Favorite (most memorable) Live Performance

[Namisgr11]

While I also saw the Grateful Dead multiple times over the years in the '70s, their most memorable show for me wasn't at the big indoor stadium Spectrum, but when they played the 2000 seat Tower Theater in '76 and I was with a group that had ingested copious amounts of peyote tea.  

Old as I am, regrettably I was too young to have seen the band with Pigpen, as my first of their shows was a Spectrum gig in 1973 after Pig had passed away, and they were touring in support of release of the Europe '72 album.

Another favorite live show was Little Feat playing the 1,000 seat Irvine Auditorium on my college campus in '75.  Never saw a band and show so funky and tight, just an amazing collective of musicians.

Growing up at that time, I had the fortunate opportunity to see a slew of now legendary acts live: McCartney and Wings, the Stones, Clapton, Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Who, the Eagles.  It was such a great time in music.  Plus, living in Chicago at the end of the '70s there was great live blues music virtually nightly - seeing Buddy Guy and Junior Wells perform at the Checkerboard Lounge on the South Side at East 43rd Street was a trip.

[westg]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:19 AM, 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

Wow ...can only imagine 

[HDGSN]

1. TOOL - Bonnaroo 2007

2. Black Crowes - Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville 2007

3. Dead and Company - Atlanta 2019

4. Widespread Panic - Riverbend, Chattanooga 2014

5. Tea Leaf Green - World Grotto, Knoxville 2008

[joeypots]

I saw the Stones tour behind Some Girls in ’78, I think. Anaheim stadium. Second set someone threw a shoe on to the stage. Jagger says something like, “why don’t you all throw your shoes?"

I was in the cheap seats, couldn’t see the stage for a while. The band kept playing as they hid behind Charlie Watts’ drum stage. 

Not the best show I ever saw, but this is amongst the most memorable.

[Hammer Smokin']

2 hours ago, HDGSN said:

1. TOOL - Bonnaroo 2007

2. Black Crowes - Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville 2007

3. Dead and Company - Atlanta 2019

4. Widespread Panic - Riverbend, Chattanooga 2014

5. Tea Leaf Green - World Grotto, Knoxville 2008

that '07 Bonnaroo was the first I missed. Had gone '02 through to '06. 

wonder how many people (here at least) know of Tea Leaf Green, lol. 

[Havanaaddict]

3 hours ago, joeypots said:

I saw the Stones tour behind Some Girls in ’78, I think. Anaheim stadium. Second set someone threw a shoe on to the stage. Jagger says something like, “why don’t you all throw your shoes?"

I was in the cheap seats, couldn’t see the stage for a while. The band kept playing as they hid behind Charlie Watts’ drum stage. 

Not the best show I ever saw, but this is amongst the most memorable.

I have seen the Stones many times including the famous 
1978 flaying shoes on stage at Anaheim stadium with Peter Tosh opening. 
(If you look close you might even see one of my shoes)🤣
So here is a little story on my crazy younger days! The doors opened at 1:00 in the afternoon and I was already deep into a OZ of weed and it only got more excessive as the day went on. At some point I somehow got up one of these trough things and the last thing I remember was being knocked off and someone taking off one of my shoes and throwing it on stage 🤣

[ImTripN2]

Like a lot of you guys I’ve seen dozens of epic Dead shows… so I’ll go with the first, 1971 Pauley Pavilion UCLA, and the last three July 7 & 8th at the Gorge and July 14th in SF. 50 + years of amazing music, travelling, parking lot fun and great memories is hard to top. Crazy to think that this has been the most constant thing in my life. And now it 'Seems like all this life was just a dream'

Coming of age in the early 70s in LA, I got to see all the great bands of the era, but a few that stand out most in my mind is seeing The Eagles rock the house as the warm up band for Linda Ronstadt and Van Morrison. Poor Van, half the audience got up and left when he got into his blue eyed soul….  I’m pretty sure he never played behind them again.

I saw Bowie at the Hollywood Pallidum do Ziggy Stardust (Mind Blown!)

Around ‘71 or 72 we got some 8 dollar tickets for some guy named Elton John at the Greek Theatre way up in the nose bleed seats. Maybe only 50% of the seats were filled so we went down and sat about 6 rows back, center stage. He played the biggest black grand piano I’ve ever seen for an hour or so, then came back with the full band and rocked out for another couple of hours.

