Best concert(s) you've ever been to?

I'm old — been to a lot of great concerts. Sat with Phil Ochs at the Philadelphia Folk Festival while he was still writing "Changes."

Attended the Atlantic City Pop Festival in 1969 — the huge festival that got no headlines because it worked! Everyone in the music business was there, from Janis Joplin to Hendrix to Dr. John, who was still the Night Tripper then.

One of the lucky few to catch "Mad Dogs & Englishmen with Joe Cocker" in Philadelphia — one of somethng like only 40-something stops that history making show ever made.

Well, there are others, but these were the ones that came to mind tonight.

Merry Christmas!
 
HAHAHA!!! the geezers have hijacked this thread.

Now I don't remember the year, or in some cases the place. Most were at Red Rocks, in Colorado.
The Grateful Dead (Jerry we miss you). (Telluride)

CSN

CSNY

Y (all by himself, it may have been the first live performance of Sugar Mountain, but I am not sure.

The Band

Little Feat

Joni Mitchell

Emmylou Harris


and, for you fans of music other than rock:

Yehudi Menuchin (Beethoven Violin Concerto Opus 61)
Mitsuko Shirai (asortment of "modern (circa 1910)" songs
 
ZZ Top (82) - My first concert ever. They played in Austin after having been banned there for many years after a crazy concert at UT stadium. This was before they turned MTV and it set the standard for every concert I have seen to this date.

The Who (82) - Cotton Bowl with Steel Breeze and Billy Squire opening. The party in the parking lot was epic. The Who played for nearly 4 hours.

Ozzy (83) - Speak of the Devil tour in the Lester E. Palmer Auditorium in Austin...great small venue. Jake E. Lee played guitar and all they did was play Sabbath songs. The entire auditorium was standing on the arms of its seats for the entire show.

The British are Coming Tour (83) - Dallas. great combos like Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker playing a set, Jeff Beck (stunning) and Jan Hammer, Jimi Page and Paul Rogers doing a Firm set before they were The Firm.

Metallica (86) Austin. Opened for Ozzy, blew Ozzy away.

Motley Crue (90) Omaha. Not a big Crue fan, but this was the highest energy show I have ever seen. The crowd and the band worked off each other and continued to build until the end.

Clash of the Titans (90) Omaha. Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer...perfect.

Ronnie James Dio (94 and 04) Tampa. That man commands the stage and is the consumate rocker.

Edgar Winter (94) Tampa. Real small venue. Carmine or Vinnie on drums and a guitar player. I have never seen three people put out such a flawless, sonic wall of sound. Frankenstein was probably the best song I have ever seen performed live.

Machine Head (00) St. Pete. Just plain slammin' and excellent sonics.

Lots of similar memorable shows - too many to list. I used to see SRV in Austin before he was nationally known. We all knew he would be big.
 
"Edge Fest" in Dallas circa '96. Some chemicals in liquid form made that show one to remember (or try to anyways!) Stabbing Westward, Gravity Kills, The Nixons, Poe, Ruby.......man what a ride!
Now I'm all old and boring (at 25 :rolleyes: ) with a family and ok paying job...
too damned tired anymore to go "Rock Out".
 
Seems like most of y'all like louder music than I do, but I've seen some truly great shows all the same.

Five that stand waaaay out are...

Richard Thompson solo at McNear's in Petaluma 2003
Willie Nelson at Stubb's in Austin 2001
Tom Waits at the State Theater for the Mule Variations tour
Townes Van Zandt at the Cactus Cafe in Austin, 1993 or so
Dave Alvin, Tom Russell, Chris Smither, and Ramblin' Jack Elliot at Antone's in Austin, '98 or thereabouts This one was great because I think it cost twelve bucks to get in and they played for at least three hours. It was billed as a songwriter's swap, I was close enough to touch the stage, and the audience was small, so they were basically singing to individuals and put all they had into the show.

Townes also gets the nod for spookiest show I ever saw. It was at the Cactus also in about October of '96. Near as I can tell, it was the last live show he ever did, and when he sang 'Lost Highway' at the end, it was like watching someone read their own epitaph. Still gives me goosebumps to think about it.

James
 
Peter Paul and Mary in 68
Simon and Garfunkel in 66
Steppenwolf's Monster tour in about 70
 
New Riders of the Purple Sage
(opened I think?) for Jimmy Buffet at DAR Constitution Hall '75?
Muddy Waters 74 or 75 Georgetown University
Crosby Stills and Nash (sans Young) also Georgetown 75 or 77?
How about James Earl Jones as Paul Robeson, National Theater (yep, not a concert but a dynamite soliloquy)

Just remembered, getting stoked in the park before John Prine played in DC (forgot the club?)

