What was the very best live concert you ever went to ?

[steve2470]

I haven't been to many. The best one was probably my very first one, 1974 Tampa Stadium, with CSN&Y and other acts. I was 16. My older brother took me, thanks bro! You rock!

[NewDeal_Dem]

1. I saw fleetwood mac on a small college stage right before they made it big (the nicks/buckingham

version of Fleetwood mac).

[Aerows]

2. Tori Amos

I've seen her live around 7 times, but the Orpheum theater performance right when Under the Pink came out was the best.

Yes, Anastasia when she hit that note could shatter glass - it was an awesome performance.

[Aerows]

3. Oh, and I saw Nine Inch Nails

at Tipitina's on Tchoupitoulas - when they were the *opening* act for Peter Murphy. That was pretty awesome, too. Concrete Blond played there along with 4 non blonds.

Good music!

[Recursion]

5. Oh my God I was such a huge Concrete Blonde fan back in high school

I would have killed to see them.

[Aerows]

7. Johnette Neapolitano

has a voice that is a steel fist in a velvet glove.

Just for you, I'll post this one. She has a phenomenal voice.

[Recursion]

8. "Caroline" and "Joey" are still my favorites.

She... is... amazing.

[Aerows]

12. I love Caroline

Such a great song.

I was in traffic one day and Joey came on the radio. I belted out the lyrics so hard that the other people in traffic cheered me

Alas, my voice is not as elastic these days.

[Aerows]

14. One of my favorites, too

[nomorenomore08]

107. Don't forget "Wendy." Classic tune, even if it's a godawfully depressing one as well. n/t

[abq e streeter]

36. Finally saw Johnette this year...Solo acoustic, and fantastic.

If she ever comes back this way ,I'll be there.

[Aerows]

9. Just for you :D

[Recursion]

11. Oh man, that's the soundtrack to my high school years :)

Thanks!!!!

[Aerows]

13. I got a new sound card

and it is a major delight to crank up some Concrete Blond

My ears are so happy with the new set up I have, an optical amp and new sound card, I'm pleased as punch.

[Recursion]

15. I still have the physical CD to Bloodletting

I don't keep many physical CD's...

Thanks so much for taking me back!!!

[Aerows]

16. I have the casette

if that isn't old school, I don't know what is.

I guess I'm a big ol' nerd

[Recursion]

17. NICE! The only cassette I still have is the Crash Test Dummies' "The Ghosts That Haunt Me"

Though that actually is a really good album.

[Aerows]

19. Help me think up another good band

I'll find it on youtube. You have great taste in music, my friend

[Recursion]

21. Oh Lord... are you a Tom Waits fan already? (I assume so?)

Failing that: Neko Case, Neutral Milk Hotel, or given the season try Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLaughlin's "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"

[Aerows]

23. Joan Jett

Kicks it around the block and back again.

[Aerows]

26. In keeping with the Christmas season :D

[Recursion]

22. Or, since you posted already, here is my absolute favorite song in the world (Violent Femmes)

[Aerows]

24. That was awesome, I raise you :)

[Aerows]

25. No thread involving the Violent Femmes

should be without this one.

[Recursion]

29. So true!

[Recursion]

4. Grizzly Bear opening for Radiohead

#2 was Widespread Panic opening for the Indigo Girls
#3 was Blues Traveler opening for the Allman Brothers

[WhiteAndNerdy]

6. Hard to say.

Probably either Stevie Nicks in 1989, or Bob Seger in 2007. Those were both awesome shows. I haven't been to a lot of concerts, but really, all of them were great. I saw the Scorpions around 1991 & that was a great show. John Mellencamp I've seen twice, and he's terrific live. I even saw Anne Murray in a small venue with my ex-GF, and loved her. I went to see Chicago once because my roommate had free tickets, and it was a good show, but they're not a favorite of mine, so I don't remember a lot about it. The Indigo Girls were fun, too, but it was just Amy, Emily, & a pianist, so not really the same as seeing them with a full band. Oh, I saw Jimmy Buffet once, too -- not one of my favorite concerts ever, but he's fun.

[orleans]

10. concerts i remember going to

rolling stones, stevie wonder, alice cooper, uriah heep, jethro tull, weird al, todd rundgren, frank zappa, anita baker, cyndi lauper, blondie, buckinghams, patti smith, aretha franklin
(probably others i'm forgetting)

but the best, entertaining show was.....

FLO & EDDIE!!!

(from the turtles & they also sang with zappa's mother's of invention)

their band was great, their music was great & fun, and they were immensely entertaining. i saw them a couple times but the show i'm talking about was at the park west in chicago. they were amazing!

[Aerows]

18. Let's take some requests

I can find nearly everything on youtube, and my new sound system needs a workout.

[Aerows]

27. This thread is not complete without some NIN

[Initech]

48. See my reply.

NIN is by far one of the most amazing bands you could ever possibly see live in the modern era. And their shows keep getting better and better.

I went to this show last year:

[SeattleVet]

28. Man, so many great ones!

A few standouts, though...

James Brown at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, NY in 1968 or so.

The Coasters, Platters, Shirelles, Bo Diddly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets at Madison Square Garden.

