What is your favourite concert that you have seen live. Mine has to be the dixie chicks. I went with

[applegrove]

my brothers and a friend of theirs. Near the end of the show my oldest brother started shouting "No more Bush" as in "W". I thought he was yelling "No more Mush" and I started to hit him to make him stop. My other brother and his friend were laughing hysterically at me. Was a good time. Natalie Maines sure can sing. That was right after they got into trouble for saying they disliked Bush. I think they made the most money of any rock concert that year and I was pleased to be a part of it.

[gratuitous]

1. Bruce Cockburn, Eugene OR

Two nights after we saw him in Portland (no, I'm not a groupie, so stop saying that). Same show, but he was sick in Portland, and had to leave the stage for about 10 minutes. Two nights later, he was feeling much better (you could tell), and blew the roof off the Incredible Hult Center. This was the tour that became his Live album with him on the cover with a black leather vest, purple and green color theme, and the all-percussion version of "Stolen Land."

[applegrove]

2. I saw him give a talk on talk on Mozambique more than 20 years ago.

He was fabulous as a speaker/activist. Really inspiring. (I studied African History in university).

[lukasahero]

18. I'd love to see Cockburn in concert.

Lucky you. :)

[hippywife]

34. I'd be his groupie if I could afford to.

I think he's absolutely an amazing songwriter and I love his voice. I love his activism, too.

Lucky you! :hi:

[driver8]

50. I love Bruce Cockburn -- I've seen him a few times. Such a great songwriter and guitarist. n/t

[gratuitous]

69. I've seen him probably a dozen times

Every time he comes through town if I'm in town. Which means I missed him last time, and suddenly he hasn't been touring for a while. Nertz. Two of the best things about a Cockburn concert are the top shelf musicians he always has with him, and the prospect of seeing something musically that you've never seen before. I'm a mediocre guitar torturer, but I know when I've seen something special, and Cockburn often does something very special.

[Aristus]

3. A music festival in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1993.

For a number of reasons.

Incredible experience...

[LuvNewcastle]

4. Lollapalooza in New Orleans, 1995

I'm pretty sure Green Day was there, Smashing Pumpkins and L7 were there. It was all good, but I got fucked up. Me and a friend of mine both remember it as the best time of our lives, and that's the most important thing.

On edit: It could very well have been 1994. Now that I think about it...

[Kali]

5. I have three. ELO at Celebrity Theater in Phx back in the late 70s

El Dorado tour, rotating stage - they were fantastic

Todd Rundgren/Utopia outdoors in Mesa of all places, maybe in 1980??? he's just so amazing anyway, finally getting to see him was excellent

finally (and a little more recently - at least in the last decade LOL) a show headlined by the Reverend Horton Heat, but it was the second act that totally blew me away - Hank III freaking made me feel young again - great energy, played a bunch of his punker stuff but still that voice - Granddaddy for sure!


honorable mention: small show at an old dance hall in Tucson - the El Casino Ballroom - Queen Ida -
anybody that has ever seen her will know what I'm talking about!

[blue neen]

6. Oh my, this is ancient history.

Eric Clapton with Derek and the Dominoes AND Santana, Pittsburgh Civic Arena, 1975.

It was one of the few times when the roof was open at the Arena (which will soon be torn down)...it started to rain, and Clapton went straight into "Let it Rain".

We had seats on the floor, right up front.

<sigh> Those were the days, my friend. :)

[applegrove]

7. Sounds like a great time.

[hibbing]

8. U2 Zoo Station 1992/Bob Dylan 1994

Hi,
Hard to pick between the two. For pure rock spectacle, Zoo Station was incredible and was fun fun fun. Saw Bob on the day Nixon died in a scorching performance in a small performing arts center. Masters of War was scorching.

Peace

[elana i am]

9. clay aiken. really. i'm serious.

funny as hell! seriously. only concert i've ever been to where the artist actually sounded good live. in fact he's better live than recorded. and did i mention he's funny? he'll do pretty much anything on stage to get a laugh.

