most memorable concerts?

i think the one i remember most is when i saw green day right after the 2004 election. billy joe steps up to the mike and says 'this song has always meant a lot to me, but it means even more to me now'... he then goes in minority. i just screamed and cried and laughed and sang, it was so awesome.

that whole show was amazing, but that song made my night

a close second is when i saw the cure earlier in 2004. my first show since i'd broken up with my bf of seven years...the show was so amazing, i think i heard every song i wanted to.

share you concert memories with me

Fucking unreal.

i can only imagine the show they put on

With a ton of metallic confetti dropping from the ceiling.

They played for 2.5 hours.

I also saw Coldplay, but at a much smaller venue (<1000 people) and outside.

Freakin' unbelievable.

R.E.M. playing Palmer Chiropractic College on the Document tour was great, too.

Awesome concert made even more memorable for me 'cause it was my kids' (13 and 11 at the time) first concert.

outdoors at Camp Randall Stadium

Opening Acts:
Big Audio Dynamite
Public Enemy

Saw them I think 8 times or so.

"All Hail the Chief" was pretty classic this summer. And then getting a massive standing ovation after "Not Ready to Make Nice" was pretty sweet.

There are a few others but they involve persons not well liked on DU. So I'll abstain for now.

i never think about seeing them when they're touring

Last summer was a fantastic concert summer for us.

Madonna, Dixie Chicks, Melissa Etheridge...there's gotta be one more...

I cried at all three, believe it or not.

i would have cried as well

that sounds like one fuck of a summer line up to me :thumbsup:

The Butthole Surfers
The Rollins Band
Ice-T and Body Count
Nine Inch Nails
Living Colour
Siouxie and the Banshees
Jane's Addiction

i always wanted to go to lolapalooza, but by the time i was old enough it was pretty much done

...suffice it to say it was just absolutely amazing. As for the concert itself, here's how I would rank each band as far as their performance that day.

7. Butthole Surfers (I was never really into them)
6. Rollins Band (I was hoping for some Black Flag, never happened)
5. Living Colour (Great musicians, great craftmanship, not good live performers)
4. Ice-T and Body Count (Very, very good)
3. Siouxie and the Banshees (It was my first time seeing them, and they're very good live)
2. Jane's Addiction (Outstanding! Did a version of "Don't call me nigger whitey with Ice-T)
1. Nine Inch Nails (The best live band I personally have ever seen in my life)

as far as live performances go

jeebus, trent fucking rocks

I didn't go to any after that.. and now it seems like it was a lifetime ago.

:D

that was a kick ass show, but not as kick ass as nin/bowie, i'm sure

:o

:)

Holy crap it was quite a show. Both bands were absolutely amazing, and shortly after midnight, the Flaming Lips played a song with Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo (it was a cover of Louie Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World"). And the Flaming Lips did a nearly spot-on cover of Bohemian Rhapsody (complete with on-screen lyrics, the whole crowd was going crazy singing along).

i saw the reverend horton heat with drag the river, but i think i'd rather have been at that show

a lot of concert memories

don't get to many lately

Grateful Dead 1984?

Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre

but i was always too young. my dad always sees the latest permutation when they come through town, but i know he doesn't want me there with him ;)

from what I recall

I remember dancing and dancing and dancing
in fact that's all I remember is listening to the sweet music and dancing.

:shrug:

about dancing. dancing alone, dancing with cute little hippy chicks and dancing some more.

i love shows during which you dance nonstop

cute little hippy chicks, yes, deadheads, yes

just a big love fest

I caught their last show of the tour at Candle Stick Park, in San Francisco. It was a rather hot day...I was pretty damn tired, because the night before, I could barely fall asleep, I was so excited.

We left Sacramento around 8am...got into San Fran around 10:15am. My two friends, stop by Haight/Ash to pick up some, goods....and we walked around those shops for a few hours...and then hit the road.

We got there at 1:30pm, the Concert started at 3pm...when we got there, Mudvayne was all ready jamming out/testing their equipment...

By the time, we got inside...Mudvayne was kicking ass, and taking names. All three of us went down on to the floor, and saturated ourselves in the mayhem. After Mudvayne was over...I was sweaty, tired, but feeling good...Then, the Deftones came on stage.

I never really liked the Deftones...but, after seeing them in concert, I changed my mind in a nano second. Their live set was AMAZING! After surviving the surge/energy of that set...Linkin Park came on stage...and...

Bleh...live, they suck...no energy, nothing...I sat down/relaxed for most of their set.

