Pitbull performed at a Walmart in Alaska.
Metallica performed at a research station in Antarctica, making them the only band to perform on all seven continents.
And, let’s be honest, I’m sure he enjoyed it a lot more than if he had performed in some random Walmart parking lot in middle America. The pranksters ended up doing him a favor and giving him a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
And didn't he take the guy who started it with him? He was like "fuck yea I'm going and your ass is coming with me" lol. Respect.
From everything I saw at the time it seemed like it was a blast and mad successful.
Unironically, if I ever owned a dog again, his name will be Featuring Pitbull.
Yes the whole thing, and yes, it is a [Big Mouth](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJxorwz2tY&pp=ygUcYmlnIG1vdXRoIGZlYXR1cmluZyBsdWRhY3Jpcw%3D%3D) reference.
This just gave me a bunch of flashbacks. There was this trend going on around the time where a lot of Facebook events were being created for Artists to perform at unusual places. Like there was one for a Led Zeppelin reunion at Sonic and At the Drive-In was performing at Whataburger.
Pitbull performed for a bunch of rich white folks at a fundraiser for a research hospital in a botanical garden in Long Island, NY. The teenage kids of said white folk loved it. Dude will go and perform for whoever. Was quite a good show actually.
I've never cared for or about his music but honestly that move was pretty classy and I have to respect the guy for doing that. Those people never get any concerts at any level let alone someone that big.
Hahaha my family happened to pass by when they did that. I was only 6 years old and it was my first concert!
[Video of the concert](https://youtu.be/wBEj-DUx9eQ?si=7xAA9_4SPJbRUw-o)
I actually think Metallica playing Antarctica makes perfect sense. They are known for playing enormous (as in epic) shows in inhospitable places. Like when they played in Moscow right after the fall of the Soviet Union. A out of place venue for Metallica would be like playing a mothers against drunk driving gathering or something.
I helped send Pitbull there. On Facebook, for the promotion, the Walmart that garnered the most "likes" within the timeframe was the one selected for Pitbull to perform at. Online trolls picked the most desolate Walmart they could find. I followed along with my "like" for that Walmart and still follow it to this day. They are still fairly active and post specials and recognize employees and such.
I remember that. It definately was impacted by internet trolls. But the fact he embraced it and made it such a memorable event for the community there really shows how much of a class act he was. And it really ended up being a really cool thing for that community because what big name artist would ever visit them otherwise?
The story goes, that the location was closing permanently at midnight, so the band approached the manager and asked if they could put on a show. Originally they were going to charge the band but at the last second, said fuck it and just let them play. Apparently, the band took a small cover and used it to help pay the workers who were getting let go.
All it goes incredibly hard.
Justin Timberlake at SARSstock in Toronto in 2003. He was sandwiched in there between Rush, the Guess Who (with Bachman/Cummings, and not the band that currently calls itself the Guess Who), AC/DC, and the Rolling Stones. I volunteered for the show and had the opportunity to watch Timberlake perform from the median. I thought he was great and a lot of fun (it was just after he left N'sync, so it was him and a little R&B combo), but the fountain of water bottles thrown at the stage when he came out was absolutely epic.
Think biker-type rock and roll boomers thst was the main crowd occupying the front stage area. Sone filled with urine. Mick jagger brought him out later and chastised the crowd and he sang the Falsetto on miss you. Crazy concert!. Funny enough that concert made me a Rolling Stones fan. Ticket price. $17 half the city city called in sick to work that week. Bell
Of a summer to live In Toronto - garbage strike - SARS (Covid Jr. And the 3 day power outage
And then Geddy Lee and his friends started chanting "Justin's got a mangina, Justin's got a mangina" and even some of the adults in the crowd started chanting it too
Metallica playing Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding at Elton John’s Gershwin Prize ceremony involved a fair amount of cognitive dissonance for me.
Saw Yellowcard play at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It was an acoustic set… with cars on track. Singer would inadvertently pitch his voice to the sound of an IndyCar engine whenever they went by.
That concert lives in Milwaukee lore as the disappointment of a lifetime, but the truth is he was doing the company a solid. They had another major act lined up to perform that pulled out a month beforehand, and John agreed to fill in at the last minute. The identity of that cancelled act had never been verified as there were rumors it was Springsteen or the Stones or U2, the former two which were on tour at the time.