[kimi]

10. Oh, wow, good question

I loved seeing Jethro Tull way back when in LA, and AC/DC around the same time. I was walking through the hall of whatever venue we were in, and some guy stuck his hand up my skirt. I shoulda slugged the SOB, but he was smiling and cute, and I was high, so it was all good. LOL.

The most unforgettable concert had to be the Stones, with Prince opening for them in LA, again way back when, 1981 I think. Prince was basically boo-ed off the stage, it was sort of shocking to me.

[GReedDiamond]

31. I saw the Stones, Chicago, IL, in 1972...

...the tour infamous for having been filmed -- the finished movie being titled "Cocksucker Blues," and which ended up in litigation, with The Stones suing the Director to stop the film's release.

The opening act was Stevie Wonder. He was amazing, and he was certainly NOT booed off stage.

I remember the incident you refer to in '81, I wasn't there, but some friends were. Very sad.

[kimi]

33. Yeah, it was so weird

I'd done some acid, and then this anger comes across from the crowd towards Prince. Totally blew me away. I'd been brought up to be a polite person - you know, applaud everyone who performs no matter how good or bad they are (the fact that they got up there says something about them to begin with, eh?) So when the crowd in LA got so -- raucous and violent, it was very jarring to me. And in my inebriated state it was so much more enhanced. Not so much that I couldn't enjoy the Stones performing afterwards, but that is a concert that has stuck in my memory and will, for good, when a lot of others have passed.

[HopeHoops]

11. Musical Box recreating the ENTIRE Lamb tour - will all of the costumes, props, and slides.

[bikebloke]

12. Kraftwerk

Around 1980-ish at DC's Warner Theater. I had some of their cassette tapes, but wondered how good a concert would be. It was great!

[Dulcinea]

13. Toss-up between Springsteen & U2.

Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA tour, summer 1984, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh. Springsteen is the most amazing live performer I've ever seen.

U2, Joshua Tree tour, October 1987, same venue. Bono had a broken arm. It was 35 degrees that night & we were dancing in our winter coats!

[driver8]

51. I saw U2 in Philly in September '87 -- Bruce came out and played "Stand by Me" with them.

Without a doubt, the most amazing concert I have ever attended.

The energy in the crowd was like nothing I had ever experienced before -- Bono had almost 90,000 people in the palm of his hand.

Bono's arm was in a sling at this show, too. He had hurt it a couple of nights before in Washington, DC.

[abq e streeter]

14. Best concert was Bruce Springsteen in Chicago ,Sept. '78 (just edging out Bruce in '75)

The Uptown Theater....The best live band who ever to set foot on stage to play a rock and roll show, and absolutely at the top of their game. Four hours long and the entire crowd screaming for more after all the encores were over and the roadies were already moving equipment off the stage.

Honorable mentions: Stones in Denver 1994 (Mile High Stadium), just for the sheer spectacle of it, and for the fact that a friend was playing (and still does) as a sideman for them (he got us the tickets), and it was surreal seeing him up there with them even though , obviously, that's why we were there in the first place.

Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros at the Metro in Chicago in 2000. The power and charisma of this man was almost overwhelming. Mitch Ryder in 78 and 79 had a similar effect on me; just in a couple of small clubs in Chicago; maybe the most powerful singer I've ever seen.

Bob Dylan and The Band...opening night of Dylan's comeback tour in '74 at the Chicago Stadium...musically brilliant (it was Dylan and the Band together; not a case of one opening for the other) and an electric atmosphere; a feeling that this was a historic cultural occasion and then the music lived up to everything the anticipation had built up to.

P.S. Glad you liked the Chicks. Did a show with them, before Natalie came aboard (and several years before they became famous), in front of probably about 100 people at the New Mexico State Fair in '92, and want to let you know that at least back then (and I suspect still), Martie and Emily (and Laura, eventually replaced by Natalie) were the sweetest, nicest, most down to earth people you'd ever want to meet.

