Your all time BEST/WORST Concert experiences......

[Bennyboy]

WORST #!:

The Sex Pistols, Winterland.

I had seen hundreds of shows at Winterland. The crowd was always well behaved and very respectful of each other and the venue.

Not the case here. The people were from fucking MARS! Big diaper pins through their faces, tits (and I am assuming dicks and vags). Torn black clothes, no color just black and pasty white. Purple mohawks and skinhead punks, all wearing more metal than a 57 Buick.

If that wasn't enough, the band was even more disrespectful than the crowd. A HORRIBLE OPENING ACT (and I mean a horrible even for Punk kind of way). The Pistols way late. I am right up front, My Friends are taking photos, so I have no choice but to stick among the stench.

The Pistols finally hit the stage and the crowd goes INSANE. They are throwing shit, spitting on the band and trying to climb onstage.
The band is spitting back and swearing at the crowd, just trying to start a riot. At the same time, they are playing the most God-awful music I have ever heard in my life. Fights are breaking out, a mosh pit forms. my feet are off the ground. And this piece of shit band is encouraging the whole deal.

Really, I thought it was the end of the world. Winterland was never the same after that and closed not long afterward.

[Shell Beau]

1. Went to see REO Speedwagon because my uncle bought us tickets.

The tickets were only $5 and they were playing at the state fair. 'Nuff said!

[Heidi]

2. Same here.

:rofl:

If I hadn't had a press pass, I would _not_ have been there. :spray:

[Oeditpus Rex]

51. 'You got in free, so you can't complain'

:D



OTOH — the photo pit for Cheap Trick. :headbang:



Also, conning my way into a Blue Öyster Cult sound check with nothing but an Associated Collegiate Press card. :D

[Hayabusa]

40. Mine

Best: Pearl Jam: 6/12/03, Bonner Springs KS. A massive thunderstorm was going to move into the area, and the concert site was an outdoor ampitheater. No, don't get me wrong, it was the best concert that I've been to... It began raining heavily during Idlewild's (the opening band) last few songs, causing stage crew to rush the stage and being covering up the amps and other stuff. Idlewild kept on playing through it, though.

The rain came down hard, instantly filling 3/4 empty beer cups with water, making an interesting site. The water drained down towards the stage from the stands, culminating in a large enough "flood" to cover a security guards hamstrings. Lightning arced through the sky, giving us a natural light show as twilight sat in. Then Pearl Jam began to play and I don't remember much of the storm after that.


Worst: I don't really have a worst concert experience, really. I've liked all of the shows that I've gone to.

[livetohike]

3. Best: Jeff Beck concert in 1972

I had a seat in the front row. Rod Stewart was singing vocals with Nicky Hopkins on the piano.

Worst: Little Feat - we walked out after the second song.

[Chan790]

4. I had to take my cousins to see Hannah Montana.

That was a bad concert experience. Lots of soccer moms and 8 year olds and no beer or fun.

[Beer Snob-50]

5. best conceft experience-Robert Palmer

first date with my wife. Dinner at some now long demised restaurant (some great clam chowder) and an awesome show.

worst concert- first ramones concert. got thrown over a table by the bouncers trying to "escort" some hooligan out the door. had a wedding to go to next day and i could hardly move.

[KG]

6. worst: my first - Skynard and some others in '75. also one of my first drinking

experiences, so natcherly i got too drunk, passed out, puked everywhere. my friends, thankfully were still my friends and got me home.

best - just about every other concert i've been to. :)

[meegbear]

7. WORST: Starship ...

Starship opened AND closed with "We Built This City", "White Rabbit" was done was a Vegas lounge act and they did an onstage PSA for 'The Nine Line' for runaway kids. The Hooters opened for them and they were better.

BEST: Roger Waters Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. WOW (anybody else who saw that show will attest that's the only way to describe it.)

[mike_c]

44. wow, Jefferson starship was one my BEST experiences....

Papa John was ALL OVER the stage, bouncing around like a wild man, playing like crazy. It was the Hyperdrive tour-- not a great album but the show ROCKED. They did the entire starship saga from Blows Against the Empire as their first encore. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Must have just been a good night for them-- I really wasn't expecting that much at that point in their careers, but it was great.

Worst show: John Denver. I got free tickets. It was still a waste.

on edit-- I didn't include festivals, but the some of my best experiences have been at festivals where the overall ambiance and vibe builds and builds more than any single show.

[Bennyboy]

55. Starship rocked!

When they were doing Blows. I saw them in 74 at Winterland with a band called Steel Breeze that featured guitarist Craig Chaquico who then played with The Starship later in the eve. When they got to XM part of the suite, the big ball started spinning and to this day, everyone that was there, will swear that Winterland took off, careened around outer space for a couple of hours and somehow landed back on the corner of Post and Steiner Streets.
The album Dragonfly came out not long after and I saw them a number of times in that period, including a free show in the park with the Grateful Dead.

