The other night, we saw The Rolling Stones at LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans. Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that I am a music lover and am a big fan of concerts. However, I learned something about myself at this one. I do not like stadium shows. Seeing an iconic band like The Rolling Stones is great, but football stadiums are not conducive to a good show.
First, the weather has an impact. It was miserably hot and affected my ability to enjoy to music. However, other kinds of weather can mess it up. Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Anyway, the heat was unbearable.
Second, there are no good seats. Unless you are in front of the stage or have some sort of VIP pass, there is no good place to watch a concert in a football stadium. You are always far from the stage. That means you can hear a live concert, but you cannot necessarily see a live concert.
All of this means that I am a fan of indoor concerts. Good seats are actually good seats. Even bad seats are close enough to see something. People can feel like they are part of an event rather than being on the outskirts of one.
On top of that, indoor concerts are climate controlled. I saw Jimmy Buffett in an arena while it was storming outside. It rained enough to flood Nashville over the next several days.
Bringing up Jimmy Buffett makes me think of something else. His concerts are known as outdoor parties under the sun. I have seen him outside. I have seen him inside. The indoor shows were better.
The same goes for The Rolling Stones. I saw them in an arena and in a stadium. The arena show was better. They may not have performed better, but it was a better experience.
A few months ago, we saw Kenny Chesney in concert. It was an awesome show and a lot better than the time we saw him in a stadium.
Bottom line, football stadiums are not designed for concerts and the best ones are in smaller indoor buildings. However, I do not want to disparage the band. The Rolling Stones are great, and it is hard to believe they can perform at that level at their ages. They are a Hall of Fame band, and I want to end this post on a positive note. Since they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I thought it would be interesting to see how many members I have seen in concert.
I guess it can be done by their year of induction.
1986
The Everly Brothers
1987
Bo Diddley
B.B. King
1988
Bob Dylan
Diana Ross
1989
The Rolling Stones
1990
Simon and Garfunkel
The Who
1992
Johnny Cash (I did not actually see him perform, but I met him in a bookstore.)
1993
John Fogerty
1994
Elton John
Rod Stewart
1995
Al Green
Robert Plant
1996
Pink Floyd
1997
Crosby, Stills and Nash
Parliament-Funkadelic
1998
Eagles
Fleetwood Mac
Santana
1999
Del Shannon
Bruce Springsteen
2000
Eric Clapton
Earth, Wind and Fire
James Taylor
2001
Aerosmith
Steely Dan
2002
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2003
AC/DC
2004
Prince
Bob Seger
Steve Winwood
ZZ Top
2005
Buddy Guy
U2
2006
Ozzy Osbourne
Lynyrd Skynyrd
2008
Leonard Cohen
John Mellencamp
2009
Metallica
2011
Alice Cooper
Neil Diamond
2012
Axl Rose
2014
John Oates
Kiss
They are all Hall of Famers, and I can guarantee they all put on better shows indoors.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
I have never been a fan of outdoor concerts in general, though I have been to a couple of very good ones. Two, actually, out of many. I’ll go to an outdoor concert if there’s no other choice and I REALLY want to see that group. For me, acoustics matter. Outdoor venues don’t have comfortable seats OR decent acoustics. Bigger speakers — to me — does not mean better sound. Call me old-fashioned, but I think music is about sound. I can cope with not being able to see much, but hearing just echo and distortion … or noise so loud I leave half deaf? Not my idea of a good show.
I agree. The music should be experienced, and that can’t happen outside.
Me, I love outdoor gigs. We’re used to the heat here so that’s alright. Rain’s fine too and it never snows in most parts of India. I love being able to move around and I hate the idea of people sitting down at a rock concert. I just came out of the first tour (5 cities, 5 days) that I promoted and organized – all indoor because you don’t get massive crowds of Indie music here. Even there venues clear all of the tables and chairs from out front.
I have been to a to of outdoor shows and have loved them. I think my older age is making me cranky. I don’t mind standing up, but I want to be able to see and be comfortable.
Yu met Johnny in a bookstore? Is there more to that story?
I saw Procol Harum play in the cavernous cement basement with a low ceiling and concrete pillars everywhere – in Calgary – way back. It was … interesting.
Man, I would really like to have seen Procol Harum. Yeah, I met him. A long time ago, I wrote a post about it. I think I linked it in this post.
Sorry ! I’ll look that up !
No problem. I just know it’s in there somewhere.
I’m quite happy to stand near the back, as close as possible to the beer tent, as long as there are decent screens!
The Rolling Stones had great screens, but there was only one beer stand in our area. That wasn’t good.