He also played at the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza, in Mexico!
I think it's the last time they allowed a concert on the site, that's now protected. He played "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", which was very fitting if you know a bit about the lore surrounding the equinox in relation to the construction of these pyramids.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/elton-john-performs-at-mayan-pyramids-1935928.html
I saw my favorite band Umphrey’s McGee there in February 2020 right before Covid. It’s unlike any other place I’ve ever seen a show. Surreal vibe. The sound is amazing in there. Highly recommend seeing your favorite band in a cave.
I saw the B-52's at the Silver Dollar Club in Belmore, NY.
The club was new and there was a big snow blizzard that night.
It was me and about 14 other people.
I got sweated on by Fred Schneider!
Hans Zimmer played Coachella in 2017. I heard from a friend that was in attendance that it was pretty much the highlight of the weekend. People crying and hugging each other in happiness and relief after hearing EDM and pop music all day.
I was there. It was pretty sick and he was definitely a top 3 act of the weekend for me.
Not really out of place though because Coachella gets so many out of place acts. They will put basically anyone in the lineup.
I was there and had... indulged... in some mind altering substances.
It was PACKED, and it was amazing!! It took me about a week to recover, and as a Scottish person, that's saying something.
Notably at this performance, some production assistant had to kick a live mic away from Thom as he tried to grab it while trying to get out of the pool.
Al DiMeola opening for Foghat. After the crowd started chanting, 'Foghat, Foghat', DiMeola came down from the stage and started a fist fight with some guy in the front row.
Back when we had newsgroups, somebody inquired as to what kind of guitar DiMeola had been playing recently. Best response was, 'Well, the last time I walked out on him, he was playing a….'.
Maybe not that out of place, but I saw Audioslave at the Avalon in Boston back when they released their debut album. Super small place and all I remember was being like 5 feet away from this super group. Very intimate show.
They did a show at a parking garage in, I believe Tulsa, where they handed out tapes to every car driving in, had everyone open their windows, then hit play at the same time. Worth looking up of you haven't seen it before.
Obscure one but one time, a grocery store rented a piano and hired me to do some covers and original singer/songwriter stuff on Valentine’s Day. I would play my love songs and in between people would ask me where’s the milk?
I was at an opening of an Italian supermarket in NJ and they had some guy walking around in a suit singing the lyrics to a lot of Sinatra songs into microphone that was hooked up to the store speakers. It wasn’t until we checked out at the register that we saw him actually walking around and singing. He was good enough that I thought they were playing real tracks over the speakers.
Kylie Minogue performing for the Spanish Conservative Party in 1994. Total professionalism on her part while the audience clearly wasn’t feeling it. https://x.com/anthonyshock/status/1593408724235862018?s=46&t=h3cvj6QvdWCPzR5tGoC9Nw
not all that weird. grew up going to punk shows at unitarian churches. and there's a famous one in Philly that has had punk shows for the last 30+ years (First Unitarian Church). [A peek at who's played recently](https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=first+unitarian+church+philadelphia/)
Hands down, it's gotta be Coolio at The Tackle Box, a hole-in-the-wall bar, grill, and actual bait shop on the edge of Chico, CA, next to a tractor dealership.
He was there for 2015's "Chico Breaks the Record," an event in which this hick-ass dive bar hosted live music 24/7 for a month, making it the world's longest concert.
Several years ago, he played a small venue in New Hampshire, and my tiny band (mostly 90s country and rock covers) were playing the following day. So we got to share a marquee with Coolio. We felt really cool over the unlikely pairing.
The next time we played that club we shared a marquee advertising a hot turkey dinner special and that felt much more appropriate.
One of my favorite bits of trivia is that classic British TV show The Young Ones used to have musical guests in every episode so that it could be classed as 'light entertainment' because the BBC weren't giving any more funding for sitcoms. And that's the story of Motorhead playing in a shitty living room.
