What is the best concert you ever witnessed?

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snyder66
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What is the best concert you ever witnessed?

Post by snyder66 »

For me, the smaller, more intimate the venue, the better. Mine was The Alarm in our small college gym. I was so close, I could have jumped on stage.
DaveS
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Post by DaveS »

I am just the opposite. I thought Woodstock was nifty. And it made one thing the world had changed. Dave
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brick-house
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Post by brick-house »

my vote is for the phyrst phamly on a saturday night in the early 1990s. The exact date is a little hazy...
I am just the opposite. I thought Woodstock was nifty. And it made one thing the world had changed.
Nothing better than a hippie jam fest...

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/902/

Is that freedom rock, dude!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKDk-mg1J9Q
You don't need no gypsy to tell you why- Greg Allman
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Taz
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Post by Taz »

Maynard Ferguson @ the NC State campus late 70's or so.

I sat on the floor about 6 feet away from him. Wow! Truly inspiring for a young trumpet player.
The destination matters. | "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't don't stop and look around once in a while - you could miss it." -- Ferris Bueller
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alec
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Post by alec »

Dave Matthew's at Trax in Cville in the early 1990's.
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Post by Ron »

1968 - Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas).

Henri Mancini (full orchestra) with pre-show of Brazil 66.

A strange mix, but it worked :wink:

- Ron
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animal
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Post by animal »

Hard to narrow it down to one.

The Police, Final Concert - Madison Square Gardens August 2008

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert - Wembley Stadium April 1992
fishndoc
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Post by fishndoc »

Best ever was Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Fox theater in Atlanta 1976 when they recorded their only live album. "Free Bird" was so intense it almost cracked the walls of the building.

One of the more interesting was seeing Kris Kristopherson at his peak in a small outdoor "park" (really a circus tent) in north Georgia - he was totally wasted before he ever started, and the sound system wouldn't work so he only did acoustic stuff (great for those of us up front). He kept grumbling obscenities about the show's promoters and crew, and before the evening was over KK had a verbal and then fisticuff altercation with some of the locals just off the side of the stage.

God, I miss being a college kid!


Addendum: the performer I most regret never seeing live was Townes Van Zandt.
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chuck-b
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Memorable Concert

Post by chuck-b »

Simon & Garfunkle in 1965 (I think) at a small college gym in NJ. I couldn't believe all the wonderful sounds that could be produced by a single guitar and an angelic voice.
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. (John Lennon)
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stevewolfe
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Post by stevewolfe »

Tori Amos at the Tower Theater in Philly 1994 on her "Under the Pink" tour - just her and the piano and we were in the third row center - she could sweat on us. ;) Just fantastic.
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Petrocelli
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Post by Petrocelli »

I ran a ticket broker business in college, so I probably went to over 100 concerts. My favorite:

The Clash at the Palladium in NYC in 1980. It was one of their first US appearances after releasing London Calling. (Which was voted by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest album of the 1980s.)

The concert was like being run over by a truck.
Last edited by Petrocelli on Sat May 01, 2010 9:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Petrocelli (not the real Rico, but just a fan)
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Hexdump
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Dating myself but it was

Post by Hexdump »

Neil Diamond's Hot August Night

Greek Theater, Los Angeles, 1972.

Pure magic.
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topper1296
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Post by topper1296 »

I work in the music business and have been to several concerts, but Elton John was my favorite.
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Post by Gill »

Louis Armstrong my senior year at Penn in 1960, when he played for Spring Weekend in Franklin Field.
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Post by Christine_NM »

Thelonius Monk in the early 60's at college.
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stemikger
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Post by stemikger »

3 stand out for me. My first was my very first Kiss concert when I was 17(Almost 30 years ago). My second was Aerosmith and Kiss together and sitting right next to me was Lenny Kravitz who was enjoying the show and a really cool guy. My third was surprising my daughter with front row seats to see Tegan and Sara last October (her favoriate band) at Town Hall in NYC.
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Post by johnjtaylorus »

Orbison (he died a few mos later).
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Post by Harold »

fishndoc wrote:Best ever was Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Fox theater in Atlanta 1976 when they recorded their only live album. "Free Bird" was so intense it almost cracked the walls of the building.
This is legendary. I've heard from so many who went to Woodstock that it's lost its impact (no matter how momentous it was). But this is the first I heard from someone who heard that famous Free Bird live. A significant cultural moment -- good for you!

