FUV Five Favorite Concerts: Alisa Ali
The Alternate Side and FUV's Alisa Ali sneaked into one of her favorite concerts and also danced onstage with George Clinton.
During the 2014 FUV fall member drive, we're shining a spotlight on live concerts and performances. The FUV on-air staffers compiled individual lists of five memorable and marvelous shows that have stayed with them over the years, for one reason or another.
Alisa Ali (The Alternate Side Host, WFUV Producer and On Air Host)
There have been so many great shows and the memory is not what it used to be, but here are a few that come to mind:
My Morning Jacket at Bonnaroo (2004):
The band was on the Which Stage at Bonnaroo and during their set, the clouds went gray. During a blistering guitar solo, the rain starting coming down. It seemed like the more furiously the band played, the harder it rained. I remember the wind was a' howlin' and so was Jim James.
Sufjan Stevens at Bowery Ballroom (2012):
I walked into this Christmas show after it had already begun and I was absolutely stunned and amazed at the scene when I got upstairs to the ballroom. There was a wonder wheel of Christmas songs in the crowd: inflatable unicorns and Santas flying all around the air, along with streamers and fake snow, while the entire crowd was cheerfully singing holiday tunes, led by Sufjan. It felt like a Christmas miracle.
Beck at The Newport Folk Festival (2013):
We were doing a live broadcast of this show and I was on the air with Bob Boilen from NPR. As soon as the show started, almost our entire broadcast team ran over to the stage so that we could watch. We saw Beck performing with Rambling Jack Elliot and Andrew Bird and my heart was bursting with joy. We weren't sure when Beck would finish his set and we knew that we had to be back on air as soon as he was done. After the last song, we all raced through the crowd and back to the broadcast tent. Out of breath and exhilarated from the show (and the run) we ended out Newport broadcast happy as clams and on time!
Nirvana at Roseland Ballroom (1993):
I didn't actually have tickets to this show, but my friend said he knew the guy who worked the door there and he could sneak us in. We waited with a few other people outside at the load in entrance for security to open the door. Krist Novoselic walks up and is standing with us. The security guy opens the door and everyone rushes up to him. Krist goes up and says that he needs to get in because he's with the band. The security guy says,"yeah - so are all of these other people" and then lets me and my friend in before Krist. We did tell the security guy that he really is in the band and that he should definitely be let in. Krist thanked us and then we moshed in front of him at the show. My friend lost his shoe in the pit that night.
George Clinton wit the P-Funk crew in Amstrerdam (2003):
This show was bananas. As probably all their shows are. I was dancing in the crowd when they started asking people to come up on stage and party with them. I am a bit shy to do that kind of thing, but when a guy wearing a space suit at P-Funk show extends his hand to bring you on stage, you cannot refuse. So I got up there and danced with George Clinton! It was awesome.
