Cal Jam I, in '74 or '75 at what WAS the Ontario Motor Speedway. An Amazing blur and speakers 4 stories tall.....
Saw ELP later at the 'Swing Auditorium' in San 'Beroo. They did 'Brain Salad Surgery' at 110db. The surround effects were amazing for the time/place. |
Rory Gallagher Robin Trower..Black Sabbath with ozzie circa 1976..Rush 1979, and Bad Company!..but Rory was perhaps the greatest guitar player singer writer of all..and most certainly his live shows where incredible..i encourage everyone to get any of ths newly released dvds of his concerts!..Also Trower comes in very strong and is on tour again I will see him for the 33rd time ! |
1-Santana- Fox Theater Aug 1990. Carlos was in Lotus form.
2-The Who- Silverdome Aug 1989. The last great Who tour?
3-AC/DC- Palace July 1991. What a guilty pleasure.
4-Boston- DTE July 2004. Walk On was(is) a work of art.
5-Judas Priest- Joe Louis June 1984. My 1st rock concert. |
1/The Stones 1975 Maple Leaf Gardens (Tour of the Americas)
2/Led Zeppelin O Keefe Centre Toronto 1969
3/Tom Waits Roxy Theatre Toronto 1978
4/Blind Faith / Taste / Delaney & Bonnie Toronto 1969 Varsity Stdium
5/ Bruce Springsteen.. any of the 10 or so shows I have seen
Honourable mentions..
Bob Dylan 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue
Jimi Hendrix Maple Leaf Gardens Toronto 1968
Johnny Winter Massey Hall 1968 Toronto
Jimmy Buffett..always a great time if you like to have a party
Glen |
1.Kansas - LeftOverture tour
2.Yes - Masterworks tour
3.Jeff Beck
4.Galactic w/opener Drums and Tuba
5.Genesis - Wind and Wuthering tour |
Missing Zeppelin is going to haunt me to my grave. Never even got to see Page in the post Zep incarnations. Had tickets to the scheduled Zeppelin show for October 1980 at then Rich Stadium (now Ralph Wilson Stadium) in Buffalo. Early September, they've finished the Copenhagen warmups, and a bunch of us are camped outside the Stony Brook Student Union to score Zappa tickets when they go on sale the next morning. Around 7 am, a rumor starts spreading- "John Bonham is dead." Didn't believe it, but after we got the Zappa tix (second row dead center to boot), it was all over the news....still bummed out. So stinking close, yet never to be. One other unexpectedly great show I didn't mention was Atlanta Rhythm Section outdoors at a St. Louis bar in 1994. Those guys were tight as hell, and rocked the place to the ground. Very pleasantly surprised. |
March 31, 1970 Phila. Spectrum - Led Zeppelin
April 1977(?) Fox Theater, Atlanta - The Tubes (night before was Dixie Dregs opening for Santana, saw that too)
Early 70's - Tower Theater, Phila - Genesis, David Bowie (and the Spiders from Mars), Beck, Bogart and Appice.
Pink Floyd multiple times at Spectrum in early 70's.
Electric Factory in Phila, May 1970 - Grand Funk Railroad with Rod Stewart and the Faces opening.
Many others, can't remember dates/years - CRS is kicking in. :)
larry |
1. bob marley in lawrence ks in 1979
2. jethro tull in st louis in 1972
3. elvis costello in kansas city in 1982
4. lynyrd skynyrd in springfield mo in 1973
5 bruce springsteen in st louis in 1977
ok 2 more
6. zz top in milwaukee in 1972
7. chuck berry at my high school in st. louis in 1971
ok 1 more ha
8. drive-by truckers in st louis in 2006
ok i,ll stop now, i have a problem with limits,,,ha |
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. First half all acoustic, solos, pairs, all together. Second half all together and all electric. Very nice evening. |
Rush in 1992, Tucson, Arizona. What a phenomenal concert. Didn't hurt that we were 6 rows back. |
1. The Who, 2. Roger Waters, 3. Allman Brothers Band, 4. Rolling Stones, 5. Neil Young |
Pearl Jam Key arena Seattle September 21, 2009 first night of Backspacer tour. |
Best shows for me were: Radiohead in 2006 right after Kid A came out. I was a fan before but seeing them live about 10 rows from the stage was a revelation. Next best show was Fugazi in a Wash. DC high school gym in 1990. I had never heard them before, just good things about them. They were electrifying. Third best show was The Band in 1986. Even though Robbie Robertson was not with them, the rest of the group was fantastic. Other great rock shows I have seen were The National, Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth. |
I'm 34, so I missed most of my favorites. I'm pretty envious of guys who've seen Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Doors, Black Sabbathm etc. My father grew up in Westchester County, NY (just north of NYC) and saw pretty much every band of that era. One of his favorites (other than Woodstock) was seeing Clapton and Santana on stage together.