I'm not enough of a concert-goer to have a best one to offer. But I did see the Clash in a small venue at around the same time/place as Petrocelli. So I know what he's talking about!
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greg24
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Post by greg24 »

Widespread Panic, it'd take me a while to pick a specific show.
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Post by four7s »

The Beatles at Comiskey Park in Aug., 1965. Stones in Minneapolis in 1972. Knebworth in the UK in 1991. This was an outdoor concert with Tears for Fears, Status Quo, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Phil Collins and Genesis, Mark Knoffler, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney.

Sinatra in '67, Sammy Davis in '68, and Steve and Edie a few years back are in another category oviously but fantastic shows nevertheless.
kpete
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Post by kpete »

Jeff Beck Blow by Blow tour in 1975. I was living in Hawaii, and they were headed to Japan. Excellent.

I see the earlier post on Maynard Ferguson - saw him at langley high school in VA in the early 1970's. Also saw Buddy Rich there. Both were awesome.
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Post by GammaPoint »

A Better Than Ezra concert in a small bar in College Station, TX. It was very intimate and we had a great time.
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Post by Wolkenspiel »

Archie Shepp in a tiny jazz bar in Germany. Definition of cool.
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Post by Latecomer »

"It's a Beautiful Day" at the Winterland in San Francisco in 1968. The light show was incredible; there were white birds flying over the audience.
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Post by Goldfinger »

5/30/2008 "Return to Forever" finally returned after not having toured in 25 years. Band leader Chick Corea on keys, Al Dimeola on guitar, Lenny White on drums, and the magnificent Stanley Clarke on bass.

Imagine having played their music for ~ 20 years and not ever knowing if they'd tour again...then seeing them. Amazing.

Other memorable shows: Tower of Power (just 6 weeks ago)...10 musicians incl 5 just on horns. Talk about a wall of sound! Tight. And Francis Rocco Prestia on bass, the funkmaster extraordinaire. What is hip? Seeing those cats in concert from about 30 feet away!

Rolling Stones in 1981 (Tattoo You tour)

U2 in 1987 when The Joshua Tree was #1 in 35 countries simultaneously.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - I've seen them on 6 different occasions. Victor Wooten (THE bass player) is pretty much the entire show. Seeing entire sections of the audience genuflect from his solos...indescribable.
"At cocktail parties lovely ladies would corner me and ask my opinion of the market, but alas, when they learned I was a bond man, they would quietly drift away." -- Sidney Homer/Salomon Bros
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stemikger
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Post by stemikger »

Posted by four7s
The Beatles at Comiskey Park in Aug.,
Sinatra in '67,
WOW!!! Awesome!!! :D
Last edited by stemikger on Sat May 01, 2010 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by jegallup »

The Doors, Chicago Stadium, 1968 or so
Leonard Cohen, Denver, 1976
Grateful Dead, Student Union at Purdue U, 1969

(Needless to say, I'm old)
sscritic
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Post by sscritic »

They all blur together. It must be from the haze. :)

In the late 60's we used to go to the Avalon Ballroom, Winterland, and the old Fillmore in San Francisco to see 6 hour shows with 3 acts each doing two sets. The mixes were incredible, but I can't put them together exactly.

BB King, Grateful Dead, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Chuck Berry, Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Yardbirds, Country Joe and the Fish, Junior Wells Blues Band, and many others.

I also spent the weekend at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, but the best single concert: James Brown at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
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Post by sport »

Any concert by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. They are all superb.
Last edited by sport on Thu Feb 06, 2020 6:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by perries »

1987 U2 Joshua Tree tour. This is why it was the best: at one point the band looked for volunteers in the front row to come up on stage and help The Edge play a riff.