But Built This City and Mickey Thomas was the downfall. Playing at Football games, costumes...

[Omphaloskepsis]

8. Best would be Propagandhi at La Luna.. 2000 or so.

Worst would be MDC at a little place called Icky's Teahouse. I was in High School and was really drunk and I lost my glasses in the pit. I jumped on the stage and demanded that everyone look for my glasses in the middle of a song.. I grabbed the microphone from the singer to make my announcement. Never got my glasses back. It took months to save up to get new glasses.

[zabet]

9. Best

The Who
Amazing.
:headbang:

[Initech]

10. Worst - The Police

I'm not knocking anything against Sting and Co, they put on a great show, but I vote for the motion that Best Buy NEVER be allowed to put on concerts again as long as the company exists. For one thing it me almost TWO hours to get from the I-110 / US-101 junction to the Dodger Stadium parking lot. I wound up missing the Foo Fighters as a result. Then I went to go to the t-shirt line and after waiting 20 minutes they ran out of extra larges. Boy was I pissed after that.

The best would be Opeth / Porcupine Tree. That was one of the best tours I have ever gone to.

[kwassa]

11. Best: Talking Heads at the Greek, 1983.

Stop Making Sense tour. Jonathan Demme was also in the audience, and decided to make a concert movie.

Worst:
Getting teargassed at a Jefferson Airplane concert in the Dayton Rubber Bowl in the early '70s. Cops let teargas loose at the top of the stadium, it drifted down over the audience, gassing about 3000 innocent people out of their seats. The police then arrested the baffled Airplane for inciting a riot. Ohio justice.

[Richardo]

12. Worst: Todd Rundgren + Utopia, Boulder, CO 198_

The first show of the tour for them and The Tubes. Horrible sound, no evidence of any rehearsal. It's like they decided that afternoon to go on tour. I fell asleep. :boring:

Best: Talking Heads at the Roxy in Hollywood, CA - 1977. Small small room, tickets about $10, stage side seats right in front of Tina Weymouth. :loveya: :headbang:

[malta blue]

13. worst...

took my cousin to see Menudo at Madison Square Garden in 1983 and we ended up in the hospital because she go sooo squished.

Best - Parliament in a small bar type venue in Louisville. They played until 4 am when the cops showed up to close them down.

[Burma Jones]

14. Best: The Ramones, Knox College Harbach Theatre, October 1979

It was the first concert I saw as a College Student. I was in the second row in a fairly small hall. It was deafening and life changing.

Or any of a number of Grateful Dead Shows.......


Worst: The Who, The Astrodome, 1982 - The Houston Police decided that it would be a good idea to only open one exit out of Astrodome Parking after the show. Also, the show itself was sort of forgettable, I had been to, and have since seen, much better Who shows.

Or any number of Grateful Dead shows.......

[abq e streeter]

28. Best show at Knox for me : tie between Alice Cooper and Arthur Conley

An old Siwasher ( oops, I mean Prairie Fire)here--- Alice was homecoming '70 and Conley (Sweet Soul Music) was spring of '69, both in the Gym. Didn't see the Ramones till 1990 in Santa Fe, NM. Still great, but Tom Tom Club stole the show...Alice 's show is still one of the best I've ever seen too. Conley ended his show with a version of Sweet Soul that just went on and on, and still no one wanted it to end...

[momophile]

53. I'm so jealous

I would have loved to have seen the Ramones back then.

[Tikki]

15. The Clash at the Santa Monica Civic 1979...

was the most powerful show we have ever seen...
The Damned at the John Anson Ford in Hollywood was the most cerebral show...
Elvis Costello and the Attractions at Hollywood High School Auditorium 1978 was the
most unique and quite exciting..
A Hollywood benefit (at a small club) for a musician to help him make bail was the most fun...
and finally seeing The Sir Douglas Quintet was the so satisfying...

But we have (since 1980) and we will continue to see X at least once during every tour they do
or until we all die.

The Tikkis

[SKKY]

65. You suck!

And because I've never had the chance to see The Clash, anyone else who has seen them sucks as well. ;)

[AlCzervik]

16. the Cars in Boston Garden, terrible, the best was Rush both times (all three) at the Garden.

i've posted this before but i think the Cars are better as a studio band, when i saw live they just had too much going on and maybe also a sound problem.

[Westegg]

17. Always wanted to be at that show...

...Somewhat less so now, however, after your graphic description. Thanks!

[Westegg]

18. Best: Zep '77 at MSG; Worst: Heart/Joe Perry Project...

...at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena--can't say if it was '79 or '80, but my friend was having a terminal booze/hash/mushroom experience which resulted in my spending half the show in the bathroom with him. Also? Joe Perry was wasted and Heart was not memorable in the least. So. Bummer all around.