I've seen a bunch of concerts, and it's hard to give a top 5, 10, or any other number. I think that a lot of them are different, not necessarily better. Their have been a few bad ones though.
The best concert I've seen is pretty easy though -
Metallica in Albany, NY in 1992 touring for the Black Album.
No opening band. Just Metallica playing for about 3 hours straight. This was back when they played with an attitude. I've seen them twice since. They now play like a bunch of guys who are having a great time playing music, which is good in a different way. I prefer Metallica to play pissed off though. It makes songs like Creeping Death and Battery a bit better.
I saw them in MSG last November. Excellent setlist. They played several live rareties like Trapped Under Ice, Dyer's Eve and Shortest Straw in the same night. Very cool. |
Rolling Stones (Detroit 1965), Hendrix (Ann Arbor 1966), Yardbirds (Ann Arbor 1966), Who (Ann Arbor 1966), Cream (Detroit 1967), Jeff Beck Group (Detroit 1967), Led Zeppelin (Detroit 1969)
Whoops, more than 5..... Hard to narrow it to 5 considering I attended between 500 and 600 concerts between 1965 and 1971. |
Pink Floyd about 12 years ago?
Cheap Trick every year!
Jimmy Thackery 2 days ago
John Mellencamp in '80
Styx in '74 |
I'm rating my picks w/ regards to showmanship and fun. Not rating by sound cause didnt matter back then!
1- Blue oyster cult/w Blackmore's rainbow opening 1980
2- Ted nugent/ Van Halen opening 1979
3- Yes Drama tour 1980
4-Eric Clapton Muddy waters opening 1979
5 Rush moving picture tour 81 all at Binghamton arena NY |
3 N.E. Ohio Pink floyd shows, they're the best,animals tour at Cleveland Muni I don't think anyone saw them come on stage while a commercial airliner buzzed right into the stadium, no flight plan, FAA went nuts after the show. Tangerine Dream with full laser show at the Cleveland laserium. Genesis with Gabriel Selling England by the Pound tour in very small venue, Gabriel in costume for each song. |
The Band while sitting at a table 20 feet away from them at a small club in Woodstock, NY; Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies; Supertramp at the Santa Monica Civic; Traffic at the Santa Monica Civic; Warren Zevon at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. |
Funny grouping, yet, much has to do with the live sound quality, too. Neil Diamond, ZZ Top, Doobie Brothers, Elton John were all great during 2009-2010 in JAX FL. Diamond had by far the best sound quality of any show I've ever attended. A Chicago Pink Floyd show in 72 and Memphis Stones show in 74 was cool. |
I'm a huge GN'R fan, so it shows.
May 2006 - the return of Axl Rose after five years out of the public eye at Hammerstein Ballroom in NY (they did four shows, I saw the second one)
January 2010 - GN'R plays London Ontario
August 2007 - Velvet Revolver in Toronto
Also, the Stones back on the Voodoo Lounge tour in Toronto, and Leonard Cohen, I believe in 2008, again in Toronto, at the Sony Centre. |
1). Pink Floyd, "The Wall" tour, Feb. 1980, Nassau Coliseum. One of eight shows in North America.
2). Frank Zappa, "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life" tour, winter 1988, Shea's Buffalo Theater. This was one of the last live shows Zappa played before the tour fell apart. FZ was dead some two and a half years later......
3). Jeff Beck/Stevie Ray Vaughn, Madison Square Garden, circa 1989.
