Bands you've seen, concerts you've been to

I’m pretty sure I’m posted about this before. I’ll start wil the more personal stories.

A favorite bar of mine that no longer exists in that form used to have live blues and jazz. I would check on there line up from time to time. To my surprise they announced an album release party for legendary blues man Johnny Copeland. I had no idea he had moved to New Jersey. Admittedly he was a niche performer but a few years earlier I saw him on stage with Stevie Ray Vaughan so I was surprised he would be in this tiny club. His daughter Shemekia Copeland opened for him. She was maybe 17 years old at the time. Johnny was very weak. Found out later he was waiting on a heart transplant. He performed sitting in a chair. During one song he just couldn’t finish and Shemekia stepped in and sang the rest of it to him. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Shemekia has gone on to a nice career. Along with performing and albums she has a show on the SiriusXM channel Bluesville.

I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan 7 times. Once me and a buddy took a roadtrip from Maryland to Boston to see him. Another friend got us tickets. We dropped off the two others with us out front then drove around back to park. Just as we were walking up to the venue Stevie and the band were coming out of the tour bus. He stopped and gave me an autograph by using my back as a table. He was really short.

I saw him twice at the pier in NYC. It was a great venue. Just and old pier next to the Intrepid where they used to have concerts. One of those pier shows was the best out of the ones I saw. That was when he brought out Johnny Copeland. He also brought out Steve Winwood to play. It was also one of the shows where the Fabulous Thunderbirds opened. During the encore he didn’t the thing where he played the one double neck guitar with his brother.

I also saw him at probably his low point. It was on Rutgers University. Almost all of his songs became long extended jams. I realized later it was during the worst of his addiction issues. It showed me how incredible Double Trouble was. It didn’t matter where he went, they laid down a foundation and didn’t let the music get lost.

I saw the Steve Morse Band at the Stone Pony from about 5 feet away. I thought then and still think now that he’s the best guitar player ever. I have since seen him live with the reunited Dixie Dregs, Flying Colors and his solo band again.

Saw Rush many times. The first was on the Hold Your Fire tour. I had lost interest after Moving Pictures but this brought me back in. Hold Your Fire might be my favorite album by them.

I’ve been to a few big concert events. As mentioned in a recent thread, I was at Roger Waters The Wall: Live in Berlin. I was at the 121212 concert for Hurricane Sandy relief in Madison Square Garden. I was at two Monsters of Rock concerts in Germany. The first was headlined by Whitesnake but also had Dio and Aerosmith. The next one was on my airfield. The stage was a couple hundred feet from my barracks. The line up was The Black Crowes, Queensrÿche, Motley Crue, Metalllica and AC/DC.

Some concerts I attended in the 1980s (at least the ones I can remember):

B.B. King
Pat Benatar
Black Sabbath
Quiet Riot
Deep Purple
Weird Al Yankovic
Yngwie Malmsteen
The Dead Milkmen
MDC
Slayer
Motörhead (left after 10 minutes)
Ramones

Others:

Jimmy Buffett (1990s)
Paul McCartney (2013)
Jethro Tull (2018)
King Crimson (2021)
The Breeders (2022)

How are The Residents not on this list.

The first concert that I attended was Barry Manilow, way back in 1975. I was fourteen years old.
I have also seen Olivia Newton-John (three times); Elton John (twice); Earth, Wind, and Fire; John Denver; Sly and the Family Stone; Doobie Brothers; Lionel Ritchie; Sheena Easton; Paul McCartney; and Bill Cosby.

There may have been more, during my prime concert-going years in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. I will add to my list if I recall them.

I saw many, many shows in the 80s and 90s. These days, however, I perform 75-100 shows per year. On my days off, I prefer doing quieter things, mainly to give my ears a rest. But I’ve seen some really fun shows over the years.

Simon and Garfunkle in Central Park - this was a historic concert, and I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if there were others on this board that saw the same show. Can’t say that about too many shows. It was an absolutely magical evening, even if I could only see the tops of their heads. My friends and I watched the show from up in a tree in Central Park.

Bruce Springsteen, LA Colosseum - this was the final show of the Born in the USA tour and my uncle, who worked for ABC at the time, scored us 10th row center tickets for my birthday. I had never seen Bruce before, wasn’t a fan, and didn’t really have much interest in the show but didn’t want to be rude to my uncle. Turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen and turned me into a fan by the end of the night.

Spinal Tap - Anaheim Hilton - this was part of the evening entertainment for a music convention (NAMM). Dweezil Zappa opened the show and was fantastic. Spinal Tap put on a great show as well. At the end, they brought out Steve Lukather on guitar (introducing him as Steve Lucifer). Really fun show.