But I think the most fun I’ve ever had at a show was seeing the Kinks at the Palladium in the early 70s. Ray Davies was in rare form, they had a bunch of jeroboams of champagne around the stage and would drink after each song. About the 4th song they hit the opening riffs of Lola… crowd goes crazy and the band just stops dead. Silence, crowd groans, then laughter / drinking from the band. Did this 3-4 times more and when they finally played it towards the end of the show it brought the house down.

[joeypots]

1 hour ago, Havanaaddict said:

I have seen the Stones many times including the famous 
1978 flaying shoes on stage at Anaheim stadium with Peter Tosh opening. 
(If you look close you might even see one of my shoes)🤣
So here is a little story on my crazy younger days! The doors opened at 1:00 in the afternoon and I was already deep into a OZ of weed and it only got more excessive as the day went on. At some point I somehow got up one of these trough things and the last thing I remember was being knocked off and someone taking off one of my shoes and throwing it on stage 🤣

That's right, Peter Tosh opened. I was floored when I saw the picture of the shoes on the stage with Mick. Trying to get people to believe how many shoes got thrown was a chore. At least I can say I saw them in the day. No question in. my mind, the Stones are the greatest rock and roll band of all time. 

[Bords]

Neil Young solo at the Tower in Philly. I was a huge Neil fan and Harvest Moon hadn’t been released yet. He played almost all (if not all) of Harvest Moon, then ended with a few hits. We basically heard the new album for the first time, live. My buddy was unhappy we didn’t hear more hits! Neil at the height of his powers playing all new tunes, yes please.

I also am a huge fan of the MTV unplugged performances. Alice In Chains is my #1, the Nutshell from unplugged is a perfect performance. Gut wrenching yet beautiful, what a voice.

Tell me you’re GenX without telling me you’re GenX


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[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, Bords said:

Tell me you’re GenX without telling me you’re GenX

 

The high school/early college aged shows say what generation and cliches we were in for sure. 

 

 

[Ford2112]

On 10/5/2023 at 8:52 AM, BrightonCorgi said:

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

 

The Cro Mags!! I got my nose busted at DRI with Body Count . Some dude with waffle boots was trying to walk on the crowd.

[BrightonCorgi]

7 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

The Cro Mags!! I got my nose busted at DRI with Body Count . Some dude with waffle boots was trying to walk on the crowd.

That was their first show in Boston.    Most of the hardcore groups of that era I have seen.  I am in the audience on Youth of Today's album cover shot at the Rat in Kenmore Sq. Boston.

Seen ICE T before the Power album came out and maybe 4 times since?  Most of "old school" rap groups I have seen perform.  Those shows were as dangerous as the mosh pit circa 1985.  Add in the 2nd hand crack smoke wafting through the air.

The one show I missed was GG Allin at the Rocket.  My van broke down on the way there.  I had known personally GG a little bit.  Funny guy who thought he like punk's David Lee Roth. 

[HDGSN]

20 hours ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

that '07 Bonnaroo was the first I missed. Had gone '02 through to '06. 

wonder how many people (here at least) know of Tea Leaf Green, lol. 

TLG was at ‘07 Bonnaroo too. I’ve seen them about 15 times. The Roots played before TOOL and covered Machine Gun then Tom Morello came out and played with TOOL. Great lineup that year.

[ubiquito]

19 hours ago, ImTripN2 said:

Like a lot of you guys I’ve seen dozens of epic Dead shows… so I’ll go with the first, 1971 Pauley Pavilion UCLA, and the last three July 7 & 8th at the Gorge and July 14th in SF. 50 + years of amazing music, travelling, parking lot fun and great memories is hard to top. Crazy to think that this has been the most constant thing in my life. And now it 'Seems like all this life was just a dream'

I was at the Gorge shows. Amazing!

[Rushman]

Most memorable seeing Alejandro Escovedo (Texas singer songwriter, used to be in The Nuns) in someone’s living room in SF. Also Guster live at Austin City Limits taping.


