What are your top three live concerts of all time?


I'll go with ;  1.Santana  at the Music Hall in Boston      2.Jimi Hendrix at the Boston Garden   3.Supertramp at the Music Hall.                                                                                                                                                             
rockysantoro
Top Three:

Richard Thompson at an old refurbished church in Portland, Maine... early 90's. Best of the best. 

Oregon at Campbell Hall, UCSB, late seventies. 

Dave Holland Quintet-- Yoshi's, Oakland. They should've used THAT show for the live cd-- it was a lot hotter than the NYC show they chose. 


A few others I recall with Particular fondness...

SRV-- State Theater, Portland Maine... after he'd cleaned up-- "In Step" tour. 

Bonnie Raitt--Arlington Theater, S. Barbara. "Sweet Forgiveness" Tour.
 
Emmy Lou Harris and the Hot Band at Robb Gym, UCSB. '76?   

Freddie King-- gym at UC Riverside, '73 or '74.  

David Lindley and El Rayo X -- late 80's at Raul's Roadside Attraction, Portland, Maine.

Los Lobos in the gym at Bowdoin Collge, Brunswick, Maine. "Will
the Wolf Survive?" tour.   

The Hot Band (no Emmylou but with both F. Reckard and Albert Lee)-- Bluebird Cafe, S. Barbara-- late 70's. 

Jorma Kaukonen at a small-town Jr. HS auditorium in Maine-- mid 80's. 

John Hiatt solo performance at Crest Theater, Sacramento.  

Solas-- Center for the Arts, Grass Valley

Dead:
'73, San Diego Sports Arena
'74, Hollywood Bowl
'77, Robb Gym, UCSB


Radiohead @ MSG July 2018
The Cult @ Wellmont Theater Dec 2019
Hall & Oates @ Bethel Woods Aug 2017
Metallica - Day on the Green Oakland, Ca 1991
 with Queensryche, Faith no more & Soundgarden

Metallica with SF Symphony at Berkeley community     theater in 1999

Metallica with Guns and Roses, Oakland California 1992

 do you see a pattern? 😁 I have been to hundreds of different acts over the last 40 years and there is just nothing like the Mighty Metallica! 🤘🏼


BEST
1. Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1969, (Woosley Hall, Yale) - also saw him on many different occasions including Woodstock, 1969;
2. Cream (Woosley Hall, Yale-heard them twice in New Haven, CT)
3. Mahavishnu Orchestra (John McClaughlin) 1970, Wesleyan College, CT);
4. Doors - Arrest of Jim Morrison, New Haven, CT, 1970? (mostly because I was in love with Sally Barber);
5. Allman Brothers Band, Middletown, CT, 1970 - Emily Apter, my companion, who is now a chair at NYU in NYC, told me - "they will never go anywhere."
6. Seeing many great violinists with my father;
7. Seeing the last concert by Yehudi Menuhin in Washington, CT in the 1960s;
8. Growing up with Dave Brubeck's children in Wilton, CT, and seeing him play in the 1960s at Wilton High School;


Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Boston Symphony Orchestra-Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra-Mozart Requiem

The Stanley Clarke Band-Blue Note, NY, NY
2 of the 4 nights of the Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East ( I can hear myself shouting and clapping in the audience, when listening to it ( lol ) . Return to Forever at the Beacon Theater. Oh, and Woodstock ( outside of the farm, somewhere on the road ). Many more great memories of great performances. 
Allman Brothers at Carnegie Hall in NYC a month after Duane's death in 1973


CSNY in Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City the night that Nixon resigned, they announced it and played Ohio to capture the moment in 1974
Led Zeppelin at Carnegie Hall in NYC in 1969




Springsteen at the Oakland, CA auditorium.
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon tour.
Paul Simon Graceland tour, Berkeley high school auditorium.
Post removed 
Pink Floyd | Animals Tour in Quadraphonic
Led Zepplin
Eric Clapton and Joe Walsh

all in the late 70s
I'll name the last great concert I went to, Prince believe it or not. It was 3 year or so before his demise. Oakland Coliseum.

Loudest, always at Winterland, left that place more than once. Deep Purple blew me right out of the place, so did Journey. Great bands
but couldn't take it, with wet TP in my ears.

Craziest, The TUBES, crack me up...

The  RAUNCHIEST, "The Ramones", nasty nasty nasty...Left that one too, the worst.. by far..

Most welcomed, B.B. King in Anchorage, Alaska, 1775 or 6

Very memorable, Queen. Freddie Mercury's voice was fried,
We are the Champions, tour..

Jean-luc Ponty, really surprised me. Great sound guy who ever it was...

