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Your 5 Fav Rock Concerts

There are certainly more than a few geetar fanciers among us judging by all the threads on guitar bands and best guitarist. This thread is about the best rock shows you saw. Let's limit it to the rock shows. Not Blues or Jazz or solo performers. The concerts that raised the hairs on your neck or made you want to take up an instrument or raised your pulse through their sheer energy or just moved you through their performance on stage. The only ones that count are the ones you've seen. After making a list in my mind of the many rock concerts I attended, most from the late 1960's through early 80's, I have come up with mine. It was tough, I’ve seen well over 200 rock concerts over the years and it is really hard coming up with a top 5 but we have to limit this so here go mine. "Yes" - This group stands out as the 2nd best concert I ever saw with Steve Howe and Chris Wakeman. They opened for Emerson, Lake and Palmer and after their set I do feel that EL&P were disheartened and knew they couldn't match it; they didn't. Funny thing is like most, I was there to see EL&P. They were forced to have another concert the following night by popular demand. Virtuoso musicianship, “Poco” - This group could put on a show. I saw them 4 different times in the many various stages of their evolution. They never had the commercial recognition of some of the other great bands of their era but they sure made up for it in their live performances. No one stayed seated during a Poco concert. “Rod Stewart and Faces” - Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart strutting all over the stage. Rod was probably the greatest natural Rock showman I ever saw, including Mick Jagger. His uninhibited manner and constant movement and soulful vocals brought the house down. The crowd wouldn't let him go after the 5th encore so he invited everyone ("especially the pretty young ladies") to his hotel to “party on”, and so they came; Led Zeppelin I had to include them because next to the Doors and of course Jimi Hendrix they were my favorites of that era and I never did get to see either of the other two. The acoustics were bad and they played so loud you couldn’t really hear the music. But they were great none the less and it was special to me. The best should be kept for last. "The Who" was acknowledged as the best concert band at the time. Getting tickets meant getting in line and waiting. I imagine at the time the only tougher ticket would be the “Beatles” and they weren’t even together then. They didn’t disappoint. The reaction of the audience was beyond anything I ever saw at a live concert before or since. The band was so cohesive and the energy they put out put them into a different realm. They just have to be on a very short list of the best live bands ever.
tubegroover
sketcha
5 posts
 
Allman Brothers, Pink Floyd ('94), AC-DC, Oingo Boingo, Rush. Would love to see Dire Straits!
kromag
9 posts
 
1. Pink Floyd "Darkside of the Moon" tour (Quad concert)
2. Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" tour (Ian Anderson was a jumping madman)
3. Jeff Beck Group & Mahavishnu (John McLaughlin/Jan Hammer)John and Jeff jam session encore (incredible)
4. Yes "Close to the Edge" tour
5. Emerson Lake and Palmer (Keith Emerson push his synthesizer off the stage)
lsossen
1 posts
 
Not ready to name my top 5 yet, but both August 2001 Radiohead shows (especially the second) on Liberty Island rate for the sheer power of the performance, the joy of the crowd, and (in retrospect) the poignancy of the moment.

Even that night, going to the concert by ferry from the World Trade Center marina, passing the Statue of Liberty, and arriving at a gorgeous state park to hear (imho) the best rock band out there today was something special.

And with Radiohead leaving the back of the stage open so that it framed a view of lower Manhattan--what else can I say? It was my last "classic" view of our Twin Towers, and it now means so much to me that I was there.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
I've been in Beacon Theatre on Thursday watching and listening to Jone Paul Jones in the first part and King Crimson in the second part of the concert.
GREAT! Rock-is-UK-UK-is-Rock.
papertiger
12 posts
 
1) King Crimson, Town Hall, New York City, Discipline Tour 1981. Absolutely remakable!
1) King Crimson, Warner Theater, Washington, DC, Thrak Tour w/California Guitar Trio as opening act. (199?) The double Trio line-up was just amazing to listen to. Jaw-dropping, awe inspiring -- Fripp continues to be God.
2) Talking Heads, Radio City Music Hall, 1980, with expanded line-up including Nona Hendrix, Adrian Belew, Busta Jones, et. al. The day before the Central Park concert that showed up on record. A brilliant show from start to finish.
3) Jorma and Jack -- acoustic Hot Tuna. can't pick a date and place. Always incredible together, now and then.
3) Richard Thompson and Danny Thompson (the "Thompson Twins'!!) 1994, Wolf Trap. Another acoustic duo that can do it all. Virtuoso playing and wonderful songs.
4) Elvis Costello and the Attractions, don't remember the year, but I saw them at Radio City Music Hall, the year they did the tour with the Roullette wheel that determined what songs they would play. They were an incredibly tight band that took the songs and turned them inside out playing them in completely different arrangments and styles. It was a great concert.
5) Fairport Convention, 20th Aniversary reunion festival, Cropredy, Oxfordshire. It was great even before Fairport appeared, and Fairport with all the personnel assembled in the various line-ups just blew everybody away. I still remember being totally mesmerized by the rendition of a "Sailor's Tale" (the live recording of the song show just doesn't convey the same thing). Robert Plant's appearance to sing a few songs with the lads was a great added bonus.
6) Ok one more. Blondie and Rockpile at Belmont Raceway in New York. (1980?). Just because it was just a wonderful day of fun and great music. Rockpile (Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds w/ Billy Bremner and Terry Williams) were as tight, as spirited and having as much fun as was possible. Blondie, too were at the top of their game.

To be honest there are many other concerts to choose from. Many less event-like but just great evenings of music. Like the first time I heard June Tabor sing in a London folk club, or hear John Renbourn play guitar, or Bert Jansch perform, hearing Oregon and Ralph Towner play, Jan Garbarek and Hillard Ensemble performing Officium at the Catholic Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in '94 or '95. or about 6 or 7 (?) years ago when Paul Kantner pulled some people together to tour as "Wooden Ships" and do some great acoustic versions of Airplane and other songs, or Pete Townshend at the Brixton in London in 1986 (Pete Towshend's Deep End Live!), actually, most recently Bjork was absolutely incredible at the Royal Opera House in London a couple weeks ago, and the list really goes on.... (do we really have to stop at 5?)
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