Top 5 Favorite Concerts Attended

[Zombeels]

Kinks
Robyn Hitchcock
Gowan
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Al Stewart

 

[Sox]

Alvin Lee and Johnny Winter were brilliant Sox and though as much as I like SRV I like Rory better and would have loved to have seen him live. And have to say that Alvin, Edgar Winter and Tony McPhee is a real interesting combination.

They all did a slot then at the end Edgar came on with Alvin for a few numbers. I got say they were all great but Edgar was amazing.
After many years I did eventually get to see his brother Johnny and even though he looked a bit frail he put on a class show. He must have been something else in his prime.

 

[tomcat]

The ones that stand out for me:

Van Halen - Fair Warning Tour
Iron Maiden - Powerslave Tour
Ozzy with Motley Crue Opening
Ted Nugent ca. 2009
Alice in Chains ca. 2009 at a small concert hall (even without Staley they ROCKED).

 

[Syd]

I have to think about it. But if I have to say it quickly, i would choose:

1) Paul McCartney - 2011
2) Green Day - 2010
3) Lollapalooza Chile - 2011
4) Maquinaria -2010
5) Simple Plan - 2005 (?)

Simple Plan was a great show. They were one of my favourite bands back then so I enjoyed that concert quite a lot.

 

[Sweaty]

Number one is Simon and Garfunkel with the Everly Brothers in Sweden, more to follow...

 

[AboutAGirl]

#5 Crosby, Stills, & Nash at AJ Palumbo Center 4/13/2003

- Second concert I ever saw, so it was still all new and fresh and exhilarating. CSN always rocks the house and brings out great setlists and great jams. Hit after hit after hit. I'm sure seeing them in their heyday was special but I think age has given them a ragged edge that I really appreciate.

#4 Roger Waters 9/24/2006 at Post Gazette Pavilion (Darkside of the Moon)

- I'm sure it's not the greatest gig Roger's ever played, but I'm also sure it's the best I'll get in my lifetime. This was such a special show for me, Roger is my hero and the setlist was as good as I could hope. Pigs, Set The Controls, Fletcher Memorial Home, and his new songs were incredible. The beautiful fall weather didn't hurt, either.

#3 The Breeders 9/02/2010 at Beachland Ballroom

- This show was just soooo much fun. The Breeders were absolutely on fire, it was an off-schedule gig and they just felt loose and into it and candid. Even Breeders songs I don't like sounded absolutely glorious. Plus the bill was perfect, I became acquainted with the wonderful HotChaCha which themselves have become one of my favorite bands.

#2 Katy Perry at Petersen Events Center 6/23/2011 (California Dreams Tour)

- Sorry, but nothing beats seeing an artist perform their best material for the first time. She played literally every great song she has, including all the best deep cuts from her new smash album. A lot easier to hear the stuff you want when an artist only has two albums to draw from compared to 15...

#1 Taylor Swift at Heinz Field 6/18/2011 (Speak Now Tour)

- Words cannot describe this show. The whole night was magic, genuinely one of the best nights of my life. An artist at their absolute peak, playing their great new material, with 50,000 like-minded fans... I felt like I was seeing Neil on the Time Fades Away tour, or Floyd touring Wish You Where Here.

Honorable Mentions...

Immortal Technique -- love the venue and this guy is one of my all-time favorite artists, but the show was bogged down by literally like 25 opening acts and what's worse is it cut short HIS set, which is inexcusable.

Tom Petty -- Soooo many great Petty shows in my past. Funny thing is I probably started seeing Petty a little too young. I mean I loved him from the first time I heard him, it's not like I went to the shows with someone else or something, but I didn't hear my FAVORITE Petty material like Echoes and ITGWO until later and THAT's when he became my second favorite artist hands down bar-none. But by the time he became my perennial fave, I had seen him play the hits a bunch of times already, so it didn't have that much of an impact on me. That's why I'm so desperate for Petty to switch the setlist up, I feel like I missed out on getting to see my hero, in a way.

The Machine -- These guys are FAN freaking TASTIC. Seen them a bunch of times, fantastic setlists. There's not much I love more than just kicking back and enjoying a hell of a good Machine gig. Buuut when push comes to shove it's hard for a tribute to beat the real deal so Rog wins out here.

