What is the best concert you ever witnessed?
What is the best concert you ever witnessed?
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.
- brick-house
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my vote is for the phyrst phamly on a saturday night in the early 1990s. The exact date is a little hazy...
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/902/
Is that freedom rock, dude!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKDk-mg1J9Q
Nothing better than a hippie jam fest...I am just the opposite. I thought Woodstock was nifty. And it made one thing the world had changed.
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
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.
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.
" Successful investing involves doing just a few things right, and avoiding serious mistakes." - J. Bogle
Memorable Concert
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)
- stevewolfe
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- Petrocelli
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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.
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)
Dating myself but it was
Neil Diamond's Hot August Night
Greek Theater, Los Angeles, 1972.
Pure magic.
Greek Theater, Los Angeles, 1972.
Pure magic.
- topper1296
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- Christine_NM
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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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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!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.
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!
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.
Sinatra in '67, Sammy Davis in '68, and Steve and Edie a few years back are in another category oviously but fantastic shows nevertheless.
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- Goldfinger
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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.
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
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.
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.
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.'
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.'
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: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.'
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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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
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
- curly lambeau
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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
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
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
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
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)
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.
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
http://www.howwastheshow.com/index.cfm/ ... iewKey/385
Best Concert
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!
Gomer
Gomer
- Goldfinger
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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
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
best concert
Why are people forgetting about Elvis in the 1970's and 1980's?
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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.
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.
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.
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I assume you mean the first one. (heh, heh)I am just the opposite. I thought Woodstock was nifty.
My fav too. Except I saw them in the mid 1980's at the Palladium in NYC."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.
Thanks
SP-diceman