Another concert at MSG - Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Bobby Rydell...and Ricky Nelson, who was booed off the stage that night. (This was the concert that he later wrote 'Garden Party' about, but only from his perspective. We had a slightly different take on it.)

Tommy Emmanuel - if you *ever* get a chance, go see him. Superb performance, and extremely entertaining.

Pearl Django - in a couple of smaller jazz venues here in Seattle.

Ella Fitzgerald at The Blue Note in Greenwich Village.

George Benson at the Blue Note. My left elbow was on the stage, we were so close.

Pete Seeger in a free concert at the 72nd Street bandshell in Central Park.

Arlo Guthrie at the 20th Anniversary concert for Alice's Restaurant, at Carnegie Hall.

John Sebastian at Carnegie Hall. His wife had just had a baby, and someone tossed a joint on stage. He said, "I'll be right back" and went off in the wings to have a quick smoke, then started the concert.

Sha-Na-Na at Saratoga.

Peter Schickele's annual performances of the music of PDQ Bach at Carnegie Hall.

The Philip Glass Ensemble performing Koyaanisqatsi live to the film... and another time for Powaqqatsi.

Overall, though, the absolute best would have been a concert in Frankfurt, Germany in 1979. Boney-M had just released the 'Oceans of Fantasy' album, and the concert was one of the best I have ever seen. Outstanding performance.

[GreatGazoo]

32. "Ra-ra-rasputin, Russia's greatest love machine...."

[lovemydog]

63. Holy crap you've seen some great shows!

James Brown in his heyday. Wow.

[DFW]

70. PDQ Bach!

The left-handed sewer flute!

[Recursion]

30. You know who gave an incredibly good show? Barry Manilow

I'm not a fan of his music, but I caught him once when I was running cable at the Merriweather Post Pavilion and they let us stay for the show.

His style really isn't what I'm into, but that guy had possibly the best rapport with the audience I've ever seen.

[UglyGreed]

31. The Kinks Roseland Ballroom NYC

and the hardest rocking show was AC/DC at the Nassau Coliseum.

[GreatGazoo]

33. One of the Stones concerts from the heyday

either 1978's Some Girls Tour at Anaheim stadium with J Geils, Etta James and Peter Tosh leading off, or
the 1987 concert with Living Colour and Guns-N-Roses opening at the L.A. Colessium

Also Bill Graham's AIDS benefit in May 27, 1989 -- Tower of Power, Tracy Chapman, John Fogerty, Los Lobos, Joe Satriani and the Grateful Dead.

Loudest show: Lenny Kravitz at the Wiltern (an acoustic era stage and a small-ish 600 seat theater)

Longest set: Santana at Radio City in 1997 (turns out Clive Davis was at the show and Santana wanted to, and did, impress the hell out of him -- "not 'too old'" "not 'done'" -- Davis signed him for the record deal that became the come-back album of the decade: "Supernatural&quot . Santana played for 3 hours. Literally played until they turn on the house lights and closed the back curtain over his logo. He went to the mic around 12:15 and said dryly, "I think they want us to leave.."

Best small room show: David Bowie and Tin Machine in that 1930s theater in L.A. The room was small and half empty because Bowie had abandoned his disco/dance stuff in favor of a more punk/metal sound. You could literally walk onto the stage -- the room was like "the Rainbow Room" -- an old theater built for big bands. Just 3 steps up and you're on stage.

Trippiest: Tangerine Dream at the Wiltern, 1989 or Pink Floyd at a hockey rink, one of their last show under 20,000 seats -- lasers, projections, inflatables, the pig, the crashing plane, everything.

Best value: Box seats, BYOB at the Greek Theater for the Doobie Brothers around 1990, $8 a seat

Honorable mentions: Ike & Tina Turner from the 2nd row
Robert Plant at the Forum from about row 15 and we had to stand on our seat for the whole show (because everyone in fron of us did).
U2 for the Rattle & Hum tour
(AFKA) Prince at Jones Beach, 1996
INXS at a TV studio (Sony) 1998

[kwassa]

52. Stones, 1978 Some Girls tour, Detroit ....

unannounced concert until the day of the show.

$10 a ticket, front row balcony in an opera house set-up, close to the stage. Only 4,000 seats, tiny for them, while they were playing stadiums elsewhere.

They kick ass from beginning to end.

[AtomicKitten]

105. I saw the Stones in Anaheim in 1978.

And ELO at the same venue a week before.

[abq e streeter]

34. My 2nd Bruce Springsteen concert, in 1978.

Outside of a few other Springsteen concerts, very few others were even close.....I'd have to put Dylan with the Band among the handful of "close" as well as Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.....
Mitch Ryder , Sly and the Family Stone, Rancid, and Toots and the Maytals were pretty damn good too. And Leon Russell way back when, right after the Mad Dogs and Englishmen (who I wish I'd seen, I have a hunch they'd be on the "close" list too).

[lovemydog]

60. Where did you see him?

The bootlegs from that Darkness Tour are the best. Passaic, Phoenix, Detroit & Cleveland are some particularly great ones.

