If you could, what live performances would you enjoy re-living?
I have interest in hearing about yours. I can think of some great concerts over the years in many great buildings, from Hancher in Iowa City, to Fisher Hall in New York, to some bars in Copenhagen.
Something I have noticed....performers have times they are more "on" just like us, and it can make their concerts be perceived at different levels. I know the three times I saw Jackson Browne, each was much different and most of that was his intent. Having a good sized group with very talented back up singers to the time I saw him solo....all great, but very different. He is a better guitar player than he may be given credit for.
The live Jazz I have been to in NYC is near the top. Sweet Basil and the Blue Note through the years have been very good to me, but in a much different vein, the lakefront festivals in Milwaukee are a somewhat unknown to most of America.
I did see a few artists before their success and fame, saw a famous British singer at a bar in Rapid City many years ago..and he has done well since.
Pil- the Aragon brawl room in Chicago in 1988. Jeff Buckley at the metro in Chicago 1991. The The- the Aragon 1993. chili peppers, Pearl Jam and the smashing pumpkins- all same show Aragon 1992. And my very first concert at 12 yrs old- the police, the fixx and a flock of seagulls at old comiskey park in 1980. Joan Jett was there as well but she was booed off the stage. People were throwing stuff at her. Different times.
So many...Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway NYC's Academy of Music Dec. 7th 1974; The Grateful Dead Nassau Coliseum Sept. 8th 1973; The Grateful Dead Palladium NYC April 30th 1977; The Grateful Dead Palladium May 4th, 1977; The Grateful Dead May 5th 1977; Little Feat Wesleyan University April 4th 1978; Peter Gabriel Oct. 29th, 1978; The Grateful Dead Rochester Nov. 5th 1977; The Grateful Dead May Hartford Civic Center May 18th 1977.
Thankfully The Grateful Dead have released a number of these shows, so I can at least revisit these shows sonically! As a kid, I thought it might be interesting to write all of this down-- and kept my notes. That's why I know specifically which shows I attended. I even kept notes on where I sat at each show.
War in Munich, Germany in mid 70's. Best band I've ever heard. Lee Osker, Papa D Allen, BB Dickerson and the boys can really throw down. There must have been 15 musicians on stage. Lee Osker wore a belt that had numerous harmonica's. He'd pick one and hold a microphone behind it. The music that he played was truly amazing. All of their solos were awesome. I saw them whenever I could.
Earth, Wind, & Fire in Frankfort, Germany in the late 80's. A very close second. I counted 102 speakers on stage. When they played "Let's Groover," you could feel the music. The entire performance was incredible.
Chicago in Michigan, in the late 60's. My first live concert. I was awestruck by the music. Truly great band.
I almost forgot. I sat within 15 feet of Stephane Grappelli at Ethel's Jazz & Supper Club in Baltimore while he played anything and everything. His totally mastery of the instrument was something beyond human.
Sly & the Family Stone(d) at Bucknell University for homecoming in about 1969 or 1970. They were raw and funky and they were late, started around midnight and finished up around 2:00 or so. The place lifted off the ground. BTW, they were stoned not me. The opening act was the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble. A close 2nd would be the Santana Band in 1970 or 1971 at the now defunct Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, PA. The opening act was Edwin Starr.
Amazed no-one mentioned this yet.... Dylan at the Albert Hall 1966. I was 16, went with 3 schoolfriends. Poor seats in the gods. Listening to the recordings reminds me the man was a poet even then at just 25. His delivery and precise enunciation were not those of a rock star that he also was by then. Try the accoustic Visions of Johanna. Simply wonderful.
20+ years later the Man in the Long Black Coat tour at Hammersmith Odeon was excellent too. He even put on a black tailcoat.
I concur on late Leonard Cohen. I saw him around 2012 in a very intimate venue, the Summer Sporting Club, Monaco.
Cream when they just formed. Very loud. Town Hall Sutton (south London) I recall. We got in through a toilet window.
Rock on John. Would have been 80 yesterday. I never saw The Beatles even though I was there. Mates of mine saw them in 1962, Love Me Do days, at Wimbledon Palais, an awful venue long since demolished.
Stevie Ray Vaughan-Pine Knob Detroit (second row) The Clash-Grand Circus Theater Detroit Jeff Beck with Stevie Ray-Cobo Hall Detroit Kiss with Rush-Michigan Palace Detroit
I have a friend who saw The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band live at The Fillmore in ’69. Member Roger Ruskin Spear (how’s that for a name?!) was a sculpturer and electronic tinkerer, and had made a robot in very human form. He brought it along on that USA tour, controlling it’s onstage movements with a remote control.
The group’s first four albums are really great. We first saw them as the band performing in the underground club scene in The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film. Member Neil Innes would later create (along with Monty Python’s Eric Idle) the Beatles parody group The Rutles. They made an album and the mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash (before This Is Spinal Tap. Funnier, too). Neil plays the "John" character, Eric the "Paul". George Harrison appears in the film playing a reporter. Playing drums in The Rutles is one-time Beach Boys member Ricky Fataar. See it if you can.
Terry Reed, BB King, the Stones; 1969 CSU Moby Arena Ft. Collins CO Between songs the audience went wild, when the next song started everyone shut up, sat down and listened. Three encores.