Jeff Porcaro Memorial Concert - Universal Ampitheater - I don’t think I’ve ever been to a more star-studded concert in my life. Jeff was a beloved and brilliant session drummer, and when he unexpectedly passed away at a very young age (34, I believe), everyone came out to show their love. Playing at that show were Toto (Jeff’s band), Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Don Henley, Boz Skaggs, David Crosby, Eddie Van Halen and George Harrison. It was a beautiful tribute to Jeff.

US Festival 83 (heavy metal day) - San Bernadino - This concert was very memorable, but not very good. The lineup included Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Ozzie Osbourne, Triumph, The Scorpions, and the headliner, Van Halen. It was my first time seeing Van Halen, which was my main reason for going. The weather was searing hot (103 if I recall correctly). I was the same color as a lobster before the sun went down. When Van Halen finally took the stage, it was immediately clear that they were wasted. David Lee Roth proudly proclaimed “I’m so drunk, I can’t remember any of the fucking words!” It was so bad that we left in the middle of the third song, hoping to beat some of the traffic. That didn’t work. We were stuck in the parking lot for the next 8 hours trying to exit. Possibly the worst event I’ve ever been to.

I just remembered – I have also seen Genesis and Whitney Houston in concert.

My biggest regret was not seeing the Bee Gees performing live. I loved their music, and now Barry is the only one left.

I’m not a big concert goer.

My most significant concert experience was seeing the Ramones play in what was supposed to be their final performance. They had already announced they were retiring and were doing a multi-band concert tour. I saw the last show of the tour, which would have been their last show as a group.

But then they decided to stay together long enough to do a farewell tour. And then they decided to stay together long enough to do the Lollapalooza tour. And then they decided to stay together long enough to do a big final show.

I’ve seen two farewell tours by The Who, but I haven’t seen all of them.

Early 80’s… A local radio station said that Anne Murray was coming to concert. They said that they will announce “sometime” that the tickets were on sale and where to buy them. When they made the announcement I just happened to be driving about a half mile away from where they were selling the tickets. Note: that’s not the best idea. I could see cars doing dangerous things trying to get there as fast as possible. I was one of the first people in line and my seats were 2nd row, right in the middle. As I told people, I could count the number of sequins in her shoes (I think it was 24).

I had something similar happen back in the 80s. I saw Kansas in the last show of the last tour before Steve Walsh left to go solo. It was actually a rescheduled show that they tacked on at the end of the tour. So for a few years I was able to say I saw Steve Walsh’s last show with the band. But then he came back several years later after his solo career fizzled.

So, I said I was not necessarily looking for a list, but I got to thinking of all the concerts I’ve ever been to. It’s actually not a whole lot, especially compared to a lot of the posters here. So here’s a list of all I can remember right now (I’m sure there are more that I’m forgetting) along with a short anecdote for each:

Kansas
First concert! I was 14. Great show, I thought. I still kind of like Kansas- especially their earlier stuff, before they went full “Synth-Heavy Prog Rock” mode.

Iggy Pop - Santana - The Rolling Stones
'81 tour- saw them at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. It was a terrible stadium for acoustics. Or seeing a football game, or anything else, for that matter. Cavernous stadium, really too large. Not sorry that they tore it down.

Iggy played for barely 1/2 hour, with the audience booing him and throwing garbage onstage the entire time. I was surprised at the antagonistic nature of a Rolling Stones audience to Iggy, but they did not like him. He finally sarcastically said “thanks for being such a wonderful audience” and took off. I have a clear memory of a janitor with one of those 6’ wide push brooms clearing all the garbage off the stage after.

Santana was on fire. Rumor was they were on a mission to have a great show because they wanted to embarrass the Stones, totally show them up.

Technically, Santana probably was better, but the Stones were the Stones. I loved the show. I remember, 17 at the time, we thought they were old men even then (“great show for a bunch of old guys!”). Mick was only 38 at the time :roll_eyes:

Deep Purple
Early-mid 80s. Something of a reunion tour, but Ian Gillen was the lead singer and they sounded in fine form. I had been on a Deep Purple kick at the time, wearing out my Machine Head album, so I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Van Halen
I was not a big VH fan- but my girlfriend at the time was. I shared a ‘green M&M’ anecdote about this show upthread.

Stevie Ray Vaughan
The show I talked about in my OP.

Midnight Oil
Liked them, wasn’t a huge fan, but girlfriend got free tickets somehow. I seem to remember enjoying the show. The 7’ tall bald singer is quite an imposing stage presence.

