What was the best concert you ever saw?

[Joe Fields]

I've seen some great ones, but for me, I'd have to say Santana opening for Eric Clapton, at Municipal Auditorium in KC, 1975

So many other great ones rank right up there, though.

[Broken_Hero]

1. Summer Sanitarium tour, in SF 2003...

Mudvayne, Deftones(Kicked much ass), Linkin Park(sorta weak), Limp Bizkit(better than I thought) and Metallica(effing great!)

[LeftyMom]

3. The Deftones did a free show down at Cesar Chavez park last year.

I missed it. :( I gotta go see them this year.

[Broken_Hero]

8. They are very good, and they are a Sacramento band

so thats a bonus! :D I never really cared for them much, until that show...their 1hr long set, totally kicked my ass...I had ZERO energy left after they were done....whew...best mosh pits of the night.

[MonkeyFunk]

2. The 1983

US Festival

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. McCoy Tyner/Pharaoh Sanders a few months ago at The Blue Note.

[LeftyMom]

5. Metallica and GnR in Oakland in 1992ish.

[Rhythm]

52. yeah, it was '92

I went to that one when they got to South Carolina. Actually went to see Faith No More than i did the others (had seen Metallica a few times, and GnR just didn't do it for me)

[LeftyMom]

110. I did not get to see them, they had a schedule conflict.

:(

[Cobalt-60]

6. ELO,Journey, and Golden Ear ring, St. Louis, mid 70s

[AtomicKitten]

27. ELO in the 70s were AWESOME

I saw them the same summer (1977) as the Rolling Stones, and ELO blew the Stones away.

[AtomicKitten]

29. Elvis Costello at Shoreline in 1996.

wicked awesome

[greendog]

7. Springsteen

"Born to Run" tour.

[guitar man]

9. Pink Floyd

Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, 1988.

[Dukkha]

15. me too

09/16/87 Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

three more times after that. can't belive it's been 20 years!

[guitar man]

19. it was awesome

the most dynamic stage performance I ever saw.

[johnnie]

80. I was there

There were two shows, did the one you go to have a really nasty thunderstorm during intermission?

[Maineiac]

111. Me too. it was the Dark Side of the Moon tour

Early 70's I think. We smoked too much dope that night but I still remember the good parts of that concert.

[liberalpress]

10. Elvis 1972

Never appreciated him till I saw him live.

[Joe Fields]

74. I would love to have seen him.

[driver8]

11. U2 at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia...September 1987. Here is some footage

of U2 and Bruce Springsteen playing "Stand By Me." When Bruce walked out, the place absolutely erupted!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6h4ku0bxUc

[darkstar]

16. Nice..hadn't seen that.

Bono's arm was broken or something?

:hi:

[driver8]

32. Yes -- he broke his arm in DC a couple of nights before Philly.

The person who posted the U2/Bruce video also has posted one that shows Bono at the hospital getting his arm treated.

[Maestro]

18. I chose that same tour but I saw them in Houston.

It was a great year for them before super stardom hit.

[BarenakedLady]

12. Barenaked Ladies

I've seen them several times but the best was probably my first back in 1994.

[MorningGlow]

86. Hey, where was that one?

I missed it. Did you see them at the Highland Park Bowl in...what was it...'96? I even went to their free lunchtime concert at MediaPlay in Henrietta. GREAT STUFF! I LOVES me the 'Ladies!

[AlCzervik]

13. Rush Moving pictures 1981.

[driver8]

33. I saw that tour -- absolutely amazing!! n/t

[ms liberty]

49. An excellent show, in my top 5. n/t

[MAGICBULLET]

14. Manu Chao

free at summerstage in central park ca. 2002

a close second would be george clinton/parliament funkadelic. definitely the loudest show i've ever seen.

[Maestro]

17. Hard to say....

I have seen so many. The old Texas Jams are near and dear to my heart, but the performances could be hit or miss at times but the main attraction always kicked ass. I remember seeing a then unknown Jon Bon Jovi in 82 or 83 and thought that he was better than Bryan Adams who got a higher billing.

Anyhow, all time favorite though will have to be U2 on the Joshua Tree tour in '87 in Houston.

[Joe Fields]

20. Yeah, I can remember seeing a then unknown Van Halen open

for Black Sabbath. They were the talk of the concert.

[Maestro]

21. Van Halen had the talent

but they just couldn't keep the egos in check. Hell, I am still listening to Sabbath and rarely listen to Van Halen any more. Although I saw them on their Fair Warning tour in '81 and that concert as well as the Diver Down tour are in my top ten for sure. Poor Van Halen, they just imploded. Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio are touring now as Heaven and Hell. Great stuff that has stood the test of time.