So this kid gets up there, Edge hands him the guitar and gets ready to teach - and the kid rips into the full riff, note perfect like a rock star.

The kid played the whole song with the band. It was so totally joyous for everyone, audience and U2 - the band was as blown away as the rest of us.

2nd best was Peter Gabriel at the 1993 WOMAD tour, but he eventually became exasperated with the audience because we would not let him leave. Sorry Peter, your opus has too many good songs. He never even did Shock the Monkey.

But sure would have been great to see The Clash - too bad - before my time.

sscritic, you are the first person I've ever heard mention the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. My dad had Relax Your Mind on vinyl and I was crazy about it for a while - mainly the song I Ain't Never Been Satisfied - 'been to the river, been baptized, but I ain't never been satisfied.'
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Post by sscritic »

perries wrote:sscritic, you are the first person I've ever heard mention the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. My dad had Relax Your Mind on vinyl and I was crazy about it for a while - mainly the song I Ain't Never Been Satisfied - 'been to the river, been baptized, but I ain't never been satisfied.'
I don't have that album; I have "See Reverse Side for Title" and "Garden of Joy" (moved from vinyl to 7" reel to reel tape to digital). Did your dad ever tell you about Mel Lyman, the harmonica player? Check out wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Lyman

Did your dad have any Dave Van Ronk? I never saw him, but love his music.
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Post by JoeMatye »

Rolling Stones in 1969 (BB King was the opening band!).
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Post by Puakinekine »

Ella Fitzgerald, Waikiki Shell, sometime in the late 70's. She was superb!
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Post by btenny »

The first night and kick off night of the California tour by the Eagles in the summer of 2005. This was their first tour as a group with all the members and Joe Crocker in many years.

The venue was the outdoor arena at Harveys in Lake Take Nevada. About 4K seats with the lake in the side view.

They did not have a warm up band or any other distractions. They just came on stage and started playing at sundown. They played for over 3 hours with two breaks. The second break was probably planned as the show end. But after this break they play for maybe 50 minutes more and then did a second end of show run. It was great. Joe Crocker was great. They brought down the house.

People in Tahoe were talking about that concert for 2-3 years. In fact it was so good that this concert started a whole non paying tail gate culture where people park around the arena to listen but not pay that persists today ...

Bill
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curly lambeau
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Post by curly lambeau »

I think Petrocelli wins the thread!

The best for me was probably Elvis Costello, which was the most energetic performance I've ever seen.
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Post by Allan »

johnjtaylorus wrote:Orbison (he died a few mos later).
I agree, I saw Roy Orbison 3 times in a small club in Houston in the 80s. He was fantastic.

But the concert I remember the most, maybe because of the times, was Iron Butterfly in 1968.
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jamacq
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Post by jamacq »

Rick Wakeman performing the entire album "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" at Hampton Court Palace on 1 and 2 May 2009. In addition to his English Rock Ensemble he included the English Chamber Choir and an orchestra. The concert stage was created on the Palace grounds with the Palace as the backdrop.

I turned it into a nice week in England centered around seeing the two concerts with my daughter.

Hands down best concert I've been to.

Jeff
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Post by gkaplan »

In no particular order:

Carlo Maria Giulini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, circa 1970: Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto (Daniel Barenboim), Beethoven 7th Symphony

Carlo Maria Giulini, Los Angeles Philharmonic (debut as Music Director, circa 1979): Beethoven (Egmont Overture, 9th Symphony)

Bonnie Raitt, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, circa 1979. with John Lee Hooker opening (and John Raitt singing several show tunes with Bonnie)

Linda Ronstadt performing solo at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica), circa 1975

Linda Ronstadt at the Universal Theater in Los Angeles, circa 1977

Melanie, Chicago, circa 1972 (I think it was at Orchestra Hall, but I'm not sure.)

Beach Boys, Omaha, Nebraska, circa 1963
Gordon
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Post by BertB »

I was a professional musician (bass player) for a couple of decades. I would occasionally go to see players in small clubs, but rarely in concert venues. If I went to see somebody play, I wanted to see their hands, their fingers, their technique.

