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
1. Yardbirds, 1966
2. Muddy Waters, 1970
3. BB King/ Rolling Stones, 1969
4. Cream, 1967
5. Beach Boys, 1964; my first concert
Jeez Shubertmanic, you saw the Beach Boys in 1964? I would have given anything to see them at that time. To me they were the "IT" in 1964. I saw them 3 or 4 times from the late 60's through the mid 70's, never with Brian Wilson.
Well it is a tough choice but here are some of my favs that changed my life one way or another...
1. Jimi Hendrix at Atlanta Pop Festival July 4, 1971 (with Mitch Mitchell & Billy Cox)- Star Spangled Banner on acid. Bombs, rockets, etc. WOW!
2. The Who, The Tommy Tour 1969 at Filmore East, NYC - A few months after they recorded "Live at Leeds" when "The Who" were "The Who" not whatever they've become. So much for "the revolution"! Won't get fooled again! Ha!
3. Led Zep summer 1969, indoor/outdoor venue near where Shea Stadium is today. VERY LOUD. Young and hungry. English electric blues supreme.
4. "Woodstock" August 14-16, 1969; various artists. Big party on and off stage.
5. The Clash, London Calling Tour, 1979, The Warfield, San Francisco. Rock and Roll is alive and well after years of playing second fiddle to 70s Soul and funk music; Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, etc. etc. White light, energy pulsing from the stage.
And many, many other shows...Small Faces with Rod Stewart (the man with the most talent who threw it all away for Hollywood $$$, Traffic (Steve Winwood)- John Barleycorn Tour.
Stones Sept 8, 2002 Orpheum Theater in Boston without a doubt the best show I have ever seen out of my 200+ rock concerts (and that includes multiple Bruce, Stones, Floyd, Who and Zeppelin concerts)

The small venue coupled with the Stones hyper energetic performance and the eclectic song selection made it a most amazing night.
Genesis and Peter Gabriel, one night reunion at Milton Keynes Bowl UK, Oct 2 1982 (if memory serves me right. I know it was Mike Rutherford's birthday, pretty sure it was 82).

Incredible concert, a few technical bugs and a lot of rain.