Most MEMORABLE concert experience

What was your most memorable concert experience?

I have many but these take the cake:

Elvis Costello & The Attractions at the Palomino Club in the NoHo '78 or '79. We had "patio" tickets to the first show which meant we had to watch through a window! However after the first show, while they were clearing the house out, we moseyed into the club and took seats at a front and center table. No tickets and no one questioned us. We just looked like we were supposed to be there. There was a brief country set in the middle of the show as he was promoting the "Almost Blue" record.

We also had front row center(!) tix to see Steely Dan on the Pretzel Logic tour in the summer of '74. This was just before they took their 25 year hiatus from playing live.

First "Dead" show (i.e. post-Jerry). I had secretly wished in my heart that they'd open the second set with Shakedown Street, hadn't even had the courage to tell my mates, and then, of course, they did. WOW. The whole place seemed to EXPLODE with energy. I could actually feel the energy (especially when the crowd would shout) rush up and hit the ceiling then crash back down over our heads. Moments I will NEVER forget.


Oh, that and seeing Cream in 2005....best concert I'll ever see in my life, period.

Soul Asylum at First Ave. This would be something like 1990 or 1991. Pretty sure supporting And The Horse You Rode In On. I was toward the front, the last before the pit. I apologized to the woman in front of me that I was going to be all over her, but it wasn't intentional. The show rocked, the crowd was as brutal as I expected, and she thanked me and kissed me at the end.

1995. Harry Connick Jr. I was expecting the "Bastard Son of Frank Sinatra" routine, but no. He took a small New Orleans combo out and had a Hammond, a Rhodes and a grand piano on stage. He did jams on styles rather than songs, at least until "Whisper Your Name" in the encore. I had a great time. The whole row behind me, wanting the crooner Harry, left at intermission.

My Ex and I saw a add in the paper for a Jazz concert at the local junior college. The headliner was Eddie Palmieri. We are both Latin Jazz fans and the tickets were $15 so we went. We got there a half an hour early ,drove right up to the building , parked 20 feet away, parking was free. We went in there and there wasn't anyone there but the ticket sellers. $30 bucks for 2 tickets no service charge. We take our seats and by the time the show started the place was filled up, maybe 350 people. First the collage band played and they were all right. Then the faculty played and they were very good. Then Eddie came out with a smoking band and played for 2 hours. They had a very young guy playing rhythm. No trap set ,he had timbales, congas , a snare and a high hat and I have never heard anyone play like this. Just amazing (I'm a closet drummer)
Well after the show ended the band said they would be selling Cd's in the next room. Most of the people just left but maybe 50 people went to the other room. Not only were they selling Cd's but they had wine ,cheese and fruit plates, enough for 350 people. For free!!! We all sat around and talked to the band and ate and drank. Talk about getting your moneys worth. Eddie died not long after that so I'm really glad I got to see him. He was in his 80's and played his as^ off.

I'll just paste mine from comments I made on previous threads.

One of my favorite concert moments came during a Fixx show. It was at the New Wave Day on the Green" in the summer of 1983. The Fixx was the last band before the headliners, The Police. During the song "Lost Planes" people started throwing smashed paper cups, and within moments the sky was filled with flying paper projectiles.

Did a search, found a comment about it from lead singer Cy Curnin: "I forgot the words during 'Lost Planes,' and people started throwing cups and paper plates in the air. From where I was standing, it looked like a white sea of flying objects, almost quasi-religious. Anyway, I was tripping away on the buzz of the moment."

The other acts that day were Madness, Thompson Twins and Oingo Boingo. I got the quote from this newspaper article written on the 20th anniversary of the show.

My favorite concert moment was when The Plimsouls played the song "12 O'Clock Midnight," about turning 30 at midnight, as I was turning 30 at midnight. Lead singer Peter Case looked right at me, as if he knew. But, of course, he didn't.

Most interesting concert: Billy Idol playing a Catholic school carnival fundraiser in Sherman Oaks, CA, circa 2000. (His son attended the school at the time.) During the opening act, I thought to myself, "Who are these music store employee wankers?" Shortly thereafter, I figured out it was Toto with Simon Phillips on drums. The "wanker" observation was inspired primarily by guitarist Steve Lukather. They went on to back Billy Idol, who changed the lyrics to "Rebel Yell" to make them filthier, humped the drum riser, etc.

