Best concert visited and where?

[It was not a pretzel]

I don't mean favourite band you've seen. Just purely the live show value.

1) David Lee Roth - Birmingham UK, 1988. Without doubt the best show I've ever seen. I nearly had my date jumping on my **** afterwards.

2) Rush - Birmingham UK, 1989. Well renouned for a great show and perfectional music.

3) Marillion - Birmingham UK, 1989. Fish made Marillion and he made the show.

4) Dixie Chicks - Munich Germany, 2003 - just full of passion

5) Iron Maiden - sometime between 1987 and 89. Iron Maiden are Iron Maiden.

[Dookus]

1. the '83 US Festival

I traveled cross-country for the first time in my life to see this show. Went the first and third days:

Saturday May 28th:
Divinyls <11:20 - 11:50 am>,
INXS <12:20 - 12:55 pm>
Wall of Voodoo <1:25 -2:40>
Oingo Boingo <2:40 - 3:40>
The English Beat <4:10 - 5:10>
Flock ofSeagulls <5:40 - 6:40>
Stray Cats <7:10 - 8:20>
Men At Work <8:50 -10:00>
The Clash <10:30 - midnight>.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Monday May 30th:
Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul <9:15 - 9:50 am>
Berlin <10:15 -10:50 am>
Quarterflash <11:15 - 11:50 am>
U2 <12:20 - 1:10 pm>
Missing Persons <1:40 - 2:40>
Pretenders <3:10 - 4:10>
Joe Walsh <4:40 - 5:50>,
Stevie Nicks <6:20 - 7:30>
David Bowie <8:00 - 10:00 pm>

[tridim]

2. That's easy

Medeski, Martin and Wood - 1993, The Drum Room, Westport Missouri

There were about 30 people there and everyone's jaws were on the floor the entire performance. I remember asking my friend rhetorically, "How the hell are 3 people making so much sound?". He had no idea. It was just magical and rare.

I've seen them 5 other times in larger venues and no performance has come close to that night.

Second best was Nickel Creek in Denver, but Nickel Creek is always good.

[geniph]

3. Tom Petty at the Astor Park

an old Seattle nightclub, long since gone. The show was in about 1983 or thereabouts. The nightclub held only about 400 people, and TP and the HB rocked beyond belief. An astonishing show.

[mlawson]

4. Amazingly enough, Rod Stewart with the Faces, 1973

in Roanoke. This was way before his sappy ballads, etc. We sat in stands behind the stage, so we could see the reaction of the crowds in the front rows, when they went into "Stay With Me", for example. He brought the house down, and rocked our socks off!

Also: Bowie doing his Thin White Duke thing in 1976, at Landover MD.

[GOPisEvil]

5. U2, Seattle Kingdome

REM, Natalie Merchant and Radiohead, Austin Southpark Meadows.
The Police with UB40, Austin Southpark Meadows.
Dave Alvin, Continental Club, Austin

There are others, but this is off the top of my head.

Oh, Pink Floyd, Alamodome, San Antonio. (Thanks TrogL for jogging my memory.)

[TrogL]

6. Pink Floyd - Edmonton

The University of Alberta's seismology department was following along on the seismometer recording it as a minor earthquake.

My kids five miles away thought the concert was behind the school across the street. It was rattling plates in my cupboard.

[childslibrarian]

7. 1977

Dave Bromberg "take me to the Lectric Chair..." Warm up: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee...

[random]

8. Just saw, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival for FREE in Golden Gate Park.

Willie Nelson
Emmylou Harris
Steve Earle
Tim O'Brien
Joe Ely
Gillian Anderson
Jimmie Dale Gilmore, on and on and on!

OUTSTANDING!!

BTW, I've seen David Lee Roth with Van Halen several times, did he ever shut up long enough to play anything?

[It was not a pretzel]

11. he was solo when I saw him

I can't remember him talking much....I was concentrating mostly on my date having a good time and DLR on a surfboard above our heads.