[abq e streeter]

73. The '78 ones (the first of those 2 was the one I was thinking of)were in Chicago

I've also seen him in Phoenix and Denver (and once solo acoustic in Albuquerque in about 95).....And my first one was the Auditorium Theater in Chicago in '75 . Which was pretty damn great too.Most recent was Denver 2 years ago, and it actually may have been the best one since that 78 show. Even without Clarence ...The first of my 3 Denver ones (85) was in the freezing cold at Mile High on his birthday.
That 78 one that was the best one of em all, was at the Uptown Theater....
I have had the 3 record set bootleg from the Capitol Theater in Passaic since back then , and it's pretty incredible, isn't it? That whole thing is in B&W on you tube now . Amazing to be able to see it after hearing it for 30 years....And I listened to the Cleveland one (Agora Ballroom?) live on the radio in Chi. but for reasons that are incomprehensible to me now, I didn't tape it.

[femmocrat]

35. Paul McCartney

He is still awesome!

[lunamagica]

47. Same reply from me!

[snacker]

90. I agree!

[sendero]

37. The second time ..

.... Cocteau Twins came to Dallas, played in Deep Ellum. The Heaven or Las Vegas tour in 1991. By this time they could afford to hire enough musicians to support their performance and it was awesome.

Unlike the first time they came to Dallas and Ms. Fraser was so nervous she really couldn't sing at all. Nobody complained, we all felt sorry for her.

Seeing the Police and the Talking Heads in the same tiny venue (on different dates) each rate a close second!

[catbyte]

38. Bruce Springsteen, August 1980, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit

They played for 4.5 hours with a 15 minute break a couple of hour in. Epic.

[OriginalGeek]

39. Not sure I could pick a favorite

but I cried the first time I heard Robert Plant sing Going to California live. I can't even begin to explain, for many reasons, how much that meant to me.

Nearly the same when I saw John Paul Jones at a House of Blues - the man is amazing in everything he does and I think he could play any instrument in the world masterfully.

On a different note, The first time in almost 20 years Bolt Thrower played live in the United States I knew I had to go - they were doing one date in Maryland and I live in Florida so I hopped on a plane and went to the Maryland Death Fest to see Bolt Thrower. It was worth every penny and more so I went to the MDF the next 2 years as well. Saw a LOT of great metal bands that I never thought I'd ever get to see. MDF has a pretty good track record for that sort of thing. If I win the lottery I'll go every year they do it.

Alice Cooper puts on a helluvva show.

I saw Pink Floyd at the same stadium you saw CSN&Y Steve - that's certainly on the list of favorites.

I've lost count of how many times I've seen Tom Petty from the early 80s onward. He has never disappointed.

The second time I saw Metallica they were headlining an arena tour for their ...And Justice For All album. I loved them sooooo much back then and that was a spectacular show. The first time was good too but it was just a 30 minute opening slot on the Monsters of Rock tour with Van Hagar and the Scorpions and Dokken (Again at the Tampa stadium!) so it just wasn't as impactful. The gloriousness of that arena show is tarnished though by how much of a dickwad Lars turned out to be and the absolutely shitty albums they released after ...AJFA.

I saw Iron Maiden on their Piece of Mind, Powerslave and Somewhere In Time tours. NWOBHM doesn't get any better than that.

Morbid Angel, Atheist and Obituary in a club in Ybor City on a tour for their (MA's) first album was incredible. MA again a few years later with At The Gates blew me away.

Slayer and Motorhead at the Tampa Fairgrounds. They were both touring on what I consider each one's best album (South of Heaven and Orgasmatron) so that show melted my face.

I have literally seen thousands of bands at hundreds of shows at little clubs all over southeast and Texas so picking a favorite would be hard. I once drove 300 miles round-trip to see Napalm Death at a little club on a work night and I didn't even like any other band on the bill. ND weren't even the headliners so at least I got to head home early lol. Still worth it. I will never skip a Napalm Death show if I can get to it and make it back to work the next day. And probably even if I can't. Same for Carcass.

In 1984ish I took a girl with me to see Rush on their Grace Under Pressure tour. After the show she said "Yeah, I think I like Rush..." We've been married for 28 years. And we've seen Rush close to a dozen times since then.

Concerts are my number one favorite hobby - I go to a lot of them and have to skip even more of them for money/schedule/distance reasons but nothing beats live music for me. From Stevie Ray Vaughn to Trans-Siberian Orchestra to Joan Jett to Death to an Indianapolis Orchestra's christmas music show, I love me some tunes.

[HERVEPA]

40. Leonard Cohen - Radio City Music Hall, May 2008 3.5 hours

3 great back up singers, 7 great musicians.
My 60th birthday,best birthday of my life.

[vanlassie]

96. Lucky!!!!

[nomorenomore08]

129. Amazing that he can perform for that long, that well, at his age. The guy is damn near immortal.

[HERVEPA]

132. That was almost six years ago. But somebody I know saw hin a year ago and

he was still as energetic.

[nomorenomore08]

139. I might have to give in and buy a $100-plus ticket someday, just to see him before he dies/retires.

[HERVEPA]

140. I paid $360 for two tickets.

Never paid anything like that before or since for a concert, and it was well worth it.