New addition:

Katrina of Katrina & The Waves held my hand during a ballad at a concert at The Stone in San Francisco, when they were riding high off of "Walking On Sunshine." I figured she was gay, but it was a nice moment anyway. They were taping the concert for a home video and the back of my pretty young head of strawberry blonde hair can me seen in some of the shots.

Oh. If this threads been done before, I apologize for taking up the space.
:oops:

Buddy Guy in Des Moines a couple years ago. Walked out into the crowd for a really long solo. He stood right next to me for a good minute. I was close enough to hear the sound of the strings unamplified.

I remember another one, from a Rock the Vote Benefit at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. a few years back. My wife and I are next to the stage. Wyclef John looks down at me and says, "Is that you woman? Well, get ready to party with her." I think George Clinton sweated on us at the same show, which also featured Stevie Wonder. I've seen Stevie as a guest artist and several shows and, frankly, he's always been pretty boring. I also used to sell him Laser Disc movies back in the late '80s.

Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos. Saw them twice... different places. Each time I found it was the best concert I had ever seen or heard ! The perfect balance of guitar crazyness, fun and groove !

My most memorable concert experience came during a ZZ Top show in 1974 or 1975, and had very little to do with the music. This was during the days of "festival seating", which basically meant crowding as many people as possible onto the coliseum floor in front of the stage. Amid the sweaty crush I encountered a fetching and rather uninhibited young lady (never seen before or since). Details are better left to the imagination (and sweet memory). Suffice it to say that it's amazing what you can get away with standing up in the press of a crowd in a darkened auditorium.

The who on their Quadrophina tour in the mid 1990's...........just a captivating concert........

Saw Gorillaz just last night, so I remember that pretty clearly!

Awesome show - especially De La Soul, who really brought the energy.

Also in the band, on guitar and bass of course, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon! :cool:

And solo spots by Bobby Womac! Great night.

I gotta say that the Roger Waters Wall 2010 show has been stuck in my mind for two weeks after seeing it. Sure he's lip-synching half the show, and it's NOT Pink Floyd, but as a SHOW it's pretty damn amazing.

Also:
Yes in the round, probably 1978 or so.

ZZ Top's Deguello tour. It was just ON.

So many great shows...

Buddy Guy at Wolf Trap in support of B.B. King @10 years ago, Buddy came out with a Gold Top LP, wearing some sharp looking denim bibs w/ starched white cotton shirt and said something to the effect "the last time I was here they said I played too loud..Oh well", and proceded to plug into a Marshall full stack & burn the place down..Incredible singing tone. I really feel the the LP is his true voice...

The Jam at the Whisky in Hollywood, 1978 or '79. The "In The City" tour, I guess it was.

The energy was palpable. Showed me what rock and roll was capable of.

Saw Roy Buchannan at the Paramount in Seattle,right around the time of the livestock record,had the good vocalist,piano and organ players both,great show dont think the place was half full.Oh J Geils band before they went commercial ,centerfold type crap !great high energy blues rock,same venue.

one of the first shows I ever went to was the U2 ZooTV tour. Public Enemy opened for them at the Birmingham, AL stop I attended. PE lynched a Klansman on stage. It was awesome. I ended up sneaking from my top row seats all the way down to the floor for U2. Got so close to the stage that I got a high five from Bono! Amazing!

hey Skully
that Fixx concert you are referring to was my first concert EVER!! "Day on the Green 3 '93 , New Music Day".
I was 16 ..

06.29.1968 at the Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles. The Who-The Steve Miller Band-Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac-The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

The Who did new material from an upcoming rock opera ("Tommy"), The Steve Miller Band featured the original line-up (two months after the release of "Children of the Future"), Fleetwood Mac performed one of their first U.S. shows, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown was just that...Brown having cracked his head on the stage the night before. A special night on the hardwood.