[SaveElmer]

19. Best: Bruce Springsteen 1984 Born in the USA tour...worst...

Seals and Crofts...

While I liked their music, the concert sucked and they spent forever between songs talking about their B'Hai faith


dull dull dull

[The Animator]

20. Best: Saw Garth Brooks in Concert at the Sundome in Tampa.

Judging by the noise level, quite possibly the loudest and most enthusiastic crown ever gathered at the Sundome, Even Garth commented on it, and he'd been in a lot of Stadiums. Garth usually destroyed his guitar halfway through the concert, but not this time. While he was singing "the Dance" Some parents put there little boy on stage. Garth walked over too him to say Hi, and the little boy gave him a hug. After the song was over Garth gave the little boy his guitar.

Worst: It was a good show at the time, but I attended the last Mili-Vanili concert before the lip syncing scandal broke. Also at the Sundome.

[theredpen]

21. Best: Sqeeze ('87?), Worst: Husker Du ('87 -- bad circumstances)

Squeeze just put on a great show.

When I saw Husker Du, their manager had just committed suicide. The band was devastated and played the lowest energy show EVER. My friend actually fell asleep during the concert — at a Husker Du concert. Inconceivable!

Still love the band; after I found out what had happened, I forgave them for the lousy show.

[SaveElmer]

24. I went to a Squeeze show...1983 I think. Madison Square Garden...the opening act?

Flock of Seagulls....

:rofl:

I enjoyed it at the time!!!

[Rambis]

22. Best hard to say- worst Phish

I was standing there in the middle of the Phish concert thinking this is the biggest load of crap I have ever witnessed. They had trampolines, beach balls and the drummer sang a song in what can only be described as a duck voice? If they would have just played it might have been ok. They did play a version of rocky top that was well done but the rest oi! I felt like they should have changed into costumes or something because "the show" seemed more important than the music played.

[CottonBear]

23. Best : The English Beat and REM outdoors at UGA's Legion Field, Athens, GA 1982

Awesome show and it was FREE! (and the venue was across the street from my dorm!)
The crowd was huge and the energy was electric!

Other awesome shows:

Don McLean (a free outdoor concert in the late 1970s in downtown Chattanooga, TN)
I sat right in front of the stage and got his autograph afterwards. It was my first ever concert and he was wonderful and very gracious and nice!

First row center seats for Neal Young on his Trans tour (Athens, GA) in the early 1980s

Elton John and his original band at the Omni in Atlanta, GA (1982?)

Dire Straits at the Fox Theater in Atlanta

Grateful Dead at the Omni and at the Fox Theater in Atlanta

Taj Mahal at the Georgian Hotel in Athens

Hot Tuna in Athens, GA in the mid 1980s

REM live and FREE on the couthouse steps in Athens (for an environmental-political campaign)

Pylon and Time Toy at the 40 Watt in Athens, GA. We danced all night! Big, big fun!

The worst: Robin Hitchock at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA.
He is so over rated. It was a waste of my time and money.

[mike_c]

45. some of my all time fondest memories are shows at the 40-watt.....

Absolute best was a Fleshtones show in the early 1990s. They utterly rocked the house, ending up playing in the street out front using a mix of radio mics and unamplified instruments at about three in the AM. Southern Culture on the Skids did a couple of the most fun shows I remember there, too.

By that time there weren't any venues in town that could handle REM except maybe Legion Field unless the band showed up unannounced.

There were some great shows at the Georgia Theater, too.

[bif]

25. Worst is a tie. Led Zeppelin & Grateful Dead

Page played like crap and Plant's voice absolutely sucked. And the Dead just put me to sleep. Plus they didn't do any of their hits. Both were in the early 70's at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Best? Too many to mention but they were mostly jazz groups I've seen like Eddie Palmieri and Cucho Valdez.

[Rabrrrrrr]

26. Worst: Heart, with opener Autograph. Absolute worst: Vinnie Vincent Invasion, opening for Cooper

Cooper was fucking awesome, but Vinnie Vincent Invasion is the absolute worst live music experience I've ever had, and I've sat through school musicals and music recitals done by the mentally retarded.

The Heart/Autograph concert wasn't awful per se, but it was the most boring, uninspired, underwhelming rock concert I've ever been to. Not quite a waste of money - they played in tune and were technically there - but probably a waste of time.

Best concerts, of course, would be the Pink Floyd and Rush and Zappa concerts. But for the most part, they've all been great - Genesis was always spot on, though "We Can't Dance" wasn't a good tour at all; Dio was always perfect; Sabbath rocked the fucking house; the Police were fucking great, and so was Roger Waters.

I don't go to concerts unless I really like the band and have a good idea of what their music is. That's why Heart was particularly disappointing.