Couldn't believe my ears, Pavarotti, In the early 80s
San Francisco Opera. WOW

Best sounding, really new how to concert, Santana and usually whoever started the show. I like him with, Al Di Meola at the Greek Theater

Tony Williams Sr./Stanley Clark/Herbie Hancock, great show, Berkeley Community Theater or The Great American Music Hall, can't remember.

Great events, Day on the Green 2, 3. lots of good bands, Gram Central Station, Tower of Power, on and on

ZZ Top, oh yea....

Emerson Lake and Palmer
ELO
Pink Floyd
Roxy Music, That guys voice.. Bryan Ferry

Me in the shower, LOL, even the snails scurry away....

Regards

Performances and Concerts

Chet Baker: Copenhagen

Paul Desmond: N.Y.C.

Diana Krall: Chicago

Jackson Browne: Madison, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cedar Rapids 
1)Paul Rodgers in 1993 at the Fern Park Station in Fern Park, Fl on his Muddy Water Blues tour.  He and Neal Schon were literally 12 feet from where we were standing.  Talk about a live performance.
2)Peter Gabriel in 1993 at the Orlando Arena on his "Us" tour.
3)Sara Mclachlan at the Bob Carr theater in Orlando.  Not sure exactly what year mid 2000's maybe?

Bill

1) Ivan Moravec (Carnegie Hall), 2) the original Pat Metheney Group (with Lyle & Jaco),  3) Alice Cooper (with the snake).  No, no. Wait a minute.... Was I really there? That last one can't be on there.
I just saw Iris Dement again, at a nice theater in Portland, The Aladdin. Accompanying herself on piano and acoustic guitar, singing as only she can and does. Like Randy Newman, her piano playing is very New Orleans-influenced (along with her Pentecostal upbringing). A great, great songwriter, whom I learned of from Merle Haggard (he recorded her "No Time To Cry", a heartbreaking song), who raved about her in an interview I read.
Genesis at JFK Stadium Philadelphia August 1982 ( Suppers Ready)

Diana Krall Feb,14 1999 at The Shell Trump Marina from 10’ away (Christian McBride and Russell Malone)

Casting Crowns with the True North Symphony and 250+ choir 1/24/2015 at Carnegie Hall




AC/DC-1979
The Feelies
The Meat Puppets
Honorable mention to: The Melvins and Guided By Voices.

Only go see band in small venues and bars. Have seen many large concerts but none can compare. 

Wow. So many to choose from, especially during 80s to mid 90s but probably the following:
1) Santana at Cape Cod Coliseum '83. Just Incredible. Carlos even mentioned this show in Sweet Potato magazine years later.
2) Prince- Worcester Centrum '88. Felt privileged to have seen this show! 
3) Stevie Ray Vaughn/Jeff Beck Worcester Centrum late 80s. 
Honorable mentions:
Rush- moving pictures TD Garden
Allman Bros- any of 3 times
Steely Dan- Great Woods MA.
Stop jogging my memory dudes!  I enjoyed the heck out of Devo. I saw Oingo Boingo when they were still the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (was it at the Whisky?).  I saw Pink Floyd a couple times. I saw the Tubes. I was a semi-regular at the Santa Monica Civic. It's where I saw Alison Kraus & Union Station, Ravi Shankar, ELP and Pink Floyd. I also saw Pink Floyd at UCLA, at the foot of Janss Steps. I saw a whole host of acts at the Troubadour, including Judy Collins and Blood Sweat & Tears. I wish I could remember the acts I saw at the Palomino. What was the name of the guy who did the song "Guitars, Cadillacs and Hillbilly Music"?
Oingo Boingo @ SDSU
Man, Danny and crew were the sh*t, I saw them at least a dozen times from 1980 to the end. There's some great gigs listed above, I was at a few during these tours.

I think we need a top 3 for each decade, and even that would be hard! I'll eliminate the obvious stadium masterclass types like Moodies, Tull, Yes, Floyd, ELP, Zep, Who, Stones, Rush... I'll choose shows I saw in college.