Than Limp Bizkit came on, and we decided to cut our way back through the crowd, cause Metallica was next...LB was all right, a lot better than I thought...a few bruises from this set....:D

Then Metallica...the grandaddy of them all...you know, when I was in junior high, our english teacher told us to write out a list, of ten things that you wish to do, before you die, my number 1 thing..."To see Metallica in Conert" and that day, I fulfilled a life long dream...

The show was awesome, the set was LONG...about 4hrs long...oh my god....it was really damn long. I got my moneys worth. After the show...we ate at Jack in the Box, and slowly, but surely drove back to Sac, where I slept, like a babe...:D

the only time i saw metallica was in 1998 and they sucked something awful. i was so disappointed cuz they were one of my favorite bands. i'm glad you caught a good show

Newsted just got axed, earlier that year...I thought Newsted was talented/awesome...I got a few Metallica dvd's of their concerts, and when Newsted goes off on his solo stuff, its...brilliant, imo.

So, I was bummed out, cause Nested wasn't with them anymore...but the new guy new his stuff...he didn't impress me, he just did what he had to do...:D

on edit:spelling errors, I apologize.

Opening act: Robin Trower formerly of Procul Harum

King Crimson

Ten Years After, featuring Alvin Lee

=========
Opening Act: Styx

Climax Blues Band

Bachman Turner Overdrive

===
Jacqueline du Pre, Daniel Barenboim conducting, Houston Symphony, about 1967
Elgar Cello Concerto (sad because her performing career was only about 6 or 8 years. "Hilary and Jackie" is an EXCELLENT movie about her and her musical rivalry with her sister.)
========

Arthur Rubinstein, 1970. Full piano recital, plus 3 encores, age EIGHTY TWO.

(jeebus, has it been that long?)

only show i've ever seen at red rocks

and yes, i know i'm just a wee slip of a girl

at a smaller venue in Austin..roughly 1995.

Unreal.

Being born and raised in Roskilde, home of the Roskilde Festival, I've had my fair share of memorable (both good & bad) gigs over the year. My MOST memorably gigs so far have been:
Nirvana in 1992, where Kurt was stoned beyond belief. The rumor that was going was that he had been too exhausted to play the gig, but his doctor gave him 'something' to make him able to play. Truly a personification of 'Comfortably Numb' if there ever was one. Pearl Jam had been playing earlier that day, with Eddie Vedder taking a memorable stage dive during Porch (I recently found a video of Porch & Alive from that gig & put it on Youtube)
Kraftwerk in 1998, 30.000 people at a tent with a capacity for about 18.000, I can just remember sprinting through the backstage area as the synth voice started 'Meinen damen und herren...'. Thank god for being a volunteer, it gave me one heck of a shortcut to use.
Metallica in 1999, first time there since they were the first metal band ever to play at Roskilde back in 1986, and the expectations were huge - especially with Lars Ulrich being in the band. Needless to say, they lived up to expectations.
Iron Maiden in 2000, kind of a prelude to what would be happening the next day. First day of the festival, and the crowd was going wild. I read somewhere that during the 90 minute show, more than a thousand people were pulled over the front barrier by the security people. Also, Bruce D had apparently been pissed off by the festival programme mentioning that it was a "reunion" and that they "might play one or two songs from their new album". As a result, they played the "Brave New World" album in its entire length :D

Pearl Jam in 2000. If the crowd had been wild the day before, it was even worse on the second night, with everyone pushing to get closer to the stage. One hour into the show, the music was stopped & the lifeless bodies of 8 fans were pulled over the barrier. The ninth victim died a few days later at the hospital.

Neil Young in 2001. Out to make a statement, he just kept playing and playing, ignoring "slot times" and all. Great rock and roll, enough said!
Robbie Williams in 2001. You can say what you want, but he sure as hell knows how to play the crowd. It was pouring down for the entire length of the concert, but who the heck cared about that with all the sing-a-longs & generally feel good atmosphere going on.
Patti Smith in 2001. One of THE best performances of Alive (yes, the PJ tune) I've ever heard
Metallica in 2003. Even though they had just put out St. Anger, they pretty much turned the clock back to the 80's and stayed there (with a few 'Black Album' songs + St. Anger & Frantic as the only exceptions). I have a recording of this gig (danish radio transmitted the whole thing) and I get goosbumps every single time I hear the intro & the roar of the crowd.
Black Sabbath in 2005. Gotta say, Ozzy still can't sing, but damn, the rest of the group can still churn out some pretty great tunes.
Green Day in 2005. Fresh from their Live 8 performance in Berlin, they still knew how to work the crowd, even taking 3 random guys out of the audience, giving them an instrument each & then letting them play a few tunes. The guitarist even got to keep the guitar!!!
Roger Waters in 2006. Beautiful. Beyond words. The only letdown really, was that the moon wasn't full, only crescent. Still looked good whenever it was projected onto the big screens during the Dark Side of the Moon part.

