Best:
Against Me!, this is a band that I have seen what seems like an uncountably infinite number of times. If I really think about it I can think of a minimally hazy five times I have seen them live and have never seen them miss a beat. Granted this was all before the White Crosses fiasco that I am glad I was very far removed from, and that I hear they are still recovering from. However, some of the finest memories I have of live shows in Hattiesburg come from the night they played in the Green Room. I even remember a guy dressed like a sailor sitting alone with a pitcher of beer cheering them on, and to be cheered at by some guy that looks like he is on a stake out for Jack Sparrow gives the best review I can muster.
Kobyashi Maru, damn. Although they were local and indigenous to Mississippi, and even though I lived with the guitarist's brother for a while, I will never forget the first night I went to see them in the Hippo and they finished the set with a cover of that Alkaline Trio song Radio. Even if you had never seen them before and you didn't know a single song, that cover alone blew the whole place up. I remember their original stuff being pretty good, but to me, if you can take a whinny band like Alkaline Trio and make one of their songs an anthem belted out by and entire bar of tattooed people who would typically use Alkaline Trio fans as clay pigeons at the firing range then you have gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Runners up: Coheed and Cambria, Killswitch Engage, Tool
Worst:
There once was a skate park in Oak Grove called "Rage" and there once was a boy who liked to go and see local bands. That boy was me, and Rage Skate Park is the scene of what could be the most violent musical crime ever to be committed. Let's just say that Methamphetamine and all ages shows in skate parks don't mix and that Brown Sox was one of the worst things I have ever beheld in my entire time on earth. The lead singer/guitarist had a guitar strap with two inch spikes on it, his BAC was approximately 12, and he had absolutely no clue where the hell he was at. On numerous occasions he attempted to jump from the balcony where they were playing twelve feet to his compassionate demise, only to be reminded by his friend the bassist that he was connected to the amp by a chord and that jumping probably wasn't the best idea. For the sake of music, it probably would have been best if he had.
Kingski. Seriously. I cannot imagine Brad or Al not putting this on the bad list because despite the hilarity that it inspired, Kingski was easily one of the worst things I have ever seen. Especially to be opening for a high priced band like Tool. The woman played bass with a violin bow, the songs all sounded like the first song and the first song sounded like Chernobyl post nuclear melt down. The only thing I could think was "run" and this is probably not the impression they wanted to leave. But, maybe I'm biased because I even hate their name. Actually, Kingski is probably one of the reasons Tool is only a runner up in the best category because now every time I hear a song like Lateralus I try to think back 15 minutes to see if I have blocked out a painful memory of Kingski attempting to take me to the sonic toolshed.
