What's the best concert you've ever been to?

In My Humble Opinion
61

The best show (that I remember) was The Replacements in Green Bay, WI in 199…something. '90? '91? I don’t recall that date.

Anyway, they kicked ass that night. And the Goo Goo Dolls opened for them. It was a great night of loud thrash and post-punk jubilation. (Hey, the Goo Goo Dolls were pretty cool that night – this was long before they did their blatant Replacements imitation and landed that one radio hit which I can’t seem to remember).

Prior to that, Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers at Alpine Valley in '86(?) was a helluva good show.

62

Good taste in music. :slight_smile:

It’s hard to nail down my favorite one, but here are the good ones:

KMFDM, 1995.
Definitely a contendah for the top spot. One of the fastest and heaviest shows I’ve ever seen. Featured opening acts Jesus Hates You, a little punk band I never heard of before or again and wasn’t very good; God Lives Underwater, who they say is good in the studio, but sucked live. Unfortunately, my view of a band is almost completely determined by how good they are when I see them live (the reason why I never saw Guns ‘N’ Roses when I had the chance…better to miss the show than to ruin the illusion), so I have avoided them like the plague; and the Genitorturers. The music rocked, but the stage show caught me a little off guard. There was quite a bit of puncturing and sewing and such of volunteers from the audience. All kinds of weird stuff. KMFDM was the best of all four, which is a good thing since they were the headline act.

Suicidal Tendencies, 1998.
Another great show. They did a full set as Infectious Grooves, then another full set as Suicidal Tendencies. And really REALLY kicked ass. So much that I can’t even remember who opened for them.

ZZ Top/Jeff Healey, 1991.
What blues fan could ask for more? The only way it could be better was if it was a George Thorogood show, and Bo Diddley showed up unannounced to jam with George.

Which happend in Albuquerque (all these shows were there) SIX MEASLEY F-ING MONTHS BEFORE I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO GO TO THE BAR WHERE THEY PLAYED. I was not able to get a fake ID in time to see the show, so I had to sell my tickets.

Not that I’m bitter…

So anyway, those are my favorites. Others that were really good were:
Iron Maiden/Anthrax
Vans Warped 1999 (Suicidal played there, so did Sevendust, Agnostic Front, 7 Seconds, LunaChicks, too many to remember)
Sponge/Letters To Cleo/Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (Ned’s should have been the headliner. the others were good, but not in the same league), etc.

63

Man that’s a tough question. I’ve seen a lot of shows and many of them were outstanding.
If I have to pick one I can but need to give it some explanation.

By dumb luck I got some information on a concert in downtown Detroit. I called around but nobody had information about tickets. After talking to 1000 people someone told me just to show up and get tickets at the door.

Somehow I fell ass backwards into a tour tune up show for Twisted Sister / Love is for suckers.

It was in an old theater something like what’s described in a post above. There were only a few hundred people there hence the “tune up”.

I’ve seen better stage sets, better lights, more talented musicians, better in every way but…

They played their Asses off, off, off!
They were playing like it was a 15,000 seat house, but right in our faces.

If you ever got lucky enough to catch a tour tune up show you know what I’m talking about.

Regular shows are to close to call but the best were never my favorite bands or even the shows I thought were going to be good. A few that stand out are:

Anthrax – Stole the show off a 3-band bill with Megadeth, and Ozzy.
I went to see Ozzy.

Queensryche – Kicked too much ass to look over. I went to see AC/DC

Billy Idol – totally caught me off guard I only went to hang out with a girl.

David lee Roth with Steve via and Billy Sheehan – Awesome! Period.

64

Here are my favorites:

Iron Butterfly/Jefferson Airplane, 1968, in Iowa City. I was 10 years old, and completely baffled at this double bill playing in my jerkwater hometown. I have completely forgotten the music (I hate both these bands today) but I’ll never forget the light show.

Uriah Heep/Johnny & Edgar Winter, Minneapolis 1976(?) Uriah Heep warmed up, I couldn’t believe someone could (or WOULD) play a classic 1950s goldtop Les Paul by bashing it with metal chains. J&E Winter were goddam amazing, I don’t think they ever toured together as a band after that.

Jeff Beck & Jan Hammer, warming up for Fleetwood Mac at the Peoria Il outdoor ampitheater, 1977. I hated Fleetwood Mac, I just went to see Beck. FM was almost 2 hours late getting to the gig and Beck played a whole extra concert worth. I was in the second row. He was pissed at having to continue for an extra set and a half, and positively worked himself into a guitar-god frenzy. And to my surprise, FM wasn’t that bad either. Maybe it was the Acapulco Gold. Or maybe it was that I was close enough to look right up Stevie Nicks’ skirt…

The Stradivari Quartet, U of Iowa, 1976. A special concert of extremely difficult works, including some of my favorite weirdo pieces by Charles Ives. It was a sight to behold, seeing the musicians torture 4 priceless Strads. I mean, literally torture the instruments. One of the Ives pieces involves torquing on the tuning pegs until the strings almost break, then the audience listens to the performer retune. The loaned Strads were recalled the next year and given to another group (gosh I wonder why?) Nothing like this will ever be heard again.

The Cramps, "New Year’s Eve of the Century ('77) The Strand (?) Chicago. I’ll never remember this night for the rest of my life. Cheap champagne flowed, and everyone was ducking the flying corks, including the band.

Magazine, “The Correct Use of Soap” tour, 1980 (81?) They were at the peak of their form. Oh man, when he sang “the light pours out of me,” they hit the smoke and a hidden spotlight, and the light DID pour out of him.

