Best Concert You've Been To...

Seen a ton of shows across the spectrum of popular music, but hands down Volbeat in Edmonton, AB late '11 was the finest display of a band feeding off a wild crowd...in short it was a once in a lifetime show the energy was through the roof....crowd Db just before they hit the stage was spiking around 110 Db lol pure awesome!
 
Prince and the M**her*u*king TIME!!!!!! Morris Day is a world-class entertainer.
Jealous!

Some of my favorite shows were those I didn't even plan. I saw a band called Dag in a tiny club, on a whim, and they brought the house down. I saw Sevendust a few years ago in a club so small, they're lucky no one died of heat-stroke. There was a booking problem with the event center the were supposed to use. When it fell through, they played at a much small "local" club. There might have been 150 people in there and it was nothing but elbows, a-holes, and buckets of sweat. It was amazing. Incubus, also in a small club, was awesome. Then there was Van Halen around 1996. Front row, center. THAT was a party.

Bands I saw at music festivals that surprised me? Marilyn Manson. He put on one of the best "shows" I've ever seen.

But the most electrifying concert ever was on Metallica's Black album tour. I was in the Snake Pit (inside the stage) from beginning to end. To see the crowd from a few feet behind Hetfield, Ulrich, Newstead, and Hammett was the ultimate rock experience. And 20 years ago! Damn, I'm old.

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The Runners Up
Brother Cane - These guys always rock the house and I've seen them about 13 times in various sized clubs, theaters and even arenas opening for Van Halen and Aerosmith...
Van Halen - Valentine's Day 1992 on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour and September 27, 1995 on the Balance tour...
Danzig w/ Marilyn Manson and Korn opening - May 6, 1995. Two of the smallest acts that would soon be the biggest bands opening for GD was a good time...
Metallica - February 1, 1997 during the Load tour. Corrosion of Conformity opened and Hetfield & Co. played for about 3 hours! Insanely great show...
The 90's sure seem to be the Golden Age of my concert going life. I could list at least a dozen more...


The Grand Poobah
Charlie Terrell - My favorite artist and good friend. I road tripped, à la Fear and Loathing, to L.A. for a visit and to see him play. About an hour before the show, we were talking about what songs I might want to hear and at some point he handed me a sharpie, a piece of paper and let me write out my dream set list and that's what they played. Made my "concert" life that night...
 
And few of the most memorable :
SRV in a small venue mid 80s, sitting on the front of the stage a disappearing into his guitar. It was other worldly.
Bowie Let's Dance. Great showman with such a good voice.
Springsteen Born in the USA - the band just couldn't stop playing
Jeff Beck opened by Johnny Lang - great night of guitar and I am forever in awe of Beck.
Keith Urban - I love how he slips some sweet guitar into his songs - best version of White Christmas ever
 
Springsteen, about 1977/8, at UMBC. 2nd row, floor seats. He grabbed the girl next to me to go on stage and dance, and I was part of the hoard who caught him when he did a back dive off the stage...

CSN&Y, around the same time (maybe a bit earlier, at the Cap Centre). They played over 4 hours, the other 3 guys gave Neil Young a standing ovation for his set. I didn't get home till 3:30 am...


Jamie
 
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Brother Cane - These guys always rock the house and I've seen them about 13 times in various sized clubs, theaters and even arenas opening for Van Halen and Aerosmith...

Hey, I saw them year's ago at a small venue. It was just after Got No Shame came out. They were really good.

Man, I hate to choose, but I really liked Mr. Big. I was mesmorized by Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan, and Eric Martin is one of the best rock singers ever. It didn't hurt that I had row 1, seat 1 (with the numbers starting in the middle).

But my wife and I were escorted back stage with Peter Stroud at a Sheryl Crow/John Mayer concert, and nothing will ever beat that experience.

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Hey, I saw them year's ago at a small venue. It was just after Got No Shame came out. They were really good.

Damon is one of my favorite guitar players. Been trying to get a PRS in his hands for a couple years.. Zach from Shinedown is in the current Brother Cane lineup so there's hope! And Orianthi replaced Damon in Alice Cooper's band when he went on the road with Thin Lizzy so lots of rubbing elbows with the brand is helping my case!
 
My son toured with a band called CB7 that opened for 30 Seconds to Mars last Spring. When the show came to Detroit, they played the Fillmore, and I have to say:

Seeing your kid perform at a sold-out big time venue opening for a platinum band?

Best show EVER! ;)

30 STM was also really great!
 
The Tubes- Pittsburgh Civic Arena, 1983
Jethro Tull- Pittsburgh Civic Arena, 1983
Roy Buchanan opening for Dire Straits- Pittsburgh Syria Mosque, 1985
Kid Rock- Electric Factory Philadelphia 2000, then 6 more times since

favorite Band was Van Halen, six times, first concert, but I can't put them in the top 3or 4
 
Roy Buchanan opening for Dire Straits- Pittsburgh Syria Mosque, 1985

Roy opened that show? Seriously? I have zero memory of that. I don't remember there being an opening act at all. It's possible that I got there late, but it's odd that I have no recollection of that.
 
Two concerts leap to mind. One was the Robert Cray Band. John Hiatt opened for Robert with Sonny Landreth on slide guitar. The other great concert was Eric Clapton on Friday, 30 March 1990. It was his 45th birthday and we sang Happy Birthday to him.
 
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Springsteen, about 1977/8, at UMBC. 2nd row, floor seats. He grabbed the girl next to me to go on stage and dance, and I was part of the hoard who caught him when he did a back dive off the stage...

CSN&Y, around the same time (maybe a bit earlier, at the Cap Centre). They played over 4 hours, the other 3 guys gave Neil Young a standing ovation for his set. I didn't get home till 3:30 am...


Jamie

I would love to have been at either of these shows
 
Two concerts leap to mind. One was the Robert Cray Band. John Hiatt opened for Robert with Sonny Landreth on slide guitar. The other great concert was Eric Clapton on Friday, 30 March 1990. It was his 45th birthday and we sang Happy Birthday to him.

Robert Cray's great. A Master of less is more methinks. Clapton's one i'd like to see before he hangs up his guitar for sure.
 
Robert Cray's great. A Master of less is more methinks. Clapton's one i'd like to see before he hangs up his guitar for sure.

Clapton was simply amazing. He played for two hours with no opening act. It's one of the only shows where I couldn't think of anything I'd hve changed, like song selection.
 
This is really a tough one. Top few, not in any order...

Rolling Stones 1997 - Camp Randall Stadium, Madison WI. 10th row center, right next to the catwalk.
Alice In Chains 1993 - Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee WI. 1st real concert I ever went to(in my most impressionable days as a young guitar player). Our whole band went.
Stone Temple Pilots 1994 - Summerfest, another band outing. The giant lava lamp screens on the sides of the stage were awesome.
Tool 2002 - Milwaukee. 1st time seeing them, amazed. When they were in their prime IMO.
Radiohead 2003 Alpine Valley, WI
U2 360 tour 2011 Soldier Field, Chicago. Was a bucket list show for me and was a great show.
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Slash 5-16-12 Orpheum Theater Madison -One of my favorite players when I 1st started playing guitar. Never saw GnR, so this was an awesome show in a really small venue. Got to meet him briefly after the show.
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