# greatest rock and roll concert you ever saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880 "2019-12-15T04:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/61 "2019-12-16T22:59:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The best concert I ever saw was Sugar and Magnapop in 1994. > > They played at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa… I was at that show! By the end, there was hardly anyone there. I’m going to go with The Hold Steady/Drive-By Truckers double bill at First Avenue, Minneapolis. 11/2008. Hmmm…maybe Nirvana at Palmer Auditorium, Davenport, IA. 10/1993. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/62 "2019-12-16T23:16:03Z")
All but one Boston area, no special order. Iggy Pop, Harvard Square Theater 1976 shortly before releasing _The Idiot_. He was more of a rumor than a known quantity at the time, but what a slam-bang show that was. (David Bowie was in the band; didn’t matter, it was all about Iggy.) The Kinks. Saw several times but the one I remember was at Providence Civic Center 1981, their last number was “Twist and Shout”, I did and I did. Flamin’ Groovies, Paradise 1978 or 9. They brought their Mod threads and were everything I wanted them to be. The Cramps, Channel. Lux Interior was one of the few performers who scared me. The Damned, Channel. Capt. Sensible came out buck naked for the encore. That was weird. Ramones, the Rat 1977. They didn’t use the club’s colored lights but brought their own, which was just a bar with four powerful white bulbs glaring at them - perfect for the music. Barry and the Remains, 1975 at the Jazz Workshop (which wasn’t strictly jazz by then) opening for Ian Matthews in front of a dozen people. It was one of their early reunion attempts, and I was astonished that anyone could play that sort of pop and do it brilliantly. And… any band that invited people up on stage to jump around - Patti Smith, Mo-Dettes, Boomtown Rats (“Do the Rat” - we tried!), etc. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/63 "2019-12-16T23:23:02Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Not the greatest sound (you couldn’t even hear them!) but seeing The Beatles in the summer of 1966 was special. Beatles, summer 65, was definitely the most “special” concert I ever attended. (It was also my first concert at age 14.) And as I’ve said before, I could hear them well enough to actually enjoy the music. But as I voted upthread, of all my lifetime events, the greatest" “rock” concert in terms of both quality of the material and the performances was ELP summer '74. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/64 "2019-12-16T23:25:29Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > **jaycat** , I guess we saw the Stones on the same “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” tour. I saw them in October 1969, with Chuck Berry as the opening act. That’s still the greatest rock concert I ever saw, largely because it was the first time I heard “Midnight Rambler.” The “Let It Bleed” album hadn’t been released. The funny thing is, the only reason I went was that my high school buddy had bought two tickets, assuming it would be no problem to get a date to see the Stones. He couldn’t though, and I bought his $7.50 ticket off him for $5! Forgot to mention… I also saw Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels at Oliver’s in Kenmore Square, Boston, in 1973. With Emmylou Harris. Two nights in a row. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/65 "2019-12-17T00:08:38Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Woodstock. 1969. Sly and the Family Stone. Arlo Guthrie. Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Jefferson Airplane. The Who. Sha Na Na. Jimi Hendrix. The most memorable to me, among just a few others. This. Wish I could remember more. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/66 "2019-12-17T00:20:06Z")
Epitaph Summer Nationals 1994. A punk rock extravaganza!!! I was there for 2 of the 3 nights at the Palladium in Hollywood. We saw GasHuffer, Down by Law, Clawhammer, Joykiller, The Offspring, NOFX and Bad Religion and more. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/67 "2019-12-17T00:29:36Z")
Bruce Springsteen 9-3-78. Saginaw Civic Arena. And look what I found: > **[Bruce Springsteen Setlist at Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/1978/saginaw-civic-center-saginaw-mi-6bd7ae86.html)** > > Get the Bruce Springsteen Setlist of the concert at Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw, MI, USA on September 3, 1978 from the Darkness Tour and other Bruce Springsteen Setlists for free on setlist.fm! Second spot: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band-One of the two shows that were recorded for the Live Bullet album. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/68 "2019-12-17T00:41:47Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Bruce Springsteen 9-3-78. Saginaw Civic Arena. > > And look what I found: > > [Bruce Springsteen Concert Setlist at Saginaw Civic Center, Saginaw on September 3, 1978 | setlist.fm](https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/1978/saginaw-civic-center-saginaw-mi-6bd7ae86.html) > > Second spot: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band-One of the two shows that were recorded for the Live Bullet album. That is a great site. You can replay an entire concert. Sometimes they have recordings of songs from the actual show. Would have loved to have seen Bruce in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/69 "2019-12-17T05:55:18Z")
I haven’t been to a lot of concerts, but the one that stands out in my mind is Neil Diamond, in the early 1990s. The man wrote about half the great rock songs. And although he wasn’t young any more, he worked really really hard to put on a good show. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/70 "2019-12-17T08:09:17Z")
Perhaps the OP should have said “what really cool concerts have you seen that you’d like to brag about?” Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![PitJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9bcb4/32.png) [@PitJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PitJ)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/71 "2019-12-17T13:50:17Z")