The Monkees (80s Reunion Tour)
Another girlfriend pick. Fun enough show, except it was at Pine Knob, an outdoor venue, we were on the lawn, and it was pouring down cold rain the entire time. I got pretty sick afterward.

Phish
Got free tickets through work. Had no idea who they were at the time, but quickly came to realize they were the spiritual successors to the Grateful Dead, complete with an obsessive traveling fan base. I and a friend had come from work, and we were dressed ‘business casual’. I had on some sort of businessy collared shirt, and one of the hippies I walked past sarcastically said “nice shirt, dude!”. We were definitely “Phish out of water”, but I liked the show for what it was, despite the quirky lyrics and the too-long jam sessions.

The Beastie Boys
Saw them, early 2000s? The ‘Five Boroughs’ era, I believe. Late era Beastie Boys, but still in their prime. I actually like some of their later stuff better than ‘License to Ill’. I think ‘Ill Communication’ is the best album of their career.

Buddy Guy
I just remember a bluesy blues-fest that was good and blue. I wasn’t not a fan, but I think I went with a friend who was more of a fan than I was.

JJ Cale
I have long enjoyed JJ Cale, ever since a friend turned me on to his unique signature style (for those who aren’t familiar, he’s a big influence, and has been covered by, several musicians, most famously Eric Clapton: ‘Cocaine’ and ‘After Midnight’ are JJ Cale originals). I’ve owned many of his albums over the years, including a few of the harder-to-find ones.

The show was very low-key, with JJ sitting on a stool the entire time and whispering the vocals into the mic. Anybody not familiar with him might have thought “who is this mumbly old guy who seems like he needs a nap?” but being a big fan, I loved getting to see him live.

Dr. John
Another long-time favorite of mine; consummate live performer. Put on a great show in a smallish venue. Got a little surprise-- at one point he picked up an electric guitar and played it (very well) for awhile. He said that he actually started out playing guitar, but a stray bullet hit him in the hand and forced him to give up the guitar and start playing piano (I wouldn’t think that piano would be easier to play than guitar with a wounded hand, but that was his story).

Judas Priest (of the Tim “Ripper” Owens era)
Another ‘free tickets’ sitch. Perfectly serviceable show-- Owens definitely had the voice down. Did not get into any visual Rock 'n Roll trappings though- ball cap on his head, street clothes-- he looked like an ordinary plumber or auto mechanic. Not that I cared, just a big visual contrast from the Halford era.

Sting - Peter Gabriel (Rock Paper Scissors Tour)
Fun show. They covered a few of each other’s songs. I’m not a huge fan of Sting’s solo career, but my wife is. I went more to see Gabriel, and he delivered.

Duran Duran
This was my wife’s call. I did enjoy the show and I was surprised how many songs they had that I recognized, never having been a fan or owned an album.

One thing that annoyed the hell out of me-- for some reason they had these ridiculously super-bright stage lights that they kept shining in the audience’s eyes-- I’m talking “nuclear weapon flash before the shock wave” levels of bright, like genuinely painful to the eyes. And they kept flashing the lights through the entire show. I could not look directly at the stage for more than a second at a time.

One of the most enjoyable shows I’ve been to was a Pete Townshend solo gig at the La Jolla Playhouse. Of course it was great to hear the songs I loved, but even better was the storytelling aspect of the show. Pete was in a good mood and told some hilarious stories, including a rant about a wedding party at his hotel.

I have seen more versions of Don Giovanni than I have rock concerts* in total. The two concerts:

Eagles, back in 2008
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, 2024

*As in, “buy a ticket to see a band”, not “this band was playing at the venue I was attending for other reasons”.

I just detest loud. And rock concerts are loud. Ugh.

I think the most meaningful (to me) show I ever saw was an obscure prog rock band from the UK, called IQ. They’ve been around since 1981, and are still going strong.

Back in the day in San Jose, there was a club that all the small-time prog rock acts played at when they came through town. Several bands played there when I was in high school that I had to miss, because this club was 21 and over. Such as Marillion when they toured for Clutching at Straws.

Anyway, in 1993 there was a fundraising effort, the result of which IQ flew from the UK to San Jose to play a single show, in early 1994. There were only a few hundred of us there, some of whom came from hundreds of miles away. One guy said he’d come down from Seattle.

It was a magical show. Got to meet the band and get all their autographs after the show, too. I still have my Ever CD with all five of their autographs on the cover.