Anybody remember Smokey aka Carol Nightingale, best tattoo artist in DC in 70s in DC down by the bus station?????? His "parlor" wasn't far from the park on that summer evening. If Smokey put a "unit" on you, you had to come recommended or pay the cover charge to get in ($5?)--were you there, if so-remember the gun he wore and the pipe he smoked when workin' and not up in PA with the clydesdales.
 
Thought of another, and think how could I have forgotton :confused:

Central park, summer of 76, Muddy Waters and Pine Top Perkins opened for Johnny Winter. After Winter's set was half done he got out is steel guitar and brought the old guys back out for 'da blues'
Made alot of blues converts out of the hard rockers that were there.
 
Here's a list of my favorites in no particular order:

Kiss
AC/DC
Kid Rock
Garth Brooks
Tim McGraw
ZZ Top
Aerosmith
Motley Crue
 
In my "past life" I enjoyed several Rush shows. One was by the side of the stage, up a bit, so you may have thought they were bad seats...but...they commanded a great view of drummer Neil Peart in action 10 miniute drum solo anyone :D . Also enjoyed an up close view of The Cure at Jones Beach.

But, that was the past.

Recently I had the pleasure of attending a GLAD concert at my church. GLAD is a Christian band that has been around 30+ years, most famous for acapella singing. I have never been a fan of recorder acapella music, but to be in the audience and see/hear these guys wield their voices with all the skill and range of Stevie Ray on guitar, was incredible. The harmonies were perfection.

Also enjoyed a Phil Keaggy show at my church. Another Christian artist, who sings but is best known (world renowned even outside the Christian music world) for his acoustic guitar work. You guitar buffs I'm sure have heard of him, he's in Metheny's class for sure. He was by himself, laying down a lick, hitting the pedal to "capture' the track and loop it, then laying down another guitar line over it. He intermeshed and looped like this all night, seamlessly, sometimes 4 or 5 overlays. A one-man orchestra.
 
198?,Alvin Lee and Ten Years After at the Calderone in LI NY, he played for 5 hours including 11 encores

199?
Grateful Dead Veterens Stadium, sat front row center even if it was Sha Na Na being front row center was an expierence I'll never forget.

Bruce in Asbury Park before he was the Boss.

And many more I can't remember, Jimmy Buffet, Arlo, ELP, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Elvis :cool: ,Outlaws, I can't ever remember a bad concert.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
And many more I can't remember, Jimmy Buffet, Arlo, ELP, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Elvis :cool: ,Outlaws, I can't ever remember a bad concert.
Click to expand...
Green Grass and High Tides has to be one of the best songs ever done. The guitar work is beyond kick-a$$. Cool band, too bad I am not an old hat like some of you geezers :D to have seen these bands in thier hey-day.
 
From what I remember of the concert, CSN.

Jimmy Buffett

Robert Cray-I had really crappy tickets for Public Hall in Cleveland, then the show got moved to the new Agora and all of a sudden I'm in the front row :cool:

Emmylou Harris
 
Rush, I've seen the last four tours and they were all great. I saw Yes on the Union tour and that was pretty good. Quennsryche on the last two tours. Don't laugh, but Fleetwood Mac on the last tour was surprisingly good. FM is the only band that my wife and I can find common ground on.
 
1. SRV, Danville Illinois not sure of the year... '88 or '89.
2. Alejandro Escovedo at Fitzgerald's in Berwyn Illinois on the night Princess Di got killed.
3. Don Walser at Fitzgerald's. unsure when

Honorable mentions: Robert Earl Keen at Schuba's (before he started believing his hype and became a prick), every single Fred Eaglesmith show I've ever been to, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely several times, A very memorable Old 97's show at Fitz, watching Kandy Kane play the piano with her tits, every Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets show (never to be seen again, their lead singer Sam Meyers died), Rush 2112 tour, Hayes Carll, others I'm sure...
 
I've been to a lot of concerts in my short amount of years, and without a doubt nine inch nails is the best show out there. Donovan was decent, warped tour is always fun, and opeth is rock solid.

Shows that greatly dissapointed me were Evanescence, Dream Theatre, and Cancer Bats.

Oh and Clapton the man
 
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