I can’t believe nobody else has mentioned this…
Roger Water’s “In The Flesh” tour last year. Damn… I mean, damn… just… da-a-a-a-a-a-amn…
Megadeth at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. 1988?
The Alabama Theatre is an old restored Victorian looking theatre. It looks like a typical opera house complete with velvet tapestries and a balcony. It is intimately small and acoustically perfect.
Completely moving experience on a multileveled plane.
A ‘Flashfire in the Brainpan’
I have two:
*Jill Scott, February 2001. I loved her CD, but I had no idea how much spirit and soul she had. She owned the stage, owned the crowd, and was funny, witty, and smart. And her voice - my god! It was flawless! Every song turned into a twenty-minute jam session with the band, her back-up singers, and the audience. The best, though, was after she took her first bow, half the crowd left, but the die-hard fans stayed behind. She came back out and did some of the performance poetry that made her famous. It was one of the best nights of my life.
Jah Works, May 4, 2000. They actually opened for the Roots, but they were ten times better. They’re a local Baltimore band, and their music is an incredible blend of reggae/ska/rock/pop. This was the first show of theirs I attended, and I have loved them every since. In fact, you can read my review of their live show here - it’s the long one at the bottom (for about five months it was the only one there).
I swear before God I accidentally hit “Submit” while aiming for “preview.” The shame, the horror. Please forgive me. 
I am absolutely positive I’ll be mocked for this, but I really don’t care… Kiss, on their reunion tour, was the best concert ever. Not just the music (which was incredible), but also just the general atmosphere was amazing.
The worst? Well, that’s another thread, I’m sure, but it was Phish in Vermont in 1993. God awful.
/quick hijack
You said it! Seeing concerts or anything at the Alabama Theatre is an experience in itself. “The Phantom of the Opera” with the Wurlitzer organ is simply awe-inspiring; I’ve seen it 5 times there. I love going there just for the historical feel as well as the acoustics.
/end quick hijack
Please excuse my ramblings…your regularly scheduled program is already in progress.
The G3 Tour with:
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (opening for)
Steve Vai (opening for)
Eric Johnson (opening for)
Joe Satriani
Plus all of them jamming to close the show.
The Who at Winterland in San Francisco.
(Imagine a venue so small the dance floor is the size of a basketball court. Keith Moon didn’t even blink through the whole show.)
Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar
(Doing the East Meets West concert.)
Jean Pierre Rampal
(Doing the Suite for Jazz Flute and Piano.)
Jaqui McShee, John Renbourn and Bert Jansch
(Doing all of the classic Pentangle songs.)
Climax Blues Band (opening for)
Rick Derringer Group (opening for)
Johnny Winter Band (opening for)
Edgar Winter Band (opening for)
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Plus all of them jamming to close the show.
John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra (opening for)
Jeff Beck (Blow by Blow tour)
Plus both of them jamming to close the show.
Keith Jarrett (solo piano concert)
Stupendous!
Steve Miller (opening for)
Eric Johnson (opening for)
ZZ Topp
Plus Miller and Johnson jamming.
Return to Forever with:
Chick Corea
Stanley Clark
Lenny White
Al Di Meola
(At my high school auditorium.)
That’ll do for starters.
Yeah N4S Love Jill Scott–I’ve not seen her in person but I like her CD very much. My daughter has it and we listened to it a lot but I didn’t get a chance to copy it. “You’re getting in my way” is great and also “A long walk”.
Hmmm best concerts.
The Rolling Stones (3 times)The Who, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Kiss, Sting, Police, are among my top ten.
One of the best times I ever had was at a local “EdgeFest” Sponge, Replacements, and others but mostly Matthew Sweet. I just love this guy & have nearly all his albums. Girlfriend is one of my all time favorites and it’s no coincidence that my web page pic looks a lot like the cover of Girlfriend. (not that I’m saying I look like Bridget Bardot or anything) Well I was in the right place at the right time I guess but I ended up talking to him for about 20 minutes with only a few people standing around. :sigh: Of course I got his autograph. Oh and I got to help hold the lead singer of Sponge up on this fence while he sang Plowed and Have you seen Mary… That dude had really skinny legs!!