And a non-festival gig I went to last weekend: Riders on the Storm in Vega, Copenhagen. I was a bit sceptic, having read some of the comments John Densmore has been having regarding Ray Manzarek, but that was immediately forgotten when Carmen Buerana blasted out of the speakers & they went into Roadhouse Blues. Might have been 40 years ago they released the 'The Doors' album, but those tracks sure as hell beat most of what is on the market today!

The Floyd set was phenomenal, and the Pros and Cons set was surreal. Mr. Screen, holophonic sound, just incredible.

Were you a Radio Kaos fan back then?

The last time I saw him was 1999. Haven't seen him since.

In Virginia. I'm not a super-fan but my hub's work gave us tickets. It sounded good, and I liked the flying pig.

Black Sabbath
Ted Nugent
Aerosmith

I was there for Aerosmith. I couldn't hear for a week.

But only because I had the front row and during the 2nd verse of Plant's "In The Mood" he reached out to the crowd and we held hands for the duration.

Can't top that!

Super small venue, seats were stage-side. Tickets were like $8.

1974-ish: George Harrison's "Dark Horse" tour - also L.A.
Poor guy had a bad case of laryngitis but still gave a great show :loveya:

I didn't see em until the "giant white suit" tour.

a few years ago. Also her rock and roll tour the year before.

Joan Armatrading two summers ago, outside, for free.

Richard Thompson, outside, in the pouring rain. He was funny, politically astute and man can he play!

Queen Ida (zydeco) in a small venue - we danced until we thought we would have a heart attack. Wonderful. No other dance show since has come close.

Elvis Costello, again, outside, with Emmy Lou Harris. He played the roof off the venue. I was surprised at what a great showman he was. And his guitar skills were excellent.

and most of the other major zydeco and cajun perfomers. She has her own particular following.

Best musically: Beausoleil.

I never saw Clifton Chenier, though. He died just before I got into the scene.

I had no idea what I was in for, a (much hipper) friend took a few of us...
they had a raw sound and of course the song line up included a bunch of their best stuff (I prefer the earlier, 'pre-Naked' Heads).

That's when I got my crush on Tina Weymouth :loveya:

I went with my mom. I was 10.

I would brag forever about seeing that.

All concerts are real big deals to me but the biggest deals were Nina Simone and Dolly Parton and Prince

G with E? I had to think a few minutes...I am really hungry right now - only thinking of food. I saw Prince a while back and that was amazing too!

Oh - Welcome to DU!:hi:

God, that was great... I was about nineteen or so. Loved when everyone got so quiet during "Sounds of Silence" that you could hear the wind pick up, yet see people as far as your eyes could see.... still get the goosebumps over that.

:D

At some old theatre. Very cool. Fire eaters, drugs, masochism, people nailing shit into themselves. The bassist/scitarist got really drunk on JB and puked on some annoying girl. Ogre was there w/Genesis p-orridge. Good fucking show.

Perry had to be carried off of the stage. This was a hard one cause I've seen some kick-ass shows. I was front row for a "The Firm" show waaay back in the mid-eighties, and stood about 8 feet away from Jimmy Page, that was cool. I used to work a hospitality gig at one of the bigger music venues here in town. I met many of the bands back in the day, like Soundgarden, the Pixies, and Alice-in-Chains, (Jerry Cantrell got me a shot at the bar across the street.) I've seen Pink Floyd, but it really wasn't Pink Floyd without Waters ya know? Plus I was so far away that David Gilmour was amoeba sized. Ummm, well the fog of chemical ingestion sometimes makes the past difficult to recall. I've seen the Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre many, many times now, and those are always amazing experiences...

Sounds like you have had some fun. Good for you.

late at night after close, a very drunk jim morrison ambled on stage when jimi hendrix was jamming with dave mason and steve winwood.

I knew I liked you for a reason.

Saw them October 05 in Denver at the Pepsi Center, best show I've ever seen! I cant remember if it was during Hurt or Right where it belongs, but during one of those songs video of Bush was displayed in a montage they had behind the band, about 90% of the crowd booed, gave the middle finger or shouted Fuck you! :headbang:

It was the first leg of the "Born In The USA" tour. He did a 4 hour concert, with a very brief intermission and no warm-up band. I have never seen a performer put his all into a performance like Bruce did.

Not the most amazing musical performance but definitely the most memorable.

Met Wesley. Bought a three of his CD's from him after the show and had them autographed.

