Obscure vs Most Well Known
 

You know it's ages since I started a thread with a poll.

OK, due to some weird mishap in the space time continuum your favourite band are playing 2 gigs at the very same time.

Gig no.1 - They're playing their most well known, biggest selling, critically acclaimed album in it's entirety

Gig no.2 - They're playing obscure album tracks, B sides, maybe a few covers . Basically stuff they've never or hardly ever played before with no hits in sight whatsoever.

Which gig do you go to?

Don't just stop at that. Suggest albums you'd like to see with a set based around them in their entirety, compile a set list of obscure songs you'd like to see your favourite band play.

Just say something.

I'd go see a whole album played. When it comes down to it, I'm an album kind of person, and while I enjoy the surprises of a live set, I don't listen to a lot of B-sides or EPs or covers, and it wouldn't be as satisfying to see an artist play a bunch of songs I didn't know and love.

One album I feel should be played in full and not cut and pasted from is the Antlers' Hospice.

Though probably any concept album would do.

I would go to gig 2 because it would be nice to hear music that I may have not heard before or am unfamiliar with, rather than watching something I've already listened to and that has had a lot of promotion already.

This, kind of. It would be so much cooler to see my favorite band and be able to say "I saw what was probably a one-of-a-kind show" rather than "I saw the same show they put on day in and day out, something they are probably totally sick of performing"

Like Pedestrian, I'm also an album person. But when it comes to live shows, I'd much rather be surprised and see something different, as RVCA and Ben said. As much as I'd hate to cop out and say this, I'd rather a hybrid of both. Play the album tracks and throw in the b-sides, new material, demos and covers along with it.

If I ever had the opportunity to go to my favorite bands concert I'd choose gig 2. The classics are what I've heard probably a thousand times. I'd like to switch up the pace and maybe discover some new favorites.

Gig 2, I think it makes for a much more special concert experience if they play the B sides and covers, it seems more intimate to me.

I would pick gig 2 also. Steely Dan's lastest live shows a few years back consisted of performing the entirety of the albums The Royal Scam and Aja. I would like to see them in concert covering the albums You Cant Buy A Thrill and/or Pretzel Logic.

Let's see...Phish playing Junta in its entirety for the first time ever, and really tearing it up would be amazing. Particularly considering the rarities already on that album, although I've no idea how they could play the track "Union Federal" as it was improvisation completely.

But the second show, I'd still have a shot at seeing Icculus...in addition to A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing, Harpua, Col. Forbin's > Mockingbird, Walfredo, Esther...and other songs I've been chasing for eons.

Then again, "You Enjoy Myself" is a commonly played song I've never heard live, and it's on Junta.

Hmm.

Well, since they play two set shows, I'll take Junta, as it's bound to be more jammy and a more memorable show in Phistory.

I would like to hear some of Beefheart's more obscure stuff, such as a few of his later albums. Then again, I'm sure a lot of people don't even know what Trout Mask Replica is... His being dead would also become problematic. Rest in peace, Captain!