Also gotta mention Alice Cooper in Galesburg Ill. in 1970 at my college's homecoming dance(!)...Such an incredibly tight band and doing a show that was, at the time, so utterly shocking and innovative and unique. The massive amounts of hashish in preparation for the evening probably enhanced the experience somewhat too.

[Patiod]

68. Ding! Ding! 100% correct answer!

"The best live band who ever to set foot on stage to play a rock and roll show, and absolutely at the top of their game. Four hours long and the entire crowd screaming for more after all the encores were over and the roadies were already moving equipment off the stage."

Bruce live was/is indescribable. I've lost count of the non-fans I took to a live show, and they all "got it". Maybe didn't become fans, but agreed that his live show is mind-blowingly good.

[Ptah]

15. A Day on the Green Oakland Coliseum

Grateful Dead, The Beach Boys, New Riders of the Purple Sage,
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (June 8, 1974).

That was a great experience, however my favorite was right here in Tucson.

Garth Brooks, the same tour as his Central Park concert.

My kids were 9 or 10, great night!

[Broken_Hero]

16. Summer Sanitarium Tour, San Fran, Candlestick Park

Mudvayne, Deftones, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, and Metallica....best day of my life(at least top three).

[lukasahero]

17. Leonard Cohen - Boston 2009

Absolutely incredible show and such quality musicianship.

[marmar]

19. Prince.....the first night of the Purple Rain tour at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

I was 12, and that was the event that made me a music fan.

[Tikki]

20. The most dynamic was The Clash..We always looked forward to seeing ...

The Ramones (super dress up time for me) great show, awesome sounds.
We just saw X for the sixteenth time the other night.
The first real show we saw (as kids) was Paul Revere and the Raiders, then The Sonics.
The Elvis Costello & the Attractions show in the middle of the afternoon at a High School
auditorium was totally a different experience.
And the Damned at an outdoor venue was magical.
If you ever want to hear professionalism personified that would be Los Lobos
which is also a grand concert to take the whole family.

Tikki

[Dulcinea]

36. I would love to see X.

Hope they come to Atlanta one of these days.

[abq e streeter]

38. +1 re: X

except add Albuquerque or Santa Fe to Atlanta

[abq e streeter]

39. Maybe have expressed this before, but I'm insanely jealous of everyone who saw The Clash

(even though I DID at least get to see Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros, which I mentioned upthread as one of my most memorable concerts).

[Dulcinea]

57. Same here.

Love the Clash!

[driver8]

52. You and I have similar tastes in music, Tikki.

My wife and I try to see X every time we get the chance.

[Tikki]

64. Don't worry too much about Exene..(her MS diagnosis) she is looking fine...

and singing up a storm...
She and John did the acoustic version of "See How We Are"...just amazing.


Tikki

[driver8]

65. Damn, I didn't hear that she had been diagnosed with MS.

My wife will be sad when I tell her...

I love "See How We Are" -- one of my favorites!

[WinkyDink]

21. Adam Lambert. Glam NationTour. Roanoke, 2010.

Encore: 20th Century Boy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxOoU4oPcAo
Sleepwalker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Hy8ia9t_E&feature=related
Whataya Want From Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbW1aZTGZo&feature=related
Aftermath: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvW3Wn1dTfM&feature=related
If I Had You:http://www.youtube.com/user/virginiamom980#p/a/u/2/NZUdq9KOmX0
Soaked: http://www.youtube.com/user/virginiamom980#p/a/u/2/NZUdq9KOmX0

[westerebus]

22. Pink Floyd

June 18, 1973. Dark Side of the Moon.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

59. Pink floyd Chicago. My first and best concert.

Oddly, a Bette Middler concert in the 80's was pretty great too.

Edit to add Frank Zappa in Iowa sometime in the mid seventies was very memorable.