Best concert because of music, sound, etc.? Clearly Pink Floyd at the Muengersdorfer Stadion in Cologne, Germany 1989. Still and up to today the best sound I’ve ever heard, incredible acoustic pressure waves rolling through the stadium without any hurt to the ears. The start alone with “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” brought us to our knees. Best concert with regard to feeling, closeness to the artists, etc.? Bob Marley & The Wailers, Waldbuehne, Berlin 1980. Partially perhaps also in hindsight as this was the penultimate concert before Bob’s untimely death. We were sitting at the bottom of the amphitheater, just 3 meters away from the stage, watching the band circling giant spliffs and enjoying our own while being absolutely immersed in Reggae. Unforgettable. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/72 "2019-12-17T17:47:05Z")
1976 Philadelphia’s JFK stadium 130,000 plus in the crowd. Among others: Gary Wright, Peter Frampton and Yes. All were at the top of their respective games. Blistering hot day and pretty cold night. People were setting fires to keep warm and catching the tar covered bleachers on fire. All the smoke helped with the Yes laser show (lasers were still a pretty new thing at concerts). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/73 "2019-12-18T00:40:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Perhaps the OP should have said “what really cool concerts have you seen that you’d like to brag about?” > > Jesus. Well, of course. I think the older folk here who were part of an amazing music scene (and an amazing time!) deserve to tell their stories. Like the t-shirt says (saw this at Summerfest, on a grey-haired hippie): \*\* I might be old but I saw all the cool bands\*\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/74 "2019-12-18T02:28:11Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Perhaps the OP should have said “what really cool concerts have you seen that you’d like to brag about?” > > Jesus. Yes, that is essentially the thread. You know, for me it’s really, really hard to think of a particular one. I don’t like big stadium shows; I mean, I’ve been to big music festivals, even multi-day ones where I may have spent 48 hours on location drunkenly stumbling from one show to the next, but those big shows never left much of an impression on me. Pearl Jam in Budapest in 1996 was a memorable one. I wasn’t even much of a Pearl Jam fan, but we came up from Croatia to see them perform at a basketball stadium in Budapest. There were only maybe a couple thousand people there. We were easily able to get to the very front of the stage when we wanted to, and Eddie and the crew put on an absolutely energetic and spirited performance. I was impressed, though not enough to actually buy any of their albums, I guess. The opening band were the Fastbacks from Seattle, and two years later when I moved to Budapest, I became good friends with one of their drummers who had moved to Hungary from Seattle, and we ended up playing, recording, and touring together in a local indie rock band. Just a really weird, odd coincidence that I didn’t put together until I came across the ticket stub from that show. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/75 "2019-12-18T02:37:54Z")
Oh, actually I thought of a legit one. I was visiting cousins in Australia in 1993 and happened to be there when Midnight Oil was coming through town. Saw them perform at Hobart City Hall in Tasmania (about a 1300 capacity venue.) They thoroughly rocked the joint. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/76 "2019-12-18T07:59:53Z")
I quite like Midnight Oil. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/77 "2019-12-18T09:18:45Z")
I saw the Oils plenty of times at various pubs around Sydney including, of course, the Royal Antler at Narrabeen. I saw Eric Clapton do a “private” warm up gig at Hemel Hempstead in front of a very small crowd in 1976. It was unusual to be able to walk to the bar, buy a drink and walk back, only yards away from Clapton. Probably the most memorable concert I have seen was **Led Zeppelin** at Sydney Showground in Summer 1972. The crowd rushed the stage area to get closer and security could do nothing to stop us. In fact people without tickets climbed the fence to get in. Page told the crowd to stay behind the stage barriers and sit down. So they did. The band played for nearly 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/78 "2019-12-18T11:29:47Z")
Pink Floyd performing The Wall at Earls Court, London in 1981. It was the week of my 17th birthday. Thirty years later I went with the same friend to the O2 to see Roger Waters do The Wall. We picked the night that David Gilmour turned up to do Comfortably Numb. But if there’s one night I would love to relive it was November 2001 when I went along to a small club in Edinburgh to see this duo that had been causing a stir in the music press. That was my first exposure to the genius of Jack White. I’ve seen him another twenty times since. If that is just using this thread to brag about being at cool gigs, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/79 "2019-12-18T19:01:36Z")
The greatest musically would have to be The Police during the Synchronicity Tour in 84. I was blown away at how this incredible music was coming from just 3 guys. It was perfect. The greatest experience would be Yes doing the entire Tales from Topographic Oceans album in 1974. It was a general admission show and we waited all day to get in first. We were right in front of the band, tripping our asses off and, amazingly, I do remember a lot of it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880/80 "2019-12-19T01:22:08Z")
> [@Mr.Greenjeans](#): > > I saw the London side of the Live Aid concert in 1985. What a lineup! > > [ul] > [li]Paul McCartney[/li][li]Elton John[/li][li]The Who[/li][li]David Bowie[/li][li]Queen[/li][li]Dire Straits (with Sting wanting his MTV)[/li][li]U2[/li][li]Bryan Ferry (with David Gilmore)[/li][li]Sting[/li][li]Phil Collins[/li][li]Elvis Costello[/li][/ul] > All on one glorious day! Oh my LORD I’m jealous !! That show was just stunning on so many levels. ( Also, killer Member name 😃 ) I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Wish I’d been able to get to JFK to see the US half of that show ! This was hands down the most disturbing concert I’ve ever attended. I shot it. And about 2/3 of the way through, [Patti Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7i43jvhar4) called me out between songs for blocking people’s view and basically ruining their experience. It was awful. ( I was there to do my job, and I was always moving so I really wasn’t blocking anyone for more than a second or two. ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-rock-and-roll-concert-you-ever-saw/844880.md?page=5)