I forgot Aerosmith for $1 yes one dollar at a local audatorium in 1972.
We didn’t even know who they were–get your wings was just released and all I’d ever heard was “Train kept a rollin”, but we figured Hey it’s only a buck and it’ll get us out of the house. 
Travis Tritt at the Texas Club in Baton Rouge, back aound the time of his first CD. He wasn’t really famous yet, and he put on one heck of a show. Over 3 hours. Incidentally, his first album (“Country Club”) is IMHO one of the best albums of the 80s.
Second place–Hank Williams, Jr. Also Baton Rouge. This was a free concert he put on to make up for the one a month or so earlier that he was too whacked to play. I think he felt bad for that, and put on a great show.
Nirvana at the Metro in late 90…before Nevermind was released. Great show and I got to say when Teen Spirit was released that “i’ve seen them live.”
I saw the every time they played Chicago after that but the first time…priceless.
The best: Elvis Costello at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia in 19?? (I want to say 1990). The second: Prince in Philadelphia, 1984.
Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for the Age of the Dinosaurs…
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. So far back that I can’t remember when for sure. They were supposed to be the opening act for ZZ Top, who never showed. Instead, the Devils came out and simply COOKED for two hours.
Second, the Pink Floyd on tour for the Animals album.
It’s a toss up for me. Either
X-Fest - Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Disturbed, Wheatus, Fuel, Kittie, Kottonmouth Kings, and POD
or
May Day - Papa Roach, 3 Doors Down, Bloodhound Gang, and Godsmack
Set that dial back even further, Mr. Peabody…
On February 25, 1970 my girlfriend, my roommate and I hitchhiked a good 150 miles in 20-degree weather (snow some of the time) to Cincinnati to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse on their first tour.
Solo acoustic set first, then electric. I heard “Sugar Mountain” for the first time in my life that night. “Helpless” as well (introduced with “this song is gonna be on an album coming out on Atlantic Records”). I have the bootleg of the show, but it doesn’t begin to convey what it was like being there in the fourth row.
Maybe the fact that it was my 18th birthday has something to do with all of this, but I still can’t think of a concert before or since that has moved me as much.
Runners up:
The Pretty Things
Dave Davies of The Kinks
…both within the past couple of years, and both in very small clubs with crowds that were totally behind them and appreciated their greatness. Just raw power and joy that is the very essence of what rock ‘n’ roll is about.
Negativeland, Vancouver, BC in 1993.
That was the best live show I have seen. Instead of just a bunch of guys playing instruments on stage, they actually performed. I never felt so thoroughly entertained in my life.
There’s better bands out there, but where’s the showmanship? If i’m gonna get neck strains from trying to see over and around people while standing for 3 hours, at least put on a show!! I think Rob Zombie has the right idea. 
I have seen any number of shows by The Replacements, Bob Mould, and Robyn Hitchcock (with and without the Egyptians) from the 80s-90s that would qualify. R.E.M. in '87 ( I think) was pretty good. For sheer fun, believe it or not, The Smithereens at the Fillmore, SF, 1988 or Fishbone in '89 were hard to beat. And special mention to Elvis Costello (with Steve Nieve) in '99, 'cause it was the first concert I went to with my girlfriend (and love of my life) Viv.
Whoa, they do shows? I thought it was just a radio show and some CDs.
I quite agree, which is why my nomination for best concert is any Lords of Acid show, ever. Followed closely by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. Honorable mention to KMFDM.
Oh man, how did I forget Lords of Acid?
There are just too many bands…
Tortoise, Osaka, 199…8? Stoned off my ass when two of them started playing the vibes at the same time…standing across from eachother and playing a perfectly synchronized, really difficult part…before they started, they looksed eachother in the eye with a whole heap of fear…very intense.
Beck in DC last year was also really good. When the king sized bed came down from the ceiling and he climbed under the covers and started talking dirty to the whole crowd, I swear there wasn’t a dry pair of underwear in the house.