Favorite (most memorable) Live Performance

[SigmundChurchill]

I have been to hundreds of concerts in my lifetime, probably half of them were Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia Band, but there were many others.  So many of them were memorable to me, some were memorable as a whole, and some just had a really memorable moment.  Funny that one of the most memorable moments was from a concert that I didn't even attend.  I saw it on TV.  

Back in the day, when MTV played music, they had the "Unplugged" series.  And most of them were really good, but for some reason, since the day it aired, this particular performance really hit hard, even 31 years later.

Anyone else have a live performance that they will never forget?

 

[Ford2112]

I have a few I'll never remember 🤣

[Ford2112]

Gotta be recently- Michael Schenker. He tore my face off in this smaller venue.

All time. A few stand out. Priest Oakland Coliseum Painkiller tour with Megadeth. Stones. Man. So many great ones. RUSH. 

Ones I don't remember:oof

[Bill Hayes]

A stand out was in Havana NYE 2019/20. Booked tickets to see some of the old members of Buenavista Social Club perform. The entertainment was great, the food just OK and the wine, beautifully undrinkable. Ha ha! Didn't matter, the old lady was just fantastic and loved the old guys in shiny suits and hats crooning. Then, of course, we were all invited up on stage to dance to a happy new year tune - Feliz....blah blah. Top night and lots of fun. I had videos but deleted them.

[GoodStix]

23 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Back in the day, when MTV played music, they had the "Unplugged" series.  And most of them were really good

 Absolutely.  Thanks for reminding me, and the video above!

 

Rush R40 Live concert.  Their last tour.  They were fantastic.  R.I.P.

[El Presidente]

AC/DC Madrid 1996 

 

 

[El Presidente]

From memory this was their second song of that concert. Havanathon attendees will know it well 

 

 

[Ford2112]

10 hours ago, El Presidente said:

AC/DC Madrid 1996 

I saw them cow palace in 1990. Let me tell you when I say I was told I had a great time!

[El Hoze]

Great question, got me thinking I always run through this stuff in my head. I was born in 79 and despite acting a bit old for my age I feel I like just barely missed alot. My first Dead shows were at the Spectrum in Philly in 94, crazy to think about what I was doing at 15 now that I have a 5 year old son. Oh boy, Those shows as I listen to them were OK but man to have been there at Capitol Theatre in 77. 

Best most important experience I would have to say was Buena Vista live at Carnegie Hall in 1998 although I had no idea of the gravity or context at the time, I was 19, had never smoked a Cuban. I was there because I was a Ry Cooder nut. I saw 5 of their shows that year in the US  

There is something to be said for age, though. The last great show I went to was Ry Cooder at some little theatre in Mesa, AZ. It was in August 2018, my wife was 6 months pregnant and we flew out just to see Ry. It was hot as hell. We did dinner at one of my favorite places on earth Los Dos Molinos. Was like a dream. We had front row seats. My eyes would well up with tears from the sound my wife thought I was on mushrooms or something but the sound was just so unbelievable. 

[El Presidente]

20 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

From memory this was their second song of that concert. Havanathon attendees will know it well 

 

It was a special concert for me. I had left banking and was parrallel importing from North Africa into Oz. The internet was young and I flew to Canarias to lock in supply. It wasnt until 2002 that I was exclusive with PCC. Long story that I am happy to share. Somehow I got an invitation to this concert. Bloody brilliant. 

[El Presidente]

I will always remember Joaquin Cortes Habana 2014; sensational. 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

So @Ken Gargett, which Bruce performance? 

[Chibearsv]

Queen 1982 at Poplar Creek which was a large outdoor venue with a big covered pavilion - I went to the concert with friends that were Queen fans and I thought it would just be a bunch of pop junk.  Boy was I enlightened!  Greatest show I've ever seen.  Been a Queen fan ever since.  Prior to that I saw plenty of shows but that one took the cake and I haven't seen a better one since.  Freddie owned that crowd.  Glad I was able to see him live. 

[Islandboy]

Cool topic, and the timing is good...I’ve been thinking about this one lately, ever since our recent fire event here that swept through the town of Lahaina, reducing it to piles of ash in its entirety.

In 1977 I was a 15 year old Lahaina kid...a “harbor rat”. That's what they called us carefree, barefoot kids who spent all our spare time hanging out down at Lahaina Harbor, surfing the 2 main breaks there, “Harbor” and “Breakwall”. Lahaina back then was the coolest place in the world for a kid, and even cooler for the young adult party-crowd...just super laid back, with little need for law-enforcement, wink wink, nudge nudge.