[Joe Fields]

25. I'm with you on that.

[Tikki]

22. THE CLASH....Santa Monica Civic Feb, 1979

We have seen many extraordinary shows in our time...

The Clash concert was truly the pinnacle of those outings.



The Tikkis

[mark414]

36. wow...you saw em at just the right time too

right after Give Em Enough Rope and right before London Calling...i'll give you my left arm if you figure out a way to take me to that show with you (i wasn't born until 1985...:cry:)

[Tikki]

48. Bo Diddley and The Dils opened.....

The Tikkis

[MrSlayer]

23. Ultimate Revenge for Disco. Slayer-Venom-Exodus 1985.

Studio 54 in NYC. Off the charts.

[vi5]

73. I was there!

It's all a blur in my memory though as my 15 year old self was scared shitless.

[MrSlayer]

83. I too was 15 at the time.

I traveled up there from Philly. I had a blast, I'm still kind of pissed that I can't find myself in the video though.

[datasuspect]

76. hail satan

that must have rocked mightily

[GalleryGod]

24. The Concert for Bangladesh

Madison Square Garden :headbang: :yourock: :woohoo:

[darkstar]

28. Nice. Afternoon or evening show?

Did Billy do his dance at yours? Either way, a part of history for sure. Leon, George, Ringo and Dylan on those tunes! Too much.
:hi:

[GalleryGod]

54. Afternoon Show...

We walked for blocks and blocks afterwards...

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

26. Crosty, Stills & Nash

at Starwood in Nashville, about ten or eleven years back. Surrounded by thousands of aging hippies, mostly stoned, having a very mellow evening. The best part is it was free (for me) AND very unexpected- a friend had tickets, but nobody to take with him, so he called me. All very last minute, and it turned out to be the greatest concert event I've ever attended.

Next best- Don Henley doing his Building The Perfect Beast concert tour. Also in Nashville. You haven't heard Sunset Grill until you've heard it live!

[NewWaveChick1981]

30. I've seen a lot of excellent concerts...

Oingo Boingo, when they played a street festival in Greensboro in (I think) 1983. I got to talk to Danny Elfman and the guys, and they were super. The music was wonderful, and I hung around for hours. The hillbillies...er... locals didn't have the foggiest idea who they were, and not many people were paying attention. A few of us were there, and we had a great time.

Oh, and The Clash, when they came to UNC-Chapel Hill in the early 80s. And the Police with Joan Jett opening for them. There are a lot of concerts that came close, but those were the greatest.

[driver8]

35. Did you see the "real Clash" or Joe Strummer's "bullshit Clash."?

I think it was '84 or '85 that Strummer was touring with a band and calling them the Clash. I thought that was pretty disrespectful to the original Clash but what can you do?

[NewWaveChick1981]

38. Nope, the real Clash.

:hi: I totally agree with you and wouldn't even have considered going to a bullshit Clash concert. They were the real thing and they were excellent. :D My sister even had the good sense to pass out and end up backstage with the medic. We got to talk to the guys briefly, and Joe even asked if she was doing OK. (She passed out from the heat---it was festival seating, and it was impossibly hot there.)

[driver8]

40. Excellent!!

Sorry to hear about your sister, but at least she got backstage!!

I really miss Joe Strummer...

IMG]

[NewWaveChick1981]

42. Me too.

:hi: Yeah, I teased her for years about passing out on purpose. :P

[Rhythm]

59. The Chapel Hill area gets some awesome shows...

There always seemed to be a lot better live-music clubs there than in Charlotte...

BTW, Cat's Cradle rocks, even if i DID get my favorite leather vest stolen there.

[ornotna]

31. Well how about that.

Even before opening the thread that's who I picked. Same year. Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs N.Y. A most excellent show.

[Joe Fields]

37. Like I said, I've seen a lot of great ones. Led Zep, Floyd, the Stones,

CSN, Neil Young, Yes, ELP, Joe Walsh, etc.., but on this particular night Santana was juawesome, and slow hand was in rare form, playing for three hours, with a 30 minute encore of Badge. Totally unbelievable.

[graywarrior]

34. Allman's and Dylan

[Joe Fields]

39. Seen the Allman Brothers twice. Once in a bar in Tulsa called the

Great Escape. You could get to within ten feet of Greg Allman. Talk about intimate.