[nomorenomore08]

141. Hope those were some damn good seats!

[HERVEPA]

142. They were not the most expenbsive, but pretty good.

Got them on stubhub. The list price for each seat on Radio City site was $250. Not sure how that works.

[Skittles]

41. my favorite were AC/DC and Judas Priest

always good

[Initech]

56. AC/DC and U2 are on my bucket list.

I had the opportunity to see U2 on Sunday but Bono had that bike accident in Central Park.

I've seen Judas Priest twice and they kicked ass both times. I'd love to see them on the current tour but I'm a little cash poor right now.

[Skittles]

76. I've never seen U2

I heard about Bono but haven't kept up on all news and hope he will be OK!

[Initech]

77. I've been developing a theory...

I listen to the Kevin and Bean Show on KROQ IN LA, and a few months ago, Kevin earned notoriety for accidentally hanging up on Paul McCartney when he called the show to talk about his Dodger Stadium appearance. And a month later Sir Paul had to cancel his Japan tour because of throat problems. Then Bono calls into the show to talk about U2's appearance at the KROQ Christmas concert, and Kevin hung up on Bono, and then he had that bike accident. I'm wondering if a curse is developing.

[nomorenomore08]

112. I saw Priest in 2011 at the "Bone Bash #(?)" in Concord, CA.

At the time I was tripping on something (*cough*mushrooms*cough*) so it was kind of a strange all-around experience, but still highly enjoyable nonetheless. 60-year-old shaven-headed Halford was seemingly able to hit every single high note from his youth - even the metal scream from hell on "Victim of Changes" - and he rode a motorcycle onstage for the second to last song ("Hell Bent for Leather&quot . We had seats way up on the lawn, so I was watching the video monitors just as much as the tiny men onstage - which I think added to the surreal effect of it all.

[Skittles]

113. I saw them "bank in the day" and loved them

although they never played my favorite song EXCITER

[Initech]

42. Nine Inch Nails 2008 Lights In The Sky tour.

Hands down the best tour I've ever seen. Went to three shows on that tour - LA, Sacramento, and Vegas. Here's some video from the show, although even the videos don't do it justice:

[hifiguy]

43. Small venue - Patti Smith's Easter tour, 1978

Saw her in a 2000 seat theater and the roof levitated during the Saturday night show, the high point of which was La Smith leading a singalong of the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" while she standing atop the PA. In-fucking credible.

Brian Wilson's "Smile" show in 2004, IIRC, Orpheum Theater. Words fail me.


Large venue - Emerson Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery tour in 1974 with the quadraphonic PA. Holy shit, just holy shit.

Pink Floyd - Metrodome - Metrodome, 1994 in support of The Division Bell. Only time I will ever see PF. A religious experience

Honorable Mention: Frippertronics in a 500-seat venue, 1979, Laurie Anderson in 1984, REM in 1984, Pretenders in a club in 1980, Blondie in a club in '77, the original Mahavishnu Orchestra in a theater, 1973, which was my first live concert and remains to this day the loudest thing I have ever heard.

[lovemydog]

65. Awesome hifiguy.

She was at the height of her talents back then. I think not long after that show she fell from a stage, hurt her back and was out for a while. That's what i've read. It was a very serious injury.

[hifiguy]

74. IIRC Patti took a header off a stage in Europe on the Radio Ethiopia tour

And she was out of action for a couple of years. The Easter tour/album was her comeback from a couple of cracked bones in her neck (yikes!) and a broken wrist or some such; she was on fire on the Easter tour. She even signed a book of her poetry for me at a local record store that weekend. She seemed like an incredibly cool person.

[lovemydog]

79. Oh yes, you are correct.

My bad.

Yeah, she is so cool.

I've watched a lot of her videos. Speaking and performing. Her induction into the rock & roll hall of fame speech is really beautiful if you haven't seen it yet.

[progressoid]

44. Stray Cats.

They were opening for the Stones. The Stones were pretty good too I guess.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

45. The Jimi Hendrix Experience in May, 1970 at the Berkeley Community Theater.

Jimi was on fire that night. I also saw Hendrix twice in 1968 but this was his best. The warmup act was the great, great funkalicious Tower Of Power, making their professional public debut.

[lovemydog]

59. Wow. That must have been unforgettable.

If I could go back in time i'd like to see that show.

[dembotoz]

88. jimi my 1st and best

all downhill after that

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

94. After Hendrix, the next best concert would probably be Chick Corea and Return To Forever

that I saw at Royce Hall at UCLA in about 1976. Return To Forever was comprised of probably the best four rock/jazz fusion musicians of the age: Chick Corea on keyboards and synthesizer, Al DiMeola on guitar, Lenny White on drums (man, was he GREAT), and Stanley Clarke on bass. I think they did their entire album, Where Have I Known You Before, and it was as perfect and dynamic as the recording. It blew me away.