[progressivejazz]

23. Without question, Maynard Ferguson

At our local High School, where he had schooled the band members for a few days. The last evening he and his band did a concert that was outstanding. Finished with a never-recorded version of "Hey Jude". My wife and I were in a row that had an aisle behind it and his band spread through the auditorium to play this finale. Maynard stood right behind us. You've probably never heard a brilliant performer hit the C above high C repeatedly on his trumpet. We have, from right behind us. It had a lasting effect. Pity there's no recording of this version anywhere.

[Richardo]

89. Maynard was a big favorite of mine in the 70s too...

...as a mediocre high school jazz trumpet player I was in awe, and he did play a concert at our high school also.

Also saw several shows by Don Ellis, Woody Hermann, Doc Severinsen and Buddy Rich - all great. The 70s was my big band concert decade. :D

[Odin2005]

24. Green Day here in Fargo.

That was great.

[pokerfan]

25. Neil Diamond around 1978

Not that big a fan but the gf wanted to go. I was quite simply amazed at the rapport he established with the audience. Mind you, this was a 12,000 seat sold-out sports arena but he made it feel like a small night club. What I would call a consummate performer.

[Luciferous]

26. Metallica- Milwaukee 1997. I don't even like Metallica that much

but I had a great time. They put on a pretty good show :)

[femmocrat]

27. Paul McCartney, this year.

Incredible. Amazing. Wonderful.

[lunamagica]

54. Ditto. He gives everything to the audience, Best concert ever,

and I feel privileged to have been there to experience it.

[petronius]

28. Boingo - every Halloween of my youth...

[here_is_to_hope]

43. +1! eom

[HERVEPA]

29. Leonard Cohen

Radio City in New York for mt 60th birthday

[TZ]

30. Rush

Now, the Dixie Chicks and the Rolling Stones were as good performances, but Rush performed for almost THREE hours. That was AMAZING.....

[GReedDiamond]

32. Captian Beefheart and the Magic Band...

...at The Whiskey on Sunset Strip. Very early eighties, I think '82, with the band lineup which recorded on the albums "Doc At The Radar Station" and "Shiny Beast/Bat Chain Puller." They literally reproduced the recordings, live, including live fade-outs (which is especially tricky for a drummer). I snuck a stereo cassette tape deck into the club inside a Wheaties box, and recorded the show.

I mention this as I mourn the passing of Don Van Vliet, only yesterday...

Other great shows:

Black Flag, WÜRM, my band (The Hundredth Monkey), plus many others, July 3-4 California Marijuana Initiative Smoke-in, 1982, U.S. Federal Building, Los Angeles CA.

The Minutemen, Stick Against Stone, my band, plus others, October 30, 1982 "Rock Against Reagan" Tour, U.S. Federal Building, Los Angeles CA.

Those were especially good because we helped organize the events, performed in 'em, and I got to watch Black Flag and The Minutemen from (literally) three feet away, up on the stage.

There are many others, Pink Floyd in '72 (they played stuff from Dark Side of the Moon, before the album was released); Oingo Boingo through the 80s; The Residents with their giant eyeball heads; Hawkwind and (on a different night) Hot Tuna at The Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL, early 70s...all great memories!

It is not possible to pick a favorite, but it might be the Beefheart show.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

71. I've been listening to "Shiny Beast" and "Doc" since Don's passing...

...I've owned the albums since their release, but last night I was kind of shocked when re-confronted with the apocalyptic sexuality of "Making Love To A Vampire With A Monkey On My Knee"...and of course, that song's final lines:

"Take my hand 'n join me... too soon its clutches gleams
Making love to a vampire with a monkey on my knee
Death be damned... life"

:toast:

[laylah]

35. 18 years of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. nt

[PJPhreak]

37. Geez...Thats a toss up,

My two most memorable have to be either Ike and Tina Turner at the State Theater in Kalamazoo Mi,1971

or

Sha-Na-Na at Saratoga Performing Arts Center,1975

Both were Awesome!