[graywarrior]

43. Saw them about 15 times in the 70's when you could go backstage and getting ripped.

[hibbing]

41. U2 Zoostation 1992 Kansas City

Perfect from start to end, awesome music, crowd, and the video screens were pretty cool.

Other one was Dylan in hmmmmmm......gosh late 90's friend had some "sweethearts" he gave us that enhanced the experience.

Peace,
hibbing

[HughBeaumont]

44. Mr. Bungle. 3/29/92. Empire club.

Looking at the ticket stub now.



Behind it are about 200 or so of the stubs from various shows from the past 20 years that I've saved.

The show was sold out and it was for their first album, so all of them were in costume. Even though their music turned and twisted genre after genre, time signature after time signature, we knew every change, every hat drop, every lyric. The pit was as frantic as I've ever seen a packed Empire. They performed every track except "Egg" and covered "24000 Baci" (Adriano Celentano), "Citta Violenta" (Ennio Morricone), "Time" (Alan Parsons Project) and "The Stroke" (Billy Squier). Patton threw liquor bottles into the audience.

They just don't have shows like that anymore.

[madrchsod]

45. mothers of invention and cream in chicago

yes the mother`s opened for cream. second best- howlin' wolf

[OnionPatch]

46. Pink Floyd -- Animals

I think it was in 1977 but could have been '78. I saw it in Pittsburgh and it was so far beyond any of my other concert experiences that it's hard to even describe it.

[ms liberty]

51. Yes, another of my top 5. Awesome show, amazing. n/t

[AwakeAtLast]

47. R. E. M. Out of Time

They are one of my favorites!

I never made it to too many concerts in my lifetime.

John Mellencamp was good at Deer Creek in Indy, too. He always made those shows exceptionally good being back in Indiana.

Now if you wanted to do bands that sucked ass? I could list many that I saw...

KISS (in the '90s)
Frank Stallone (please don't ask me how I ended up there)
Gin Blossoms right before they broke up (Goo Goo Dolls killed as openers)

I could go on, but I won't.

[SPKrazy]

50. I really liked the dead

in OKC at the Zoo Amphitheater

hot as hell august day

dancing in the sunshine, sweet sunshine just dancing dancing dancing and everybody loved every body
and the world was beautiful for an afternoon in the sunshine sweating and dancing and sweating and dancing and well, drinking and smoking hash, and a few other things that we put in our mouth that day.

but the dead were awesome

[Roon]

64. Yeah, I have been to ten dead shows

Was never disappointed. My favorite thing to do was bring someone who has never been and dosing ourselves and going in.They always have a blast! I know I always did.

[MnFats]

66. saw the dead labor day weekend U. Colo stadium ..1972.... six-hour show

with 40,000 crazed hippies. astounding show!

did almost all of "Europe '72' and then some...
we were too loaded to walk out with the crowd and spent an hour wandering the stadium....got to shake hands with Jerry Garcia...big fun!

[Roon]

67. Cool! eom

[Initech]

53. The Rolling Stones at Angel Stadium 2 years ago

One of the best ever, and they had one of my favorite reggae acts opening - Toots & The Maytals.

But this will probably be replaced when I get back from my first-ever Coachella on Monday!

[Ouabache]

55. 4th row of a Who concert 1982 or so... PT wind-milling like crazy

I was about 15 feet from Pete Townsend wind-milling the hell out of his guitar...I think it was their FIRST farewell concert.

apologies to John Hiatt -circa 1976, sure as he was sitting there, while I drank beer with my gf & his mother and sister.
(the gf and I stayed until 3 pm, mom and sis left after the first set/)

now playing: 'Crazy Girl' -John Hiatt
"well those sane girls, they're so easy, but a crazy girl's hard to find" -John Hiatt.

[Rhythm]

56. Danzig / Marilyn Manson / Korn... Myrtle Beach SC May 1995

Danzig (whom i was acquainted with years ago) was touring to promote their 4th CD, and did their tour in 2 legs... the first was with Type O Negative opening (caught that part of the tour twice), then switched opening acts, and played with Marilyn Manson and Korn (who had just released their very first CD, and were completely unknowns).

I made it to the shows in Myrtle Beach and in Charlotte, and every set by every band was tight...
Best time i've had.

[ronnykmarshall]

57. I can't say just one ...

But here's my list of best.

Barbra Streisand 2007

Madonna 1990 "Blond Ambition" Tour

Stevie Nicks 2001 and 1981

The Gypsy Kings .... Cal Berkley mid 1990's.