I drove a bunch of friends up from Orange County to see them and before we went in to the concert hall, we all shared a Thai stick and I tried cocaine for the first time. The coke must have been very good stuff because I was on another planet. It was December, I think, and I took off my coat and went around in my t-shirt and was still dying of heat, despite of steam coming out of my mouth when I exhaled. I was buzzed and I forgot my car keys and locked myself out of the car. When the concert was over, I went backstage to look for a coat hanger to try to unlock the lock on my car (which I eventually did, after feeling a little bit embarrassed in front of my friends). Back stage I saw Chick and the other guys walking next to me and talking about the music. I'd been told by my musician friends that I looked like Chick Corea, especially with my moustache and goatee. For a second I wondered if I was having an out of body experience and seeing myself from outside. Return To Forever was awesome. It was the first and last time I ever did cocaine. Song To The Pharoah Kings was overwhelming to the senses done at high volume on stage, live. The Shadow Of Lo was also tremendous.

[Demoiselle]

46. Joe Cocker in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia a very VERY long time ago!

Red velvet and gilt and fabulous acoustics. And a lovely smoky aroma wafting up from the orchestra seats. At one point a cute groupie fell backwards over one of the amplifiers, legs flailing. And a dog who looked liked the RCA Victor "His Masters Voice" pup entered stage left and lifted his leg on one of the big amps on the stage apron. This was in Medieval times, of course.
I'm not sure if the Grand Old Academy has seen the like, before or since.

[hobbit709]

49. Hard to tell, seen so many.

Worked at Armadillo World Headquarters for 4 1/2 years. Saw Hendrix in 1969.
One of the best shows was an all-night blues jam at the original Antones herein Austin. I don't remember who the original headliner was but by the time it broke up at dawn, B B King, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, both Stevie and Jimmie Vaughan, and a host of others had played.

[OriginalGeek]

81. Saw Buddy Guy a few years ago

at big festival in Orlando. He was way down the bill, at a weird time and off on a side stage far away from the main action but he was one of the highlights of the festival for me. Buddy, Robert Randolph and the Family Band and the Roots made the whole shebang worth it. Woulda paid the same just to see them and skip the 30 other acts I saw.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

50. Crosby, Stills, & Nash

at Starwood in Nashville, about... wow-- 20 years ago, give or take. Nothin' like being in an outdoor auditorium full of aging hippies, all happily stoned and grokking the night together. It was a fantastic show, made all the better by the fact that I got a free 7th row ticket.

My other favorite was Don Henley during his Building The Perfect Beast tour, again at Starwood. You ain't lived until you've seen Sunset Grill done live!

An interesting side note about that concert- during one of the songs there was a kid about 10 years old standing just off on the wing of the stage, attempting to conceal himself by standing behind some speakers. He was obviously a band member's kid, as he had an unplugged electric guitar in his hands. He stood there thinking nobody could see him playing that dead guitar. He had no idea everyone in the audience was watching him as he hit every single note perfectly. We all knew that kid's future was assured, whomever's kid he was. When the song finally ended one of the light men hit him with a spot and the band brought him out onto the stage, where he received a standing ovation.

Great music. Great times.

[kwassa]

51. Talking Heads at the Greek Theater, LA, 1983.

riveting. mind-boggling.

The story was that Jonathan Demme was at this concert and decided to make a film about it ....

The concert was better than the concert film about it.

[lovemydog]

61. Yeah, I can imagine.

The way they started with just David Byrne and a beatbox, doing Psycho Killer. Then adding one musician at a time. Until by the end it's this total funkadelic experience. Everyone on their feet dancing and sweating! Truly inspired tour.

[bluedigger]

133. Stop Making Sense Tour for me, too, in Nashville.

Just an awesome show.

[Mr.Bill]

53. I've been to dozens of rock concerts and seen many of the greats

over the past decades, it would be hard to narrow it down to the best ten. I've even been present when some live albums were recorded, like Frampton Comes Alive.

But the one that stands out was not rock. it was Sammy Davis Jr. singing in front of Count Basie and his orchestra at Caesar's Palace in South Lake Tahoe in 1982.

[drmeow]

54. Roger Waters Radio Kaos tour 1987

He did it as a live radio show complete with Jim Ladd (from KLOS in LA back in the day) and a phone booth on the floor of the forum where members of the audience "called in" to the radio show where he was "in the studio" taking calls. He did a version of Nobody Home which was so perfectly spot on that it could have been from the album - complete with him sitting in an arm chair on stage flipping through channels on the TV with the clip with Gomer Pyle saying "surprise, surprise, surprise" coming on at exactly the same moment as on the album. I'm not a huge Waters fan - I went with a friend - but that concert blew me away.

Not a music concert but saw Robin Williams in 1981 - AMAZING show

Saw CSN with a last minute surprise appearance of Y at a concert for Greenpeace in 1987

Other great concerts:

Tears For Fears, Songs from the Big Chair tour (7th row center seats!) 1990
Erasure, not sure what tour 1992
Live, Throwing Copper tour 1995
Billy Joel, Glass Houses tour 1980

The US Festival in 1983 just for the sheer number of bands although it was too big a venue to be the best show: The Clash, Men at Work, Stray Cats, Flock of Seagulls, The (English) Beat, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, INXS, & Divinyls

[fizzgig]

55. i'm still over the moon about riot fest in september

the flaming lips were trippy enough that it didn't matter than i was sober, we watched the hot snakes from the ferris wheel, weezer played the blue album, die antwoord was nuts, heard enough social distortion and primus to make me happy, but it was the cure that made it. i danced my ass off for two and a half hours and was 20 feet from robert smith while i did it.

