This week, tens of thousands of people are going to a patch
of desert to watch a pile of bands at Coachella. It's not going to be
comfortable, but it's not the worst place in the world to play. How do we know?
Because of the following -- the top six weirdest gig venues ever.
6. Against Me! at 16th Street BART, 2002
At the time, Against Me! had only one full-length out and were still in full-on
DIY punk-rock mode. What better place to play then, than the entrance of the BART
station on 16th and Mission?
We can honestly say that, save for a major protest of some kind, there will
never be a better venue for the song "Baby, I'm An Anarchist" than this one. AM! played
their Floridian tushes off, the city's punks (and random passersby) got happy, and the corner's crack-heads were even more confused than usual. Thanks,
Against Me!: This was a top quality -- and highly memorable -- way to spend an
afternoon.
Photo by Jonathan Yi
5. The White Stripes on a public bus in Winnipeg, 2007
Man, Canadians have it so good. All that delicious free
healthcare, all that wonderful scenery, all those low crime rates. Oh, and
the White Stripes hanging out playing music all over their public transport. Like Winnipeg
wasn't spoiled enough already, Jack 'n' Meg just hopped on a bus there, played a
show, and made everyone's day even better. We're seething with envy.
4. Jamiroquai on an airplane, 2007
Air travel is horrifying and uncomfortable enough as it is.
The cramped conditions, the crappy food, the boredom -- oh, the endless boredom.
What could possibly be worse? We'll tell you -- dealing with all of those
things while having to listen to (and look at) Jamiroquai. That's right! Jamiroquai played a
private gig on board a 757 a few years back. We're not sure what bunch of
masochists boarded a plane willingly with the band, but we bet by the end of
it, all they wanted in the world was a stack of parachutes. Imagine being
locked in a room, thousands of feet off the ground, with this lot.
3. Pink Floyd in the ruins of Pompeii,
1971
There's nothing weird about Pink Floyd playing an arena, so, being the envelope
pushers they are, the band members decided to do it in an amphiteater instead. Amidst the
ruins of Pompeii. For -- ah! here's
the clever bit! -- about three people. We're not gonna pretend to get it, but
we're aware that not being on drugs might be hindering our mental process with
this one. For those of you who are on drugs, you'll probably want to invest in
the full-length DVD, Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii. It probably contains the secrets of the universe.
2. Queens Of The Stone Age inside a salt mine, 2007
Not even miners want to be in mines, so you have to wonder
what the members of Queens Of The Stone Age were thinking when they decided to descend into the depths of
a German salt mine and -- why not? -- play a show. The whole thing looks
absolutely bloody terrifying. Josh Homme said they wanted to do it to
"celebrate miners," which is a rad sentiment of course. Bugger it -- they
should do an entire mining tour. Somebody buy those fellas some plane tickets
to Chile! And
get them some top quality in-flight entertainment! We're not looking at you, Jamiroquai...
1. Katie Melua on an oil rig, 2006
Life on oil rigs is tough. Months away from your friends and
family. Dangerous conditions. Utter isolation. A constant sense of being
trapped. We imagine it would take very little to push someone living in those
conditions over the edge. But we reckon a visit from Katie Melua might do it. Man... Katie Melua... An oil
rig in the North Sea... They should have just called the show 'Things That Make
You Want To Die '06'.
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