[applegrove]

27. Best concert i ever saw was madonnna's second last one. Great show.

I know, I know her voice is computer manipulated but I didn't care. Well done.

[abq e streeter]

Big surprise, Bennyboy: Springsteen , in Chicago, 1978

second best : Bruce in Chicago, 1975. Right behind those 2 would be Bob Dylan and the Band (opening night of the "comeback" tour , Jan. '74). Other great ones include Stevie Wonder, Toots and the Maytals, Rancid, Los Lobos, Spyro Gyra , Mitch Ryder, Leon Russell (but saw him 2 yrs later in '74 and he was terrible--very obviously wasted), Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros and Stevie Ray Vaughn. (Best blues shows in bars include Son Seals, Big Walter Horton, JB Hutto, Sugar Blue and Jr Wells ( again when not too loaded).)... Worst shows include The Smithereens ( so drunk they could barely play), Jefferson Airplane ( although Papa John Creech partially saved the show) and a horrendous opening act for The Cramps (who were great both times I've seen em) called Guitar Wolf ( I think). Worst experience ( but that ended up great) was The Stones in Albuquerque in '97. Some drunk guys in front of us kept trying to pick a fight for no reason other than that they were drunk and felt like fighting. Finally got security to move us away from our good seats to ones further back, but they ended up being in a small section that contained family members of the Stones' sax player Bobby Keys, so watched the show with Bobby's mother, sister and brother.

[Bennyboy]

29. Worst #2...Led Zeppelin!

Kezar Stadium 1973. The Second of the big stadium multi-band shows at Kezar. A couple of weeks before the Grateful Dead, NRPS and Waylon Jennings played and it was the party to end all parties. very peaceful vibe, great music, a big family affair.

The Zep show, not so much. The crowd was all whacked out on booze and pills. Every single biker, hard-ass in the Northern CA region in attendance. The opening bands (among them the early incarnation of the Tubes) were all great, but the crowd wanted no part of them, they wanted Zep! they really were rude as fuck to the other bands.

Finally the last band played and all that was left was the Mighty Zep. The set-break went on. And on. And on. Finally Bill Graham came onstage and announced that the Zep was having equipment trouble (jimmy's double neck)and wanted to make it perfect for us. (that was a lie, the truth is Page was halfway to SF on the Charter but decided to turn around and take a commercial jet...to be with ordinary people!). The set break continued to get longer, the crowd more and more rowdy, drunk and anxious.

Finally Zep came on. the crowd pushed to the front of the stage. fights broke out everywhere. The band played and people were flipping out. Kids puking on themselves. The Zep sucked. really. They could not come close to duplicating their sound of the studio onstage and were really struggling to make anything happen onstage. Just horrible. Not to mention due to the lateness, had to cut their set way short.

As we were leaving, most in attendance were still amazed that they saw the Mighty Zep and loved the show. But for me it was easily the single most dissapointing day of music in my lifetime.

[hellbound-liberal]

30. BEST: George Thorogoood:50 Dates in 50 States, 1978 I think

2nd Best: Bruce Springsteen: 2004 Vote for Change Tour in D.C. with REM, Pearl Jam, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor. Can't thin f a worst. I liked them all!

[JoePhilly]

36. I saw George, with the Stones, and Journey in the early 80s ...

It was in Philly ... George T and the Destroyers killed ... absolutely awesome!! They blew Journey and the Stones off the stage.

When I was growing up in a row home in Philly, GT and the D would play in the basement of a guy across the street. The guy was a vietnam vet, nice guy, but not too stable, he taped GT's local concerts for the band ... we would party at a friends house on that street, and the vet would bring his GT live tapes. Very cool.

Around 85 or so, the vet committed suicide.

[hellbound-liberal]

38. Sorry to hear about the vet who committed suicide. Sounds like you all had some good times together

I've seen George three times. The second time I saw him, after about two or three songs, while everybody was still sitting down, he asked someone to bring a chair out onto the stage and said if you all are going to sit down, I might as well sit down too! Everybody stood up right away and no one sat down for the rest of the night. He always put on a great show!

[Broken_Hero]

31. Best

Summer Sanitarium tour, SF at Candlestick, August of 03....

Mudvayne-awesome, although they didn't wear their get up...

Deftones-Awesome....great, fantastic, they kicked my ass...I was always very..."bleh" about the Deftones, but hearing them live..."WOAH"....

Linkin Park-Subdued, didn't care to much for them really, during their set I was still trying to recover from the Deftones set...

Limp Bizkit-I dislike Durst, but I have to admit...they actually kinda/sorta won me over that night..

Metallica-Awesome, great, a dream come true...seeing Metallica in concert was one of those things on my "Things I wish to do/accomplish" before I die list...

Worst...hmmm, really don't have one....

