Best gig you ever attended?

[commander bunnypants]

The Who The WHo The Who The WHO


CB

[Dem Agog]

1. A threefer...

Fiona Apple opening for Barenaked Ladies who opened for Sarah McLachlan.

I'd never heard of Fiona or BNL by then (late 90's, neither was very big) and fell in love with both because of that concert.

Oh, and I was row 1 at the 9:30 club in DC for this... (A very intimate concert venue.)

[Patiod]

2. The Boss. Born to Run Tour.

Most recent tour (Fall 2003) was pretty damned magnificent, too.

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. The Police

[Patiod]

4. Re: the Who - which retirement tour did you see?

My S.O. claims to have seen all of them!

[commander bunnypants]

9. the last three

the last one was after Sir. E passed. That was when it was over for me

CB

[medeak]

5. eric clapton eric clapton

seen him 4 times

[Fenris]

6. The White Stripes w/ Whirlwind Heat

I think the Stripes played something on the order of 32 songs.

[Beware the Beast Man]

15. I tried not to believe the White Stripes hype.

But I couldn't resist. That's one band I definitely have to see live.

[Fenris]

You should.

The fact that two people make that much noise and write songs better than most "rock" bands in this age is quite astounding. Better live than on the records, which is hard to believe.

[Beware the Beast Man]

21. It was the media overkill that initially turned me off.

They slowly grew on me, and now they're one of my all-time favorites.

[Fenris]

25. Yeah. Jack White admits that even they hated themselves for a while.

[tigereye]

30. they were the best things on the Grammys this past year

as far as I could see.

(well, Prince wasn't too bad)

[flamingyouth]

41. They are truly great live

I saw them about six times or so. Their best show, IMO, was at the Crocodile Cafe here. Totally packed, I about had a panic attack, but even that couldn't stop me from loving them. That was the on their De Stijl tour, which is my favorite album of theirs.

[City of Mills]

49. Whirlwind Heat???

LOL "TRASHBAG HELMET!!!!!"

[motely36]

7. Simon and Garfunkel

[callous taoboy]

8. Steely Dan, 1996, The Gorge Amphitheater.

'Twas sublime. Great mellow crowd, and the old dudes really rocked the joint. Almost got to meet them.

[callous taoboy]

11. Also, best non-concert gig

was the 10th anniversary party for the Dazed and Confused cast and crew. Bought a VIP ticket and got to schmooze.

[meganmonkey]

37. The Gorge is the most beautiful venue I've ever been at.

Red Rocks outside of Denver is a close second.

[Beware the Beast Man]

10. Mudhoney with the Supersuckers, Graffiti, Pittsburgh, PA, 1993

Best band live. They were tight, great setlist,and played well to the crowd. Definitely goes down as the best show I ever attended, and I'm not a huge in-concert fan either.

[Buzz Clik]

19. Bruce Springsteen

McNichols Arena, Denver, CO, 1980.

[tigereye]

31. Graffiti RIP

[Beware the Beast Man]

51. May the Scaifes rot in hell.

:grr:

[akwapez]

52. Saw the same tour in ATL.....great show

[gnofg]

12. The dead

I've seen the Who 5 times , the Stones 4 times, Jefferson Airplane 3 times, Springsteen at Red Rocks, Jethro Tull last show at the Fillmore, Allmans close the Fillmore, Led Zep's second tour in the U.S., Cream, Blind Faith, Pink Floyd,Janis, Went to Woodstock, Steely dan, Stevie Wonder, Jeff beck, and anyone else you can think of. When the Dead were great there is nothing like them.

[Fifth of Five]

13. Brian Setzer Orchestra

in Atlantic City 2002

OR

Bette Midler in Baltimore last month.

Both are great live acts.

[HEyHEY]

14. The first concert I ever went too - Pure at the Starfish room

[JimmyJazz]

16. The Who, The Clash and David Johanssen - YUMMY- Shea

Stadium -

[The Spirit of JFK]

17. The English Beat

U2's first American tour ever was damn fine as well...not so much music wise....it was just so new and passionate.

As was Elvis Costello (with the Attractions)....big wheel of songs they spun...audience members in go-go cages.


Would have loved to have seen the Who...

[Wickerman]

18. Yo La Tengo in a small club in San Antonio

During the Painful tour they crowded into a club that had a capacity of 88 (rumour has it the fire marshall wouldn't have been pleased...).

Because they were so close to the crowd - no stage at Tacoland they were practially IN the crowd. They played requests all night long. Great show.