[Bossy Monkey]

9. Pretenders, Chestnut Cabaret, Philly, night before Live Aid

They had taken two years off for Chrissie to have a baby, so they needed a warmup show before the big stadium gig. Thus, they played nothing but hits and faves. The only tune I didn't know we searched our tape of the first album up and down and found that it was "Up The Neck," a favorite ever since. A transcendent, outstanding show. As Tommy said, "Chrissie sweated on me!"

Runnerup: Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, & the Heartbreakers, presumably at the Spectrum. Yayee yea! Yayee yea! Yayee yayee yayee yea... Bought the four most recent Dylan albums immediately thereafter.

2d runnerup: Steve Wynn & John Wesley Harding at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, doing as an encore a mandolin and accordion Italian-restaurant version of "You Shook Me All Night Long." You'd have to hear it to believe it.

I was also at Live Aid (Philly), saw the Who on their first farewell tour (also Philly), and Simon & Garfunkel's Concert at Central Park.

[Zero Gravitas]

10. Marillion

March 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London, England.

[It was not a pretzel]

13. shit

you must be the only other Marillion fan on DU !!

[ikojo]

12. It has got to be Grateful Dead

in Oakland California...Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum NYE 1990...I got in free courtesy of Bill Graham presents...I had been walking around the parking lot seeking that miracle. While watching folks go into the venue someone tossed me a red santa hat and said the red hat works...so I held up the hat and said "Jerry Claus please fill this with your extra." I walked around saying that for approx. an hour.

I noticed a group huddled in a corner...they didn't look like tour rats so I walked over and said "jerry Claus please fill this with your extra." One of the guys wearing a security jacket looked at my santa hat and walked away...he then went over to talk to someone..after speaking with that person he walks towards me and says, "Merry Christmas and places a New Year's Eve ticket in my stocking!!!"

I still have goose bumps 13 years later.....

Wow! It was a good show too. The next year I went out there as well but didn't actively seek out NYE tix...I just listened to it on the radio and that was fine by me.

[greendog]

14. Springsteen

Indianapolis Convention Center - 1978

[kodi]

25. Bruce Springsteen, 31st December 1975 Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa

NEW YEARS EVE. THE BEST ONE I EVER HAD
there has been nothing like it since.

Night>10th Avenue Freeze Out>Spirit In The Night>Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street>It's My Life>She's The One/Born To Run>Pretty Flamingo>It's Hard To Be A Saint>Backstreets>Mountain Of Love>Jungleland>Rosalita>Sandy>Detroit Medley> Quarter To Three>Thunder Road>Twist And Shout

Followed only by his show in a small theater in the Philly suburb of Bryn Mawr, called the Main Point (where I first saw him in 1974). But the show on Feburuary 5, 1975 was the best small theater show I ever saw.

Incident On 57th Street>Mountain Of Love>Born To Run>E Street Shuffle>Thunder Road>I Want You>Spirit In The Night>She's The One>Growin' Up>It's Hard To Be A Saint>Jungleland>Kitty's Back>NYC Serenade>Rosalita>Sandy>A Love So Fine> Shout>For You>Back In The USA.

You would have had to have been there, in a small smoky club seating 100-125 people to have understood what happened that night.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

15. Yes. Nashville in 1970-something....

[OneBlueSky]

16. several come to mind . . .

- Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in 1971 (I think); opening act Stevie Wonder

- Springsteen at the Worcester Forum in Massachusetts (Born in the USA tour)

- Dr. John and the Meters at an auditorium just outside New Orleans . . . can't recall the name of the place, but it had a big balcony and a huge dance floor below (during Mardi Gras)

- Grateful Dead and New Riders somewhere in Rochester NY

- Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Review in Boston

- Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie at the South Shore Music Theater in Massachusetts (Arlo did Alice's Restaurant)

and oh so many others . . . :)

[MasonJar]