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[LBKeys]

The Who in 1982 8th row

The Kinks mid 80s Auditorium Theater Chicago

The Who playing Quadrophenia with Billy Idol onstage. 2nd row

ACDC at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. 8th row, tripping our balls off. 

Smithereens at the Metro

Psychedelic Furs at the Riviera

Iggy Pop at the Riv

So many Great shows. 

A special shout out to my friend Ike Reilly. I've seen him dozens of times. If you are lucky enough to get the chance, go see him. 

 

 

 

[targa88]

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Montreal Olympic Stadium 1977

ACDC in Las Vegas 2018

[Mr. Esposito]

Frank Zappa. 1982 Tower Theater, Philadelphia 

[Greenhorn2]

Too many to list. The first band I was privileged to see was Van Halen from my motel balcony in Myrtle Beach around 1976/77. There was a hole in the wall bar with a beer garden out back and they put on a show.

The Rolling Stones in Panther Stadium in Charlotte NC was an epic show.

Iron Maiden at Greensboro was the loudest shit I've ever heard.(ears rang for days)

Ozzy Ozbourne put on 3 great shows in Greensboro.

AC/DC 3 times, Metallica 2 times, Van Halen 2 times.

Boston was the first concert I  attended in 1979. Got grounded good for sneaking off to that one. Ticket was $5. 

I seen Merle Haggard not long before he passed away and the old man still put on a hell of a show.

Many more but Tool was a great show.

[joeypots]

I saw Bob Dylan and The Band in the Boston Garden January 1974. It was their last tour together. They alternated playing  together and separately,. Here’s a set list, I got to admit I was a little young to appreciate what I heard and saw.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-dylan-and-the-band/1974/boston-garden-boston-ma-6bd65af6.html

[jazzboypro]

Emerson Lake and Palmer at the Montreal Olympic stadium in 1977

[Ford2112]

18 hours ago, mr.esposito said:

Frank Zappa. 1982 Tower Theater, Philadelphia 

Lucky

[Ken Gargett]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:33 AM, Namisgr11 said:

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.

this might be one of those incredible coincidences but a mate of mine was touring the states back around then - he is a bit older than i am and this was a post school thing. staying with friends around Philly, they said they were off to a concert. some bloke called springsteen. my mate had never heard of him but went along. he told me that it was on a basketball court - went 3 to 4 hours. he could not stop raving. odds of it being the same night?

for me, the greatest bruce was the last concert of his aussie tour in 2014. I've seen some great ones - seen him about 10-12 times all up - but this was magic. he kicked off with the bee gees staying alive (being Brisbane) with an all female violin group. ten women all in long black evening gowns. blew us away. doing quite a bit of older stuff and then stopped and told us we were going to vote. he had planned to play 'wild, innocent and e street band' as in his entire career, he'd only played the album in full once before. but as the night was going so well, happy to just keep taking crowd requests which was what he was doing. i reckon 2/3rds wanted crowd requests but the 1/3rd who wanted the album screamed much louder. so he played the full album, start to finish. sandy, Rosalita, kitty's back and more. brilliant. then the rising, tom joad (with tom morello - always thought that whenever tom morello joined them, things went up a level), badlands, born to run and so on. finished with thunder road and the AC/DC's highway to hell with some bloke called eddie veeder. just on four hours. 

other than bruce, one of the first concerts was bob dylan in the budokan era. really amazing (a huge dylan fan). have seen him several times but nothing as good. Neil Young a few times - the first in brizzy brilliant, the second in London he was out of his gourd. had a box at the royal albert hall for 18 months (long story) so some great ones there. fats domino sensational fun. but eric Clapton was the pick. he had mark Knopfler on lead and phil collins on drums. 

[Chas.Alpha]

15 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

this might be one of those incredible coincidences

Too many great shows to claim a #1, but in the mid 80’s a friend of mine ended up with a spare ticket to Bruce at the St. Paul civic center in Minnesota. I brought a camera and ended up with a few unofficial pics of a young Courtney Cox dancing on stage. As for the show, I wasn’t a fan going in but after 4.5 hours off rocking the house, I certainly give them the title of “Hardest working band” of all time.

 

[Ford2112]

I can't imagine sitting through an entire Bruce Springsteen song let alone 4 hours of it. I'll see myself out now...