[tigereye]

32. I have also seen them live in a small club

during the tour for Fakebook. Great, but very mellow as opposed to their usual sonic assault.

They were also understandably and vocally upset that the Mets were losing to our Pirates in a playoff at the time. :)

[Wickerman]

34. They do have a sports attitude

I recall them talking Knicks trash against our Spurs - this when one of our big men was bench man Jack Haley (aka - Dennis Rodman's babysitter). It was a low blow - SA LOVED Jack Haley - he's a cool guy. :)

The Fakebook tour was an odd duck, but a very nice departure.

[tigereye]

35. apparently Yo La Tengo

means I got it? in Spanish, something one of the Mets outfielder's used to yell at the games.

[Wickerman]

40. yep

It comes from "The parable of Yo La Tengo"...

The fundamentals
An old baseball anecdote known as "The Parable of Yo La Tengo" offers a cautionary tale for succeeding in today's health care environment. The story begins in the Polo Grounds of New York City during the inaugural season of the New York Mets, a team that distinguished itself by losing 120 games that year -- still the worst losing record in baseball history. The only player of any repute was the center fielder, Richie Ashburn. Ashburn was flanked in right field by Elio Chacon and in left field by Frank Thomas. Whenever he and Chacon were going after the same fly ball, Ashburn would yell, "I've got it," only to have Chacon barrel into him, creating a spectacular collision and causing the ball to fall in for a hit. Ashburn discussed the problem with his inimitable coach, Casey Stengel, who told the fielder to learn three words, "Yo la tengo." That's Spanish for "I've got it." The next time a looping fly ball came into the outfield, all three fielders converged on the ball. Ashburn saw Chacon closing in, yelled, "Yo la tengo," and Chacon stopped in his tracks. Then, just as Ashburn was about to make the play, from out of nowhere came Thomas, who careened into Ashburn, causing the ball to fall in and allowing the opposition to score the game-winning run.


http://www.aafp.org/fpm/980500fm/transit.html

[bloodyjack]

20. I would have enjoyed seeing Fugazi if I didn't barf on their equipment

in this case you should probably believe the hype (not that it matters at this point): Fugazi always used to put on a great performance

Bob Dylan, too. But I think that was more a matter of being starstruck than anything else.

Saw Radiohead during their Kid A/Amnesiac tour (read: creative peak) and it was TRULY SPECTACULAR. They played a little of everything from all of their records (excluding Pablo Honey, naturally) and the light show was a nice touch. Very Vegas.

edit: butterfingers

[nytemare]

22. Peter Gabriel

1993 at the Cap Center, a true visual feast. Great band, unusual use of special effects. Best show I have seen or ever will see.

[quispquake]

23. The Butthole Surfers

1987 at the Marble Bar in Baltimore, Maryland. Truly a mind expansive event...

[Susang]

24. REM, 1984

Closely followed by Bowie's Scary Monsters tour in 1980 and the Prince/Vanity 6/The Time tour in 1982 or 83 (can't remember which leg I managed to catch, they came to Detroit twice on that tour).

These are totally subjective and will change in a matter of moments. It's impossible to a choose best concert, too many personal memories tied into the event to be accurate.

[Champion Jack]

26. Metallica at the Playboy mansion L.A.

YeeHaaaaw!

[no name no slogan]

27. My Bloody Valentine, Loveless tour, 1991-1992

I was on the floor, about ten feet away from the right PA column, for MBV in 1992. They ended with a half-hour version of "You Made Me Realise" that was SO LOUD that my ears didn't stop ringing until over 48 hours later. Damn near unbearable, but blissful nonetheless.

Honorable mention goes to Brian Wilson's "Smile" tour, which was truly remarkable. :)

[Squeech]

28. Great shows from the '70s

Van der Graaf Generator, Beacon Theatre NYC 1976. Their only concert appearance in America, ever. Mesmerizing.

Traffic with Fairport Convention opening, Boston Tea Party, 1970. It was the 3 piece Traffic, touring to support John Barleycorn Must Die (but also doing songs like "Medicated Goo" and "Forty Thousand Headmen"), and Richard Thompson was still in Fairport. Subsequently saw both bands again, several times, including once more together, but they were never better than this show.

Gentle Giant, the Power and the Glory tour, 1975. Saw them twice, and the next tour three times. Brilliant every time.

Incredible String Band, Boston Tea Party, 1970. I wish I understood better what was going on.

Jethro Tull, Boston Tea Party, 1970 (yeah, it was a good year). Among other things, Clive Bunker played the best rock drum solo I've ever seen, almost conversational, and full of humor.

