Best and Worst Rock Concert Moments


I will start this off. 1975 Jethro Tull concert at the Seattle Center Coliseum. About midway through the show an M-80 goes off in the crowd in the middle of a song and Ian Anderson holds his hand up in the air and counts to three with his fingers and the band stops playing in mid measure all at once as though some one had flipped a switch. The whole place goes dead quiet for about 15 seconds or so. Anderson says something like "Well, that was bloody ******* RUDE! If you want us to keep playing then you better cut that crap right out and have a little more respect for your NEIGHbor. Do you really want us to play some more?". The crowd slowly starts to applaud and then it builds to a crescendo. As the applause starts to die down, Anderson holds his hand up in the air, counts out loud to three and the band cuts back in full force absolutely mid-measure where they left off.

When the song ended I have never heard such intense applause in any arena or hall for any song at any show. I was completely dumb struck by how Anderson handled the situation and by the musicianship of the whole outfit. Maybe it was a staged event, but I doubt it. Either way, it was really something else...
knownothing

Showing 2 responses by slipknot1

Best:
Pink Floyd June 28, 1975 Ivor Wynn Stadium, Hamilton, Ontario. Three complete sets: Wish You Were Here, then a setbreak until dark, Dark Side of the Moon, then a setbreak, Meddle. Small venue stadium with a soft natural grass field that was left uncovered.

Runner up Best:
Almost every Grateful Dead show I attended between 1972 and 1994. No comments about the ill-fated 1995 Summer run.

Worst:
July ?, 1974 or 75. Eric Clapton, Rich Stadium, Buffalo, New York Freddie King opened the show, and did a very nice job of warming up the crowd. After some delay, Clapton gets onstage, clearly very intoxicated. Yelling into the mic "I'm so f***ing drunk". It was becoming obvious that there was no way he was going to pull this off without a riot. Freddie King had the presence of mind to get up there on the stage and take over most (if not all) the guitar work. I lost a lot of respect for Clapton that day.
Rballdude:

Excellent story. Nothing like getting "the look" over the tops of Jerry's glasses. He didn't make many one-on-one fan connections as he was so caught up in his playing, but when it happened - it was one for the ages...