4). Steely Dan with the New York Rock and Soul Review, Riverfront Amphitheater, St. Louis, 1993.
5). Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, the Black and Blue Tour, Madison Square Garden, circa 1981. Permanent hearing damage from this show.
Honorable mentions:
Joe Satriani, Flying in a Blue Dream Tour, Beacon Theater, NYC, 1990.
UFO-AC/DC, Triangle Theater, Rochester, NY 1979. LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD LOUD!
FZ's Halloween Show at the Palladium, NYC, 1979.
The Tubes, Triangle Theater, Rochester, NY 1981.
Pink Floyd, Delicate Sound of Thunder tour, 1985, Nassau Coliseum. Sixth row dead center.
The Who, Heart, J. Geils Band and George Thorogood, CNE Stadium, Toronto, 1980. |
Van Morrison. St Patrick's Day 1982 in London. Dropped some 'cid with my school chums. |
Watkins Glen in upstate new york, (the dead, the allman bros-all the times i've seen them- and the band). all the steely dan concerts i've seen, frank zappa, dire straits, traffic to name a few. |
Favorite for the music of the scene? I've seem ZZ Top 6 times, Rush 3 times, Black Sabbath was great, Marshal Tucker was unexpectedly great, Kings X in a small bar was Super! |
Not necessarily in this order but these were the most fun for me..... Pink Floyd Animals tour, Rush 2112 tour, The Tubes, Supertramp, Yes Tormato tour |
Best ever Genesis 12/13/1974 Capital Theater Passaic NJ. They did Lamb Lies Down on Broadway start to finish without a break. Incredible #2 Frank Zappa on the pier in NYC (mid 80's) #3 Double bill Steve Ray Vaughn and Jeff Beck at the Garden one month before his death #4 Seen Rush 4 times always great pick any |
80s (?) Grateful Dead - Portland Coliseum during Fire on the Mountain in the middle of a mind blowing drum solo Mt St. Helens blew her top. Went out after the concert and watched the lightning storm within the eruption with Jerry still in our heads.
79 Jethro Tull Storm Watcher tour - the Hammersmith Odeon, London
79 Joe Jackson - Hammersmith Odeon, London
77 Led Zepplin at the Seattle Kingdome
75/76 (?) Allman Bros New Years Eve - Cow Palace SF |
Aerosmith at the Hollywood Florida Sportatorium 1980, Heart at the Hollywood Sportatorium 1980 or 81, Bob Seger at the Miami Stadium in early 80's, Fleetwood Mac at the Miami Stadium late 70's and REO Speedwagon at the Pompano Ampatheatre late 80's |
1)Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Tarkus tour Sept 1971 Gaelic Park - Bronx , NY
2)Alice Cooper,Bloodrock - Fillmore East spring 1971
3)Cactus,Humple Pie - Fillmore East spring 1971
4)Deep Purple,Fleetwood Mac,Silverhead Sept. 1972 Gaelic Park
5)Mountain & T. Rex -Fillmore East 1970
The list goes on and on, J.Geils,Tubes,Bowie,Queen,Who.... |
Early years of Johnny Winter
Pink Floyd "Delicate sound of Thunder" tour
U2 first stadium tour
Tom Waits, seen him several times. The last "Glitter and Doom" tour was great!
Jethro Tull about a million years ago when they opened for Led Zepplin, and completly stole the show. |
I have gone to many on the last years, bon jovi and nightwish concerts were great..i know different genres but they still awesome. |
I have been to hundreds. But this will be easy-
1)Steely Dan-Houston 2009 Verizon Theater
2)Neil Young 2005 Woodlands TX
3)Any Eagle concert
4)Radnney Foster-played in my living room at a private party
5)Cat Stevens 1977 Ft Worth Tx |
Friday Night March 12th 1971 - Fillmore East
I went to see Johnny Winter And. The band before JW was a southern band that most New Yorkers hadn't heard of before.
They were called the Allman Brothers Band. We noticed their setup looked a bit strange with dual drum kits..interesting.
When they began playing, the sound was astonishing..the guitar harmonies caused real goosebumps.. We talk about "Jaw Dropping" experiences on Audiogon all the time, but this was the REAL DEAL my friends..no one was talking, and everyone at the Fillmore that night knew that they had just experienced something they would always remember.
