Fists!!"
5. Lizzo
Folks, this is Lizzo's world. We're all just living in it.
4. Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses visited Charlotte's Spectrum Center on September 25th for the first stop on the latest leg of their Not In This Lifetime Tour. What did fans get? Nearly three hours of in-your-face rock and attitude. In short, a typical Guns show!
3. Beck/Cage The Elephant
How big of a baller is Beck? Big enough to bring out his only top 10 hit to start his Night Running set. Most bands would've closed the show with "Loser." But "Loser" is a testament to Beck's career. Less talented acts would've faltered after that song, doomed to one-hit-wonderland for the rest of their lives. But because Beck is such a deft songwriter and can meld genres like nobody's business, "Loser" only served as an introduction to his lengthy, critically-claimed career and he used the song as an introduction to his set.
2. The Dollyrots
Ogden's vocals and storytelling between songs were irresistible and she often gathered inspiration from the Milestone itself. Some Bad Brains graffiti on the wall led to a story about touring with H.R. She also talked about an old school desk that was near the stage when the band played the Milestone in the early 2000s, claiming that Kurt Cobain sat there before Nirvana's set, headbanging to his band's opening act. Cabezas's guitar playing was on fire as he constantly jumped across the stage, only coming back down to sing into the mic. Sixteen songs seemed to go by in sixteen minutes, leaving all of us wanting more.
1. Vampire Weekend
Show highlights:
19. Greta Van Fleet
Greta Van Fleet performed at the Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre on May 15th.
18. Cher
Cher is still Cher. Full of sass, a great performer, and ready to mesmerize you with her voice and her outfits. Point blank: if you have a chance to go see Cher, you must take it! Remember, she is 500 years old.
17. Lil Wayne/Blink-182
When Lil Wayne and Blink-182 announced a co-headlining tour earlier this year, it turned more than a few heads. The tour rolled into Charlotte's PNC Music Pavilion on July 23rd and we were there to take in the rap and rock spectacle.
16. New Found Glory
Singer Jordan Pundik came out dressed in a stars and stripes boxer's robe, pants, and even a boxing glove as the band launched into their cover of Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger" from the Rocky III soundtrack. The night was heavy with covers as the band clocked in eight in total, including five from their excellent From The Screen To Your Stereo 3. But the band didn't turn their back on fan favorites either! They played iconic tracks like "Hit Or Miss," "Head On Collision," and "All Downhill From Here."
15. Nelly/TLC/Flo Rida
But for me, the concert belonged to Flo Rida. Maybe it was the fact that he was my favorite going into the show, maybe it was the fact that he played hit after hit after hit after hit (seriously--you almost forget how many hits the man's had), or maybe it's because he surrounded himself with four scantily-clad dancers. Whatever it was, Flo Rida came out, quickly took control of the crowd, and set the stage for the entire night. He performed "GDFR," "Club Can't Handle Me," "Low," "Wild Ones," "Whistle," "My House," and "Right Round." See? The man has had a huge number of awesome hits! The crowd loved them and so did I!
14. Smashing Pumpkins/Noel Gallagher
They put on a killer show. The light show was amazing, the band was tight, and Corgan sounded awesome. Despite the band they were in a different city (they called us "Charlottesville" numerous time), the Charlotte crowd didn't seem to mind and begged for more.
13. Songs & Stories Tour
Everclear's Art Alexakis brought his Songs & Stories tour to Charlotte's McGlohon Theater on May 22nd. Marcy Playground's John Wozniak, Eve 6's Max Collins, and Fountains Of Wayne's Chris Collingwood accompanied him for an evening of witty banter, soul-bearing tales, and killer tunes.
12. Garbage
Along the way, they played their hits like "Stupid Girl," "#1 Crush," "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Push It," and "Only Happy When It Ways," along with deeper cuts. The band sounded amazing. Manson sounded as great as ever. The band seemed genuinely psyched to be there and loved the crowd's fervor. It was an amazing concert that was capped off by our personal favorite Garbage song, "When I Grow Up."