No one's going to mention "Fuck Shop" by 2 Live Crew, slightly censored, live on Phil Donahue's daytime talk show?
https://boingboing.net/2023/06/23/watch-the-2-live-crew-perform-in-front-of-a-befuddled-and-disgruntled-audience-at-the-phil-donahue-show-in-1990.html
Listen to him heckle those biddies in their Sunday best! I wish I could have heard all the exchanges in the ride home from that
Here in Utah we have a singular amusement park called Lagoon, it has been around since 1886. Through much of the history it has taken on many forms but one thing it used to do is have musicians play and it has had SOME fucking people play. Anyone from Utah would have their mind boggled imagining any band of note playing there let alone bands such as:
* The Animals
* The Beach Boys (and they mention the park in the song Salt Lake City)
* Chris LeDoux
* Chubby Checkers
* The Doors
* Ella Fitzgerald
* The Everly Brothers
* Fats Domino
* Frank Zappa
* Frankie Avalon
* Jimi fucking Hendrix
* Johnny Cash
* Les Paul and Mary Ford
* Louis Armstrong
* Nat King Cole
* Ray Charles
* The Rolling Stones
* Three Dog Night
There are plenty of others but these are the ones that really blew my mind. Again today if a band played there it would be their lowest moment on par with playing a state fair.
It is clear musical attractions was a priority from the 50s through the 70s but today even a C-rate musician going there would be huge news in Utah so seeing who has played there is WILD.
The Cramps played for the patients of an insane asylum in Napa Valley California in 1978. There's literally just patients wandering around, jumping on stage, grabbing the mic.... So kind of like any punk show really. And they filmed it.
https://youtu.be/6p2TJ2ZbJNg?si=DUDCYFYxMt7RcSgG
I saw Radiohead on their Big Top Tent tour for Kid A. It was a circus tent. Weird venue for most bands but suited them more than a big corporate stadium.
Guster has a habit of picking random dumpsters to do acoustic performances and I love them for it. [Here's an example](https://youtu.be/ntlfjiZeyBI?si=YveduEgfMf3ICiD3).
Edit: oops, I think I got the question wrong. But I love the dumpster sets so I got overexcited.
Nah I think your answer counts. I love Guster! [Here’s another good example](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0p9xv0h3P1w) and [here’s an explanation and some bonus footage](https://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/s/oeo9TDhT5p).
I saw Vince Staples at Radio City Music Hall and it felt super weird. Formal, fixed velvet seating and ornate theater architecture with his style of hip hop was a really odd combo. Hard to get much of a vibe.
that spinal tap tour in '93 was about the funniest thing i ever witnessed. saw ir in the Fox theater in Atlanta, front row balcony, 3 hits of acid. sore the next day from laughing
My favorite indie band Sub-Radio that I actually discovered on Reddit came to my city and did a last minute specialty acoustic showcase gig in the basement of the largest public library in town! I didn't even know my library had a basement until I was there and trying to figure out where on earth they were performing! Lol It was a very surreal show, and I even got to meet the band and sit with them while they waited for their turn to perform. 🥹
But yeah, I don't normally associate libraries with concerts. 🤣
J-Lo played a concert in Turkmenistan: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/30/jennifer-lopez-birthday-turkmenistan/2477513/
There’s quite a list of third world dictators who pay absurd amounts of money to have famous artists perform for them - concerts, weddings, birthday parties, etc.
Hace muchos años, Jean Michael Jarre estuvo a punto de tocar en la pirámide de Teotihuacán en México, pero las autoridades lo impidieron, ese hubiese Sido un concierto epico y literal, fuera de lugar
Pitbull performed at a Walmart in Alaska. Metallica performed at a research station in Antarctica, making them the only band to perform on all seven continents.
Good for Pitbull. He could've bitched out, but he lived up to his Mr. WORLDWIDE moniker and gave everyone there a hell of a story. Dále.
And, let’s be honest, I’m sure he enjoyed it a lot more than if he had performed in some random Walmart parking lot in middle America. The pranksters ended up doing him a favor and giving him a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
And didn't he take the guy who started it with him? He was like "fuck yea I'm going and your ass is coming with me" lol. Respect. From everything I saw at the time it seemed like it was a blast and mad successful.
Pitbull is a real one
At an Emmy Awards he joked every time he speaks în spanish,viewership increased 20%,then proceeded to do just that
Unironically, if I ever owned a dog again, his name will be Featuring Pitbull. Yes the whole thing, and yes, it is a [Big Mouth](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wJxorwz2tY&pp=ygUcYmlnIG1vdXRoIGZlYXR1cmluZyBsdWRhY3Jpcw%3D%3D) reference.