I was just discovering music at the time - I recall the first three 8-track tapes I starting listening to over and over (and over....and over again): Deep Purple Machine Head, Olivia Newton John, and Elton John’s Yellowbrick Road, all hand-me-downs from my stepdad, George Allan. George is an Aussie, and was a young, budding (i.e. “struggling”) artist at the time who had recently met my mom....and her incredibly rebellious teenage mutant son.

He was also an amazingly talented piano player who played entirely by ear. Somehow he managed to acquire a baby grand piano that he placed down in the basement of the old Lahaina courthouse, where he was busy creating the humble beginnings of the Lahaina Arts Society, a collective of local artists who could display their art in the basement gallery he was putting his heart and soul into. His ragtime and honky-tonk piano tunes could often be heard wafting up through the large basement doors, into the courtyard area beneath the famous banyan tree.

I was too young to really notice, but there was suddenly quite a buzz in town...something about Elton John quietly hanging out in the Blue Max, a Front Street bar that epitomized the Lahaina-vibe of the times. Then I overheard George and my mom talking...he had apparently been approached by his friend and owner of the Blue Max, and was asked if he could figure out how to get his baby grand piano into the bar - which was on the upper floor of the old historic building, mind you. If he could help pull this off, he was told, Elton John would put on a performance. Being the intelligent and resourceful Aussie that he was, the challenge was no problem, but he also saw another reason to pull this off. He made a deal with the Blue max owner - if he got his piano up there, his 15 year old stepson would have to be allowed in to see the performance. Done deal, no hesitation.

The rest is all-time history for me. I was given a seat in front of the piano, no more than 15 feet away from Elton. He was 2 hours late, but finally came stumbling out of a smoke-filled back room with a small entourage of his new local pals, and he put on the one-man performance of a lifetime. It lasted 2-3 hours, and it completely closed down Front Street to vehicles due to the huge crowd of people that had gathered in the street below for Elton’s impromptu (sort of) concert. It was epic, especially for 15 year old me. 

Needless to say, after this event, the respect I had for my stepdad was instant, immense, and lasts to this day, even though George probably won’t remember much about it these days.

Here’s a link to an article I found that does a very good job of describing the scene...and now you know where the piano came from  

And the photo below....that was pretty much my view.

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2011/02/17/blue-max-staff-remember-magical-elton-john-concert-in-lahaina/

[Dave O)))]

Jeff Buckley, Phoenician Club, Sydney 1995. Truly ecstatic, transcendent performance

[Dave O)))]

A few weeks ago I saw Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets at the Enmore theatre in Sydney. What a joy to behold. If you get a chance, don't miss this show!

 

Earlier this year I saw Thee Oh Sees at the Metro theatre in Sydney. Face melting show from what is probably the best hard rock band on the planet

[Ford2112]

Another great one was Primus live at Greek Theater in Berkeley. Full moon night 73 degree weather. They killed.

I've seen maybe 500 shows or so in my life. Iron Maiden . Stanley Jordan. Chili Peppers. Pantera. Steely Dan. Bo Diddley. All great for what they were.

[La_Tigre]

Motley Crue with Guns n Roses as the opener……1987.

First concert I went to (at the age of 14).

I am still grounded for going…

[JohnS]

Like @Dave O))), my girlfriend (at the time) bought tickets to see Jeff Buckley at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney in February 1996. Sixteen months later, he was tragically gone. In Australia he was huge and his Grace album was all over the radio for quite some time.

If there's one concert I wish I went to, it's the only Led Zeppelin concert in Sydney in late February, 1972. People had the nouse to jump the fence at the Sydney Showground, it was a hot day and it was loud. I think 30000 people went. It's a shame that I was born four months after this event. I have lamented this fact with my parents over the years but as they're now retired, former hard-working Greek immigrants they don't quite understand my humour in regards to this wish!

[Glass Half Full]

9 hours ago, Islandboy said:

Cool topic, and the timing is good...I’ve been thinking about this one lately, ever since our recent fire event here that swept through the town of Lahaina, reducing it to piles of ash in its entirety.

In 1977 I was a 15 year old Lahaina kid...a “harbor rat”. That's what they called us carefree, barefoot kids who spent all our spare time hanging out down at Lahaina Harbor, surfing the 2 main breaks there, “Harbor” and “Breakwall”. Lahaina back then was the coolest place in the world for a kid, and even cooler for the young adult party-crowd...just super laid back, with little need for law-enforcement, wink wink, nudge nudge.