I'm gonna date myself here but growing up in New York in the 70's (69-77) I got to see Everyone that passed thru NY in the 70's,From Aerosmith and Alan Parsons to Led Zepplin and ZZ Top...If you add the Grateful Dead Shows that I have been to,I have seen almost 700 Concerts in my life.

Music is Life.

[kayakjohnny]

40. The Yellowjackets and Shadowfax at the Tampa Theater in 1985.

I'm still stunned by what I saw and heard that night.

Second row, center.

With a sweet little pot buzz.

And it gives me chills every time I think of it.

I remember it like yesterday.

Here's the venue.

[applegrove]

41. Wow that is gorgeous!

[kayakjohnny]

42. Yes, beautiful. It's been there since 1926. Has a long and wonderful history.

It's a real source of pride for the people of Tampa.

And the sound that night was like a wonderful dream.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

44. Springsteen

his first concert after Danny's memorial

[abq e streeter]

46. That must have been an indescribable experience

the sheer joy of a Springsteen concert mixed with the terrible loss they and all the E Street nation had just gone through.I still get a little choked up watching these...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tW4M_DwQ84

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGPBqscW6RQ

...and goosebumps at the moment Charlie Giordano's organ joins in with Roy Bittan's piano...

[stuntcat]

45. 1.Prince 2.Nina Simone 3.Leonard Cohen

I can't leave a single one of those off my list of tops! :headbang:
4th is Florence, 5th is Portishead, 6th is Antony, oh don't get me started :p

[tigereye]

47. Queen Ida and her Bon Temp Zydeco band about 20 years ago now

but an Elvis Costello show here with Emmy Lou Harris, that lasted about 4 plus hours, runs a close second.

[Initech]

48. Nine Inch Nails - end of 2008

It was sweet. Took a short solo trip to Sacramento and Vegas. Two nights, two different venues. The Vegas one blew me away, but the Sacramento audience was way more fun. Afterward I went to hotel bar and got drunk, it was fun.

[Hayabusa]

49. Pearl Jam this year

Taking my mom to the concert in Kansas City (she's a fan, too) using my second Ten Club (fan club) ticket. It was inside the Sprint Center, so there would be no encore of the raging thunderstorm that had been my first time seeing the band.

She drops me off at the venue at 2:00 and circles around the area so I can get my tickets from Will Call. Turns out, we win the lottery. Rows 1, 2 and 10 are assigned randomly instead of by seniority in the fan club. We get the second row, right in front of the lead guitarist. Needless to say, it was an awesome show and my mom really enjoyed it. That's probably also the greatest birthday present that I will ever give her.

[Martysbestcatch]

53. The Beatles

Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, 1964. Ticket price ($6.90) was expensive back then. Quite a thrill...I was 13.

[lunamagica]

55. Wow,,,,, just wow

:wow:

[applegrove]

91. That must be an amazing memory.

[pinboy3niner]

56. Beatles at Dodger Stadium, Aug. 28, 1966

Ticket price was $ 6.00. Bobby Hebb, The Ronettes, and some other acts opened. But it was pretty noisy with all the screaming, LOL!

DUer msongs tells a story about it in a short narrated video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTTGMyJ7Lps

[MiddleFingerMom]

58. Toss-up. I was never a Clash fan 'til I saw them as the 3rd of 4 bands...

.
.
.
.
.
...during Thw Who's first "final" tour.
.
.
.
If it hadn't been The Who... and I hadn't been seeing them for the first time... and
it hadn't been their (ahem) "final" tour... The Clash woulda blown 'em ALL away.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sometime in the 80's, I saw Bonnie Raitt. Her back-up band was "Chicken Legs". The band
was simply unfuckingbelievable. When I asked my friend after the show why I had never
heard of them before, he laughed and told me they were the surviving members of Little
Feat (after Lowell George had died and before they re-formed).
.
.
.

