My 2023 in live music
It's a bit late, but here is my 2023 live music wrap-up! (2022’s wrap is here.)
In 2023, we attended nine live shows, including our final pandemic-postponed concert (They Might Be Giants). Family health issues forced us to miss three planned events (Crowded House, Taylor Swift, and Paramore), but we still had a great year.
Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Scared Scriptless
January 13, The Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, Spokane
Colin and Brad from “Whose Line Is It Anyway” have been teaming up for versions of this live show for years; we first saw them in 2006 in San Jose.
January 13, 2023, The Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, Spokane / Andrew Rich
The Bacon Brothers
January 27, Pend Oreille Pavilion, Airway Heights, WA
The Bacon Brothers are actor/singer Kevin Bacon and his brother, composer Michael Bacon. They put on a rocking good show and ended with a familiar cover.
Alvvays w/Disq
March 13, The Knitting Factory, Spokane
I found a new favorite band in Alvvays when they visited Spokane last March. And they just announced they’d be back this August! We’ll be there. Molly Rankin, the group’s singer-songwriter, said, “Monday night in Spokane is better than Friday night in a lot of places we’ve played.”
March 13, 2023, The Knitting Factory, Spokane / Andrew Rich
Depeche Mode w/Kelly Lee Owens
March 30, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
This was my fifth time seeing Depeche Mode, dating back to the 1988 Concert for the Masses at the Rose Bowl. Kelly Lee Owens, a Welsh electronic musician, did a terrific opening set.
March 30, 2023, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas / Andrew Rich
March 30, 2023, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas / Andrew Rich
They Might Be Giants
April 16, Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA
We bought these tickets on February 27, 2020, for a show scheduled for October 9. It was postponed a few times and eventually finally went on last April. TMBG played the entirety of their 1990 album “Flood,” along with plenty of other hits and rarities.
April 16, 2023, Fox Theatre, Oakland, CA / Andrew Rich
Cruel World Festival
May 20, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Bands we saw at this sprawling festival included Animotion, Berlin, ABC, Gang of Four, The Vapors, Modern English, Echo & The Bunnymen, Love and Rockets (in their first live show since 2008), and Iggy Pop (in an abbreviated set). Simultaneous set times meant we missed The Human League and Billy Idol (though, see below for Billy), and excessively twitchy show producers pulled the plug on the festival due to reports of adverse weather before the headliner, Siouxsie Sioux, could perform. Iggy and Siouxsie returned for sets the following evening, but we had already left town.
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena / Andrew Rich
May 20, 2023, Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Garbage and Noel Gallagher w/Metric
June 2, White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA
This was a dual-headliner (Garbage and Noel Gallagher’s post-Oasis band) with (my favorite band) Metric opening. We did a quick one-night trip over to Seattle for this show.
Billy Idol
August 28, Spokane Pavilion, Spokane
I noted above that we’d missed Billy Idol because of simultaneous set times at Cruel World; Billy announced his summer tour days later and came to Spokane for a fantastic outdoor show.
August 28, 2023, Spokane Pavilion, Spokane / Andrew Rich
August 28, 2023, Spokane Pavilion, Spokane / Andrew Rich
Metric
October 12, The Roxy, Los Angeles
My favorite band in the world announced a limited tour of small-club shows celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?” and the release of “Formentera II.” Despite a smaller-scale Swiftian nightmare of broken web apps and scalped presale tickets, I managed to grab a pair, and we took a one-night trip to Los Angeles.
We were three rows back from the stage in this tiny club. I’ve never been so close nor so profoundly affected at a show. It was a pretty terrific way to celebrate my birthday!
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
October 12, 2023, The Roxy, Los Angeles / Andrew Rich
It’s shaping up to be another great year in live music! So far in 2024, we’ve already seen the following:
- Randy Rainbow (Feb 1, Spokane)
- Madonna: The Celebration Tour (Feb 17, Seattle)
- Silversun Pickups w/Hello Mary (Feb 18, Spokane)
On the calendar for the rest of the year, we have:
- Metric: Days of Oblivion (May 15, Denver)
- Whose Live Anyway? (June 28, Spokane)
- Alvvays w/The Beths (August 21, Spokane)
- Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (December 6, Vancouver, BC)
And I’m always watching Bandsintown and Seated for local (and local-ish) shows. You can find me on Instagram. Happy Spring!