Cher 2002

[XemaSab]

58. Bowie/NIN

n/t

[Rhythm]

60. Yeah... a couple of Scary Monsters there...

A good friend got me tickets for that one, in Raleigh NC
Prick was even pretty good :-)

[SoCalDemGrrl]

61. The Who in the late 60s

[AlCzervik]

62. lucky! The very first album i ever bought was Meaty beaty big and bouncy

and i had to save up for like 3 months for it.

[pokerfan]

63. Aerosmith in 1975

It was a triple header with Black Sabbath opening, then the Nuge (yeah I know) and finally Aerosmith.

[grannylib]

65. I'd have to say Neil Young's "Rust Never Sleeps" tour was probably the best

but man, Led Zeppelin on my 18th birthday was pretty cool (1977), as was Jethro Tull at homecoming at University of Iowa in 1975, I think?? Lou Reed at the State Theater in Minneapolis in 1977 (Ian Drury and the Blockheads opened) was awesome...
Shit, too many to list *lol*

[ET Awful]

68. I'd be hard pressed to pick ONE as the best, but whichever it was, these guys were on stage

[datasuspect]

69. bowie, '97 aragon ballroom chicago

i had only seen him in large venues up to this point and the aragon was a small club.

we were pushed right up to the stage.

[City Lights]

70. U2 Vertigo Tour, at Croke Park in Dublin, June 24, 2005. eom

[davsand]

71. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton and Robert Cray with Buddie Guy showing up to jam.

I saw them all play at Alpine Valley in "Boo-Foo," Wisconsin. August 27, 1990. Stevie Ray died in a crash later that night.

Hell of a show, and I miss SRV to this day.


Laura

[skyblue]

72. Lou Reed

[BOSSHOG]

75. Black Oak Arkansas - 1977 - Incredible showmen and great, loud music

[Joe Fields]

84. I saw them in '77 or '78 with Deep Purple at Royals stadium in K.C.

Fine show.

[bif]

77. Tommy Flannagan Trio in Ann Arbor

With Lewis Nash and Peter Washington. About 10 years ago. Wow, what a trio!

[bbernardini]

78. Mike Keneally - Philadelphia, PA - October 25, 1998

Generally considered among Keneally fans to be one of his finest performances of all time. Some Todd Rundgren and Jim Boggia shows come pretty darn close.

[seemunkee]

79. ELP - Brain Salad Surgery tour front row

A very close second would be Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here tour

[Joe Fields]

81. Saw the Wall tour, and saw Brain Salad tour.

Huge Floyd and ELP fan. Both groups put on FANTASTIC shows, but the Santana/ Clapton concert, at least on the particular night I saw them was just a little bit better.

[Lochloosa]

82. Grateful Dead April 5, 1995

My last show with Jerry...:cry: :cry:



Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum, Birmingham, AL (Wednesday 4/5/95)

Touch Of Grey
Wang Dang Doodle
Stagger Lee
Me And My Uncle* ->
Maggie's Farm*
Row Jimmy
The Music Never Stopped

Here Comes Sunshine
Way To Go Home
Truckin ->
That Would Be Something ->
Uncle John's Band ->
Matilda** ->
Drums **->
Space ->
I Need A Miracle ->
Morning Dew

E: Johnny B Goode

*Weir on acoustic
**with Willie Green on drums

[hellbound-liberal]

85. Vote for Change tour 2004 with Bruce, the Dixie Chicks...

R.E.M.
Pearl Jam
John Fogerty
John Mellencamp
Jackson Browme
Bonnie Raitt
James Taylor

It was a great show and it felt great to be in the sold out arena knowing everyone else there felt the same way about Bush that I did. My favorite part was when Bruce came out and sang "Man in the Moon" with R.E.M.

[MorningGlow]

87. U2, 1983, 'bout 400 people in the audience

When the crowd is small enough that you find yourself serenaded by Bono from the top of a speaker...well...'nuff said.
:loveya:

[opiate69]

88. Tool - AEnima tour, Univ. of Puget Sound Fieldhouse.

Black Sabbath Reunion tour a close second

[femmocrat]

89. Elvis, 1973.

Nothing can compare.

[wildhorses]

90. elp, montgomery 1973

fuckin' a :wow:

also alvin lee and ten years after that year:headbang:

[av8rdave]

91. It depends on the genre....

for me, my best were:

Best jazz show: Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton alternating sets at the Idora Park Ballroom, Ohio, 1975.

Best blues show: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Veteran's Memorial Coluseum, Phoenix, 1984.