There were 2 concerts I attended that changed my relationship with music.

1. Cream in the late 60's at the Phoenix Star Theater. The Star was a few thousand seat theater-in-the-round. You could get real close to the players. Jack Bruce (and Clapton/Baker too!) was monstrously impressive as a performer. His attitude towards bass playing changed everything for bass players.

2. Weather Report at the Roxy in L.A. in the late 70's. Jaco Pastorius was a bass player of the stature of a Muhammad Ali or a Bob Dylan....one of a kind...lightning in a bottle. I remember many details of his performance after 30+ years.

(edit for spelling 5/02)
Last edited by BertB on Sun May 02, 2010 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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TenS2XS
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Post by TenS2XS »

Taz wrote:Maynard Ferguson @ the NC State campus late 70's or so.

I sat on the floor about 6 feet away from him. Wow! Truly inspiring for a young trumpet player.
Thanks for the reminder about MF. I have to go dig out my albums. Chase too.
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Post by mikenz »

Bruce Springsteen, Boston Garden 1981.

Green Day, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Ray Charles were other good ones.
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Post by matt »

Better than Ezra in a parking lot in Minneapolis. This was in 2005, long after they became popular and, as the article below says, "Some bands wouldn’t play in a parking lot".

http://www.howwastheshow.com/index.cfm/ ... iewKey/385
gomer
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Best Concert

Post by gomer »

I saw (Beatle) Paul McCartney perform twice. The first time I saw him was the best. He played a lot of old Beatle songs and it was fantastic!

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Goldfinger
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Post by Goldfinger »

BertB,

That must've been truly amazing to see Jaco Pastorius then. I followed Weather Report for a very long time (having been a bass player myself). His level of innovation to the electric bass has stood the test of time about as well as anyone w/respect to any instrument. I just wasn't old enough to catch him live since he really didn't play much during his final years. At least there's Youtube...

JoeMatye,

When I saw the Stones in '81, Santana warmed them up (once Iggy Pop got off stage...and not a moment too soon!)

Perries,

Wasn't U2 an amazing tour? I was somewhat a fan of their music prior to '87, but something about how ubiquitous their music was at the time (again, #1 in 35 countries simultaneously) Where the streets have no name is what really stuck w/me after that show.

--Goldfinger
"At cocktail parties lovely ladies would corner me and ask my opinion of the market, but alas, when they learned I was a bond man, they would quietly drift away." -- Sidney Homer/Salomon Bros
brak
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best concert

Post by brak »

Why are people forgetting about Elvis in the 1970's and 1980's?
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Post by yobria »

R.E.M. at Le Grand Rex (small theater), Paris, 1986. Walked by the place and ran into the guy who set up Bill Berry's drums. He set *me* up with free VIP seats.

I was 14, they were my favorite band.

Nick
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Post by Curlyq »

.....
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roadking2615
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Post by roadking2615 »

Any show at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, TX. in the late 70's or very early 80's. Man I miss that place. Wished they'd never tore it down. :cry:

U2 around 1981-1982 at the Austin Opry House promoting their second album October.

Paul McCartney 2002 Back in the U.S. Tour. I was always a Beatles fan as a kid growing up, but never much of a Paul McCartney fan as a solo artist until I saw him live. Hearing him play those Beatle songs brought on a flood of memories growing up. I owe my in-laws a thanks for buying the tix for my wife and I as a gift.
SP-diceman
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Post by SP-diceman »

I am just the opposite. I thought Woodstock was nifty.
I assume you mean the first one. (heh, heh)

"Return to Forever" finally returned after not having toured in 25 years. Band leader Chick Corea on keys, Al Dimeola on guitar, Lenny White on drums, and the magnificent Stanley Clarke on bass.
My fav too. Except I saw them in the mid 1980's at the Palladium in NYC.


Thanks
SP-diceman
bryanv
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Post by bryanv »

Stars of the Lid at the Sebring-Lewis Concerts Hall of Grinnell College.
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