Casting my mind back, one show that really sticks out was The Cramps in 1986 - the 'A Date With Elvis' tour. That felt like a dangerous show. Being 16 in that chaotic enviroment, hearing The Cramps play loud and Live - wow. :cool:

Too many to list just one.

My very first concert was seeing Nat Stuckey in 1969[13 years old]. I still remember how much I liked the lead guitar sound [tone] and it was 2 years later that I learned it was a Fender Telecaster.
Eldon Shamblin and Roy Nichols with Merle Haggard-1982 Tulsa
The first time I saw Bugs Henderson in 1986.
2nd row seats- Stevie Ray Vaughan-April 1990
Walter Trout- San Diego-2003 -Victor's on the Green
Tommy Emmanuel-2007-Tulsa PAC

Here are some of the other great players I have seen perform in person:
James Burton with Jerry Lee Lewis
Jimmy Thackery
Tab Benoit
Billy Gibbons-ZZ Top
Junior Brown
Gary Nicholson with Delbert McClinton
Johnny Rivers
Will Ray
Cory Stevens
Alan Haynes
Jim Shuler
Eric Johnson
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Chris Duarte

and a bunch more that I'll remember later.

Muddy Waters at a small restaurant in Stockholm 1976.

/ Tony

Los Lobos just about everytime I've seem them.
If I had to pick just one I'd say Springsteen, '78 at the old Boston Gardens. My 1st time seein' him and I haven't been the same since.
Also, The Nighthawks in Charleston, SC. around '80. Jimmy Thackery played guitar like it was his last night on earth, I've never seen anything like it!

Paul McCartney
the Beatles songs seemed to have physical presence...thousands of people, each with their own special memories associated with the songs...the emotions are overwhelming.

First big rock concert I saw. The Black Crowes in Fresno at The Wilson Theatre back when I was in high school. Great band, great show.

After weeks of waiting the day arrived, Iron Butterfly on a re-union tour in '78, in the morning attending a debate competition 100 miles south of home, coming back that afternoon picked up a speeding ticket (silly Texas DPS frowns on 70 in a 55), get to the concert, watch the opening act (Blues Image, also on a re-union tour; not shabby for a one hit wonder) finally, the set break, waiting for the main attraction:

Iron Butterfly comes on stage, as a power trio, no organist.
Now that's what I call a "Gross Conceptual Failure."

Halfway through the first set, I left. It was that lame.

Hard to pick just one, but I will, instead of a posting a friggin' list.

Dr. John, 200 seat club. Just him and a grand piano. It was really wonderful.

It's hard for me to decide on only one concert as the most memorable...


BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
Experienced this band live 4 times, all of them very good. But Spring 2007 and fall 2010 at "Den Graa Hal", Christiania - Copenhagen, was indeed very memorable - some of the best concerts I've ever experienced. True Rock experience, the sound, the way they played together, alternative versions of songs, Bassist playing on top of the speaker stacks and on the floor in the middle of the crowd, taking song wishes from the audience, two hours plus and then the encore, crowd surfing, all audience dancing and sing along, though I was close to meltdown - I had the goosebumps...

Albert King in Boston - Winter 78/79.
Albert had a BIG BAND and these Cats had TALENT.
"Walkin' The Back Streets And Cryin'" woowoowoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mrgreen::cool:

Another one 1975 Music Hall in Boston - Jeff Beck and Mahavishnu Johnny Mac.
Maha...Aha...:mrgreen::cool:
They BOTH rocked the joint with their Fusion.

1982 Winter Island - Salem,Massachusetts - Outside Show 80F puffy cumulous diddy...
SRV
First of 4 times.
Stevie was standing right in front of my brother Bobby and Me by the mixer and we're like "look at this guy - he thinks he's Stevie."
Life's strange.

Sound at Winter Island that Summer (1982?) was incredible - kudos to Brian "Firebird" Fisher.

6th row Captain Beefheart 1980 - Beacon Theater, NYC - a year later got my japanese white tele with a maple neck... the rest is history.

jeff beck and SRV in worcester shorthly before "the accident"..... nuff said

JOHNNY WINTER 1980? Central Park NYC - trio - OMFG!!!!! loud and proud. He chugged nearly an entire bottle's worth of champagne between songs.... woof!