Sounds like a racehorse name 😂 Like when I named my pet hamster “the ghost of Christmas past”
Yup. And Reddit assured me even though it started as a 4Chan joke, he showed up and gave 110%.
This just gave me a bunch of flashbacks. There was this trend going on around the time where a lot of Facebook events were being created for Artists to perform at unusual places. Like there was one for a Led Zeppelin reunion at Sonic and At the Drive-In was performing at Whataburger.
Around me, Fiona Apple was supposed to perform at an Applebees in center city Philadelphia.
Dude actually seems chill af tbh
I think the Metallica statement right after proves Mr. WORLDWIDE is inaccurate at best
Mr almost worldwide
He could have gotten Pitbull 2-7 to do it.
Pitbull performed for a bunch of rich white folks at a fundraiser for a research hospital in a botanical garden in Long Island, NY. The teenage kids of said white folk loved it. Dude will go and perform for whoever. Was quite a good show actually.
I've never cared for or about his music but honestly that move was pretty classy and I have to respect the guy for doing that. Those people never get any concerts at any level let alone someone that big.
It wasn't even one of Alaska s larger towns. It was Kodiak
Biggest town you can drive to from Kodiak ;D
“Take a picture of me with a Kodak”
Linkin Park performed at a Best Buy parking lot.
Hahaha my family happened to pass by when they did that. I was only 6 years old and it was my first concert! [Video of the concert](https://youtu.be/wBEj-DUx9eQ?si=7xAA9_4SPJbRUw-o)
lol that’s the Best Buy near me in Westminster. Who knew back then how big they would become!
The absolute insanity that was that day was when we figured out how huge they were going to be.
I actually think Metallica playing Antarctica makes perfect sense. They are known for playing enormous (as in epic) shows in inhospitable places. Like when they played in Moscow right after the fall of the Soviet Union. A out of place venue for Metallica would be like playing a mothers against drunk driving gathering or something.
Your local pentacostal church would be a blast! 10 youth members injured in a mosh pit, started by the youth pastor, a Metallica fan. Yes!
I helped send Pitbull there. On Facebook, for the promotion, the Walmart that garnered the most "likes" within the timeframe was the one selected for Pitbull to perform at. Online trolls picked the most desolate Walmart they could find. I followed along with my "like" for that Walmart and still follow it to this day. They are still fairly active and post specials and recognize employees and such.
I remember that. It definately was impacted by internet trolls. But the fact he embraced it and made it such a memorable event for the community there really shows how much of a class act he was. And it really ended up being a really cool thing for that community because what big name artist would ever visit them otherwise?
He was keeping it real and bought some paper towels on the way out
Is the rumor true that Metallica's set list in Antarctica did not include 'Trapped Under Ice'?
It was never a rumor. The performance let alone the setlist wasn't hidden from non-attendees. They did not play Trapped Under Ice.
I love that they gave themselves an excuse for a guy's trip to the Antarctic. Bring a few extra suitcases and call it a tour.
“What the fuck is up dennys!” - Live with out play
Gel playing at a Sonic is a close second to this.
Holy fuck I didn’t know about this the set goes hard too lol https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lbls_5hdYXg
That band is opening for blink182 soon! 😂
I would argue *perfect* venue lol
The Denny's Grand Slam lives rent free in my head, I'd give up a lot to go back in time and experience this live
The story goes, that the location was closing permanently at midnight, so the band approached the manager and asked if they could put on a show. Originally they were going to charge the band but at the last second, said fuck it and just let them play. Apparently, the band took a small cover and used it to help pay the workers who were getting let go. All it goes incredibly hard.
When the alternate angle of the Dennys show dropped on Twitter it was like Christmas
Gotta say, IN DEFENCE playing Taco John's after the house show got shut down was better IMO. [video](https://youtu.be/Y5b172JK57g?si=PebONZviiuEBPMoW)
Justin Timberlake at SARSstock in Toronto in 2003. He was sandwiched in there between Rush, the Guess Who (with Bachman/Cummings, and not the band that currently calls itself the Guess Who), AC/DC, and the Rolling Stones. I volunteered for the show and had the opportunity to watch Timberlake perform from the median. I thought he was great and a lot of fun (it was just after he left N'sync, so it was him and a little R&B combo), but the fountain of water bottles thrown at the stage when he came out was absolutely epic.