I was just discovering music at the time - I recall the first three 8-track tapes I starting listening to over and over (and over....and over again): Deep Purple Machine Head, Olivia Newton John, and Elton John’s Yellowbrick Road, all hand-me-downs from my stepdad, George Allan. George is an Aussie, and was a young, budding (i.e. “struggling”) artist at the time who had recently met my mom....and her incredibly rebellious teenage mutant son.

He was also an amazingly talented piano player who played entirely by ear. Somehow he managed to acquire a baby grand piano that he placed down in the basement of the old Lahaina courthouse, where he was busy creating the humble beginnings of the Lahaina Arts Society, a collective of local artists who could display their art in the basement gallery he was putting his heart and soul into. His ragtime and honky-tonk piano tunes could often be heard wafting up through the large basement doors, into the courtyard area beneath the famous banyan tree.

I was too young to really notice, but there was suddenly quite a buzz in town...something about Elton John quietly hanging out in the Blue Max, a Front Street bar that epitomized the Lahaina-vibe of the times. Then I overheard George and my mom talking...he had apparently been approached by his friend and owner of the Blue Max, and was asked if he could figure out how to get his baby grand piano into the bar - which was on the upper floor of the old historic building, mind you. If he could help pull this off, he was told, Elton John would put on a performance. Being the intelligent and resourceful Aussie that he was, the challenge was no problem, but he also saw another reason to pull this off. He made a deal with the Blue max owner - if he got his piano up there, his 15 year old stepson would have to be allowed in to see the performance. Done deal, no hesitation.

The rest is all-time history for me. I was given a seat in front of the piano, no more than 15 feet away from Elton. He was 2 hours late, but finally came stumbling out of a smoke-filled back room with a small entourage of his new local pals, and he put on the one-man performance of a lifetime. It lasted 2-3 hours, and it completely closed down Front Street to vehicles due to the huge crowd of people that had gathered in the street below for Elton’s impromptu (sort of) concert. It was epic, especially for 15 year old me. 

Needless to say, after this event, the respect I had for my stepdad was instant, immense, and lasts to this day, even though George probably won’t remember much about it these days.

Here’s a link to an article I found that does a very good job of describing the scene...and now you know where the piano came from  

And the photo below....that was pretty much my view.

https://www.lahainanews.com/news/local-news/2011/02/17/blue-max-staff-remember-magical-elton-john-concert-in-lahaina/

 

Awesome and thanks for sharing -- both your story and the news story!  Also awesome was that he came back for that encore in 2012!

[PuroDiario]

Rolling Stones Gijón 1995, I was 8 and flipped.

 

[gormag38]

I have two that stand out to me: 

1: Tool at the Palace of Auburn Hills, was my first concert and one of my all time favorite bands. Amazing live show

2: Radiohead in Grant Park. Green Plastic Trees was playing, the sun was setting over the Chicago skyline and fireworks starting firing off from Wrigley Field in the distance. Beautiful moment that I don't think I'll ever forget

[SigmundChurchill]

Another very memorable moment was in Hampton, VA in 1989.  Word was going around that The Grateful Dead were going to play at the Hampton Coliseum under the name "Formerly The Warlocks".  

For 5 years prior, the Grateful Dead hadn't played the song, Dark Star live.  This was a fan favorite, and at every show during that 5 years, any time there was a lull between songs, people would yell out for them to play Dark Star, but they never did.  

The place was already so energized by the amazing show they were putting on, and in between songs, it got very quiet for a moment.  Then it happened.  The first 4 iconic notes of Dark Star were played, and the entire coliseum erupted.  The cheering was so loud, you actually couldn't hear the music for the next 30 seconds or so.  But what I will always remember is the way it felt.  Words can't adequately define the feeling.  It was like 20,000 people all "jolted" with electricity at the same exact moment.  

[PuroDiario]

I also need to give an honorable mention to THE WHO at NOLA JAZZ Fest 2015. Day prior tropical storm cancelled the end of the fest, full rain through the next half day, electric storm…muddy field, my bud and I with two cases of beer and the mud up to our knees crossing through the crowd and the joy of people cheering at our passing as Baba Oriley started sounding…I remember it all in slow motion like a scene in a war movie. Jajaja what a time!

[Fireball]

A great friend of mine, who sadly passed away too young, called me up and said he scored two tickets up close to see Paul McCartney at Comerica Park in Detroit.  It’s easy to forget how many songs the Beatles have. It is the only show I’ve seen in an outdoor stadium…beautiful summer evening.