[old mark]

60. Allman Brothers Band with Canned Heat opening, 1970...

saw both bands at their prime, with all original members alive and in great form. Had some great 1970 pot then, too...

I was in the Army at the time.

mark

[jobycom]

66. Oh man.

I saw the Allman Brothers in the 80s. They were terrible--classic example of a band collecting a paycheck. IMHO, they weren't any good after Duane died. But 1970? Wow! That I'd have loved to see. Sadly, I was barely potty trained by then. :)

[Bragi]

61. Dixie Chicks, Stones

Not all at the same time (that would be awesome) but 2 concerts stick with me.

I've seen the Chicks twice, but I liked their Top of the World tour best. Itw as probably the best concert experience I can recall. (There were several in the 1960s where my recollection isn't that good.)

I also saw the Stones in 1990-something in Montreal, it was their Steel Wheels tour, and it was amazing, no doubt in part because we were only a few rows from the stage.

[Bragi]

62. Oh yea\h, and the Beatles inToronto in 1964

Can't leave that off the list.

[lovemydog]

63. The Clash at Motor City Roller Rink

Detroit. Around 1981.

[jobycom]

67. One concert--Jimmy Hall, Leon Russel, Charlie Daniels, The Allman Brothers, and Cheap Trick.

It was around 1984 in a stadium in Mobile, and called something like "Alabama Southern Jam," or some such. The Allman Brother sucked so bad the crowd quit paying attention to them, and very pointedly stopped applauding at the end of the concert instead of going for an encore. The band seemed eager to leave soon after they started the second song, anyway, so I doubt they were heartbroken.

The rest, though, were awesome (said in a Bill and Ted voice). Cheap Trick was the final act, at night. They came out for three encores, then the stadium turned the lights on. The crowd kept screaming, so Rick Neilsen walked back out on stage and grabbed a guitar and said "They told us we have to leave, but fuck 'em." He started playing "Day Tripper" by the Beatles, and the rest of the band walked back out, and they turned the lights back out, and the band played four or five old Beatles songs. Sounded like a garage band. Who knows, it may have all been part of the act, but it worked anyway. I couldn't talk for a week afterward. :)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

70. Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart, the "Bongo Fury" tour

Beefheart opened for Zappa, but unfortunately, they didn't share the stage for a single song. I sat there dreaming of a "Willie The Pimp" that never happened, but it was STILL an amazing concert.

Frank was in full "guitar" mode that night...at one point he pulled his hair back into a ponytail, explaining to the audience "this next one is SERIOUS MUSIC, and he just frigging RIPPED into "Black Napkins." Napoleon Murphy Brock was not only hot on the Zappa albums, this guy was FUN to watch. Frank did some sort of "Wolfman" rap and Brock, in response, was prowling the stage in a semi-crouch, blowing the living hell out of his sax.

I saw Frank two other times...once, in Boston, with the "Flo & Eddie" band...filthiest performance I've ever seen, period. The other was at the Circle Star Theater, Frank & the "Roxy & Elsewhere" band, with George Duke. He was into the "ensemble improv" thing that night, stretching out on longer pieces like "Approximate" and "Inca Roads."

Runner-up would be Bob Marley...the guy was every bit as amazing as his legend, even MORE so.

But Frank was a childhood hero...the other two being Neil Young and John Lennon...so Frank takes my personal top spot (never saw Lennon or Young in concert).

[Iggo]

72. US 83 at Glen Helen in Devore, CA.

Quiet Riot
Motley Crue
Ozzy
Judas Priest
Triumph
Scorpions
Van Halen

$21.50 (Mm-hmm. About three bucks per.)

[era veteran]

73. Bowie in a club in Berlin, Tull, or Zappa

Or The Who, Dead, Stones, Beach Boys, Ike and and Tina @ Club, 68. Hard to plck. Oh yeah Chase.