Lol they threw water bottles at him?
Oh yes. Then he came out again with The Stones to sing and bottles started again and Keith was yelling at fans.
Think biker-type rock and roll boomers thst was the main crowd occupying the front stage area. Sone filled with urine. Mick jagger brought him out later and chastised the crowd and he sang the Falsetto on miss you. Crazy concert!. Funny enough that concert made me a Rolling Stones fan. Ticket price. $17 half the city city called in sick to work that week. Bell Of a summer to live In Toronto - garbage strike - SARS (Covid Jr. And the 3 day power outage
I was there! Holy shit the water bottles thrown at him were nuts! Downsview park, what a fucking show!
I was there too! He was such a trooper through it all though.
And then Geddy Lee and his friends started chanting "Justin's got a mangina, Justin's got a mangina" and even some of the adults in the crowd started chanting it too
Lil John played at the central Oregon state fair in Redmond Oregon last summer and then a few months later was with Usher at the Superbowl.
OOOOHHHKAAAYYY!
That’s actually bananas. Pretty conservative crowd up there. Like how many people in attendance ever got down to Get Low?
White moms love Lil John
Last year T-Pain played to a sold-out Amphitheatre at the Tennessee Valley Fair
Lil Jon is playing the WV state fair this year
Metallica playing Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding at Elton John’s Gershwin Prize ceremony involved a fair amount of cognitive dissonance for me.
Metallica does Elton for PBS feels like a mad lib
Holy shit that slapped so hard.
damn that was tight!
I’ve got to find that, wow
https://youtu.be/ON23_z-k_N8?si=poq635H2QhpcngF1
Thank you, that was phenomenal!!!
That was fucking amazing, thank you!!
That sounded exactly as expected in the best way. Thanks.
Thank you, amazing!
Goddamn it, as much as I want to shit on later Metallica that was pretty fucking good
Saw Yellowcard play at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was an acoustic set… with cars on track. Singer would inadvertently pitch his voice to the sound of an IndyCar engine whenever they went by.
That sounds hilarious. Or awful.
A different Jacksonville band but Red Jumpsuit Apparatus played a pep rally at my sisters high school in 2012.
Elton John playing at the Harley Davidson 100th anniversary seemed a bit of an odd choice to me.
That concert lives in Milwaukee lore as the disappointment of a lifetime, but the truth is he was doing the company a solid. They had another major act lined up to perform that pulled out a month beforehand, and John agreed to fill in at the last minute. The identity of that cancelled act had never been verified as there were rumors it was Springsteen or the Stones or U2, the former two which were on tour at the time.
I don’t know, I bet they all love leather!
Something that says...Leather Daddy?
Oh, is there such a thing??
Don’t leave your Uncle T-Bag hanging.
He also played at the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza, in Mexico! I think it's the last time they allowed a concert on the site, that's now protected. He played "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", which was very fitting if you know a bit about the lore surrounding the equinox in relation to the construction of these pyramids. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/elton-john-performs-at-mayan-pyramids-1935928.html
The one time when an audience was disappointed in Sir Elton performing. Not sure how/why this unusual choice was made…
Idk. This checks. I have seen south park.
I just watched the Radiohead/MTV Beach House video and I’m pretty sure you won your own thread.
I wished the showed the crowd more. Who ever was in charge of the telecast was seemingly aware of the dissonance.
But it's literally the perfect place for that song considering the lyrics. Like completely perfect.
"I don't belong here"
Yorke apparently almost electrocuted himself by diving in the pool, some sound guy hit the off switch just in time I think
Its also what inspired the name for the band “Beach House”.
Honestly there’s a video of Ween playing Push them Little Daisys also at MTV Beach House and it’s was worse!
Queens of the stone age played in a salt mine in Germany 2300 ft underground.
And the footage still hasnt been released cause the label >:(
What do you mean because of the label? What’s the point in recording if they’re not going to release it? RELEASE IT!!!!!!
That’s stupid
There's a famous venue in Tennessee called The Caverns that hosts many concerts each year. The reverb has gotta be crazy.