[conscious evolution]

32. Worst:Men at Work

My god that show sucked.
Best:Gratefull Dead Dec8 1990. Changed my life.

[1gobluedem]

33. Best...

Original (mostly) Temptations and Four Tops together. Incredible.

Worst, hmmmm... Rick Springfield, I guess (roomie wanted to go).

[JoePhilly]

34. Best: Phil Collins, in Philly, around 1984 ... the worst ...

Worst: The Kinks ... Lola was their hot single ... but their concert stunk. They just stood their and played.

Also saw Ted Nuggent swing down out of the rafters on a rope for wnago tango ... but he mostly yelled his songs.

Had tickets to Zepplin, in Philly ... but then John Bonham died ... so that might be the worst since I never even got to see it.

[martymar64]

35. Grateful Dead, Dominguez Hills circa 89

Bunk Doses.

[Roon]

52. Bummer!!

There was a time when there was no such thing as bunk acid at a Dead show. When you paid for a dose, that is what you got. It wasn't until the late 80's to the early 90's that people started selling the bunk shit.

[Bennyboy]

58. I was at that show.....

And it was one of the sketchiest crowds ever. I really did not like LA Dead shows much. Seems like all the hustlers and bad vibe came out for them.... I saw some dude get killed by the cops once at Long Beach Arena, dude was just tripping but the cops could not deal with him and beat him to death. Even was going to testify in the trial, but they had plenty of other witnesses.(of course it was justified according to the trial).

The gate crashng that happened on later tours. Bunk shit everywhere...

[RadiationTherapy]

37. Best: saw "real boobs" for the first time. Aerosmith Springfield, MA 1985 or 6 n/t

[Rising Phoenix]

39. ok

best....Neil Young...."94....my whole family went but we went seperatly..... I went with my best friend and this wicked hot guy smoked us up with some laced weed....Neil broke several guitar strings.....it was late summer, warm and sunny, but not buggy..... I went home and ate a bag of oreos...

worst
Lynnarrd Skinnard....free tickets....something to do....I watched people fuck on the lawn and was too young to buy beer, no weed.....boring and boring music

[TrogL]

41. 1982: Houston, British Colombia

I'm a white guy in an otherwise all-black reggae band playing a country bar. Think the country bar scene in The Blues Brothers and you're pretty close to the truth except no chicken wire.

They're hating teh reggae and calling something else, so I do "We will rock you" not having yet heard about Freddy Mercury but knocked it off when somebody threw a chair throught the front window.

It kinda went downhill from there.

[BlueJazz]

42. Best: Dave Brubeck ....Worst: Bruce

[Bennyboy]

43. Some BESTS!

The Last Waltz. The movie and CD do not even come close to what actually went down on Thanksgiving 75. When Muddy Watters took the stage it remains one of the highest musical moments I have ever witnessed. van morrison, HOLY SHIT!

The Deepest End, Gov't Mule. New Orleans Saenger Theater may 03. The most incredible night of guitar playing I have ever seen. Warren Haynes is a GOD. We almost did not go to the show, it was ont he last Saturday of Jazzfest and was exhausted. So we went to the Church's Chicken for a quick bite and decided to go to the show.

The show started at 8 Pm and did not end until after 4 AM. As Mule at the time had no permanent bassist, this show was thought to be the show where they named their new guy. Instead, 17 different bassists took the stage. Each played 3 or four different songs and covered the musical spectrum from blues, to heavy metal. Rob Wasserman, Jack Cassidy, Mike Gordon, Will Lee,Jason Newstead,Dave Schools, Les Claypool Victor Wooten and others. Other players also sat in, Bela Fleck, Karl Denson and a couple of guitar duels with NOLA slide master Sonny Landreth. Most of the musicians had gigs somewhere that night or had played during the weekend around Jazzfest.

Even with all of the other musicicans, I could not take my eyes and ears off Warren Haynes. He is a true great and has been a mainstay with the Allman Brothers for years, played with Phil Lesh (who suprisingly did not show for the show)and Friends and has Gov't Mule as his steady gig.

[vanlassie]

59. Tell us more about Van.

I'm SO envious.

My best Van? Marin Civic Center last year. Worst Van? Hard Rock Cafe, Las Vegas around 2000.
He's such a brilliant asshole!

vanlassie.
Yes, that's VAN lassie

[seemunkee]

46. Tie for Best - ELP, Brain Salad Surgery tour, Pink Floyd,Wish You Were Here

ELP had front row seats with my girlfriend(now wife) and 5 other friends.
Pink Floyd - WOW, that was fantastic

Lots of mediocre to bland shows but nothing I would call the worst.

