The best concert experience you've ever had?

[ScottR]

So I've been emeresing myself in music lately (even more than usual). With all the bad stuff going on in the world, I find it good for my soul just to slap on some headphones/ear buds whatever and lose myself.

As I was going through my music...I started thinking about all the incredible live concerts I've been blessed enough to see over the years. This got me thinking about how much I REALLY MISS live music!

That being said...of ALL the live music you've witnessed, who was the best, most influential, most memorable, or whatever...IF you could choose only one...who, where, when & why? Remember, there can only be ONE!

Here I'll go first...

No big surprise here...hands down Pink Floyd Division Bell Tour May 4th 1994, Legion Field Stadium, Birmingham, AL. Hearing DG play live sent me over the edge and that's the monent I knew I had to learn to play guitar someday...and here I am killin it!

 

[Tony M.]

I spent June 1967 to December 1968
in LA, San Francisco and in between.
Many festivals, concerts etc.
I then came back to NYC and went to
more concerts here than I can count.
"I saw ALL the cool bands."

That being said,

2 weeks before Woodstock,
Atlantic City Pop Festival.

Look it up.

Nobody knows it even happened except
for the 115,000 or so people that went.

I went.

 

[Black Plaid]

I saw Allan Holdsworth in the 90s in Santa Cruz in a tiny Jazz club that held maybe 100 people. The tickets were $40, I remember this because it was a huge investment for me at the time, but I'll never forget it.

 

[Tony M.]

Here.
Now you don't have to look it up.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_City_Pop_Festival
https://bestclassicbands.com/atlantic-city-pop-festival-1969-8-4-15/

 

[toothace]

I've been up front for Ace Frehley, Satch, Eric Johnson, Halestorm, Night Ranger. I'e done my best to see all the other greats before they passed/were too old to tour...Clapton, BB King, Vai, Morse, Spinal Tap...all killer shows. I'd say best show (especially by the way I recall it and tell people about it) was 1989 Stevie Ray Vaughan/Jeff Beck. Worcester Centrum, Worcester,MA. SRV tore the roof off the place, then Jeff Beck came out and it was kinda chill for his set. Brought out SRV for the best version of "Goin' Down" I believe I've ever heard.

 

[veinbuster]

There are a few good candidates, but I have to give it to Stevie Ray Vaughn. A pretty small venue that wasn’t even full and he owned the place. At one point he walked to the front of the stage, sat down, and just played guitar. He just oozed soul.

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

3 that come to mind...

1. Metallica - 1989 Damaged Justice tour. Front row, center stage. Insane show.
2. SRV with Joe Satriani opening - 1988 at Pier 84, NYC. Pure guitar heaven.
3. Opeth/Gojira/Devin Townsend - Red Rocks 2017. Surreal.

 

[bodia]

Standing at the barrier for SRV in '85 in a small ballroom in Davenport, IA. MAGICAL night. So much passion. Played with a fury I've never seen since. I also was at his final show. That was an amazing one, as well.

 

[RallyFanatic]

David Gilmour, Radio City Music Hall, NY, NY - April 2006. He performed with Rick Wright and Nick Mason, and had David Crosby and Graham Nash as guest performers. Played Echoes in its entirety, lots of Pink Floyd, and his new album at the time. Great, flawless performance.

Before that, my favorite was also The Division Bell tour at Foxboro Stadium in 1994.

 

[RC Mike]

Started going to shows in the early 90s. Saw tons of arena and theater shows.

My favorite of those was around 2007/2008. Axl’s Guns’n’Roses were playing arenas. At Target Center here in MN, the show was only half sold. They moved us all down into the lower level, and our seats were good.

The openers were all done by 10, which is very late for an arena show. Axl didn’t come out until shortly after midnight. Some folks were quite upset, but the crowd was entertaining. The lights had been down for probably 20 minutes, and the Dexter theme started up. That sounded incredible on an arena system. Opening notes of Welcome to the Jungle started up, and the place went nuts.

It was like that for almost three hours. The crowd never let up. The band was just so tight, and Axl was in great form. Really amazing show. Very, very rock and roll to come out that late, especially on a weeknight. Easily the best arena show I’ve ever seen, in terms of the performance.

I’ve seen them a couple times since, both pre and post reunion. They’ve been really good, but never as good as they were that night. Of course, every other time they’ve started on time, too.

 

[matonanjin]

1st Place (Maybe) Kenny Wayne Shepherd on the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Cruise.
2nd Place Every other concert that we've seen on the Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Cruise.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

-‘92 Bryan Adams/ZZ Top also The Law, Paul Rodgers band at that time. Got to hear Rodgers sing “Alright Now” live, which was cool. Billy Gibbons cycling round the stage while Bryan was playing!

