Friday, February 24, 2012

Men at Work to Metallica


Josh Briggs works in the restaurant business, but he never lost his appetite for being a working musician too. The band he sings in and plays guitar for, Five on Friday, has been staying busy in the area, and as a solo artist Briggs recently released the CD “Back to Bliss.” It’s as a solo performer that Briggs returns to the Coppertop Sunday for a 4 p.m. show. Briggs answered a few questions about his concert-going experiences, and reveals a bit of his eclectic tastes. Here’s what he had to say:

What was the first concert you saw and what do you remember most about it? “Harry Chapin in ’82 or ’83. I was 9 or 10, and really the only thing I remember is that everyone was smoking ‘funny smelling’ cigarettes, and I thought it was weird that he just sat on a chair the whole time. As opposed to my second concert Men AT Work! I was on my father's shoulders the whole show and decided right then and there that I had to play the saxophone. I spent about one year trying that until I realized that bass guitar was cooler.”

What was the best concert you’ve seen, and what made it the best? “Without question, it was Fishbone at the Berkshire Performing Arts Center. I had never really seen a band put every ounce of energy into performing while at the same time just being absolute masters on their instruments. I still think about that show when I go to concerts.”


What was the worst concert you’ve seen, and what made it so bad? “I guess I have two that really stand out. The first is when I went to see The Cult open for Metallica at the old Centrum.  I was a huge Cult fan and didn't really know or care about Metallica. The Cult were so terrible, however Metallica blew me away. I think that night changed me forever. I had a similar experience when I saw the Smashing Pumpkins at Lollapalooza. I thought they were going to kill it, but they followed The Beastie Boys on the ‘Check Your Head’ tour and they just couldn't come close to comparing.”


If you could see any artist from any time, who would you pick to see? “This one is tough. I have so many shows that I would have liked to see, but I guess if I had to pick one, I would like to have seen Jimi Hendrix perform the night that ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band’ came out. I guess Sir Paul and Eric Clapton were in the audience and Hendrix played the title track. I'm sure that was pretty fantastic.” 

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