The first time I saw The Tubes in the early 80s we were 12' center from the stage.
Fee Waybill in just a g- string and a horse bridle being ridin and cropped by one of their hot little dancers. :shock:

The whole show was amazing .

Los Lobos just about everytime I've seem them.
If I had to pick just one I'd say Springsteen, '78 at the old Boston Gardens. My 1st time seein' him and I haven't been the same since.
Also, The Nighthawks in Charleston, SC. around '80. Jimmy Thackery played guitar like it was his last night on earth, I've never seen anything like it!

I just downloaded a bootleg of a 78 Boston Bruce show, and it's awesome.
The version of Backstreets is 17 minutes long.
You can find it on BTX the tape trading section of Backstreets magazines site.

My best was a Springsteen show, 9/11/1981, the second from last show of The River tour. He rescheduled it from earlier in the summer due to illness, and I think he felt bad.
It started with Thunder Road and got better from there.
He called audible after audible including Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street into For You. Other stuff included Trapped, Who'll Stop the Rain and Quarter to Three.
I was sitting directly behind the stage, a Max Weinberg view of the show, and it was funny to see Steve and Garry Tallent looking at each other as they tried to figure out the song on the fly.

Saw a Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music twice, but my best RT show was The Hat show. He passed around a hat for requests, and he promised to start (if not finish) anything he pulled. Ranged from Loch Lomond to Summertime Blues. On a lot of the old Fairport Convention songs, someone would often shout the lyrics from the audience. Great fun.

I'd have to go with Martina McBride the first time I saw her. July 4, 2002. First Independence Day after 9/11. She sang America the Beautiful, and it was so emotional. The entire audience was singing along. We actually made her cry (in a good way, haha). Will never forget that night.

Paul McCartney is another. November 1, 2005 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. A friend and I were WAY up in the nosebleed section, but we still had so much fun. 3hrs, over 30 songs.. It was amazing.

Got a few:

John Waite: Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, FL: Small show at a horseracing park. The trailer backstage was visible over a hedge row. I hopped on an accessible tree branch to see over the hedge, saw Don Kirkpatrick hanging out backstage and asked if he'd grab John. He went in the trailer and out came Waite. I asked for his guitar pick (as always) and he reached in his pocket and threw it over the hedge to me.

Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, and the California Guitar Trio: Greenville, SC: Levin broke a bass string on his prized Barbie Musicman. I approached the stage after the show (small venue The Handlebar) and asked if I could have the string. He obliged! Levin and Mastelotto hung out after and I got to chat with them.

Warren Zevon, House of Blues Orlando, FL: He sang and played solo acoustic with a loop pedal and electric piano. As the show ended I worked my way to the front, got his attention, and asked for his pick. He handed it to me, looked me in the eye as though he couldn't imagine why I wanted it and said "Have fun with it." He died a couple years later.

Nolan Ryan '89 Fenway Park (visitors dugout) !
No? hitter until 6th inning.......

OK, well there have been a few. I'll just random one> day1 at Laurel:
Buddy Guy
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
Tull
Jeff Beck Group
Johnny Winter
and....drum roll [by Bonham]
Led Zeppelin in all their prime glory. Page sure tore up his ax that night!

The other acts that day were Madness, Thompson Twins and Oingo Boingo.

My favorite concert moment was when The Plimsouls played the song "12 O'Clock Midnight,"

Billy Idol playing a Catholic school carnival fundraiser in Sherman Oaks, CA


I can relate to Scully's list, as I attended the following.

Madness at the Palladium in Hollywood
Madness at Anaheim Stadium with Bowie and the Go-Go's
Oingo Boingo at Long Beach halloween show
Oingo Boing in Hollywood
Plimsouls in Anaheim at a small club next to a place called The Woodstock
Billy Idol at the Palladium in Hollywood
I didn't want to admit to the Thompson Twins, but yes, Irvine Meadow, I think with OMD.

A few notable concerts for me...