17. Yoyo Muau (sp) and Isaac Stern

Yoyo and Isaac playing together at the Chicago Symphony was wow! Smoky Joe's Cafe was a close second. Mstislav Rostropovich playing Sergei Prokofief's Concerto for Cello written by Prokofief for him at the Kentucky Center in Louisville was an unbelievable experience. I saw Elvis in concert when I was a teenager and even stayed in the same hotel (The Seelbach.)I adored Baryshnikov dancing in Louisville three or four times when he still did ballet in top form. Pablo Casals in Seville playing the classical guitar in a garden and Pavorotti at the Met are at the top. I'll bet you didn't want this long list. Sorry, I got carried away. And this only scratches the surface. I didn't get to Louis Armstrong, jazz improvisation at the Preservation Hall or lots of etcs. What a wonderful world!

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

18. This sounds stupid but...

1) Hanson- Northern Lights, Clifton Park, NY August 15th, 2003.
Intimate acoustic show, stripped down, guitars and piano... if you could ignore the screaming girls and their pushy mothers... absolutely beautiful. None of that synthetic sugar stuff. Just amazingly raw, awesome three part harmonies, and beautiful solos.

2) The Starting Line, Senses Fail, Allister, Homegrown, The Early November- Saratoga Winners, Latham, NY. September 28th, 2003. Five bands. 12 bucks. a pit. kids crowd surfing. merch booths. jam-packed. priceless. where i first discovered the early november, A GREAT BAND. awesome!!!

[It was not a pretzel]

19. Hanson...LOL

sorry but they blew goats (please note past tense)

I'll give 'em a chance though.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

20. well

They've always written their own songs, played their own instruments, produced some of their own songs- on their album from 2000 they really grew up and tried to shed some of that shit that the record companies put them through with mmmbop. I personally can not even stand that song when I hear how far they've come.

[tridim]

24. I've been saying this since Mmm Bop came out

I think Hanson does have significant talent and their next album will blow the critics away. Nobody agrees with me. :)

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

28. I do!

They had an album in 2000... This Time Around. Great critics reviews. Didn't do too hot on Soundscan or Billboard. But it was pretty decent.

[mmonk]

21. uh

Fleetwood Mac in Greensboro, Pink Floyd in Carter Finley stadium, Raleigh, NC, The Who in Carter Finley Stadium, Raleigh. Any Jimmy Buffet concert anywhere.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

22. Nice!

I was supposed to go to a Fleetwood Mac concert at the end of last year but as it turns out... I had a school function for a three year class that I wound up dropping this year anyway! Bummer. :(

Though Christine didn't tour with them this time around.

[jmowreader]

23. There were a few...

John Valby, in a little club in upstate New York in the summer of 1993. Valby sings dirty songs. Too bad he's turned into a wingnut. Valby was in this big barroom playing a piano and singing the raunchiest shit imaginable, and about 500 people were in there just singing along and having the time of their lives.

Genesis, Concert for Berlin 1987. This was in front of the Reichstag.

Pink Floyd, Berlin 1988.

Bruce Springsteen, The Waldbuhne, Berlin. Don't remember the year. The Waldbuhne is an amphitheatre.

The staging of "The Wall in Berlin" was awesome. Too bad they rented a half-ass house reinforcement system; the cries of "Louder! Louder!" almost drowned out the band. If you have the CD or DVD of it, beware: "The Thin Ice" wasn't in the actual concert because the stage lost power during that song. Lousy song, no great loss.

Kiss, Nashville Municipal Auditorium, 1983. After playing for a good long while, Gene Simmons walked to the mike and started apologizing that they had a long trip to their next show, everyone had to get up early tomorrow to go to work, too bad, we have to end now...oh fuck it, no one's going to work tomorrow! And went into a 20-minute encore.

[Wickerman]

26. The Bee Gees - Iowa State University

Some huge auditorium, summer of 1979, Spirits Haven Flown Tour. Hilarious. Such rock stars. We giggled all the way through. Had some binocs and I swear two of the three brothers had salamis taped to their legs inside those skin tight costumes. Either that or they had two hour hard ons. I've seen live shows regularly, from tiny clubs to footbal stadiums for goig on 30 years - by far the funniest live show I have ever seen.