[Bertha Venation]

74. Alison Krauss and Union Station at Wolftrap.

[Richardo]

78. I'm envious

:wow:

[Bertha Venation]

80. If you ever get a chance to see them, do it.

They were magnificent.

[Burma Jones]

75. Ramones, Knox College, Galesburg, IL, October 1979

Knocked me right off of the Prog Rock Bandwagon and into Punk

Also, many Dead Shows

Also, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, Nissan Pavilion in July 1999

[abq e streeter]

79. From my post above: "Also gotta mention Alice Cooper in Galesburg Ill. in 1970

at my college's homecoming dance". :hi:


Who'd have guessed; two shows at Knox mentioned in this thread...

[meegbear]

76. Roger Waters - The Wall ...

Wow. Just wow.

[K8-EEE]

85. Oh hey my friends are singing background on that tour!

Do you know of the group Venice?? They are hometown heros here in L.A. but pretty much make their living in Holland where they are really popular. They are enjoying the "A-List" experience after having been travelling on a shoestring for 30 years! Hopefully after "The Wall" they will resume their own shows I really miss them>

Interestingly they are the younger brothers and cousins of the Lennon Sisters (Lawrence Welk fame!)

And, they are the answer to my fave concert ever I just didn't think anybody would know who it was!

Here they are doing a cover "Magic Carpet Ride"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJzlT7sRTvM

[Richardo]

77. Talking Heads - 1977 - At the Roxy on the Sunset Strip, Hollywood

Very small room, seats right at the stage. Tickets were <$10. :headbang:

[mikeytherat]

81. Jellyfish at Club Rogues - Virginia Beach, Virginia, early 1990s

To this day, after hundreds of concerts, I have never seen a band just flat-out tear it up live like they did that night. They sounded perfect, gave one hell of a show, and just owned the place from the very first note. A magical experience.

mikey_the_rat

[1gobluedem]

82. Temptations and Four Tops together

1984, with a full band. It was incredible.

[pinboy3niner]

83. One memorable moment...

Tom Paxton and Pete Kennedy were playing at the Birchmere, a folk club in Alexandria, VA in the late '80s. They have separate acts, but decided to be onstage together and take turns performing.

Early on, their bantering led to a oneupmanship contest about who grew up in a smaller town. They went back and forth about it until Tom thought he had a winner: "Our town was so small, the only business we had was a Motel 6," he declared.

But Pete came right back. "Well, our town was so small, all we had was a Motel 5," he said, and the audience was in stitches. :rofl:

[Kat45]

84. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, The River tour, 1980

I wasn't even a fan then and couldn't understand why he was such a big deal. Everyone said you have to see him live, so I did. He totally blew me away and I've been a huge fan ever since. They played for 3 or 4 hours, and though I've been to many, many concerts through the years, I still say he's the best performer I've ever seen. I've seen him a few times since then, including his performance at Fenway Park in Boston and a show on the most recent tour, back with the E Street Band.

[Codeine]

86. Morrissey in Devore, CA -- Halloween, probably 1995.

He'd been scheduled to play a festival a few weeks prior but cancelled for flu reasons. Came out for a make-up show and just killed. The Dears opened for him and they were amazing as well.

For a small venue I'd definitely say it was Camper Van Beethoven at Cal State San Bernardino in 89 or 90. Black Sun Ensemble opened. Fantastic show, though the on-stage tension between the band members was visible even then.

[dembotoz]

87. hendrix

my first concert

[Bennyboy]

88. The Grateful Dead....EVERYTIME!

Saw em 500 times. And every night was great. Always different, always did things that no other band even thought about.

[Iggo]

90. Anthrax, Testament, Metal Church. Santa Monica Civic. 1987. (Small Venue)

EDIT: I could swear Overkill was on the bill, too, but I can't find any proof on the tubes.

For a large venue, as I mentioned upthread, can't beat Us Festival '83.

[Moondog]

92. Billy Joel. Wembley Arena, London. 1984.