Favorite (most memorable) Live Performance

[Puros Y Vino]

13 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

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

Wooo! Another Schenker fan?!   Saw him in 2018.  Had a seat at the back and made it to the stage halfway through the concert.  Watched him extend the Rock Bottom solo to new heights from 15 feet away.  No one sounds and plays better live than him.  

Other standouts for me 1986 Metallica in Toronto. Month's after Cliff's death, Metallica were angry and fast.  Openers Metal Church were good too.  

Many Rush concerts as well.  KISS during their reunion in the late 90's/early 2000's.  Just awesome.  

But the most epic would be in 2008.  Heavy Metal Festival in Toronto.

Testament / Motorhead / Heaven and Hell (with RJD) / Judas Priest (British Steel 40th anniversary).    Stellar performances by all.

[BlueClaw]

Many, but the first one that popped into my head was Pink Floyd at Madison Square Garden in NYC when they launched their Animals album in 1977.. Giant animal balloons flying around.. dogs, pigs, sheep... quite memorable.. born in NYC, lived in HK from ages 13 - 16 then back in the USA. I was 16 in 1970 so I literally grew up in the 70's.. All i can say is fond memories of what I do remember.

[MedV3]

Wherever we May roam tour , Metallica in 92 Providence RI front and center .As a teenager made it into the snake pit!  What a night ! Unforgettable !

[BrightonCorgi]

Here's some of the ones that immediately stick out on first thought:

1.  Black Flag and SNFU at the Living Room in Providence, RI ~1984

2.  Ramones, Bad Brains, and Slap Shot at the Living Room in Providence, RI ~1986

3.  Cro-Mags at TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA ~1986

4.  Ice T, Kool Moe Dee, BDP, and Eric B. & Rakim in Providence, RI ~1988

5.  Barry White at Boston Garden ~1998

6.  George Michael at Boston Garden ~2008

 

[LizardGizmo]

1. RUSH R40 Madison Square Garden (honorable mention to the other 22 times I saw them over the years that could easily fill up a top 15 list)
2. Dead and Company, 3 shows of pure magic this past July in San Francisco. 
3. Keith Jarrett Solo at Carnegie Hall
4. Nine Inch Nails - Red Rocks 2022 (Lights in the Sky 2008 right behind this one)
5. TOOL - All Points West 2009 at Liberty State Park.

[Fireball]

I will add that Roger Waters ‘The Wall’ was very impressive in person. 

[hrs1]

Awesome thread - so many great shows  

Hard to pick just one, but the show where I caught the live music "bug" was my first Phish show

 

[Ford2112]

3 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Wooo! Another Schenker fan?!   Saw him in 2018.  Had a seat at the back and made it to the stage halfway through the concert.  Watched him extend the Rock Bottom solo to new heights from 15 feet away.  No one sounds and plays better live than him.  

Other standouts for me 1986 Metallica in Toronto. Month's after Cliff's death, Metallica were angry and fast.  Openers Metal Church were good too.  

Many Rush concerts as well.  KISS during their reunion in the late 90's/early 2000's.  Just awesome.  

But the most epic would be in 2008.  Heavy Metal Festival in Toronto.

Testament / Motorhead / Heaven and Hell (with RJD) / Judas Priest (British Steel 40th anniversary).    Stellar performances by all.

Saw Motorhead twice. LOUD. So when we saw Schenker it was just this year. Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.  At one point he bumped his amp up and that thing was hot! He truly is the master of tone. Of all the shows I've seen he sounds the best live. Especially with that tube amp singing! I wanted to crawl up to it in the fetal position and integrate it into my being! 

[Havanaaddict]

By far the most memorable concert I ever attended was Pink Floyd the wall 1980 at the Los Angeles Memorial sports Arena.
 

Another amazing concert was Queen Long Beach Arena in 1977

 

kiss at the forum with Cheap Trick in 1976

 

Yes in the round 1978 at the forum first time any concert ever been played in a round. 
 

Guns and roses / Metallica and Motörhead opening 1992

[SigmundChurchill]

1 hour ago, Havanaaddict said:

By far the most memorable concert I ever attended was Pink Floyd the wall 1980 at the Los Angeles Memorial sports Arena.
 

Another amazing concert was Queen Long Beach Arena in 1977

 

kiss at the forum with Cheap Trick in 1976

 

Yes in the round 1978 at the forum first time any concert ever been played in a round. 
 

Guns and roses / Metallica and Motörhead opening 1992

The first concert I ever went to was a 'Yes' concert.  The 90125 tour at Brendan Byrne Arena 1983.  Neither of my parents wanted to take me so they bought my guitar teacher a ticket in exchange for taking me to the concert.

[El Hoze]

10 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Brendan Byrne Arena

Man I have not heard those words in a long time. I got a flashback to Devils games back in the Kirk Muller and Sean Burke days. Great nostalgia. 