RIP Wesley.

Gogol Bordello was pretty memorable also.

I still kick myself for never seeing him.

i've never felt more love in a room full of strangers before. the screaming/applause after their encore was louder than the band was and lasted forever...

And many times thereafter...

Though I loved them all equally so I can't choose a particular tour. They are awesome and totally hilarious live.

when Mars was so close to Earth -- now that was a keeper!

A partital list. I've lost the stubs for the best ones. :hippie:

Minor Threat with Anti-Nowhere League and the Damned, Ontario Theater, Washington, DC, 1983
Dead Kennedys, MDC, Crucifucks, et al., "Rock Against Reagan" festival, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, July 4, 1983
Black Flag, Nig Heist, Government Issue, Washington, DC, 1983
Sonic Youth at Nightclub 0930, Washington, DC, 1986
Sergey Kuryokhin, dcSpace, Washington, DC, 1987
Pulnoc (aka "Plastic People of the Universe"), dcSpace, Washington, DC, 1988
Public Enemy, Constitution Hall, Washington, DC, 1990
Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Citadel Roller Rink, Washington, DC, 1991
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Off-Ramp, Seattle, New Year's Eve, 1993
The Fall, La Luna, Portland, OR, 1994
Stereolab, La Luna, Portland, OR, 1996
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, NY 2003 (Complete Brandenburgs)
Gang of Four, Crystal Theater, Portland, OR 2005

but too late for Bad Brains? You get serious cred just for seeing SY at the 9:30 club....


We played in the room next to Fugazi once. They were very sweet, afterwards. (I know I've said that before, but it's one of my few hardcore tales.) I think I also saw Bad Religion once, but I don't remember....;)


I saw Yo La Tengo, The Mats, The Screaming Trees, early 10,000 Maniacs, and the Dead Milkmen over the years in a small, now defunct club.

I bet your roster of shows seen is more estimable than mine.

I agree, the Fugazi guys are usually pretty nice, though Ian once tried to give me some shit for being really drunk at a party.

Joe Lally has a new solo album out. Haven't heard it, but friends like it.

used to call em. I didn't get to see the Minutemen, or The early Pretenders, or the early Stray Cats, and I could kick myself now. I did manage to see Firehose though. I also saw some real stinkers, like Gary Numan, an awful Brit all female lip-synching band whose name again escapes me and Adam and the Ants.


I went to so many shows back then, it's amazing that I slept or made it through undergrad and grad school!I made a list once, and it was pretty massive, although, I suspect, not as massive as the concert list of an absent musical jazz lover friend of ours....

I kick myself for not seeing Pussy Galore when they were just starting and playing constantly at dcSpace. I also regret spending so much money on shitty seats and a trip to Seattle to see the first Who "Farewell" tour at the Seattle Kingdome (my it rot in hell) and not saving it to see the last tour of PiL with Keith Levene. I did finally see PiL, but by then it had become an unbearable John Lydon cabaret, and the set was awful. How many bands went to shit in 1983? PiL, Killing Joke, The Stranglers, Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Cure, etc. Many bands.

By the way, I had tried to see Sonic Youth the year before (post Evol) at dcSpace, but the guy who had promised to get me in (then a doorman there) promptly disappeared behind the entry door when I arrived, and didn't return to allow my friends and me admittance. Hence my loathing of buddy deals and guest lists to this day. I'd rather buy my fucking ticket, thanks.

Sonic Youth peaked at Sister and really hit the skids with the awful Daydream Nation, which the perpetually wanky print critics promptly canonized.

Good job on the Firehose.

Would like to hear your band's recordings some day.

I think our bass player has em posted somewhere. Let me look and pm ya.

Stranglers Dreamtime Tour. DC

Bowie at Kit Kat Club. NYC. Small show.

Agent Orange and Circle Jerks. 930 Club

Pyschdelic Furs in small club Richmond

Billy Bragg with about 20 people in club

The Clash

The Police

Black Flag

Dream Syndicate

THe Good Guys.

I'd wake up with blood on my ass, and then we'd get high."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm2Clf-0eXM

Turn it up. Minor Threat at the 930 Club. That opening riff of the change in the middle of the song is one of the greatest punk moments ever.

Fucking awesome.

They were quite good.

the Stranglers!! That is so cool.

Intense, powerful, lots of energy. Nothing fancy just pounding rock and a wild man as lead vocalist, Jim Dandy Mangrum.

My first major concert.

Next would be ELP- Brain Salad Surgery tour. Had front row seats.

Then Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here tour. I do remember it despite my condition at the time.

... I can't remember the most memorable concerts.