[lovemydog]

62. Unreal.

I love how the Cure are as popular now as ever. A buddy of mine saw that tour too and said their sound was just incredible. And I can't believe how long they played.

[fizzgig]

93. it's the fourth time i've seen them and it's the shortest set i think i've seen

the husband originally protested going, but i told him that if robert smith could get on stage at altitude (denver), we could go see them.

[Expat in Korea]

57. Al Green in Knoxville, TN. Early 90's.

Not just the music, which was outstanding, but the crowd, too.



A close second would be either Gregg Allman with B.B. King in Jackson, MS, in the mid-80's or ZZ Top sometime around 1980.

[lovemydog]

64. The Reverend Al.

No one can sing like him. He killed it on Letterman just last week.

[Expat in Korea]

67. Oh???

I missed that. Will see if I can find it online...The man is pure gold.

[lovemydog]

58. Kanye West, Glow in the Dark Tour

He came out of a space ship that elevated up from the stage. After the encore the curtain rose and he introduced the full symphony that had been playing behind him during the show. Spectacular performance.

[jmowreader]

66. The Alarm in Spokane, 1986

No one in Spokane had any idea who these guys were. Then they walked out on stage and started playing this:

If you're going to introduce your band to a completely new audience, that'll do ya.

[Rhiannon12866]

68. Probably Bruce Springsteen, University of Vermont, around 1980

He put on an amazing show, with numerous encores. And I saw him, thanks to my brother who was a student there at the tine, as well. It was a fairly small venue, still had some hearing issues the next day, LOL, but he really was terrific!

[WinkyDink]

69. Many great ones, but only one with my Idol of 50 years: Chad Mitchell Trio, Sellersville, PA. I had

the ENORMOUS luck to be invited to eat dinner with them, and sat shoulder-to-shoulder to the great, the extraordinary-voiced, Chad himself.

[kwassa]

72. We never eat fruitcake because it has rum ....

one of his albums was essentially memorized in my house when I was a kid. I still remember whole sections of it.

Lizzie Borden took an ax, and gave her father 40 whacks ....

[WinkyDink]

83. "Yesterday, in old Fall River, Mr. Andrew Borden died,..." ---->

[DFW]

71. MANY!!!!

Most mesmerizing? Probably a tie between Ravi Shankar at Constitution Hall in DC, around 1967, and La Mystère des Voix Bulgares in Düsseldorf, around 1990.

Runners-up:
Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers (with Duane), Country Joe and the Fish, The Electric Flag, The Hollies, The Youngbloods, Hendrix, Canned Heat (1967 lineup), Bonnie Raitt (many times over the years), The Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Bruce Hornsby, Paul Simon (Graceland Tour), Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler (post DS days), Steely Dan, Leo Kottke, Steeleye Span, Johnny Winter, the list is endless............

[WinkyDink]

85. Ha! I left early from a Ravi Shankar concert at PSU in 1967!

[DFW]

95. I really liked his music

But then, an ideal meal for me is garlic nan bread, papadam, onion baji, and chicken tikka massala on basmati rice. Some would puke at the thought. Different strokes for different folks. Namasté!

[WinkyDink]

98. Hey--that's not only an ideal meal for me as well; I MADE it just last week (the chicken tikka

masala part)!

LOVE Indian food!!

The music just doesn't resonate with me, though!

[PennyK]

75. Bette Midler 1999 (The Divine Miss Millennium Tour)

I'd never seen her and had heard so much about how much fun her live appearances were, going waaay back to the 70s. Well, it was truly amazing! My feeling about her shows (and I've been to many, many since) is that she recreates an old-time vaudeville variety show - with herself as ALL of the acts! You laugh, you cry, you stare, you sigh, you love. She is truly The Divine. A talent with heart - in the truest sense of the word.

[Adsos Letter]

78. Jethro Tull

Munich Olympic Stadium, 1975.

Golden Earring was the opener.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

84. That sounds awsesome

[bigwillq]

80. My most recent, Lady Gaga,

at the final show at the historic Roseland Ballroom in NYC in April 2014 was very good.

Aerosmith was very good (seen them 4 times). My most fave show was probably the one I saw in 1998.

Alanis Morissette was fantastic back in 1996.

Saw Notorious B.I.G. and Lil Kim in 1995 or 1996---fantastic.

These were some of my faves.

[Taitertots]

82. Ultra 15 - 6 days of insanity in Miami

[olddots]

86. Howlin Wolf at Club 47 Cambridge Mass. 1963

Everything elsehas been nothing compared to Wolf.

[OnionPatch]

87. Pink Floyd - Animals

It was in Cleveland and I can't remember the exact year. I think it was around 1980. It was AWESOME!!! The music was just sensational. A giant pig balloon swooped over the stadium and fell into the crowd and jet planes swooped overhead. We got mugged on our way back to the car by a group of thugs who demanded "give us all of your drugs.....we know you have some!" I guess our eyes looked a little spacy. Heck we would have shared if they had asked. They didn't hurt us though, so it was still a great concert.

