Streetalk: What was the summer’s best and worst concert?

Guess which is best and which is worst: Depeche Mode, Marilyn Manson and Janet Jackson.

Ann: Depeche Mode at Lakewood. Amazing. I’m like an old-school Depeche fan. I don’t like a lot of their newer stuff. They’re from the ’80s. It’s kind of a gothy peppy sound. It’s very danceable. Voltaire the worst. I hate him. He was really rude. He has no respect for the audience. I didn’t like the way he talked, the way he treats people. It’s obvious how objectifying he is. It’s retarded. I only went because I was going to a dance party afterwards and he wouldn’t get off stage so I was forced to listen to him play.

Nicholas: Marilyn Manson. It kept me on the edge of the seat that I would have been sitting in. Last year when he came through he put on a big old grand show and he wasn’t all that. This year he came out just wearing a razor blade T-shirt. No special effects and just did his sets. I didn’t like I.C.P. Insane Clown Posse. They came out and did this Christian thing. The sound wasn’t any good. And one of them was fuckin’ drunk up his ass so he was fuckin’ up the performance left and right. You really can’t take them too seriously anyway.

John: Janet Jackson. Just terrible. The costumes was hideous. It looked like it was Halloween. Her vocals weren’t  all that great. I’d rather listen to somebody like strangle a cat. It was very uninspiring. Janet should retire. Regina Spektor was the best. She has amazing lyrics. She’s not as strong as vocalist as, say, Christina Aguilera, but I’ve always loved her music. Really intimate. It’s not a big production. She just plays her instruments on stage. It’s very raw, stripped down.

(Photos by Jeff Slate)