11. Paul McCartney
Despite being 76 years old, the man puts on an incredible show, a performance that shames artists a third his age. True, he's not doing backflips onstage, but he's lively, an incredible musician, funny, interacts with the audience and reads their signs, and while he might've been a bit under the weather (or maybe it was our notorious North Carolina pollen getting to him?) because he did break his no-water-drinking rule while performing, Paul sounded superb.
10. Post Malone
Post Malone brought Swae Lee, Tyla Yaweh, and his Runaway Tour to Raleigh's PNC Arena on Thursday, October 17th and while it's only been eighteen months since Malone came through our area, it feels like a lifetime of trends, personalities, and music has come and gone since. Malone, fresh off the release of his excellent Hollywood's Bleeding album, has shown that even after three albums, he can still knock you out with a killer hook.
9. Ben Folds/Violent Femmes
For the Ben Folds Five fans, he performed "Brick," "Battle Of Who Could Care Less," "Do It Anyway," "Underground," and show closer "Army." He performed "Annie Waits," "Still Fighting It," "Landed," "The Ascent Of Stan," "Not The Same," And "Rockin' The Suburbs" from his early solo career and more recent songs like "So There," "You Don't Know Me," and "Moscow Mitch," his recent song about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. As always, Folds was witty, sarcastic, and his piano playing was amazing.
8. "Weird Al" Yankovic
Al makes more costume changes than a pop diva, or about as many as New Found Glory's Jordan Pundik. And like Pundik, his costumes fit the songs. For "Smells Like Nirvana," he donned a striped shirt, ripped jeans, a guitar, and a blonde wig.
7. KISS
They sounded great. They looked great. They put on hell of show. Fireballs. Blood. Lasers. Solos. It was all there. I can understand that KISS's music might not be everybody's cup of tea, but everyone should be able to find something to love in a KISS concert.
6. Jenny Lewis
By far, the best act we saw at Hopscotch 10 was the incredible Ms. Jenny Lewis. From the opening notes of "Heads Gonna Roll," we were under her spell. Along the way, she played hits like "Red Bull & Hennessy," a few Rilo Kiley songs like "Silver Lining" and "With Arms Outstretched," and even had the Watson Twins join her for an amazing "Rise Up With Fists!!"
5. Lizzo
Folks, this is Lizzo's world. We're all just living in it.
4. Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses visited Charlotte's Spectrum Center on September 25th for the first stop on the latest leg of their Not In This Lifetime Tour. What did fans get? Nearly three hours of in-your-face rock and attitude. In short, a typical Guns show!
3. Beck/Cage The Elephant
How big of a baller is Beck? Big enough to bring out his only top 10 hit to start his Night Running set. Most bands would've closed the show with "Loser." But "Loser" is a testament to Beck's career. Less talented acts would've faltered after that song, doomed to one-hit-wonderland for the rest of their lives. But because Beck is such a deft songwriter and can meld genres like nobody's business, "Loser" only served as an introduction to his lengthy, critically-claimed career and he used the song as an introduction to his set.
2. The Dollyrots
Ogden's vocals and storytelling between songs were irresistible and she often gathered inspiration from the Milestone itself. Some Bad Brains graffiti on the wall led to a story about touring with H.R. She also talked about an old school desk that was near the stage when the band played the Milestone in the early 2000s, claiming that Kurt Cobain sat there before Nirvana's set, headbanging to his band's opening act. Cabezas's guitar playing was on fire as he constantly jumped across the stage, only coming back down to sing into the mic. Sixteen songs seemed to go by in sixteen minutes, leaving all of us wanting more.
1. Vampire Weekend
Show highlights:
- A beautiful cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over"
- An outstanding six-song stretch that started with "Hold You Now," finished with "Oxford Comma," and saw the band tackle "Harmony Hall," "Diane Young," "Cousins," and "A-Punk" in between
- Touring keyboardist Greta Morgan killing it on Danielle Haim's part on "Hold You Now"
- Being the first crowd ever to hear them cover The Doors' "Peace Frog"
- Pretty much the entire show!
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