Best rock show: 3 way toss up. Jethro Tull, Stormwatch tour, McNichols Arena, Denver, 1979.

Rush, 30th Anniversary tour, Smirnov Pavillion, Dallas, 2004.

U2, Zoo TV tour, Texas Stadium, 1992.

[Treclo]

92. Hard to say, but....

John Prine
The Reverand Horton Heat
Morphine
Helmet
Wilco

All super awesome shows!

[dysfunctional press]

93. r.e.m. at mabel's in champaign...198..0?

i prefer smaller venues to huge stadium shows...

concrete blonde at metro.
porcupine tree at park west.
b-52's at the aragon.
psychedelic furs at the riviera

[Treclo]

95. dude- I'm from Champaign...

Saw the Rev at Mabels...did you ever make it to the Blind Pig???

[davsand]

98. I saw many fine shows at Mabels

Lost a contact lens on that nasty dance floor and GOT IT BACK! I popped it in my mouth, put it back in my eye, and kept on dancing. I saw any number of really good bands there and drank WAY too much. Even had to sneak out the back door a couple of times when it got too amorous.

I'm betting you were not around when Panama Red's was still open, or better yet--the RED LION!!! Used to have a great music scene in Champaign!



Laura

[Treclo]

94. Oh- and I can't forget

the Lollapalooza where I saw Tool, and then immediately Arrested Development. Talk about your extremes!!!

[SarahB]

96. Page and Plant

1997? I'm not even a huge fan, but they were incredible live.

[stuntcat]

97. there's too many

I've been to so many, concerts are My Thing!
The best shows for me were Nina Simone and the two Prince shows I saw.
I have to add though that Tina Turner was INCREDIBLE in concert, she had the audience hypnotized.. so did Dolly Parton, I guess it's that quality (or whatever) that Superstars have

[swag]

99. Maybe Steve Fitch opening for Sarcastic Orgasm (who sucked) somewhere

in lower Manhattan, 1990 or so. He did "Get Up, Go to Work, Go Home, Go to Bed."

[peace frog]

100. Derek and the Dominoes

on Dec. 1, 1970 in Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida. Attended many concerts since, but none so fine as this one.

[Joe Fields]

106. Eric surrounded himself with some damn fine musicians in that band.

Ever hear the show they did at the Fillmore? One of my favorite concerts.

[dembotoz]

101. jimmy hendrix

my first concert and ---well-- hard to improve on that

[gbate]

102. The Moody Blues in 1986. The Fixx opened the show.

[GaYellowDawg]

103. The Police, with the Fixx opening

Looks like the Fixx opened for some damn good ones.

[carly denise pt deux]

104. Beach Boys in the late 70's

My favorite recent memory concert was the Backstreet Boys and that was quite a while back. I had not been to a concert in many years, and was amazed at how we have come along in concert shows with the screens, lights fireworks etc. Pretty cool. As far as musical talent at a concert, the best one I have seen yet was Heart in the early 80's when they made the comeback.
Carly

[libnnc]

105. The Pretenders

'97 with the B-52s. Chrissie Hynde blew the 52s off the stage. It was a religious experience for me.

[undeterred]

107. Harry Connick Junior in the early nineties

Chicago Theatre. Absolutely Fantastic Perfomer.

[woofless]

108. The Who, Gator Bowl 1976

Close second, Yes and Poco, West Palm Beach Auditorium 1973(?)

[Mendocino]

109. Neil Young with Crazy Horse 1987,

at Blossom near Cleveland.

Stevie Ray Vaughn in 1984.

The Who in Detroit 1979, this was their first concert after the Cincinnati tragedy.

Muddy Waters about 1980, he opened for Eric Clapton, and blew him away.

Yes in 1977.

[SoxFan]

112. U2, 1985

U2 at the Worcester Centrum, April 1985 (The Unforgettable Fire tour). Added bonus: Lone Justice was the opener, getting me hooked on alt country.

Honorable Mention: The Alarm at the Capital Centre (Landover, MD), March 1986. They were, inexplicably, the opening act for Pat Benatar. I was one of about 200 people who were there for the boys from Wales. I can't remember much about Benatar's set, but I can remember just about every song from The Alarm's, from "Marching On" to a breathtaking cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".

[peacefreak]

113. Not big stadium ones...

Emmylou Harris & the Hot Band 1975 Stockbridge, Ma
Rolling Thunder Revue, Providence, R,I.
Carole King opening for James Taylor & Joni Mitchell, WPI 1972?

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

114. 311 at the Washington Ave. Armory in Albany, NY

no contest