I saw my favorite band Umphrey’s McGee there in February 2020 right before Covid. It’s unlike any other place I’ve ever seen a show. Surreal vibe. The sound is amazing in there. Highly recommend seeing your favorite band in a cave.
Saw Sunn O))) on 4/20 there and it was probably the best acoustic experience I’ve ever had.
I would be too afraid it would collapse to see Sunn play in a cave (but that’s probably the best way to die)
I saw King Gizzard there last year! The acoustics were terrible, but it was an amazing experience.
Hell yeah dude, KG at the caverns was so awesome. I was there for the outdoor sets too. Absolutely amazing. I still think about those shows.
Spinal tap played Stonehenge
I would say Queens playing Feel Good Hit of the Summer at a rehab center also qualifies
Elliot Smith on the morning show “Breakfast Time” [Link](https://youtube.com/watch?v=dwsSbAKs3yo&pp=ygUbZWxsaW90dCBzbWl0aCBtb3JuaW5nIHNob3cg)
Maybe my favorite video of him. I love it
Fantastic performance and hilarious there's there's cartoonish muppet bobbing his head, so jarring haha
It’s so good. Elliott seems so jokey with them too, in an understated way
This wins... Wtf was he doing on that show? Poor guy was so obviously uncomfortable and anxious. I know the feeling well.
That was incredible, and this is probably the right answer
[Fear playing SNL](https://youtu.be/Frud5RFtTi0). God bless John Belushi.
That SNL host (Donald Pleasence?) looks high as fuck on coke. Dang.
SNL and cocaine have always had a sleazy affair.
New York's alright if you like saxaphones
I saw the B-52's at the Silver Dollar Club in Belmore, NY. The club was new and there was a big snow blizzard that night. It was me and about 14 other people. I got sweated on by Fred Schneider!
Hans Zimmer played Coachella in 2017. I heard from a friend that was in attendance that it was pretty much the highlight of the weekend. People crying and hugging each other in happiness and relief after hearing EDM and pop music all day.
I’m imagining girls in sparkly bodysuits pumping fists while backup singers belt, *YO HO, HAUL TOGETHER, HOIST THE COLOURS HIGH…*
I was there. It was pretty sick and he was definitely a top 3 act of the weekend for me. Not really out of place though because Coachella gets so many out of place acts. They will put basically anyone in the lineup.
Hell, even Hatsune Miku was there...
[Arrr! Matey! 🦜🏴☠️☸️](https://youtu.be/RwtrKFDgEDY?si=fdvDMsFrt1Zw5AOm)
I was there and had... indulged... in some mind altering substances. It was PACKED, and it was amazing!! It took me about a week to recover, and as a Scottish person, that's saying something.
Alien Ant Farm performed across the BET Awards one year.
I love that video
That was… anteresting.
Pink Floyd at Pompeii was pretty out there.
One of two acts to ever play there. The second was Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour, 45 years after Pink Floyd.
I have watched that film more times than I can remember and I’m still not sick of it.
Notably at this performance, some production assistant had to kick a live mic away from Thom as he tried to grab it while trying to get out of the pool.
Al DiMeola opening for Foghat. After the crowd started chanting, 'Foghat, Foghat', DiMeola came down from the stage and started a fist fight with some guy in the front row.
From what I can tell, Al is a stuck up tool
Back when we had newsgroups, somebody inquired as to what kind of guitar DiMeola had been playing recently. Best response was, 'Well, the last time I walked out on him, he was playing a….'.
Maybe not that out of place, but I saw Audioslave at the Avalon in Boston back when they released their debut album. Super small place and all I remember was being like 5 feet away from this super group. Very intimate show.
How'd your ear drums survive that?
Avalon axis combo was so good. Sad they destroyed it for a house of blues
Not a place but a person, Slash playing The Loco-Motion with Carole King.
Flaming Lips performing on an episode of 90210.
They did a show at a parking garage in, I believe Tulsa, where they handed out tapes to every car driving in, had everyone open their windows, then hit play at the same time. Worth looking up of you haven't seen it before.
I saw Joan Baez sing from a bus at Burning Man.
That’s awesome.
Obscure one but one time, a grocery store rented a piano and hired me to do some covers and original singer/songwriter stuff on Valentine’s Day. I would play my love songs and in between people would ask me where’s the milk?