But they were awesome.

:P

My friend and I just sat there repeating "She is 58 years old" over and over with our mouths hanging open.

My best friend's Mom took us. And she was Amazing, once she starts singing it's like time stops for her, at the end of the show the audience is tired and she can still belt!

A Day On The Green, Oakland Colesium:

Commandey Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen

The New Riders Of The Purple Sage

The Beach Boys

The Grateful Dead

:thumbsup:

I just love it. Their shows are like no other. Also Laura Love at Bele Chere in Asheville a few years back. The band she had assembled was musicians from other bands and each one did a song where they sang lead, even the drummer; tightest music I've ever seen.

And anytime I get to see Christine Kane live is a good day.

Christine Kane
A Thousand Girls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHBpLOLf_Xo

any of the ten dead shows I have been to.

After the Protest The Hero show, they came up to me to say hi because I'd been singing along the entire set, haha. That was pretty cool, since I'm a huge fan off theirs.

Though some of the best concerts were in galaxies now extinct, by performers you "earth people" have certainly never heard of.

a couple of years ago we traveled to Akron, Ohio to see a mini-Woodstock reunion with John Sebastian, Melanie and Arlo - I cried. I have been to a ton of concerts but that ended up being my favorite simply for the sake of nostalgia.

I used to see Arlo Guthrie on the Smothers Brothers show and other TV shows when I was a kid (6 and 7). He always seemed great, and I'm sure his show was fantastic.

His concerts are much like his videos, food for the eyes as well as the ears.

His last song was "Biko", and for 30 minutes after he was done, the audience continued to sing and stomp. The energy was amazing.

I have a 7" picture sleeve of "Biko" that I'll always prize.

And an autographed copy of the album it came from, though it was my long-lost friend Ole who actually got the autograph.

"Biko" is a haunting song. I never knew who Stephen Biko was until I started following Gabriel's music. There is a movie about him with Denzel Washington called "Cry Freedom". You must prize that Biko sleeve.

:hi:

Dylan, '65, electric, Hollywood Bowl
Van Morrison, Santa Monica Civic, '68
Neil Young, acoustic, Greek Theater, '88
Leonard Cohen, 90 (?), Wiltern (?)

in Boulder was pretty amazing. Must have been about 1994 or so.

he three-day Atlantic City Pop Festival was held at Atlantic City Race Track and featured Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Little Richard and Canned Heat, Iron Butterfly, Johnny Winter, Chicago, Crosby Stills and Nash, Procol Harum, Booker T & The M Gs, BB King, The Byrds, Mothers of Invention, Moody Blues, 3 Dog Night, Little Richard, Dr John, among others.

Whew!

I was seven then LOL.. If I heard about it though, I wouldn't have STOPPED buggin' my folks to take me!!!

I've seen mostly all you've listed, separately. I started going to concerts with friends by age 12... young, but SMART, (I think)...

Bet you had the time of your life... do tell more...

Best show I've ever seen.

Danzig's my all-time faves for harder rock (seen them over 50 times between 1988-1995)... Manson and Korn were barely heard of at the time, and all put on a hell of a show.

Also, July 6, 1995. The last time I saw Jerry.

Like their second concert in the US.

They were HUGE in Europe, mostly Ireland.

The small crowd was a bit skeptical at first, kind of standing around with their arms folded, almost saying, "OK, prove it to me."

About 1/4 of the way through their set, people were moving a bit, by the end the place was rocking!

They really put on a show, so much energy and feeling in that show. The crowd was won over and gave them a lot of love when they finally finished.

went to Woodstock, memorable for the event more than the music.

Saw the Rolling Stones in 5000 seat hall unannounced concert on the "Some Girls" tour. Masterful.

Saw the Talking Heads at the Greek the same night Jonathan Demme did, and he decided to make a concert film with them called "Stop Making Sense". The concert was better.

Got tear-gassed at a big Jefferson Airplane concert in the early '70s. The Airplane got arrested.

Saw Janis Joplin 3 times. She always put on a good show.

Never seen anything like it before or since.

I don't really remember the specifics because

1. drinking

2. couldn't stop thinking "Why, look up there. It's the Oblivians. And Quintron. Fan-tastic."

3. drinking

A legend.

They do music from video games.

lets see the most memorable was probably Queensryche in San Antonio back in 1986 with their Rage for Order tour. It was in San Antonio at the Sunken Garden outdorr theaater and it was insane, just incredible. I was a teenager and I was just blown away by Geoff Tate's voice

then there is Mercyful Fate 1992, Pantera back in 1991, Shabba Ranks in 1992, wow I could go on and on :)