I saw them again in Tampa Stadium years later, I think it was The Wall. It was good, but it was nothing like the Animals concert.

[IDemo]

89. Yes + Todd Rundgren, 1975 or 76

[TBF]

91. No Doubt at WHFS Festival in the 90s -

Gwen Stefani was incredible. I went to a bunch of those festivals in the 90s - folks like James, Violent Femmes, Cracker, Gin Blossoms, Counting Crows - they were all amazing. James spun around so much I thought he would get dizzy and pass out or something. Good times.

[lutefisk]

110. I loved WHFS...n/t

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

92. 1971 I think..........

Leon Russel was 2nd on the bill to Quicksilver Messenger Service. He DESTROYED the audience and left us worthless for Quicksilver. Without a doubt, to this day, the absolute best concert I've ever been to and I've seen a few. He is truly one of the very best at his craft........

[CrawlingChaos]

97. PJ Harvey

It was my first intimate venue experience and she was completely mesmerizing. I *love* her music and she's an incredible live performer.

I had only previously been to big arena shows including a few 13+ hour Grateful Dead shows (dragged to by some guy) that I found mostly underwhelming. I got tear gassed seeing the Rolling Stones, and they show wasn't even that great. I did enjoy R.E.M. But PJ Harvey was the first concert that made a big impression on me. I guess I'm more of a small venue person.

[Rowdyboy]

99. Sex Pistols in Memphis Tennessee....(1977?)

[Populist_Prole]

100. Judas Priest 1980, Palladium in NYC

Small hall with great acoustics. The band was at their peak, creativity-wise, and they never sounded better.

[tavernier]

101. Andre Rieu.

But then I'm a sucker for Strauss waltzes, and he even made it snow in the stadium.

[RoccoR5955]

102. Only one?

There were so many!
Especially in the late 60s and early 70s at the Fillmore East.
Then there were the Schaefer Concerts every summer in Central Park.
I saw the greats there.



Actually, the best live show that I was ever at, I sang at.
It was a memorial concert to Pete and Toshi Seeger at Lincoln Center in NYC this past summer.
You can watch it on youtube:

[MADem]

103. Pavarotti.

Once in a town square (free) and another time at an opera house--both times in Italy.

Guy had some pipes.

[AtomicKitten]

104. Elvis Costello 1994 Shoreline Mountain View

[yuiyoshida]

106. Boa Kwon

[blockhead]

108. The Guess Who

Original lineup about 10 years ago

[undeterred]

109. Harry Connick, Jr at the Chicago Theatre

He is an amazing performer.

[lutefisk]

111. Steppenwolf at a bar in the middle of nowhere

Just because it was kind of surreal. I don't remember all of it, but I know it happened and that I was there- at a table right in front a few feet from the band.

[nomorenomore08]

114. I'm kind of torn between "most notable" and "most fun" even though I enjoyed the hell out of both.

The "biggest" band I've seen would probably be either Judas Priest in 2011 (see upthread) or The Roots in 2003 - though I wouldn't consider either among my very favorite shows, just professional, enjoyable performances.

As far as my personal "bucket list" bands go, I've seen the Jesus and Mary Chain (w/ Gang of Four), Swans, Eyehategod (twice), Dropdead (twice), Godflesh, Excruciating Terror, all of which were amazing shows/sets. The ones I haven't seen are far too numerous to name but would include Dinosaur Jr, Neurosis, Melvins, Van Halen w/ DLR (Hey, they're still touring!), My Bloody Valentine, and believe it or not, Morrissey (If I'm gonna see him or Cohen I'd better hurry!).

Honorable mentions would include Watain, who I saw play a 90-plus-minute set in Oakland a few nights before Halloween 2013; Acid King and Black Cobra, who I saw together at a small club in S.F. a couple months before that; and sludge/doom metal Oakland locals Noothgrush, who I've seen twice and are probably the loudest, heaviest live band I've ever witnessed.

[Number9Dream]

115. Floyd, Elton, Springsteen, Tull, CSN&Y...

So many, but here are a few:

Pink Floyd - Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City - '73 - all of 'Dark Side', 'Meddle', others - amazing sound!

Elton John - Madison Square Garden, Thanksgiving, '74 - John Lennon on stage for 3 songs!

CSN&Y - Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, 8/8/74 - the night Nixon resigned... everyone was
pumped.

Jethro Tull - Madison Square Garden, August, '73 - Just an amazing show.

Springsteen / E-Street Band - Roxy Theater, Northampton, PA - April, '74

[mulsh]

116. SNACK SUNDAY 3/23/75 benefit for SF schools

great line up. My father bought tickets for me, my brother and a couple of friends even let my brother drive his car to Kezar.

Great line up. Greatfull Dead, Edie Pamieri, Graham Central Station, Tower of Power, Doobie Brothers, Joan Baez, Santana, Jefferson Starship, Neil Young with most of the Band and Bob Dylan. lost of celeb announcers like Marlon Brando. It was a real local affair. The dead came out of their short lived retirement from performing to play this gig.