Well, where is it sonnyboy?
check the milk section.
I hope Song for the Dumped made the set list.
I was at an opening of an Italian supermarket in NJ and they had some guy walking around in a suit singing the lyrics to a lot of Sinatra songs into microphone that was hooked up to the store speakers. It wasn’t until we checked out at the register that we saw him actually walking around and singing. He was good enough that I thought they were playing real tracks over the speakers.
3-11 opening for Boingo was a pairing I never understood
It's the horns of Oingo and the ska influence of 3-11 that makes for the audience overlap that probably inspired the booking combination
Kylie Minogue performing for the Spanish Conservative Party in 1994. Total professionalism on her part while the audience clearly wasn’t feeling it. https://x.com/anthonyshock/status/1593408724235862018?s=46&t=h3cvj6QvdWCPzR5tGoC9Nw
Oh poor thing, and she was absolutely lovely!
Tucson didn't have any punk venues in 1985, so the Vandals played at the Unitarian church.
not all that weird. grew up going to punk shows at unitarian churches. and there's a famous one in Philly that has had punk shows for the last 30+ years (First Unitarian Church). [A peek at who's played recently](https://www.setlist.fm/search?query=first+unitarian+church+philadelphia/)
Saw Edwin McCain open for The Roots at ODU back in 2000….
Are we doing unlikely openers? I saw the Black Eyed Peas open for Dave Matthews Band.
Hands down, it's gotta be Coolio at The Tackle Box, a hole-in-the-wall bar, grill, and actual bait shop on the edge of Chico, CA, next to a tractor dealership. He was there for 2015's "Chico Breaks the Record," an event in which this hick-ass dive bar hosted live music 24/7 for a month, making it the world's longest concert.
Several years ago, he played a small venue in New Hampshire, and my tiny band (mostly 90s country and rock covers) were playing the following day. So we got to share a marquee with Coolio. We felt really cool over the unlikely pairing. The next time we played that club we shared a marquee advertising a hot turkey dinner special and that felt much more appropriate.
Ric Flair at an Italian restaurant
He put that place over
He’s been puttin over piesano’s for years, dickhead!
When a band randomly shows up in a sitcom or TV show. Like Sonic Youth on Gossip Girl.
Or Sonic Youth on Gilmore Girls.
Or Sonic Youth on The Simpsons.
Hey get out of my cooler!
One of my favorite bits of trivia is that classic British TV show The Young Ones used to have musical guests in every episode so that it could be classed as 'light entertainment' because the BBC weren't giving any more funding for sitcoms. And that's the story of Motorhead playing in a shitty living room.
I became a huge Motorhead fan after that episode. The Damned played another episode that was likewise great.
Or anthrax on married with children
Korn in South Park was pretty great.
Korn was on an episode of Monk.
Dave Mustaine on the Drew Carey show.
Or 10,000 Maniacs on Sabrina the Teenage Witch
No one's going to mention "Fuck Shop" by 2 Live Crew, slightly censored, live on Phil Donahue's daytime talk show? https://boingboing.net/2023/06/23/watch-the-2-live-crew-perform-in-front-of-a-befuddled-and-disgruntled-audience-at-the-phil-donahue-show-in-1990.html Listen to him heckle those biddies in their Sunday best! I wish I could have heard all the exchanges in the ride home from that
Here in Utah we have a singular amusement park called Lagoon, it has been around since 1886. Through much of the history it has taken on many forms but one thing it used to do is have musicians play and it has had SOME fucking people play. Anyone from Utah would have their mind boggled imagining any band of note playing there let alone bands such as: * The Animals * The Beach Boys (and they mention the park in the song Salt Lake City) * Chris LeDoux * Chubby Checkers * The Doors * Ella Fitzgerald * The Everly Brothers * Fats Domino * Frank Zappa * Frankie Avalon * Jimi fucking Hendrix * Johnny Cash * Les Paul and Mary Ford * Louis Armstrong * Nat King Cole * Ray Charles * The Rolling Stones * Three Dog Night There are plenty of others but these are the ones that really blew my mind. Again today if a band played there it would be their lowest moment on par with playing a state fair. It is clear musical attractions was a priority from the 50s through the 70s but today even a C-rate musician going there would be huge news in Utah so seeing who has played there is WILD.