Another offbeat show…I saw Sinead O’Connor in the 90s when she was on the Lollapalooza tour. She was >8 months pregnant and this was one of the last times before she dropped off the tour early. Even then, she was helped out to the mic by the crew. After the first song, someone brought out a big yoga ball for her to sit on because she seemed uncomfortable standing. She performed a lot of the show casually bouncing and grinning on the yoga ball, was in great spirits, and put on a perfect vocal performance.

Here’s my sad story. Which I may have told a couple of years ago in another thread, but anyway.

I’m a big David Bowie fan. He takes up several shelves of my CD towers. I even have the cover of the Blackstar album tattooed on my arm in tribute to him. I only had the chance to see Bowie in concert once, on the Sound + Vision tour in 1990. At this point, I liked him a lot, but was not a “study the biography, learn all the bonus tracks, collect the bootlegs” fan. Still, big icon, excited to see what’s gonna be a great show. Sound + Vision was what I’d call a bit of a mercenary tour for him: the big Rykodisc reissue program of his RCA albums was in full swing, and in between Tin Machine chapters he was hitting the road to play The Old Classics (say it with me) One Last Time. A real no-surprises, give-the-people-what-they-want, big payday world tour. Ka-ching, basically.

There was no opening act. Several other stops on the tour reportedly had big video screens at the side of the stage, showing performances by the Montreal dance ensemble La La La Human Steps. The Ottawa show didn’t have that. Packed into Landsdowne Park (the indoor arena where the 67s played, not the outdoor stadium where the Rough Riders played), the warmup music was the recent World Party album, twice.

And Bowie was…fine. I remember him being engaging and in good voice. And it was a Greatest Hits show. He basically played the ChangesBowie compilation, plus “Pretty Pink Rose,” the song he’d contributed to Adrian Belew’s latest album (Belew was the axeman for this tour). And everything sounded exactly as it did on the CD. I enjoyed it, even if I couldn’t see the stage at all from my spot in GA. But somehow I felt things were a bit hollow. And then T-shirts were like $30 (in 1990 dollars) and the one I got shrank to Ken doll-size after two washes.

Maybe I’m remembering it wrong. 1990 was a rough year for me for various reasons, some of them financial, so it’s possible I had the expenses on my mind. And I’ve heard a bootleg from the same tour in the past couple of years and that’s a pretty solid-sounding show. But listening to his subsequent live albums, I could never help but thinking “Man, I wish I’d seen that Bowie!”

The first time i saw the Rsidents was back in June 1983 in a theatre converted from a church. Lots of the seating was the original wooden pews altough the front of stage area, where I was, was just cheap plastic chairs, iirc. They were almost at the end of the European leg of their very theatrical Mole Show tour and losing a fortune on it by all later accounts.

I had never heard them, or knew much about them, but decided to go. Not sure anymore, but I think I got my ticket on the day, and persuaded my friend Robbie to come with me. Neither of us knew what to expect; the band came on in light gauzy all body camoflage suits (we never saw their faces) and played entirely electronic keyboards while dancers and a narrator (Penn Jillette) interpreted the lyrics in front of large theatre flats (backdrops) which were swapped out for new ones as the show progressed. It got very strange, sometimes very dark with the dancers holding little flashlights, with the narrator staging a nervous breakdown by the end…

I loved it but Robbie hated it! (but did stay to the end).
I’ve seen them twice since but the first time was the best!

And it turned out that my future partner was also at the gig, although we didn’t start dating for another twelve years.

The one and only Bowie concert I saw was him as the headliner of a festival in 1997 at the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund. The supporting acts were Apollo 440, Rage Against The Machine and the Prodigy. I was there with three friends, and we came in too late to see Apollo 440, but we smoked a lot of pot, drank a lot of beer and danced our asses off to RATM and the Prodigy. When Bowie finally hit the stage, I was so wasted and exhausted that I don’t remember much of it, which bugged me later and still bugs me now. I remember that all four of us slept in my tiny Nissan Micra afterwards, and that it wasn’t a very comfortable night…

Saw Aldo Nova backing up April Wine in 1980.

Life is just reality, can you live this fantasy li-i-ife?

Only got to see Bowie once, the Glass Spider Tour. The overblown stage spectacular was diminished somewhat by being outdoors (San Jose Spartan Stadium). While I do enjoy Bowie’s music, the main draw for me was Peter Frampton. It was so great to see him back onstage again. It was clear the audience felt the same as his solos were met with huge cheers.

Carlos Alomar wasn’t so happy about it though:

“On that tour I was tired of being the sideman. I wanted my place. Give me a bone, Jesus! That’s why he let me do the introduction. Peter Frampton is not Carlos Alomar and I wanted to show I could do all that stuff. That I was more than just a rhythm guitar player.”