[harmonicon]

47. sounds like fun

I'm not old enough to have seen the sex pistols (reunion tours do not count), but had a great time when I saw Gwar: you would have hated it. At one point the crowd was packed so tight that I was lifted off my feet and moved quite a distance. When I came out of it, my jaw wouldn't close.... I guess I'd had a lot to drink (I was 15 or 16 and there with a fake ID), because it didn't hurt, so I just knocked it back into place. Gwar had these sort of spew canons that covered the audience with all sorts of slimy coloured goo - not only my clothes, but also my skin was stained for days.

Not the best concert I've been too, but a good memorable one.

[Fire Walk With Me]

48. Peter Gabriel before the "So" record; Willy Porter live in LA (great crowd),

Kraftwerk are always excellent; Front 242 before they went to digital synths live (re:boot tour), Laurie Anderson before she added background singers and too many musicians (1984-ish), Mojo Nixon, Rev. Horton Heat, Doobie Brothers, etc.

One bad show was Love and Rockets back when they were making records. The crowd had zero energy and the band flailed as a result. They're better than that but it happens...

[Roon]

49. Worst concert experience ever

We were going to see the Violent Femmes. A friend of ours came by and offered us a line of meth. So we did it. Then another friend that we were going to the show with gave us some LSD. We did it. Never mix acid and meth. My ex lost his mind at the show, dove into the moshpit, and took off all his clothes. He went on a bad trip and the bouncers hauled him to the office. They called the cops and the detox wagon took him to the detox center. He grabbed some hospital clothes and escaped. Barefooted. I was soooo worried, I couldn't stand it. It ruined the show. He finally showed up at a friends house downtown and was able to call me and I could go pick him up. He was so delusional telling me that the lead singer was talking to him and telling him what nice blue eyes he had.

I wasn't on medication at the time but i suffered post traumatic stress syndrome for months afterwards. It's terrible thinking that a loved one could be dead and you can't find him. It was like a bad dream that I couldn't wake up from. We were kids when all of this happened.

[opiate69]

50. Best - Tool, University of Puget Sound fieldhouse, 1996.

worst: Billy Squier and Ratt Worcester Centrum, 1984.. although, this show had the hottest crowd I've ever seen...

[SlavesandBulldozers]

78. Best: seconding Tool. SameTour (Aenima 96). UCF Arena.

it was almost a religious experience.

Worst: ? i honestly couldnt tell you.

[momophile]

54. best - Dead Milkmen; worst - AC/DC

right at the stage for the Dead Milkmen in Berkeley. Joe Jack's sweet sweat hit me (okay, I was a young lady in love). this after standing in line behind Joe Jack before the show and leaning forward to sniff him.

and worst wasn't really AC/DC's fault - I was 17, stupid, chugged something like a third of a bottle of Yukon Jack in the parking lot, and spent most of the night passed out in the bathroom sitting on a toilet. Woke up at the end with the cannons in - what's that's song??

[LibDemAlways]

56. Best - Elton John Dodger Stadium 1975.

He was in his prime. It was an all day event and he was great.

[saged52]

57. worst concert memory -

a Chicago (the band) concert - at the Mississippi River Festival (a great venue) - 1969 - got lost on the way back from the bathroom - for a really long time... wasn't very fond of the band anyway -
best concert - Melanie and Arlo and John Sebastian - in Akron a few years ago - just 'cause I had always wanted to see them - they were all wonderful -

[HamstersFromHell]

60. Best: National Lampoon's Touring Company - Lemmings Live

...at Vandy's Memorial Gym in (I think) '72. Chevy Chase, Belushi, Christopher Guest, etc. Also did "The Watergate Comedy Hour" in the first half of the show. Laughed so hard I cried.

Also Steely Dan in '94(?).

Worst: REO Speedwagon (3 times, I'm an idiot) Never played live the only REO song I really wanted to hear. (Let Me Ride off REO Two)

[Greylyn58]

61. Best concert: Queen and Worst concert: Loverboy

Best concert I ever saw was 1980 in Charlotte, NC. Queen made their one and only appearance here and I loved every minute of it. Their album "The Game" had recently been released and "Another One Bites the Dust" had turned into a monster hit. My best friend and I were HUGE Queen fans(I still am) and were just in heaven about the upcoming show in Charlotte.

I don't remember who opened for them, but when Queen appeared, my eyes never left the stage. Freddy Mercury's voice was incredible and the band was on fire. The concert was festival seating so we stood really close to the stage. Only one or two other concerts came close to that show. After Freddy's death, I came to cherish the memory of that show all the more.


Worst Concert was hands down Loverboy. The only reason my ex-husband and I went to see them was because of their opening act The Hooters. My ex was from Philly and his mom had been telling us about this band called The Hooters that had started making a name for themselves. When Loverboy announced their show and that The Hooters would open for them we got tickets. By the time of the show The Hooters had a big hit called "And We Danced" and had put out an album that was incredibly good.