[link:http://www.concertvault.com/playlists/s-n-a-c-k-sunday-kezar-stadium-i-was-there/playlist-301976.html|

[GOLGO 13]

117. Iron Maiden/Judas Priest - Where Priest got banned for life from Madison Sq Garden.

Last edited Tue Dec 16, 2014, 05:22 PM - Edit history (1)

#1 NYC - Madison Square Garden (1980 something)

It was for the # OF THE BEAST/Screaming for Vengence albums and Maiden gave a hell of a performance.

However, near the end of JP set the fans ripped out their seats and the air was filled with foam cushions. A great mountain of cushions was assembled on the stage, to which the mighty Halford ascended and surveyed the damage. He raised his arms, smiled and proclaimed, "Look at what you have done". The sky suddenly became filled with more spinning, joyfully, yellow missiles of love & adoration.

MSG got new seats paid by the insurance companies and JP got a lifetime ban.

#2 NYC - The Ritz (Sometimes during the 90's)

Corrosion of Conformity/ Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (DRI)/The Melvins/Cro-Mags & Stormtroopers of Death( I think)

First time stage diving & first mosh pit experience. Think I lost 3pds from insane cardio that night. Such a tremendous, exhilarating experience. The music was good (I think).

[nomorenomore08]

124. Sorry to nitpick, but are you sure it wasn't 'Number of the Beast'/'Screaming for Vengeance'?

'Beast' and 'Defenders' came out about 2 years apart. Great story either way though.

And that CoC/DRI shows sounds fucking amazing. Way to make me envious.

[GOLGO 13]

135. You sir are correct. Thank you.

I was really there for Maiden. Big fan after I the Killers album.

The Ritz back in the 90's was the place to go for slightly smaller bands to play that outgrew CBGB but not strong enough for MSG. Saw lots of concerts with multi-band shows at the Ritz. Man, I miss it sometimes.

[nomorenomore08]

138. You ever see Helmet, or Unsane? Just thought I'd ask because it was early-90's NYC.

[GOLGO 13]

144. Oh sure. Numerous times.

Helmet was one of those bands that was super active in the NYC scene. They played a lot of shows with bands like Danzig, Prong, the guys from Anthrax and they whole NYC hardcore scene. Good solid band.

[Denis 11]

118. Bruce Springsteen

July 1981 Brendan Byrne arena in NJ. Best concert I ever attended.

[sinkingfeeling]

119. The Beatles in Cincinnati, Ohio about 1964.

[DawgHouse]

120. Smashing Pumkins, House of Blues Orlando.

This was in the late 90's. It was the best concert because my son was/is a huge fan. It was a great show. My son was on the floor, front row near the stage. Billy reached out his hand and touched him, gave him a guitar pick. Good times.

[sharp_stick]

121. Skinny Puppy

At the University when I was an undergrad. It was a pretty small show back in about 1992 or so and it was incredible.

They, and Ministry, were my introduction to the Industrial genre and their shows were nothing short of epic.

From fake blood to wild video walls. I was near the front and the guy that introduced the band told everyone that we were in the "splash zone". He was telling the truth.

I've seen a lot of shows but this one will stick with me forever.

[KamaAina]

122. The Dead, in New Orleans in '88

It wasn't the show itself so much that set it apart from my other 12 shows, but the tie-dyes taking over Bourbon St. afterward!

[nomorenomore08]

126. '87-'88 was a pretty good era for them, especially considering Garcia's health/drug problems.

I need to give that New Orleans show a listen.

[bif]

123. Bjork at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Among others.

I've been to so many great shows over the years. Queen. Jefferson Airplane. Yes. John McGlaughlin. King Crimson.

[appalachiablue]

125. Elvis, Dylan, the Allman Bros. w Duane, James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & the Family Stone,

Bonnie Rait, Prince, Bruce Hornsby, Sting.

[nomorenomore08]

127. OMG what a list!

[appalachiablue]

131. Thanks, all great. Late, I forgot-Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Chic Corea, Ritchie Havens,

Raul Malo, Anita Baker, Jakob Dylan.

[KeepItReal]

128. Prince in the New Orleans Superdome

Wendy and Lisa from The Revolution were there also.

[hibbing]

130. U2 Zoo Station

Love seeing bands at what I think is their pinnacle. Close second is Dylan on the day Nixon was buried.

Peace

[Scuba]

134. Tom Waits, Halloween eve, 1976 in Madison.

Although the Widespread Panic show I caught in Denver last month was special.

[Arugula Latte]

136. I always think: "That was the best one ever!" after each concert.

Can't pick.

[Ahpook]

137. The Cure :)

I was blown away!

My girlfriend loves that band and got us tickets to go see them. I wasn't really enthusiastic, but whoa they floored me

Think it was 1997 in Orlando.

On edit: As great of a show as it was, Robert Smith was pissed off most of the night as someone had made a shitty slur about his accent.

[steve2470]

143. any other input ? This thread has turned out great! nt

[flying rabbit]

145. Roger Waters

the Wall. a couple of years back. Hands down. #2= George Thorogood