Joe Jackson Band Reunion Anaheim House of Blues. After years of Joe's softer side, I could not wait for this line up. They were rusty and it showed a little (a couple of off key moments with keyboard and guitar). Parts of the show were recorded for a live album. Joe made it very clear at the show, this type of tour may not happen again.

The Knack at a club in Anaheim. I think it's a line dancing country club now and I think scenes from the movie Roadhouse were shot there. It was all the original members and they were past their peak as far as popularity goes and falling fast, but my wife and I sat on the steps going up to the stage and they just rocked the place.

Sparks at the Whisky in Hollywood. I really stopped liking this band about when they did the song with Jane Weidlin (a little too 80's), but this earlier show was pretty entertaining. I never forgot it anyway.

There are so many to choose from, but the most exciting show for me was Gil Scott-Heron at the Bamboo Club in Toronto in 1986. I was invited back stage to give him some b&w photos I had taken on his previous visit. I was one nervous suburban white boy. Anyway, he loved the shots, everyone was very nice and they played my request. The show was killer.

We hired Robbie Fulks and his band to play my wedding reception. I guess that's the most memorable for me.

Like many of us geezers, I saw many an act at RFK, the Cap Center and other big venues around DC. I also saw many acts at more intimate places like the old Bayou, Crazy Horse, DC Space, the 930 Club and the like. BUT... perhaps the best concert I ever saw was a Christmas performance by our own beloved Bill Kirchen at the venerable Sunset Grill in beautiful, downtown Annandale. I don't know what he was channeling that night but I never heard better guitar tone EVER! The ol' coal burner was so hot it almost auto-combusted. What I liked about this particular performance compared to his other brilliant performances was that he played more rock that night. He did a smoking version of 'What so Funny about Peace, Love and Understanding'. But the hottest tune that night was Dylan's Tom Thumb Blues done in the style of Jimi Hendrix meets Billy F. Gibbons.

The "most memorable" was my first: The Who at Freedom Palace in Kansas City, Missouri, July 2, 1970. Words fail me...

Honorable Mentions (a.k.a. "a friggin' list"): R.E.M. at Starlight Theatre in KCMO, September 17, 2003 (basically the same show they captured on Perfect Square).
Maynard Ferguson at the Casper, Wyoming Events Center, February 14, 1984. Front row, center...and got Maynard's trumpet spit on me to prove it!
J. Geils Band, Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, sometime in the fall of 1972 (they were touring in support of their live album Full House). Memorable mostly because I thought they were great but the young lady I was dating (and with whom I was hoping to score after the show) thought they were the worst band ever. Needless to say, my evening didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped, and the course of history was changed... :wink:Some others that stick in my mind include Ramsey Lewis, ZZ Top, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Steve Miller at Arrowhead Stadium in the summer of 1977 (just a couple of months after my first wife had passed away), Blue Öyster Cult, and a band no one remembers called Joy of Cooking at the old Cowtown Ballroom in KCMO...

Anything at the Santa Monica Civic Center...the first US concerts, I believe, of

ELO, Great first album with the original strings line up.

10cc, fantastic energy.

Supertramp, they played right through their first two US releases.

Jean Luc Ponty, he had a great band backing him before he went to a solo format with backing tracks, not as entertaining at all...

Speaking of solo...James Taylor at a casino at So. Lake Tahoe was quite the treat, and he used a few backing tracks for harmonies. That was A-OK!

Tull, at the Dorothy Chandler pavilion. Small venue, and I invited seven friends along. We talked about that for years.

#1? I'll take James Taylor at the old Hilton In Reno, late eighties, early nineties. Warm summer night, the rising moon and landing air planes in the back ground and JT was in an obvious great mood. He said we smelled good too. :oops:

Very sweet performance, the best venue, sadly gone now.

Most amazing concert ever was Bob Marley and the Wailers, Nov. 15th 1980 at Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota. We had seats in the front row of the balcony and it was swaying up and down about 2 feet. The energy was amazing. He had this incredible presence when he sang. Like he was channeling something greater than himself. I have seen a lot of people over the years but nothing compared to him that night.

Tull, at the Dorothy Chandler pavilion. Small venue, and I invited seven friends along. We talked about that for years.Definitely a band better suited to smaller venues. First time I saw them was at Memorial Hall in KCK in 1971, a few months after Aqualung dropped. Amazing...