The Hooters were awesome and we loved their part of the concert. However, by the time Loverboy took the stage, their roadies must have decided that the sound wasn't loud enough because from the moment they began to play the sound was so incredibly loud that it was just plain painful. Both my ex and I decided we had had enough after only 3 songs. Other people left also and I heard similar comments. I had ringing ears and a bad headache for several hours after that. To this day, they are the only band I've ever walked out on.

[Kucinich4America]

62. That Pistols Winterland show comes off alright on the album and video.....

Aside from having Sid's amp turned up too loud, and Steve's not loud enough.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAGEp1KZk-A

[enigmatic]

63. Best- Pere Ubu/WHK Auditorium 1978

I was 15, the auditorium was literally crumbling before our eyes as the band played, and that night (and the incredible music I witnissed) might still be the defining musical moment of my life.

Worst- ELO/The Colisium, Richfield, OH 1980: I was dragged to the show by friends, and winessed Spinal Tap-lite come to life. Ugh.

[SKKY]

64. Best - 1991 Lollapalooza, World Music Theater in Chicago

Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Ice-T/Body Count, Living Color, Nine Inch Nails, Siouxie and the Banshees, Jane's Addiction.

Worst? Without a doubt, Depeche Mode "Songs of Faith and Devotion Tour", Riverbend in Cincinnati. It was only as bad as it was because I saw them on this same tour about 6 months earlier in Madrid (It was the 4th or 5th show) and they were PHENOMENAL! I think Dave was doing serious drugs again by this point.

[Blue Fire]

66. Both are tossups.

My best is between April Wine in '78, and TSO this last December.

The show April Wine put on in the Bismarck, ND, civic center in '78 was terrific. The stage set-up was one of the best, but it was their live performance that made the show. Loud like a rock concert should be, but crystal clear, and the musicianship was excellent. Oowatanite!
Trans-Siberian Orchestra was an incredible experience. It was as much a theatrical performance as it was a rock concert with more lasers, lights and pyrotechnics than I've ever seen at one time indoors. The main stage lighting was motorized and kept moving to different positions ("Welcome to the Starship Enterprise!" the singer said during band intros.) And the ticket prices were very reasonable in this age of the rip-off artists called Ticketmaster.

The worst is a tie between David Lee Roth and Molly Hatchet. They both just plain sucked.

[enigmatic]

67. Damn, I forgot to add Sun Ra/Uptown Lounge, Athens, GA 1991

Blew me away, and seeing it at a hole in the wall dive like The Uptown made it all the more incredible....

[blindpig]

68. Girl behind me puked on my head

Baltimore Civic Center, 1974(I think), Grateful Dead

Oh yes, I had a head full of acid too.

[av8rdave]

69. I've had too many bests to even think about

Worst? Hmmm...that's a tough one. It might have been Journey in the early 80s. They were OK, but were totally upstaged by their opening act (Bryan Adams). He was fun, spontaneous, interacted with the audience and in general did a great live show. Journey, by comparison, was sterile. Perfectly choreographed, you could have looked at their photo while listening to an album - would have been about the same.

Billy Squier was also a disappointment. Not all his fault - it was an outdoor venue, and the sound people just couldn't get it right.

[no name no slogan]

70. My Bloody Valentine, "Loveless" tour, 1992

at First Ave in Minneapolis. I was 10' away from the main PA stack for most of the show. The 1/2 hr feedback version of "You Made Me Realise" had my ears ringing for days afterward. It was right when they were at their height and were an amazing noise-rock experience.

Honorable mention goes to Morphine "Cure for Pain" tour in 1994 (at First Ave, again) and Killing Joke "Pandemonium" tour, 1996 (again, at First Ave-- what is it with that place?).

Worst show would have to be Lollapalooza 1992 (Lush, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Chili Peppers, Ministry among others). Back when I used chemicals, I would never use them during show, because the crowd situation was always unpredictable. This time, I dropped before it and it was terrible. A combination of bad acid and a shitty fratboy vibe made the show almost unbearable.

[JCMach1]

71. Best: Robyn Hitchcock in 1992

In a small club in Gainesville, FL... Sitting on the floor so close we go sweated on...

[HughBeaumont]

72. Here's mine . . .

BEST:

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

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.

Runners Up:

Primus/Tad. 1991. Babylon A Go Go. Wall to wall packed with people. Primus only played 40 minutes, since the weight of the amount of people couldn't be handled by the club's floor. You missed a song if you had to go to the restroom.

Yes. 1991. Union Tour. Jaw-dropping sound from every instrument. All the great songs were played and I had great seats. Best arena show I've ever been to bar none.

High on Fire. Clothing Store, Euclid Avenue, 2002. Result of an aborted gig due to opening band singer's stupidity of ripping the lighting rig down, thus ending the show before HOF could get on stage. They set up shop way down the road, played 2 songs and the cops stopped the show. Got to hear "Last" and an early version of "Surrounded by Theives". Ethereal.