[toddzilla]

27. chris duarte group

orlando fla, roughly '97 i think

this guy is amazing.. played both his cds in their entirety, then tore into another 40 mins of hendrix covers.. 4+ hours with one small break. i drove from lauderdale to see it, and it's still the best show i've ever seen, bar none.

[oxymoron]

29. Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson

[OneBlueSky]

32. you win, oxy . . .

I'd have given anything to see Ella . . . or Louis Armstrong . . . :)

[sistersofmercy]

49. Oh I am so JEALOUS! I LOVE ELLA!

x( Lucky you.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

30. Crosby, Stills & Nash

I was sitting at home one evening when a friend called up and said how would I like to go to a concert for free? He had an extra ticket and he thought I'd like to go. I said cool beans, and an hour later I was in the middle of Starwood (in Nashville), surrounded by aging, stoned fellow ex-hippies. It was a never-ending sea of tie-dye, and I was in heaven.

My next-favorite was the Bruce Hornsby concert, also at Starwood.

[never cry wolf]

31. Carlos Santana, mid 70's, NIU

Back in the days where smoking (wink) was allowed in stadia. The last encore was Carlos all in white, white guitar, blue spot only on him doing Samba Pa Ti. Brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.

This noses out Frank Zappa, same venue about a year later. Talk about a tight band!!

[Az]

33. Art of Noise (1987)

Detroit club (name forgotten). It was a small venue. You wouldn't think a band like AON could pull off a live concert but it was great.

[bif]

34. Gong

London, England

[AWD]

35. Wow....

I've never lined them all up, but I have several classics.

-Concert For The Rock And Roll Hall OfFame, opening night. TONS of all-time greats on the stage, including the first Grateful Dead reunion after Jerry died (he had died 2 mnths earlier)

-The night before that, Parlaiment Funkadelic played an all-night show and Bruce Springsteen showed up to jam with him (as did Chrissie Hynde, Sheryl Crow and several others)

-Live Aid, 1986 - Philly. I was 16 and in HEAVEN!!!!!

-Woodtock 1994 - Told my girlfiend (whom I was TRYING to dump) that I had to work 12 hour shifts, had my roommates cover for me, and went to New York. In the mud. Yes, it was amazing.

-Lollapalooza 1991 - Cleveland, Ohio - Jane's Addiction, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Rollins Band, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T. Amazing day. We rushed the stage for NIN, security had no chance.

-Sex Pistols reunion tour - Cleveland, Ohio - And I thought they would suck live....No Sid = an actual bass player can take the stage.

The Pixies, Cleveland Ohio, 1993 - They put on a great show, we go backstage afterwards, and DAVID BOWIE shows up to hang out (he was playing the following night)

Much more, I'll have to separate them someday.

[MissMillie]

36. Shawn Colvin

Hampton Beach Casino, August 1, 2000.

(we were sitting front row, and right near the speakers, so I could sing along and still no one near me could hear me.)

[number six]

37. probably...

Radiohead - Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver Aug 03
Sonic Youth - Glasgow Barrowlands - '95
The Harry Smith Project (Nick Cave, Emmylou Harris, PJ Harvey, Bryan Ferry, Van Dyke Parks and loads more) - London Royal Festival Hall 99
or REM - Glastonbury 1999

[Loonman]

38. Echo & The Bunnymen -Wang Center - 1988

Runner's up:

Nine Inch Nails - Self Destruct Tour - 1994

Jane's Addiction - Lollapalooza - 1991

The Cure - The Prayer Tour - 1989

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peepshow tour - 1989

The Cure - Kiss Me Tour - 1987

The Cure - Wish Tour - 1992

The Replacements - Don't Tell A Soul Tour - 1987

Jesus and Mary Chain - Sound of Speed Tour - 1993

Sisters of Mercy/Public Enemy - 1992(?)