-‘94 David Lee Roth (solo tour). Got to hear DLR sing “Jump” “Icecream Man” and probably a few other songs! Which was again cool.

Edit: BA and ZZ Top was ‘91. I must be getting old!

 

[Rockmark]

For me it's really what RUSH shows would be most memorable. Being tight w the band and crew I can't even remember how many shows I attended all access and onstage. However one show in San Diego had two guests that watched from onstage about 10 feet from me. They were there the whole show and I didn't know who they were. Second last song the dark hair guy took Alex a guitar instead of Bucky the tech. Turns out it was Grohl and and Hawkins of Foo Fighters. We all hung out a while after the show in the dressing room area.
Another show stands out. I brought a cu24 for the band to sign and after a fun show, Alex brings my guitar out of his dressing room signed and asks me if I want Ged to sign it who was standing about 2 feet away. I said sure and he grabbed Ged who was in a conversation w Jack Black (the actor/comedian) at the time. Alex passed my PRS to Ged who signed the top while Jack Black joked and almost drooled over Ged's shoulder. I guess he's a a friend and fan of the band. We were all laughing and Alex said "I am not going to see this on E Bay Mark right?". Great nite of memories.

 

[Frank McNerney]

Great idea ! Way too many to try to rate. I’ll mention a good time I had with my friend Dave who I just learned has cancer.
So I’m thinking of him. We hitchhiked to summer jam at Watkins Glen. About 60
Miles from home. Got there Friday
afternoon. Made our way to sound of the music. It’s The Greatful
dead We work our way through biggest crowd we’d ever seen to the front and they take a break. It’s supposed to “be right back “‘but it was about 90
Minutes. 2nd set about an hour then another long break then they play for about 90 More minutes. Then they exit and Garcia days
“thanks for coming out for the sound check”

Ps. If someone else was there and remembers it differently. Could be I was wasted. (But so were you - am I right?)

 

[Herr Squid]

Two shows that were a tossup for me in terms of sheer joy at watching the band and enjoying their music:

Jane's Addiction at Eastern Washington University in 1990 or so: The setting was nothing, just an anonymous gymnasium, but it was a magical performance, the band was up, tight, focused and created a wonderful atmosphere for 2-odd hours.

Opeth at the PRS experience 2011(?): The setting was still not exactly magical, it was a parking lot at a factory for heck's sake, but it was a wonderful performance from a favorite band. They'd turned the corner from being a "death metal" band to being a heavy progressive rock band. The Heritage album had come out just the day before, I think, and I was still digesting it. Somebody in the crowd described it as "heavy Pink Floyd" which was pretty apt. The song selection was really good for a mixed crowd of rock fans, the performance was dead nuts on, and people were mostly losing their minds as they finished up their set. I should find that picture of Paul that I snapped at the end of the show...

 

[WA Paul]

Rush Vapor Trails at the Gorge in WA state. Killer show (and venue!) and you could see the guys were having a blast performing again after hiatus.

 

[WEDGE]

I am jealous, I have been on a huge Pink Floyd trip lately and never got to see them.

It is hard for me to choose between seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn While hanging on the front of the stage at a general admission show or Kiss same deal as my first concert when I was 16 in ‘79.

my biggest regret is never seeing Gary Moore live, was a fan forever but he never toured the US that I knew of.

 

[WEDGE]

I saw Allan Holdsworth in the 90s in Santa Cruz in a tiny Jazz club that held maybe 100 people. The tickets were $40, I remember this because it was a huge investment for me at the time, but I'll never forget it.

I saw Allan Holdsworth at Toads Place in New Haven, CT once, I remember being in awe of the technique and tones. Huge talent.

 

[Wakester]

Its a toss up between seeing Marillion for the first time, after 30 years of being a fanboy. Or, seeing Little River Band at an outdoor concert, then meeting the band after the show.

In close running are Pat Benetar. Heart 1989, Journey with Steve A., Styx, Dennis DeYoung (solo), .38 Special, and TSO.

 

[AaeCee]

Two:

ELP at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, NY. in '72 on their Trilogy tour. Peak performance for what I think is their tour de force album. Keith Emerson was in especially lively form as he pushed his Moog to its limits while ravaging the speaker cabs. It may have also been my first experience with weed.

Jackson Browne at Merriweather Post Pavilion, MD. in 1977, where two live cuts were recorded that night for his great Running on Empty album. Just a magical performance and night, and everyone there knew it.