  1. Devo: Freedom of Choice tour 1980, Warfield Theater, San Francisco
  2. Gary Numan: Telekon tour 1980, Warfield Theater, San Francisco
  3. Oingo Boingo: Nothing to Fear tour 1982, Keystone, Palo Alto

The above could change depending on time of day and barometer pressure. The Tubes, Split Enz, Psychedelic Furs, Clash, Todd, Steve Hackett, Peter Gabriel... 1978-1982 was an awesome time to be young and stupid in college!
Guadalcanal Diary @ Myskyns Tavern in Charleston, SC
The Who @ UNC
Oingo Boingo @ SDSU

Pink Floyd Division Bell Tour @ Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City

Lucinda Williams @ The Steifel Theater Salina KS (4 shows for Lucinda, I love her, this was by far the best)

Alison Kraus & Union Station @ The Topeka Performing Arts Center



 

Ravi Shankar...Newark, N.J.
Japanese Codo Drummers... Philly.
Flemenco concert (forgot who,)... Philly.
Muddy Waters at Bottom line NYC
Albert King at top of the Gate NYC
Herbert Von Karajan Mahler 6th at Carnegie Hall NYC
All many years ago!!
Post removed 
Just saw it last week in GR going again Sat in Detroit.-  OMG,Trans Siberian "Christmas Eve and other Stories."  Not a concert, not a play BUT Magic!!!!!!  Worth $400 for a pair of tics    Almost as good as a great orgasm! 
yyzsantabarbera -- Marley had yet to become an icon. I just drove down to the Roxy box office a couple days before the show and bought the ducats. I don’t remember having to stand in line. My date for the evening had no idea who Marley was or what reggae was. None of my buddies...all long haired rock-and-rollers...could’ve cared less. Was the Roxy filled with music heavyweights? I don’t recall.
tpreaves -- I saw Slim Whitman live, too!
@lenmc2964 - I was at that same 1972 Rolling Stones concert in Ft. Worth. The Stones were great, of course, but the thing I remember best was Stevie Wonder's first appearance as Stevie Wonder instead of Little Stevie Wonder. I thought he came close to stealing the show.
Led Zeppelin 1973 Dallas Tx
ZZ Top 1976 Fort Worth Tx
The Rolling Stones 1972 Fort Worth Tx
@edcyn The Bob Marley at the Roxy disc is one that I have to listen to once a month. Just a fantastic show. I can only imagine how you must have felt to actually see that show live.

1. Rush In Toronto 
2. Pearl Jam in San Francisco
3. Santana in Toronto
I'll break the rules and contribute a couple more best live performances.  Bob Marley and the Wailers at the Roxy.  Front row. Television at the Whisky. Rudolf Serkin at UCLA's Royce Hall.  The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields...I wish I remember exactly where.  And ya know?  Debbie Harry and Blondie was a ton of fun at the Santa Monica Civic.
All 3 in an 8 day span. 1994

Danzig (w/Godflesh and Type O Neg)
 Mesa Ampitheater

Pink Floyd
 Sun Devil Stadium

Pantera (w/Crowbar)
  PCC

honorable mention: U2 @ Sun Devil Stadium ( as seen in the movie Rattle and Hum).

1st 3 Lollapalooza tours
Led Zeppelin, MC5 and Johnny Winter Boston Garden 69
The Faces Boston Common 71
George Harrison Boston Garden 74
1.  Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Symphony Hall, Boston.

2.   Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,  Requiem (Mozart), Royal  Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

3.  Bruce Springsteen, early/mid-1970's.
1. I saw Def Leppard open for Ozzy on their first tour in the states in South Florida! Unbelievable!!
2 Toss up between Van Halen on women and children first tour and Rush on Moving Pictures.3. Steven Wilson formerly of Porcupine Tree. Maybe the best musically driven show I've ever seen!!
Oops, Big Joe Turner with The Blasters was in the mid-80's, not 90's. Joe passed away soon thereafter, I feel lucky to have seen him. Missed Howlin' Wolf, however.
1)  The The - Paradise Theater, Boston, 1989

2)  Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Soldier Field, Chicago, 1977

3)  Alan Parsons, Hult Center, Eugene, OR, 2006
Radiohead September 1995 - opened for REM - Deer Creek Indiana

Deep Purple Aug 1988 - Hammerjacks Baltimore - small club unscheduled show. Lineup - Blackmore, Glover, Paice, Gillan, Lord

Chick Corea, Al Di Meola and Wayne Shorter - June 1986 Merriweather Post Pavillion
The most memorable is...

The March 30, 1975 Beatles Reunion concert that took place @ the K-Mart Mall, Iowa City, IA

It was a free 4 1/2 hour concert.

There is a review of the concert in The Daily Iowan newspaper the following Monday (archives are online).

DeKay
Post removed 
Pink Floyd - The Wall @ the Colosseum, Los Angeles 
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth Tour - Rialto Theater Joliet, IL
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports Tour - SIU Arena Carbondale, IL
Radiohead - at the Greek Theatre. Berkeley, CA 4/17/17

Animal Collective - at the Fillmore, San Francisco, CA 9/17/07

Silver Jews / Stephen Malkmus - at the Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR 9/30/2008