Feb. 11: Office Blog - Top 10 Concerts Jonathan Green Never Got to See

In my last submission, I wrote about the top 10 concerts I ever saw. Today, it's the top 10 concerts, for whatever reason, I never got to see.

10. Dwight Yoakam
I know of few people, if any, that like Dwight Yoakam as much as me. So why are he and I never in the same city at the same time? I wish I knew. Not only does he write most of his songs, which so few country artists do, he stays true to his roots. The only roots too many of today's talent know are those they try and hide with a little help from a Clairol bottle. Brutal.


9. Ultravox
The first techno band I ever got into, these guys came up with some pretty catchy stuff without coming across as fluff merchants. The best thing they did was add the brilliant Midge Ure on vocals when John Foxx left and the rest, as they say, is history. It's too bad most people know them just for Dancing With Tears In My Eyes. They were so much more than that.


8. Bruce Springsteen
Why he has never come here, at least to my knowledge, is truly a mystery. I'd be prepared to pay just to see him cover Edwin Starr's War (What Is It Good For?) and then he can go home, although he'd be more than welcome to stay and bang out The Rising, Badlands, Radio Nowhere, Downbound Train, Murder Incorporated and the list goes on. No price would be too high.


7. The Tea Party
Ask any number of people to name a genius and I'm sure you'll get any number of responses. Ask me and I might say Jeff Martin. The band's lead singer and guitar player, his songwriting and musicianship are captivating, especially his Eastern influences. It's a shame they did not meet with greater commercial success, but at the same time, maybe it's just as well.


6. U2
This would have to be before they became everybody's favourite band in 1987 with the release of The Joshua Tree. Since then, no thanks. Go back to 1984's The Unforgettable Fire or even further back to 1983's War and now we're talking. It's almost hard to believe that it's the same band from Live At Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky on DVD. What a performance.


5. a-ha
Scoff if you must but I am an admitted fan of this Norse trio. Morton Harket has a voice like few others. They faded from view after 1985's Hunting High & Low, but the title track from 1988's Stay On These Roads plus a fine cover of Crying in The Rain (The Everly Brothers) from 1990's East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon show a side of the band few people saw.


4. Oasis
How sad it was to see a band that put out so much good stuff early on put out so much lousy stuff in its latter days. I took a road trip to Kansas City in 2005 and played the same three CDs pretty much the whole way, one of which was Don't Believe The Truth, their first decent release in 10 years. Yes, they were here 18 months ago, but the moment had long passed.


3. INXS
I'm talking about the years with Michael Hutchence. They never seemed to be touring anywhere I was. So many good songs over a relatively short span of time and no album ever sounded like the one preceding or following it. They also did this by taking guitars/keyboards/saxophones and making it work over and over en route to international super-stardom. That's rare.


2. Queen
I was a little too young to fully appreciate Queen in their heyday. By the time I did, Freddie Mercury was gone. There have been various incarnations of this quartet in the time since, but nothing that could hold a candle to the original members. His bandmates, in particular guitarist Brian May, are more than accomplished but their lead singer was the ultimate showman.


1. Stevie Ray Vaughan
I'm not afraid to admit I cried in 1990 when I learned he died in a helicopter crash. The guy pretty much killed himself on booze & drugs, decided to clean himself up and, after doing so, put out a kick-ass album called In Step, one that I would definitely list if filling out one of those If you were stranded on a desert island... questionnaires. He was just brilliant.