Ten Years After -- Yeah Alvin's not there, but they played a frickin' bar. It doesn't get much better than that. Fantastic bloody songs plus the opening act was incredible as well.

 

[rtbuck]

Paul McCartney at Amoeba Records in Hollywood 2007

KISS in the Magic Mountain parking lot 1978. They were filming the concert sequences for "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park". It was invite only. I won tickets on TenQ (an L.A. AM Top 40 station).

The Monkees at the Greek Theater 1986. It was the night Nesmith showed up and joined them on the encore. They played "Listen to the Band" and "Pleasant Valley Sunday". It was the first time all four had appeared on stage together since 1968.

The Band at the Greek Theater 1976. It was the last tour with the original line-up. They played "The Last Waltz" a few months later.

The Ronnie Lane ARMS concert at the Forum. It was Jimmy Page's first time on an L.A. stage since the demise of Zeppelin. When he played the opening chords to "Stairway to Heaven" (which they did as an instrumental) the cheers were deafening.

There are so many I'm leaving out, like....Jr. Walker, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thelonious Monster and a homeless benefit concert featuring the Bangles, Brian Wilson, Wall of Voodoo and an all-star band (I'll never forget Belinda Carlisle and Molly Ringwald trading vocals on "Band of Gold"). Those were all at the Palace in Hollywood.

I've also seen the Beach Boys (their first tour after losing Dennis), the Kinks, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Ringo's All-Starr Band (version 1), Iggy Pop, the Stones, Jethro Tull, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Raspberries...and on and on. God, I love music!

Wow...some classic performances there!

 

[WetWilly]

Pink Floyd '94 in Houston
Monsters of Rock '87 Memphis: Kingdom Come/Metallica/Dokken/Scorpions/Van Halen
Kiss '79 Memphis
Budwieser Jam '82 Memphis: Survivor/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts/Kansas/REO Speedwagon
Iron Maiden '81 Memphis opening for 38 Special & Point Blank. 38 Special put on a good show but Maiden stole the show.

 

[rtbuck]

It's tough for me as I Seen many shows but here goes...

1) Kiss 1978 - My first concert ever. Kiss was(still is) my favorite band & this was the Ultimate Concert Experience. I could not believe the sights & sounds of that show. The Rockets opened the show

2) The Who 1979 - This show was right after the Cincinnati tragedy & my parents almost weren't going to let me go but I was able to go & the show was unreal. I was riding high on the Who at this time after seeing 'The Kids are Alright' movie in a theater & the concert had a perfect setlist for me.

3) Alice Cooper & Frehley's Comet 1987 - I don't know who I was more psyched to see (actually Faster Pussycat opened the whole show) but both of the main acts were incredible. Alice was wild as he ripped through his classics but then he did a medley from his Raise Your Fist & yell album & it featured a girl dressed as a Prostitute leaning on a lampost on a deserted street. Alice as the psychotic villain slit her throat causing blood flying everywhere & then met his fate by being hung (my favorite Cooper execution!)

4) Neil Young & Crazy Horse 1986 - This was Neil Young's Rusted Out Garage tour & it was a phenomenal show. The Stage was set up as one huge Garage complete with giant rats & Cockroaches roaming along with a neighbor calling to complain about the noise

5) Joan Jett & Chuck Berry 1987 - What a show this was! Chuck Berry opened & I was front row. During Roll Over Beethoven they were pulling people onstage & I was the first so I was right next to Chuck! Joan Jett's performance was very hot & guitarist Ricky Byrd was on Fire. The highlight was me screaming out "I Wanna Be Your Dog" during their encore break & then they played it as their final song & rocked the house

Of course there were many more but I'll mention 2 others: The Kinks 1982 - Their show was sandwiched here in Buffalo between The Stones & The Dead so there wasn't much of a crowd. Davies acknowledged this & said they were going to blow away the other concerts in Buffalo & that they did playing 7 Encores (2 w/ the Houselights on. They even did Louie Louie!). The other show was Bowie in Toronto on the Serious Moonlight tour w/ Roughtrade opening & the reason I mention this show is because Spider from Mars guitarist Mick Ronson came out & jammed "The Jean Genie"

 

[TeleCat]

Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers tour (1985)

Jeff Beck - Who Else tour (1999)

Joe Walsh - The Confessor tour (1986)

Fu Manchu - Clone of the Universe tour (2018)

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Soul To Soul Tour (1986)