What's the one concert you're glad you didn't miss?

November 1981 in Chicago, what was touted as The Rolling Stones farewell tour, I was not a fan on arrival but came away with a deep appreciation for the performance.

 

In no particular order: Kurt Cobain, Dick Dale, Jerry Garcia, Greg Allman, John and June Cash.

I feel fortunate to have seen them before they passed.

 

1995 Pink Floyd pulse tour in Vancouver .David Gilmour
was amazing. The sound was perfect . Comfortably numb
was a musical tour d force

 

Tough to answer!
And amazing shows and stories from other posters!

Like many here, I’ve been fortunate to have seen so many great bands and artists over the years.

Starting in 1978, at age 13, my older brother took me along to see my first real rock concerts.
So many of the great bands of the era.
Tons of huge concerts and big names in those days.

So...
pick just one:

1979 Rainbow Music Hall in Denver. Small venue.
The size of 3 or 4 Small movie theatres- it’s a Walgreens now.

Had just started playing guitar the year before. Had a Peavey T-60, and a Peavey classic.
*******
Front row. I was standing at the corner of the left side.
Hands and arms on stage.
A band that I knew one song from.. Roxanne..
Staring down at this cool board On the floor with a bunch of boxes and Pedals on it. I had seen foot-switches and maybe an mxr pedal or two, but these were way different and cooler...and they were all hooked together..

Show started, I was standing right in front of Andy Summers. Just an education- pure magic.

All of this overlapping, textured, atmospheric-
and at times aggressive guitar sound-
Changed my understanding of what the instrument and effects are capable of in the right hands..

also, The Specials were the opening act.. another mind expanding experience..

Sting was out in the crowd watching the Specials at one point. Not many people recognized him, but my brother and
Older friends did.

Never forget it.. He was wearing checkered chef’s type pants..
He said, “ We’re not here to cause controversy (in proper English accent) we’re just here to make good music...
Now watch these guys (The Specials)- you won’t see the likes of them for years.”


Cheers!

 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Des Moines 2017. Last one I'll ever get to see.

 

Linda Rondstadt and the Eagles- One of These Nights tour, Capital Centre, Landover, MD
Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Who- Quadrophenia tour, Capital Centre
Souther, Furray, and Hillman; Little Feet with Lowell; and The Band- Capital Center
Little River Band and Little Feet (with Lowell)- Long Beach, CA
Thin Lizzie and Queen- Sports Arena, L.A.
Fats Domino- My Mother’s Place bar in Wash., DC- early 70’s

 

My pick is the concert I never intended to see because I hadn't known it was coming...

It was around 1973 when a friend and and I were walking in Seattle, and we just happened to pass the Paramount Northwest theatre—the old playhouse that by the '70s was run down and used strictly as a "rock palace." The crumbling plaster decorations added some character, and I saw many great names and awesome concerts there. By the way, the sound system there was fabulous. (It's now been refurbished into a fancy dinner theater. Bleah.)

So—we paused at the front of the theater, where I was shocked and dismayed to see the posters advertising the big act about to start was none other than the Mahavishnu Orchestra—probably my favorite band at the time, and who I'd seen at the Paramount just a year earlier!

What? How had I missed news of this important show?! We were looking sort of longingly toward the doors, checking our wallets (no dice), when a Porche 911 came roaring around the corner and pulled up to the curb. The driver, a hip-looking dude in shades, leaned out the car window with his hand extended.

"You want tickets?"

"Uh, excuse me, what?"

"You want tickets??"

Whoever he was (promoter? manager? stood-up date?), he had two free tickets in his beckoning hand. We accepted the tickets, and thanked him profusely as he roared off again.

We presented our tickets at the booth and strode into the theater. It was intermission after the first act (no big loss under the circumstances). Got some good seats and the rest is music history.

 

The Doors at The Village Theater. They were there with The Chambers Brothers Canned Heat. Blew them away.

 

Queen. Sydney ent cent 1985. With Freddie. Changed my life.


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We saw them on that tour too. It was one of the most intense live music experiences I’ve had. Even without the guy crowd-surfing in his wheelchair.

 

Saw Yes perform in 1974 at the now-vanished Winterland Ballroom in SF.
A game-changer.

The show was in QUAD, and mixed by studio legend (and their recording engineer) Eddie Offord.
The smaller size of the venue was a perfect match for their ultra-clean (for the time) Clair brothers sound system, and the band was absolutely at the top of their game performance-wise for a 3+ hour long show (no breaks!).

It was a magical evening, and of course a splendid time was guaranteed for all.

 

We had a wheelchair crowd-surfer too in Tempe, AZ, at that show!

 

Way too many! Lots of artists I regret not seeing (Petty, Cash, Waylon, Buck, Sinatra, and Merl atop that list).

Off top my head, Ray Charles stands out. Only got to see him once and it was a quintessential Ray Charles show. A true slice of Americana.

 

Link Wray. '04, I think. It was one of the last few shows he did before he died.

 

I saw Queen in 1973, or 1974.
OMG!

 

Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts.
Atlantic Beach, NC 1971

These guys were loose, funny and wild.