About a year later, I saw their arena act at Municipal Auditorium in KCMO, and while it was sort of cool that they played Thick As a Brick straight through without stopping, I still didn't enjoy the performance as much...

The opening act for that latter show was some countrified crap from a bunch of guys nobody'd ever heard of calling themselves...The Eagles! :wink:

Very sweet performance, the best venue, sadly gone now.

Are you talking about the Santa Monic Civic? Although it's no longer used as a music venue, I believe it still exists. Eleven or twelve years ago, I went to an event called "RetroFest" there. Ironically, the music acts (Berlin, Missing Persons, etc.) were on makeshift stages outside, while inside they had the Batmobile, along with Adam West, and booths manned by people like Frank Gorshin and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes.

Jeff Beck, 1999 Taft Theatre, Cincy.

.

MUSE supported by biffy clyro Wembley stadium september 11th 2010 60,000+ people just sitting. absolutly amazing like AMAZING not even kiddin how good it was. stage precense and effects were incredible a huge UFO with people coming out and dancing on ropes as it flew around the stadium. huge lights display, moving stage etc

My most memorable is a (now obscure, I expect) folk band called Trapezoid at Oberlin in the early 80s. They played everything they knew, so the crowd sang THEM a song.

More recently, the Decemberists, silly and pretentious as they are, doing their Hazards of Love album.

D.H.

Any Bruce concert.

George Thorogood at the Keystone in Palo Alto.

People might laught at this but Huey Lewis and the News were a very good live rock band.

Absolute worst had to be Chuck Berry - sad thing is that I saw him twice.

SRV at the Kalamazoo County fair... two days before he died. 8-24-90- Great outdoor show. I had complimentary tickets from a local dj friend.


2nd best show was in Pontiac Michigan in the EARLY 90's. We drove forever to see Porno for Pyros and some band I'd never heard of called the Flaming Lips on their "Transmissions from a Satellite Heart" tour. Porno played an uninspired 30 minutes. The Lips rocked it for an hour and half.

3rd best show was The Crash Test Dummies and Elvis Costello in 93 (I think) in San Diego close to some airport. Planes made an awful noise, but the show was great. One of the backup singers is CTD had some talent called a Mongolian something or other which allowed her to sing a singular note, and her throat produced a secondary harmonized tone. It was sweet.

I got to see Albert Collins about 6 months before he died. Great show, outdoors, sunshine.....towards the end he came out in the crowd with a 100' guitar cable and walked around in the crowd. At one point he pulled up a chair so I pulled up a chair as well right in front of him & got a free guitar lesson! I'll never forget that!:grin:

You never forget your first time...

McCartney and Wings - June 18, 1976. Does anyone remember how great his first few solo albums were? And what a great showman he was (before he'd used the same moves, expressions, gestures ad nauseam)? And that he was PAUL McCARTNEY playing live in little old Tucson Arizona? And on top of that, the Wings Over America tour was just an awesome show.

Springsteen and the E-Streeters - November 5, 1980. Completely blew my mind. This was exactly what rock and roll was supposed to be, but better. Every time I play, whether it's with a band, at a church, or in my own bedroom, some of that show leaks out of my fingers.

The Who - October 31, 1982. When the world's largest bank of lights exploded as Daltry let out the scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again"... indescribable.

Strangely, the one show I always look back on with disgust was Springsteen at Giants' Stadium in 2003. We were sitting in front of some kind of corporate event with a bunch of people who talked through the whole show. The WHOLE show. On cell phones, to each other, about their boyfriends, about work, about what they were doing afterward. How loud do you have to talk to be heard over a 6 billion watt sound system? I found out that night, for three hours. :mad:

Cal Jam II - Ontario Motor Speedway, Los Angeles, March 18, 1978. On arrival, we were greeted by 600,000 of our closest friends and then were able to make our way into the backstage area. We saw Dave Mason, Santana, Heart, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, and Frank Marino. That was a good day.

Plenty of other shows like McCartney, Zeppelin, Stones, Springsteen, Who, etc, but Cal Jam II was truly unforgettable.