Agent Orange, LA Festival (almost on the steps of LA City Hall), must’ve been around 1987. They were throwing free skateboards with the logo “Agent Orange: It’s not just for breakfast anymore” into the mosh pit. Fights broke out over the skate decks (skates make a great weapon), it became a major riot and the LA Mounted Police came in at full gallop and started breaking heads all across LA City Plaza. The festival was halted, it was the last LA Festival. Ever.

Husker Du, LA Variety Arts Center, 1994(?) Farewell tour. Their last gig ever. It was like bathing in a sonic shower. I vibrated the whole concert long.

You guys could only WISH you had my luck at attending some great gigs. And judging from some of the bands listed in this thread, I, in return, wish some of you had halfway decent musical taste.

65

Marilyn Manson and Monster Magnet at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX.

66

WAAAAAAAAAAAY BACK!!
1968, Toronto Exhibition Grounds Jimi Hendrix Experience
I think it cost $3.75

1972, Vancouver Exhibition Grounds Pink Floyd
They did Dark Side in quadrophonic. This was just before the release of the album. The encore featured two chicks who peeled off their Valkyirie costumes to a fine blues number.

67

Well, I’m really dating myself here…

James Brown and the Famous Flames; Spring 1967, Atlanta Municipal Auditorium

Amboy Dukes, Soft Machine, Vanilla Fudge, Jimi Hendrix Experience; Spring 1969, Atlanta Municipal Auditorium

The Who; Summer 1970, Atlanta Municipal Auditorium (they essentially did their “Live at Leeds” set with “Tommy,” start to finish, in the middle.)

David Bowie; Spring 1973, War Memorial Auditorium, Nashville. (The “Spiders from Mars” tour.)

Bob Dylan’s “Rolling Thunder Review;” I think it was Spring 1977, in some high school gym in Mobile, AL. (Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Mick Ronson; Joan Baez, Rob Stoner, Emmylou Harris, Kinky Friedman all in one unforgettable band.)

68

Sheesh Chas, full of yourself much? :rolleyes:

I worked at a radio station and attended more “gigs” than I can list. I’ve seen everyone from the Monkees to Megadeth, from The Hooters to The Beernuts, and I like music from every genre on the planet.

I think its great that we’re on a board where everyone has a wide variety of tastes …and I honestly feel that most of it is good…as evidence you’ll notice no one has listed Korn as their favorite :smiley:

jarbaby

69

Hey, anyone who managed to see Hendrix or Bowie/Spiders from Mars had much better luck than I, if not better taste, as I would have killed to see those concerts. I bet some of them would have killed to see Jefferson Airplane in 1968.

Unfortunately, some people’s taste is only in their mouth. But as they say, de gustibus non est disputandum. For example, someone listed Police’s Synchronicity tour as their favorite concert. I caught that tour, it was so horrible I walked out, and I still have it on my list of WORST concerts I ever attended (right behind UFO and Little Richard).

70

hi,
it seems like you have seen a lot of great shows, please tell us about some more of your favs that you haven’t posted already. thanks,

71

Oh jeez, I forgot one of the best shows I ever saw…

The Tubes, Remote Control tour, Iowa City (1979) This was about the last great Tubes tour before they descended into disco mush. The local college sports team had just won some dumb tournament, so Fee Waybill came out for his first song dressed in every piece of sports equipment that was possible to strap onto his body at once, and started singing “Hey Sports Fans.” The crowd of mostly clueless collegiates cheered wildly. As he stripped off each piece of equipment, he started flinging them at the crowd, really HARD. Then he took a baseball bat and started hitting baseballs HARD at the crowd. Soon they realized he was poking fun at jocks. Ha… Anyway, I will never forget the middle of the performance, I think they were doing their famous Mondo Bondage sequence, when Fee grabs one of the singers and held her upside down and simulated a 69 while standing up. Then, to my total astonishment, Fee and the singer, while locked in this position, face to groin, did CARTWHEELS across the stage.

Oh, here’s another good one that springs to mind…

Frank Zappa, Iowa City, probably around 1976, right around the time of “Zoot Allures.” Nothing can ever compare to a live Zappa concert. But for me it was particularly memorable because I accidentally became the star of the show for a few seconds. This was one of the most sedate concerts I ever attended, everyone sat quietly and just listened. I went up to the front of the stage to take some concert shots, I got to about 20 feet from Frank, and he came right to the edge of the stage. As I frantically worked my complex new Hasselblad camera to capture my good fortune of Frank playing to the camera, I was oblivious to the music. As I composed the shots, I noticed he was pointing straight at me, jabbing his finger at the camera, and I snapped a roll of good shots. Then as I walked away, I heard what lyrics he was singing, “you’re an asshole, you’re an asshole, you’re an asshole!” Oh shit. Frank made me the center of attention for the whole crowd. I guess he hated having his picture taken.

BTW, in case you wonder how I managed to catch so many cool shows in the middle of nowhere, apparently Iowa City was a favorite stop for musicians on tour, it was a easy gig halfway between Chicago and Kansas City or St. Louis. We had lots of great shows.

72

Best show: Pink Floyd, Delicate Sound of Thunder tour
Best concert: Tallis Scholars @ Sydney Opera House.

73

Here’s another:

Little Feat Washington DC, Lisner '77 (they recorded part of ‘Waiting for Columbus’), and Warner Theater '78 ‘…Columbus’ tour. They played in DC for a weeks worth of sold out shows. Some friends managed to see them every night. I saw them once and it was like a private show, went on for hours. They were at their best, never managed to get it together like that year. Lowell George drank himself to death in DC a few years later. The remaining Feat aren’t as bad as the current Beach Boys, but the seventies Little Feat ruled.