I Saw Five Concerts This Summer. How Did They Rank?

I went to five music shows this summer. How did they compare? Which did I like the best?

Here Are The Five Concerts That I Went To See During the Summer of 2026:

June 17: Wilco at the Levitt Pavilion at the SteelStacks Campus in Bethlehem

June 13: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Avett Brothers featuring Mike Patton as part of the PA 250 Commonweatth Concert Series at the Hershey Park Stadium (free show for Pennsylvania residents, tickets distributed by Ticketmaster but show was no cost to us)

July 17: Death Cab for Cutie opening act Japanese Breakfast. Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts

August 2: The Clarks. PNC Stadtplatz (Bethlehem, PA) at Musikfest located next to Bethlehem Public Library (Free show, part of Musikfest lineup)

August 4: Weird Al Yankovic, opening act: Puddles Pity Party Bethlehem Musikfest Windcreek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza (Musikfest Main Stage)

Which Shows Did I See For Free?

1. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Avett Brothers featuring Mike Patton
2. The Clarks

Which Bands Had I Seen on Previous Occasions?

1. The Avett Brothers, but not with Mike Patton (who is the former lead singer of the band Faith No More). They played together at the show we saw under the name AVTT/PTTN
2. Death Cab for Cutie. I also saw lead singer Ben Gibbard’s other project The Postal Service play live in 2013.
3. The Clarks

I Like to Expand the Experience for the Concerts That I Go To By Listening to the Music Beforehand:

I got my father’s Bose stereo working this summer and I have been experiencing some renewed interest in listening to my old CDs. Before attending the Clarks show in early August, I spent some time listening to my CDs of The Clarks and that really got me pumped to go to the show.

Wilco Impressed Me Even Though I Did Not Know Their Music Well Before the Show

I did not know the band Wilco very well before the show. I bought the tickets as an anniversary present for Mr. Katie because I knew that he liked them. However, I invested some time listening to their music before the show and I realized I knew more than I thought about their music. Wilco played two complete sets on the night of the show, with no opening act. There were still a lot of songs that I didn’t know. However, I found that I really was blown away by their performance that evening. I was glad that I “studied” a little before the show but seeing them live really made me want to listen to their music more. Also, the show was held on beautiful evening, and you could feel the great vibes in the air. It was a warm June evening with a light breeze; the band even remarked on how great it was. The venue that they played in was relatively low fuss and the crowd was large enough but not too large. The band sounded great and you could tell that everyone was having a good time.

We brought the boys to their first two concerts this summer.

Nugget and Mr. Man joined us for their first concert which was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Avett Brothers featuring Mike Patton. We had already planned to take them to the Weird Al show when the first opportunity presented itself. I am glad that we had those experiences. However, Nugget I am not sure, was quite old enough to be at concerts. First, he doesn’t really like loud noises, though he does like music by both Weird Al and the Avett Brothers. We brought ear protection to the Joan Jett and Avett Brothers concert, so that helped, but we forgot to bring it to the Weird Al show.

Also, Nugget really, truly is a music appreciator. However, he might not be a staying out late appreciator. At the Avett Brothers show, we had seats and he ended up laying in my lap for at least half of the show.

Mistakes were made at the Weird Al show, and we bought general admission tickets for a show that really had no space in the general admission area. We ended up sitting on the ground in the area near where the food vendors were located. Mr. Man liked it and thought it was entertaining, but Nugget wasn’t really feeling it.

Here Are the Final Rankings for Which Show I Liked Best This Summer:

1. Death Cab for Cutie opening act Japanese Breakfast. Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts
2. Wilco at the Levitt Pavilion at the SteelStacks Campus in Bethlehem
3. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and The Avett Brothers featuring Mike Patton
4. The Clarks. PNC Stadtplatz (Bethlehem, PA) at Musikfest located next to Bethlehem Public Library
5. Weird Al Yankovic, opening act: Puddles Pity Party Bethlehem Musikfest Windcreek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza

Here is my rational for my rankings:

I chose Weird Al as my last place show because the evening was very hot and we didn’t know that the general admission section would be a minuscule box that most people would not be able to fit inside.

I had been at the Windcreek stage at Musikfest last summer to see the Avett Brothers and we had a much more enjoyable experience. We paid for better tickets last time, so I am sure that accounted for some of the experience. Weird Al put on a good performance, but he also uses a lot of video clips and pre-prepared antics. Also, I realized that while it seems that since everyone is a Weird Al fan, it almost feels less like a special fandom club. It’s like if everyone is a fan, is nobody a fan? When I was at other shows this summer, I enjoyed being around other fans but if an artist is really popular are you really sharing anything by being there together.  Again, Weird Al put on a fine show, it just was my least favorite that I saw this summer.

The Clarks show was great, but it rained the entire time. I liked being around other fans of The Clarks though since I know fewer of them, especially in the Lehigh Valley. It felt nice to be around people who were excited about The Clarks.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Avett Brothers featuring Mike Patton were good. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts had the audio turned up too loud, but I still enjoyed it. I didn’t know much about Mike Patton before that show, but ultimately, I liked that show a lot. Hershey gave out a lot of free bags of gummy candy at the show and that was fun. Also, there were fireworks after the show so that was great too. However, it was a hot night, and we had to pay to park to see a free show, and our car was parked so far away. I had a good time, but I might not choose to see a show at Hershey Amphitheatre because you have to deal with the whole Hershey of it all during the summer. There are a lot of other people there!

Wilco was an exciting surprise because I knew so little of their music, but they were great musicians with a good show.

I chose Death Cab for Cutie as my first-place concert because they put on a great show. I last saw them live in 2009 and Ben Gibbard and company have lost nothing since I saw them last. They have just released a new album this summer and they played a retrospective show that included new music as well as favorites from their albums Narrow Stairs, Plans, and Transatlantism. Their sound was great; they brought the right energy and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts vibrated with their music at times. On the night of the show, there was still wildfire smoke in Philadelphia and yet that fact did not put a damper on the quality of show that they put on. We missed Japanese Breakfast because we were running late but I got soft serve from an ice cream truck parked in the parking lot after the show. Bonus!

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