I saw Foals play a few weeks ago here in Amsterdam... And they played Spanish Sahara, which is a fantastic song... I almost cried... A live band has nearly never done that, the band was really energetic the rest of the set, which was fantastic. Two other bands that will remain in memory as energetic and good performances are Of Mice and Men and Maximo Park

I saw Ali farka toure in late 2005 in Cape Town and he was doing a gig in association with a fund to preserve texts from Timbuktu.
I arrived late as they gave me the wrong times over the phone so no seat left and just sat on the floor by myself 4 feet from the stage. It was also my first introduction to Basseyou Kouyate whose melodicism utterly blew me away.
It was funky, off the cuff, often improvised and it all felt so fresh even though they had likely played those songs many times. After the gig I also had a photo taken with Ali which I treasure. A couple months later I heard of his passing and realised how fortunate I was to get that opportunity.

I saw SRV at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, from about 5 rows back. It was so frikkin' loud I almost couldn't believe it. The memorable part was that the guy in the row directly in front of me was passed out cold, with the PA blowing his hair back.

U2 Unforgettable Fire tour, I think 1985.

Nothing fancy - four guys on a stage, no fancy lights. They had just become huge and I was barely familiar with their music.

Bono had an incredible stage presence. He took a full arena from roaring to "pin drop" quiet at will.

Their last encore was the song "40" and Bono got everybody to sing along to the chorus, which was "how long to sing this song". As we sang, the members of U2 left the stage one by one. Bono went last, and the audience kept singing . . and kept singing . . . and kept singing . . . even after the house lights came up. Understand - it wasn't that the crowd was trying to get the band back on stage - we were just singing together, all eighteen thousand of us.

I've never experienced anything else like it.

I saw Roger Waters this weekend.
MAN!!

I'm still not sure what I saw and heard, but it was over-the-top extravaganza. I think I could fill this page with what I saw in the first song.
The band was off-the-hook good.
Every detail of that show was pulled-off to perfection.
Lights, stage, props, and of course the AUDIO.
Over 25,000 people on their feet from start to finish.

Tip of the hat for this one.

Other fave raves:
Frank Zappa 1981 - Newbie Steve Vai made the room stand still!
Greatful Dead 1979 - A different way of life!!! First time I had ever heard a P A system that was ALL ABOUT high fidelity.
Uriah Heep 1973 - I started out as a Drummer, I left that show wanting to play guitar!!! Saw Mick Box with his Black Les Paul and thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Still do. Never looked back.
The Eagles 1993 - When Hell froze over. Nearly flawless performance and inspired playing from Joe Walsh and Don Felder.
The Flying Putos 2005 - Former founding members of the Beat Farmers played a dive bar in La Mesa, Ca. They blew the roof off that place. A year later, Buddy Blue died of a heart attack.
Paul McCartney 2003 - Had my ass kicked so hard I had to go home and CRY!

Their last encore was the song "40" and Bono got everybody to sing along to the chorus, which was "how long to sing this song". As we sang, the members of U2 left the stage one by one. Bono went last, and the audience kept singing . . and kept singing . . . and kept singing . . . even after the house lights came up. Understand - it wasn't that the crowd was trying to get the band back on stage - we were just singing together, all eighteen thousand of us.

I've never experienced anything else like it.

i know exactly what you mean!!! i loved it at wembley when knights of cydonia played and it went quiet and everyone sang the chorus line "No ones going to take me alive"

i was further back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oxLv1SIPpo

Mine was Pink Floyd, Montreal in 1977...http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/concerts/pink-floyd-olympic-stadium-montreal-canada-july-6th-1977-2.html

Long Story Short - Years ago saw Aerosmith in Toronto in an outdoor venue. High up on the lawn was a large covered bunch of equipment, looked like a remote sound board area. Half way through the show the band walks off the main stage, is surrounded by security, and walks through the crowd to the lawn area, which turns out to be A MINI STAGE, where Aerosmith rocked a mini set for the lawn ticket holders! My and my sister ended up being 10 feet from the mini stage!! Cool!

I'm old.