[MedV3]

Wow the a Living Room in PVD so many great shows seen there ! Great memories

[BrightonCorgi]

8 minutes ago, MedV3 said:

Wow the a Living Room in PVD so many great shows seen there ! Great memories

 

And the Channel in Boston.  Another venue of a bye gone era that had legendary shows.

[Seacliff]

21 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

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

I suspect we have been to a number of the same concerts - saw RUSH 4 times in the Bay Area.  Bill Graham day on the green is legendary.  I have ALL or my my concerts tickets    .  Plink Floyd ranks high on the list....

[Seacliff]

May get some flack for this one but Prince put on a killer show.  Was one of those got invited, said sure why not, and he proceeded to blow me away.

[Ford2112]

18 minutes ago, Seacliff said:

May get some flack for this one but Prince put on a killer show.  Was one of those got invited, said sure why not, and he proceeded to blow me away.

I had that happen with Alice Cooper some 30 years ago. He destroyed.

[Hammer Smokin']

NYE. 1999. 11:59pm. 

This has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way. 

[Vetteman]

I've been to many memorable concerts starting with Cream farewell tour at MSG in 1968. Also some unique concerts like Woodstock 1969, George Harrison's Bangla Desh concert at MSG in 1971 and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert at MSG in 2009. But the concert that surprised me the most was Gordon Lightfoot at GSAC in 1977. Wasn't a big fan although I liked some of his music. I only went because some friends wanted see him, but left that show feeling I'd seen a really good performance

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[Fireball]

2 hours ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

NYE. 1999. 11:59pm. 

This has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way. 

Yes indeed. Good times. 

[Low]

Century Media tour at The Exit in Fresno CA, March 17th 2008. My first real introduction to truly heavy music, and I was immediately hooked.

Kanye West at a former Howard Hughes aircraft hanger in Playa Vista CA, September 3rd 2011. He only did 5 stateside performances in direct support of his most highly regarded album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and I'm eternally grateful that I got to see one of them. it was a pure masterclass in storytelling and showmanship.

Gesaffelstein at Coachella 2015 Weekend 2 in the Mojave tent, April 19th 2015. This was his last show before he drastically changed his musical style, and easily the best electronic performance I've ever seen live.

[westg]

Although I am not really a fan I attended an Iron Maiden concert in Perth a while back. It was so incredible an amazing show and they even flew in themselves on their own plane.  

[Seacliff]

16 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

I had that happen with Alice Cooper some 30 years ago. He destroyed.

[Capn_Jackson]

In no particular order, because ranking them would totally depend upon my mood. These are the tops, for me. Forgive my lack of brevity…

In 2007 I saw Eric Clapton in Dallas, but it wasn’t just Clapton. Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II shared the stage the entire night. Robert Cray opened for them, and also joined them for a couple of encores. Incredibly memorable.

The Black Crowes in 2006. I’ve seen the Crowes a number of times, but on this tour they reunited with some players from their early 90’s lineup, including Marc Ford on guitar.

The recent Metallica show I went to was a bucket list item, and they did not disappoint!

As I’m also a Classical musician and enthusiast, I’ve had opportunities to see some world-class performers in that realm. The absolute best was the Vienna Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, “Eroica.” My favorite symphonic work, by one of the greatest groups in the world.

As for live recordings, because I was born way too late, there are several Led Zeppelin shows I could put up there, but I’m going to go with The Who. The album Live at Leeds, and the video from Isle of Wight.

 

P.S. Under concert recordings, not ones I attended…. Alice In Chains on MTV “Unplugged.” Legendary!

[BettyHumpder]

Tom Petty, 2010 Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN. Took my mom as a mother's day present. He still had every ounce of it then. Rest in Peace.

Rage Against the Machine with Queens of the Stone Age opening, 2007 Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. Shortly after they reunited. Rained for hours. Lawn seating was a mud hill. People went bananas.

Dan Auerbach, 2018 Palace Theater, Saint Paul, MN. He put together members of Elvis's touring band and took them on the road.

Kamasi Washington, 2019. First Avenue, Minneapolis.

Hootie and the Blowfish, 2019 Minnesota State Fair. Just a damn fun show on a beautiful late summer night.

TOOL, 2010, Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN. Gonna see them this month in the same venue. Awesome live band.

 

 

[Namisgr11]

On 10/4/2023 at 10:28 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

So @Ken Gargett, which Bruce performance? 

In Ken's absence I'll take up the mantle.  Living in a city (Philly) where Bruce and the band first broke big, and at a time that covered release of their first album, I got the chance to see the E Street Band at a couple of small venues in and just out of town.  Right around when 'Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey' was released in the summer of '74, Bruce and the band went on a college tour.  It included a gig in the gymnasium at Ursinus College where everyone sat on the floor on the basketball court and Bruce played from a small temporary wooden stage at one end.  Three hours with the original E Street Band classic lineup, I was hooked.

Here's a photo of the concert from the Ursinus College student newspaper archives:

Left to right, that's Clarence Clemons, the Boss, and Garry Tallent, in front of keyboardist David Sancious, accordianist Danny Federici, and drummer Vinny Lopez.