Public Image Limited - Happy? Tour - 1987

REM - Work tour - 1988

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Are You Normal? tour - 1993

Skinny Puppy - Last Rights tour - 1992

Gorilla Biscuits/Bold - New York City Hardcore tour - 1989

New Order/Public Image Limited/Sugercubes - Tour - 1987

[RebelOne]

39. Deep Purple in Dania, Florida, early 1970s

Outstanding light show.

[corarose]

41. I forgot about Deep Purple

They do put a good concert on.

[RebelOne]

48. Yes, they were great.

Love the song "Strange Kind Of Woman," mainly because her name was Nancy, which is mine.

[corarose]

40. Rod Stewart, Steve Marriott, ACDC, T-Rex, Split Enz, Adam Ant

Bauhaus Chicago Seedy Club (With Peter Murphy & Daniel Ash GD'that guy was gorgeous)

Sex Pistols Chicago Rivera Theater(Wacky, Crazy Concert)

Ozzy & Starfighters-My old boyfriends band (The whole tour of Blizzard Of Oz)

UFO Chgo + (They came out in a spaceship) (Toured with them)

AC/DC Need I say more (Toured with them)(Ask me about the Speedway concert sometimes).

NY Dolls Chgo. (I was 12 years old & Sylvain Sylvain gave me Champaign)

T-Rex With Marc Bolan Auditorium Chgo (12 years old and I went nuts)

George Jones & Tammy Wynette Area Crown Chicago(I was 4 & he showed up late)

Steve Marriott England, Chgo, etc.(Little man with the best voice)

Led Zepplin Chgo, England & tons of cities (Sisters boyfiend worked for them)

Iron Maiden St. Louis, Chgo, NY

Def Leppard Chgo, NY, IN(Dork band with a good show)

Ultravox Park West Chicago

U2 Park West Chicago(I liked them when they first started out)

Pretenders Toured with them! Chgo, NY, WI, England.

Adam Ant Toured with them!(Damn hot man)

Peter Gabriel Toured with them!

Genesis Toured with them!

Journey Chgo, WI (I don't remember the music because I was watching Steve Perry the whole time)

ACDC, ACDC, ACDC ( Toured with them for years )


Split Enz Park West Chicago

[CanuckAmok]

42. Bad Brains, U of Buffalo Cafeteria (!), 1987.

The end of my adolescence. Great show, and the very last time I saw some of my old mates.

[Tyler Durden]

43. Detroit Symphony, "Scherezade," Spring 2003

The entire suite, Jarvi conducting.

Concertmaster Emanuelle Boisvert playing a $3 million dollar Stradivarius on loan from a consortium in Ann Arbor.

That woman soloing on violin is as close to seeing God as I ever expect to be, including sex with my lovely wife.

[bif]

45. Carmena Burana--Detroit Symphony

About 3 years ago. Thanks for reminding me.

[Lindsay]

44. Lynyrd Skynrd

on their first national tour - World Series of Rock at the old Cleveland Stadium. Their "Free Bird" jam was outrageous - stole the show.

Headliners that day were Emerson, Lake and Palmer - REO Speedwagon was the opening act (my pals and I went late so as to miss them), and I think there was another band, but darned if I can remember who.

I also saw The Who opening for Herman's Hermits at Public Hall (I think). Very strange in retrospect!

[LuLu550]

46. Beatles

Shea Stadium...yup that was my in the third row, right above the dugout where they entered from (third base line). I thought I was GUNNA DIE!

[Beaker]

47. I've never liked "arena" shows all that much.

although RUSH does put on a good show.

I prefer to see shows in smaller venues, like Metro, or House of Blues, etc...

The Green Mill has some great shows too, and you can't beat the ambience.

[sistersofmercy]

50. Cher Farewell Tour- St Louis just a few weeks ago!

Amazing entertainer, fabulous production.

[Richardo]

51. Talking Heads, 1978, at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip

Dire Straits, 198?, Red Rocks near Denver, Colorado
Wings over America, 1976, The Forum in Los Angeles.