I've been to probably hundreds of gigs in the last ~50 years or so.

Link Wray in a church basement ( first real show ) - 1963
Roy B at the Silver Dollar all ages matinee ~1964 or so
Beatles @ RFK - 1966
The Who opening for Herman's Hermits - 1967
First Grateful Dead show of many - 1967 when it was still Pig's band.
Jefferson Airplane - 1967
Led Zeppelin - first time, they opened for Vanilla Fudge - hadn't a clue who they were when I went in.
Few other Zep shows including the Meltdown show in Oakland
Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto - Might even be in a crowd shot in the video :lol:
Pink Floyd ( no Syd :^( ) several times
Weather Report a few times
Spyboy

On & on I could go, but I won't...

The one that stands out the most would be Friday 11 August 1967.

I and a couple of my friends decided that it would be interesting to check out "the city's first way out dance hall" and light show.
so we made sure that we were in the proper frame of mind for the Summer of 1967 if you catch my drift, and headed into the city.

We didn't really care who was playing, it was someone whose name I'd read but had never heard.

After paying the $4.00 (?) cover we entered and wandered around a bit, checking out the other people and the lights and the vibe.

The first band was OK and we were sitting on the floor during changeover when I spied the crew
setting up these incredible refrigerator sized amps which we ambled over to check out.

Marshall??? WTF? Never heard of them, but they sure are big and pretty...

That was only the first surprise of the evening.

Lights down, headline band hits the stage and it's three really strange looking people, especially the guy with the wild Afro and Stratocaster.

First song was "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and after a few seconds of the loudest playing
I'd ever heard I looked back & forth at my slackjawed friends and we just rolled our eyes and grinned.

I realized right then that it was one of those "Everything after this is going to be different"
moments that come along every now and then.

So, the first set ends, the sparse crowd floats back from wherever we were, and I decide to take a walk.

As I'm blundering around, I decide to see what's going on backstage, and since the gig is run by and for
clueless hippies there's no security to speak of and I hop a corner of the stage and start roaming around.

I go breezing around a corner and who do I almost knock on their ass but Jimi himself... :shock: :cool:

I managed to start up a brief conversation in which he told me he'd been playing for
only seven (7) years at the time (YIKES) :shock: and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

I'm amazed to this day that he'd take the time to shoot the breeze with a dumbfounded, saucer-eyed suburban kid,
but it was probably before he became overwhelmed by the side-effects of greatness.

Back out front for the second set, and I've never been quite the same since... :wink:

I can't talk about my most memorable concert experience because it would break the rules of this forum.

Claudel,

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!

Two stand out as extra memorable...

1975 Milwaukee County Stadium, general admission concert featuring:

Rufus, The Eagles w/Joe Walsh, and The Rolling Stones.

I was 17, and went with some high school buddies. We camped in the parking lot overnight to secure good seats. I remember a biker dude fell asleep on my blanket, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him to get off!


1980
I saw Santana perform (Larry Coryell opened) in a bullring in Barcelona, under a beautiful night sky. It was the perfect music for the perfect setting.

Frank Zappa at the Fillmore East, 1971--one of the shows they recorded for the "Live at Fillmore East" album! I went with a friend and before the show started, we were speculating as to what song they'd play. We said to each other, "they'll never do 'Peaches En Regalia'--it's impossible to play live."

They opened with it.

Talking Heads at Forest Hills tennis stadium, early '80s for the "Stop Making Sense" tour. The music, sound and staging were all incredible.

Blue Oyster Cult, the Academy of Music, New Year's Eve 1974 I think. The show where Eric Bloom shaved off his beard on stage because he lost a bet. Iggy and the Stooges were one of the warm up bands and Iggy was so loaded he fell off the stage twice. Kiss was one of the warm-up bands and it was their first major NY gig. I thought they were terrible and left during their set. Blue Oyster Cult were phenomenal.

But the best concert ever might have been...

Kraftwerk, Hammerstein Ballroom, 2005. Mind-blowing. Astounding. It was almost like we were listening to some different kind of art form other than music. I can't explain it--it was like sound going directly into the brain. Just unbelievable.