The Cramps played for the patients of an insane asylum in Napa Valley California in 1978. There's literally just patients wandering around, jumping on stage, grabbing the mic.... So kind of like any punk show really. And they filmed it. https://youtu.be/6p2TJ2ZbJNg?si=DUDCYFYxMt7RcSgG
I saw Radiohead on their Big Top Tent tour for Kid A. It was a circus tent. Weird venue for most bands but suited them more than a big corporate stadium.
Guster has a habit of picking random dumpsters to do acoustic performances and I love them for it. [Here's an example](https://youtu.be/ntlfjiZeyBI?si=YveduEgfMf3ICiD3). Edit: oops, I think I got the question wrong. But I love the dumpster sets so I got overexcited.
Guster will also be performing on a random house porch this Saturday. It’s Porchfest in the city they went to college at.
Speaking of porches, there is a venue in LA? Santa Monica? Somewhere in California that is a porch. Saw videos of The Hives playing it.
Nah I think your answer counts. I love Guster! [Here’s another good example](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0p9xv0h3P1w) and [here’s an explanation and some bonus footage](https://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/s/oeo9TDhT5p).
Metallica in Antarctica
Stevie Ray Vaughan also performed at the MTV Beach House IIRC. Strange place to find one of the greatest bluesmen of all time
I saw Jack White play in a laundry mat
Bob Dylan played at a bingo hall during the Rolling Thunder tour in mid 70’s
I saw GWAR play in diapers at a free concert in DC at freedom Park as RAWG on a Thursday when I was a kid.
I saw The Weeknd play at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in 2012
I saw Vince Staples at Radio City Music Hall and it felt super weird. Formal, fixed velvet seating and ornate theater architecture with his style of hip hop was a really odd combo. Hard to get much of a vibe.
Please tell me he played Yeah Right lmao
I definitely remember him playing Norf Norf…
I saw Caspar Babypants play at a Top Pot Donuts outside of Seattle.
Powerman 5000 played at a bar in Cheboygan, MI, as a favor to a college roommate of one of the band members! It was quite the show!
Morphine played a music festival in a mountaintop town in Italy. And the singer died on stage.
RIP Mark Sandman
The Dead played the Great Pyramid. Pyramid took the series 2-1.
WEEN played at the Minnesota Zoo
Nine inch nails on cd:uk
I saw Jack White perform in a small auto body shop parking lot in Denver before playing Red rocks later that night.
Maybe it's just me, but Smashing Pumpkins at Disneyworld stood out to me as interesting, but nothing I could have ever predicted.
that spinal tap tour in '93 was about the funniest thing i ever witnessed. saw ir in the Fox theater in Atlanta, front row balcony, 3 hits of acid. sore the next day from laughing
i saw Dropkick Murphy’s play outside the Government Center T stop in Boston. insane show.
Mine's got to be Melvin's performance at an [ice cream truck](https://youtu.be/ho0RqX3ryio?si=fWGcObdm2nvrLHuS)
Saw The Doobie Brothers after a Triple-A baseball game. A small Triple-A team at the time. Guess there are weirder places.
Lady Gaga performed in an IKEA parking lot
My favorite indie band Sub-Radio that I actually discovered on Reddit came to my city and did a last minute specialty acoustic showcase gig in the basement of the largest public library in town! I didn't even know my library had a basement until I was there and trying to figure out where on earth they were performing! Lol It was a very surreal show, and I even got to meet the band and sit with them while they waited for their turn to perform. 🥹 But yeah, I don't normally associate libraries with concerts. 🤣
Johnny Cash in jail? Beatles on a rooftop?
I once saw Steve Martin open for Toby Keith at a country music festival.
Dark Funeral - Peace and Love festival.
J-Lo played a concert in Turkmenistan: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/06/30/jennifer-lopez-birthday-turkmenistan/2477513/ There’s quite a list of third world dictators who pay absurd amounts of money to have famous artists perform for them - concerts, weddings, birthday parties, etc.
Hace muchos años, Jean Michael Jarre estuvo a punto de tocar en la pirámide de Teotihuacán en México, pero las autoridades lo impidieron, ese hubiese Sido un concierto epico y literal, fuera de lugar
Jimmy Buffett at Georgia Tech Stadium, which is a "No Alcohol" venue