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
Great bands putting forth their best to create magical moments are all too common, if you attend many shows. It must be more than just a phenomenal show to achieve something that will stick in your mind forever. For me it was my first Dead show as a sophomore in H.S. ('73). I knew it would be a gas since it was the Wall of Sound tour and they just released Wake of the Flood. So, I asked the prettiest girl in school to go, and...she said "Yes". Dropped half a 'pane in each eye prior to picking her up and the rest is history. The Dead opened with a killer "Me and My Uncle" that still rings in my ears and the rest of the show was Europe 72 on acid, literally. No show has ever come close, not New Years in Oakland nor many Red Rocks concerts. #2 must be Jesse Colin Young, The Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at Mile High Stadium in '75. #3 Jerry at The Stone in SF - tiny little club. He came out at 11 toasted, then layed into anything and everything. We danced all night - 6 feet away from him!
Years are hard enough to remember let alone dates, but Jerry Garcia band tour 84 or 85 upstate New york,1990 was also a very good year. Pink Floyd, seen every tour since 1980, Jefferson Airplane reunion tour 1989?..one of my favs I never thought I get to see. They blew me away. Black Sabbath with Randy Rhoads special guest late 70's before he died. Never seen anyone play like that since. First Dead show Boston 1981 or 1980? the music has never stopped.

>>>>....__------Jerry Garcia rest in Peace, your deeply missed, always remembered and never forgotten! Thank you for the music.
GOLDEN EARRING AT THE PARK WEST IN CHICAGO 1979
TROWER EARLY 80'S ARAGON BALLROOM - OR BRAWL ROOM DEPENDING ON WHO'S PLAYING
CAPTAIN BEYOND ARAGON EARLY 70'S
SANTANA >.... ANYTIME ANYWHERE
GENESIS 1977
1. 1967 maybe? The Who opened for, get this, Herman's Hermits. Never heard of them prior to the show. They lit the place up and trashed their stuff at the end. I was about 14 and born again that night.
2. 1975-Carlos Santana opened for Clapton, post Cream/Derek. Santana was mesmerizing, hypnotic. The house went totally dark to open Clapton' set and out of the blackness he rang the opening notes to Layla and I swear my heart stopped.
3. 1967-Hendrix. A couple months after the Who. I was on my way out of pop and into rock. Sparked my interest in the blues.
4. 1972-John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra opening for Zappa and the Mothers. Altered my consciousness. Saw them both at the airport the next day and praised both. McLaughlin was humble and gracious. Zappa simply said, "Of course you enjoyed it, now leave me alone."
5. 1990-John Hiatt. Played everything from Stolen Moments, Bring the Family and Slow Turning. No one sat, I became a huge fan of his adult approach to rock and roll.
1. Tool - UNO Lakefront New Orleans
2. Radiohead - UNO Lakefront New Orleans
3. Queens of the Stone Age - Voodoo Festical New Orleans
4. The Mars Volta - Orpheum Theater New Orleans
5. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Voodoo Festival City Park New Orleans