Rush, Farewell To Kings tour March 1978. Crap venue, the Hollywood Sportatorium in South Florida. Great show though. Opening acts were Head East and, more importantly, Pat Travers with the newly arrived Tommy Aldrich on drums. Too many honorable mentions to mention, So I will throw out a random one. Black Crowes maybe 2006, Marc Ford back in the band. Ford amphitheater Tampa in the rain
Sex Pistols at The Great Southern Music Hall, Atlanta January 1978. My friend worked at Peaches or Turtles Records and got free tix. I’ve been disturbed ever since.
Ah Summerfest... Climbing on stage with Dino Valente and QMS. Good times. Janis Joplin at Ravinia. Chuck Berry and BB King at the Aragon Lowell George and Little Feat at the Broadway. Eclipse (A Piece for Assorted Lunatics) at the Auditorium, center main floor. Atmos eat your heart out, canned surround never approaches live. Ray Chen front row center.
There are some truly amazing responses here. Some of which I was just a baby for so could never have experienced but still extremely envious of My 2 completely unique experiences would have been Phish at a roller rink in Buffalo around 1991. There were probably 500 people there and Trey put roller skates on and tried to skate around while playing guitar and totally bit it. Very memorable. The other being The Neville Brothers with Harry Connick Jr around 1993 in NYC at what I think was The Wetlands. Amazing. Might not have been The Wetlands but as I recall 27 years later, it was The Wetlands.
George Michael in London 2012...with 50 people for a LGBT fund raiser and he sang his heart out. Led Zeppelin 1975 at Anaheim stadium. First time they used lazer lights on "stairway to heaven". Forgot where I parked my car in the stadium! 2am at Seventh Ave south and Blue note in 1980's...no cover charge at 2am:-)
Hands down, the greatest concert I ever attended: October 23, 1982, Carnegie Hall, The Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan, performing Mahler's Ninth Symphony. One for the ages...
Montreux, Switzerland. Early 1970, Led Zeppelin launching Led Zeppelin II album. Page had longer hair than Plant! I was 15 and a half yrs old, my first out of town concert, my dad had to accompany me in order to go. Simply awesome, Bonham did a drum solo barehand til he bled. I was like second row on the floor 12 ft away from them. 250 spectators at most. Will never forget it. This was in the casino that burned down soon after during a Zappa concert. Completely destroyed it. Deep Purple then made it famous with the song smoke on the water. They were real close to Claude Nobbs, the montreux jazz festival organizer, now dead. But even so the montreux jazz festival now keeps going in a completely different location, it will never be anything like the original concerts in the casino. At least I was there. Thanks for this post. Memories.
Too many to name, but here are a few. Cream at the Psychedelic Supermarket in Boston. Mothers of Invention at the Armadillo World Headquarters. Santana at the Boston Tea Party. Jeff Beck Group (original band) at the Boston Tea Party. The Tubes at the Armadillo.
Anyone who was fortunate enough to have seen NRBQ when Al Anderson was in the band will tell you what a great live band they were. Even better than their records, which are pretty damn great.
A favorite of Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and every good musician I know. Sorry Stones lovers: when David Sanborn introduced them on his TV show, he introduced them as "The best Rock ’n’ Roll band in the world."
I saw then twice, both times at The Roxy Theater on Sunset in Hollywood. So hot! Amongst the best 4-piece bands I've ever seen and heard live (along with Rockpile and Little Village). The Beatles were of course a 4-piece, but live they were not so hot. Honest!
There are so many I would love to experience again. Jackson Browne's were also memorable. For some reason I am particularly fond of small/more intimate venues. In the old days some call those "coffee shops". One such concert was many years ago in Ottawa Canada. Small place that didn't hold more than a couple hundred people. The performance was Jerry Jeff Walker when David Bromberg was still his guitarist. I'm partial to acoustic music.
Oh, and The Beat (Paul Collins, not the UK band) at The Whiskey in late '79. THE Best Power Pop band I've ever seen live, including Cheap Trick and The Who. Their debut album is really, really good.
Billy Swan told me he saw Elvis, Scotty, & Bill in Tennessee in 1955, performing on the back of a flatbed truck. What I wouldn't give to have been there!
Dekay, I can relate to a performer simply dropping into a place and putting on a show. I was at a wonderful, classic vacation area at an upscale "Yacht Club" and a famous comedian came in and was simply having fun and helping us all have fun. The same thing happened when I was young when a famous folk/rock duo came to the little town I was living in to get a few beers without being noticed and they came down and played a game of basketball "horse" with my friend and I.
Buddy Rich and his band at the Felt Forum circa 1976. Blondie at The Village Gate NYC, 1977. 1st album with new material from the next album. Springsteen at the Palladium Theater NYC. "Born to Run" tour 1976. Sisters of Mercy, 1984 at the Ritz. Roxy Music, 1982 at the Tower Theater Phila. Final performance ever (until a reunion in 2002). Elton John with John Lennon, 1974 at MSG. The Ramones at local bars in NY, 1970's.
Bob Marley and the Wailers at the Spectrum in Philly. I not longer remember the year but it was 78-80. Half way through the concert, lights went on, people stood-up, and you could see the hypnotic sway of the mass of people for the rest of the concert. that was out of this world. His music/voices was very hypnotic/sensual.
You know, I was in a Jazz/somewhat Pop mindset and did not mention classical greats.
I am lucky enough to have seen many greats in my life, from New York to Chicago to many a college campus.
I and my mate attended a performance by the Chicago classical music orchestra and they had singers with them. The first chair Cello player and his mate stayed with my mate and I and we did some biking on the Sugar River Trail South of Madison, Wi. Very, very nice and bright people.
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