Yeah, I'm an old fart.

[musette_sf]

29. Marley and Springsteen

Bob Marley and the Wailers, opening for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, at Max's Kansas City, 1973. (I think, could have been 74, but I think 73). YOW.

All time big gig:
The Beatles, Shea Stadium, 1966

Most delightful recent gig:
Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, Little Fox, Redwood City CA, last week.

[tigereye]

33. I have seen many, many concerts over the years

including many of the bands mentioned above.

But by far the best, most intimate and most danceably wonderful was Queen Ida, at Graffiti in Pittsburgh. A great and late lamented room.

followed closely by:

X in a hotel lobby of sorts. Loud, great, X! in another sadly lost venue.

Youssou N'Dour also at Graffiti.

And Malathini and the Mahotella Queens. Outside in the summer.

I would be in trouble if I had to rate all the concerts I have seen.
:)

[meganmonkey]

36. Phish at Sugarbush Vermont 1994

As for overall experience, that one wins by a landslide.

Some other faves - REM Green Tour in 1989 (?) My first rock concert with no parents, just my friend's cool uncle.

Allman Bros acoustic show at the Fox Theater in Detroit (1993-ish)

David Bowie on the Sound & Vision tour (1990?)

Flaming Lips New Year's Eve in Chicago a few years ago.

[slestak]

38. alterna-heaven

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Smashing Pumpkins
Pearl Jam
@
City Colosseum
Austin, TX
December 9, 1991

That same week:

Fishbone
Primus
@
Austin Opera House
Austin, TX
December 12, 1991

After both shows I was sick for a week, but IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!

[DS1]

39. Pantera - Exodus - Suicidal Tendencies. The Ritz NYC

[flamingyouth]

42. Nirvana, the HUB Ballroom, University of Washington, 1988

One of the great ASUW "Four Bands for Four Bucks" concerts. Nirvana destroyed the PA at the end of their set, nearly caused a riot and were "banned for life" from ever playing at the University again.

It was fucking brilliant.

[buckettgirl]

43. Um...

I haven't ever got to see any live bands that were on tour - But!
I went to Country Stampede in 2000 and I saw Lonestar and Brooks and Dunn.

Also, two summers ago, here in Hays Kansas at Wild West Fest, Charlie Daniels came! That was a really big thing. I know, charlie daniels is a right wing bastard, and HE CHANGED THE WORDS to Long Haired Country Boy! But boy can he fiddle! Hate the man, love the music.
Summer before that at Wild West Fest we had .38 Special and Trick Pony!
woohoo!

I'm a country gal at heart, but I REALLY REALLY REALLY would LOVE to see AC/DC and Pink Floyd in concert (but that will never happen, they would be awesome concerts though!)

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

44. Pink Floyd '87 or Don Henley '90....

toss up, Floyd was as awesome as expected, but Don Henley was magical (and no, I was not trippin' balls THAT night). He He ended with the most amazing rendition of "Desperado". The crowd was screaming so loud and long that he couldn't get the last word out... "Before it's toooooo................................................................................................laaaaate"!

[Carolab]

45. Doobie Brothers

the final concert tour with Michael and Phil

[BoX o BooX]

46. I kid you not:

Mandy Patinkin, on a bare stage, with only piano accompaniament, in sweats, singing for over two hours with no intermission. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

His encore? He poses like he has a sword in his hand and says:

"My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

You never heard such an ovation.

[3days]

53. Crash Worship on Mardi Gras Eve

In New Orleans in an abandoned wharehouse.
Maybe Janes Addiction at the old 9:30 in DC.

[Queen Jane]

47. Elliott Smith 2-20-2000, Black Cat, Washington DC nt.

[BamaGirl]

48. BOC

the Dead was pretty damned cool too. Hard to pick between the two of them.

[warrens]

50. There are so many

But for pure musical power, The Who on the Who's Next tour when I was a a kid; Bowie on the Ziggy Tour, and Roxy Music early on, during the Street Life tour. But that leaves out the first Clash tour, the Stooges reunion, the NY Dolls, the Cramps, Tim Buckley, Da Ramones, The Velvet Underground (also when I was a kid), The Gun Club, John Cale, The Mekons, Patti Smith...just too many great shows.

[akwapez]

54. Don't know if it was the best but the first Lollapalooza....

Jane's Addiction
Ice-T and Body Count (20,000 people moshing to Cop Killer will always be remembered)
Butthole Surfers
Siouxsie & the Banshees