[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Have you been to CD release shows are seen a really kick ass opening act or seen a band you've never heard of and they just blew you away?

Isn't it great to see a show of raw, new music with ZERO expectations, to have the entire show be an endless surprise. Its like taking the joy of listening to a brand new record and amplifying times a thousand to have that same joy shared communally with an audience, and further through the mystical ritual of live musical performances!

I saw Shannon Wright open for Sleater-Kinney at their release show for One Beat. I hand't ever heard of her, and she was so utterly amazing that I had to ask somebody next to me who she was. I ran out and got several of her albums, and NONE of them had the material she performed. It was edgy, gutted, ethereal, with fierce teeth. That kind of guitar work wasn't released until two years later as the album Over the Sun, which she made with Steve Albini entirely to try and duplicate the rare sound of her live gigs which was not present on her well polished and produced albums. Also, I had never heard One Beat yet, that show was intense on all fronts! We left literally deafened with our ears ringing for days because it was so loud, so blasting, so pure rock and roll! I loved it!

I also saw Wild Flag before they even released any music on the internet or otherwise, I had no IDEA what to expect. That show was so great, to hear such music I hadn't heard from Carrie or Mary in years, and it was so good! It only increased my appetite and hopes for an album which came out a year later. Grass Widow opened for them, and I had never heard of them either, but I was so impressed with their stuff that I was really digging it and had to get an album as soon as I could.

I've seen several reggae artists who I had never heard before until the show, such as Tippa Irie, The Itals, the Abyssinians, Beres Hammond, Queen Ifrica, all of which are in my steady rotation now.

Any shows you saw that was purely new music to you? Share