(and It sounded much better in person than the live album which was recorded that night)
I am glad to have been one of those lucky people..
Joe
|
I really only have one fav rock concert to list. R.E.M. at William & Mary Hall (College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia) in 1986. Let's Active opened. It was open seating (standing) on the floor, and with that type of patience only an undergraduate can have for these things, I showed up at least two hours in advance, which got me a spot so close to the stage I could see the whites of Mitch Easter's eyes. Things got a little out of hand with the crowd pressing up against the stage; I backed off, Michael Stipe actually came out onstage to chastise the crowd and tell them to back off or he'd cancel the show ... needless to say, the show went on. I was charmed by Let's Active and mesmerized by R.E.M. A remarkable show. |
5.) Rock Superbowl in Orlando 1983. Brian Adams, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith, and Journey
4.) G3 original in Cleveland with Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai.
3.) Van Halen 5150 tour in Seattle with BTO as opening act.
2.) Co-headline of Dream Theater and Queensryche in Cleveland with King's X as the opener.
1.) Paul McCartney at the Pontiac Silverdome |
Groundhog - just curious ... WE TRIED TO SHOW PEOPLE OF THE WORL THE RIGHT DIRECTION,TO BAD ABOUT THE WAY THINGS TUNED OUT. What to you mean? |
1. The Mars Volta Absolutely ROCKED the living S#!T out of the sleepy town of Adelaide. WOW! 2. PJ Harvey. A Rock Goddess with amazing stage charisma and her bands musical integrity stood way out from many others at The Big Day Out rock festival. 3. Saw Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals just before they got really big. Held the audience in the palm of his hand. 4 Joe Satriani toured Australia as a 3 piece in the 90's. He was amazing but so was his band especially the bass player whose name escapes me. 5. Saving the best till last. Ian Dury and the Blockheads at the Festival Theatre around 1979 or 80 was the first rock concert I ever saw with my own money and was perhaps the cause of my wicked, wicked ways |
WOODSTOCK,THAT'S HARD TO BEAT
GREATEST GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT EVER ASSEMBLED IN ONE PLACE IN THE 20TH CENTURY.
IN THE MIST OF ALL THE TERMOIL AND MARTIAL LAW THIS WAS SO FANTASTIC,SORRY TO SAY THIS FEELING OF FREEDOM DIDN'T LAST.
I seen Hendrix play the star spangled banner as the sun came up in back of the stage.
The band was unbelievable and played"CHEST FEVER" MY FAVORITE SONG BY THEM.
JUST ONCE IN A LIFETIME THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN,WE TRIED TO SHOW PEOPLE OF THE WORL THE RIGHT DIRECTION,TO BAD ABOUT THE WAY THINGS TUNED OUT.
LOTA GOOD THINGS WENT DOWN THERE,REMEMBER WOODSTOCK!!!!!