High on Fire/Mastodon/3-song Burnt By the Sun set/Keelhaul. 2002. Grog Shop. First Mastodon viewing, immediately became a fan. HOF blew the place up as usual.

Neurosis, Peabody's. 1996. Through Silver and Blood tour. My hair stood on end after the show.

godspeed you black emperor. 2004. Beachland Ballroom. Packed wall to wall with record store clerks from far and wide, the best post-rock show I've ever seen. Visuals and the musicianship were great, volume was loud and clear. Beachland's acoustics resonate; the perfect band to play in this venue.

WORST:

Hole. 1995. Nautica Stage. Opening for NIN. Shitbad songs. Crapola sound. Poor lighting. The heroin and fake tit laced abomination called Courtney Love. I can think of five BAD local bands that deserve to be signed before Hole and I live in CLEVELAND, ferchrissakes. That was without a doubt the worst show I've ever seen, bar none, and I've seen some pretty craptacular bands (some that way on purpose).

Runners up -
Limp Bizkit (Would qualify for the absolute worst, but let's face it, you can't top the Queen. Unbelievable that these Jacksonville mooks sold as many records as they did playing such horrid fourth-rate Korncrap)
Marilyn Manson (Nice guy, great views, but his music is below average and live show very overrated)
Mushroomhead (bad Faith No More played in makeup and jumpsuits)
Slipknot (ham-fisted, horrible sound, stopped their show two songs in to get in a fight with Mushroomhead fans. Stupid)
The Bronx (boring boring BORING-ass three-chord fratcore band that inexplicably seems to regularly open tours of bands I like. Singer is a Bewsh supporter, so fuck them)

[PassingFair]

73. Worst: Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels Tour

Decided to "party like Keith" before hand
and downed a bottle of Southern Comfort.
The band sounded AWFUL and I puked in the
parking lot on the way out. NOT PRETTY.



Best: Donovan

Small venue (Royal Oak Music Theater),
can't remember the year,
probably
86 or 87. Just Mr. Leitch and his acoustic guitar,
I saw him more than once. He was MAGIC!


And he's still going strong!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAxYx8k7SeA

[atomic-fly]

74. Worst....this Santana concert!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fNoZg9kl-zE

[RoadRage]

75. Worst: Tie - John Cougar Mellencamp and New Kids on the Block!

Actually.. NKOTB was when I was about 11 years old, so I really don't know if you can hold that against me.

John Cougar was HORRIBLE though. we had to watch the NASCAR coat / Jordache Jean wearing couple in front of us make out and stick their hands down each others pants... and they looked to be in their mid-50's. Nevermind that JCM had to sit down 1/2 way through the set to catch his breath.

Best concert ever? Metallica - In Justice for All! WHOOOO HOO!

[Joey Liberal]

76. Best: Elton John; Second best: AC/DC with Bon Scott n/t

[Joey Liberal]

77. Worst: Jeff Beck; 2nd worst Emmerson, Lake & Palmer

Boring. Fell alseep during Jeff Beck.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

79. I can't pick the best. It's between...........

- Tool, Huntington WV July 2007. Despite rather crappy sound, the performance and the light show carried this one into the top echelon of my concert experiences.

- OR -

- Carl Perkins, CAKE and Soul Coughing at SXSW in 1995 (I think). Seeing this show for free wasn't what made it such a extraordinary experience. I would have paid $100 to see this show. Carl was a hoot, CAKE (w/ their original lineup)played a strong set despite John McCrea having obvious vocal issues and Soul Coughing flawlessly made the transition from heavily produced albums to a live scene.

The worst was easy:

- BTO in the auditorium of the college in my hometown. Not only was the sound horrible, these guys had terrible opening acts and their performance was wooden.

[Bennyboy]

80. Another BEST!

The US Festival. http://www.usfestivals.com/

Huge ordeal getting there, car breaking down etc, but we made it. Well over a hundred degrees during the day and not much cooler at night.
We walked in and the Ramones were onstage, The English Beat, Oingo Boingo,The B52's, Talking Heads and the Police followed on the first day.

Santana with Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, the Cars, the Kinks, Pat Benatar and Tom Petty and the Heartbreaksers the next.

Sunday was breakfast in bed with the Good old Grateful Dead. The slide bass solo with Phil using the delay towers was just incredible. Jerry Jeff Walker. jimmy Buffet, JAckson Browne and Fleetwood Mac.

The stage was HUGE, with giant video screens on both sdies. a half a million people all grooving. the bowl was rined by porta Potties and you could go from the front to the back in no time. No big crush up front, people were very nice.

There was a bunch of tents off to one side and in it were the newest computers, video games and electronic toys. you could just go in and play all day if you want.

Some credit this festival with the birth of the Creative class and as precussor to Burning Man.