11B20
68-69 |
In no particular order:
Emmylou Harris - on the Wrecking Ball tour
Idaho - touring for Three Sheets to the Wind
Fugazi - on the Red Medicine tour
The Charlatans (UK) - touring for Between 10th and 11th
Spiritualized - touring for Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Honorable mention:
The Stone Roses - one of only a handful of US dates they ever played. I doesn't make the top 5 because it was after Reni quit :(
Luna - touring for Pup Tent
Bad Brains - Quickness tour |
Deep Purple – the Machine Head Tour, Chicago 1972
Big Head Todd - in a bar before his commercial break, Steamboat Springs, CO, early 1980’s
Stevie Ray Vaughan – in a bar (Easy Street), the Soul to Soul Tour, Des Moines, IA 1984 (maybe ’85)
Lynyrd Skynyrd, (not sure of the tour – it was 1977; Ed King was not with them and they hadn’t yet hired Steve Gains), Des Moines, IA
Alpine Valley, WI – August 26, 1990 (I will never forget that date or that concert); I was in the 12th row on the ground – I could see Clapton, Guy and Jimmy (even Cray, who I think was a bit arrogant) were visibly amazed at SRVs performance…he was on fire that night. RSP Stevie Ray. |
I have a second group of five that could be interchangeable:
Queen at the Hollywood Sportatorium
SRV in Miami
SRV in Wisconsin 1986
Santana - Moonflower tour - Hollywood Sportatorium
Moody Blues - 1978? - Hollywood Sportatorium |
The Who - original line-up, Miami Baseball Stadium
Led Zep - Tampa Stadium
Robin Trower - Miami Jai Lai
Return to Forever - Norfolk, Va - Chrysler Hall
Tied are:
Pink Floyd - Animals - Miami Baseball Stadium
Jethro Tull & Robin Trower, Tampa Stadium |
Pink Floyd "Animals" tour OlympiaHalle Munich,Germany
Grand Funk Railroad Atlanta,GA (LOUD)
Bob Seger,BTO and Charlie Daniels Band together Mobile, AL
Lynyrd Skynyrd(original lineup) Pensacola,FL
Z.Z. Top "Worldwide Texas"tour at the Warehouse New Orleans |
Johnny Winter in Holland 3x
Bob Marley in Ahoy Hallen Rotterdam 1x
Frank Zappa in Ahoy Hallen Rotterdan 1x
Gamma Ray in Dietikon 1x
Iron Maiden in Hallenstadion 1x
Helloween in Dietikon
NOT Metallica in St Gallen |
1. Rollings Stones at the El Mocambo in Toronto, an ex-famous drinking hole. Nobody knew. Outside, the sign said '' The Cocroaches''. Around 10 pm, on came Mik and his pals. Totally incredible. Some of those tracks can be heard on the ''Love you live'' LP. It was like being at a private party.
2. The Police. When there were virtually unknown, again in a bar.
3. The Eagles ''hotel California tour'' 1976
4. Emerson Lake and Palmer at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
5. Paul McCartney last year 2008, 250,000 people in Quebec City. (saw him in '76 also, mainly Wings material). As close to listening to live Beatles as I am ever going to get.
6. David Bowie 1984 ''Let's Dance'', The Who 1975 .... Pat Metheny, Oscar Peterson, both at the Montreal Jazz Festival a few years ago , I'll stop here I guess.... |
Bob Marley Berkeley Greek late 70s.
Peter Gabriel same venue 80s.
Talking Heads same venue late 80s.
The Who Oakland late 70s.
Led Zeppelin Oakland late 70s.
The actual dates are a little fuzzy, but my hearing is still in tact. |
1. George Harrison front row with Ravi Shankar
2.) Paul McCartney back stage passes @ the Highline Ballroom New York City
3.)Jethro Tull
4. C.S.N.Y. who played for three hours straight with a warm of up Elvin Bishop and the Marshall Tucker Band in Memphis.
5.)Buddy Guy is tied with a back stage pass to see Bill Monroe whom I met.
Too many others to list but, those are the most memorable ones so far. |
5-Joe Jackson August 1979 London very small venue before Look Sharpe hit in Noth America
4-J Geils Band Montreal summer of 1977 opening act for Peter Frampton.Frampton was quite the let down after
3-Page Plant Skydome Toronto 1994. The closest I ever got to a Zep show.
2-Steely Dan 2008 Rama Ontario. Waited twenty five years to see one of my favorites.
1-Pink Floyd 1977 Olympic Stadium Montreal. Pigs do Fly! |
1. SPRINGSTEEN: at the Milwaukee lakefront this summer playing for the Harley 105th bash...did not expect such an energized enjoyable evening of music.
2. QUEEN: Two shows at the Uptown Theater in Milwaukee, 1800 capacity, circa 1975-76. Explosive...I ushered the show, allowing views from rear to stagefront.
3. PATTI SMITH: "Gung Ho" 2000 at small theater in Madison, WI. Arrived very early for general admission. Stood dead center front-stage at Smith's ankles and spitting range. She tore the place apart.
4. Pink Floyd: DSTOM at Milwaukee County Stadium. Almost didn't go, cause tickets cost an absurd 12 bucks. It rained and the sun shined and then it rained again. The show was a forever memory.
5. Stones at Alpine Valley, WI: 1989-90. "20,000 Light Years From Home" pretty well sums it up. |
