OT: Best concert you have ever been to?

[RuBird]

Missing going to concerts big time. Was thinking back on some of my favorites. Granted my taste in music has a wide range

1. Disturbed at PNC. Sat 4th row with my daughter. They opened with Ten Thousands Fists. Crowd went absolutely wild.

2. Def Leppard/Styx/Tesla at Mohegan Sun. First of all awesome venue. Not a bad seat in the house. Tesla opened and were very good. Styx Come Sail Away might be the best song performance I have ever seen in concert. Def Leppard played all their hits. Loved Bringin on a Heartbreak.

3. Green Day At Hartford CT. Most energetic performance I have ever seen. Played for 2 1/2 hours straight. Billie Joe Armstrong was great.

 

[RUbot]

Missing going to concerts big time. Was thinking back on some of my favorites. Granted my taste in music has a wide range

1. Disturbed at PNC. Sat 4th row with my daughter. They opened with Ten Thousands Fists. Crowd went absolutely wild.

2. Def Leppard/Styx/Tesla at Mohegan Sun. First of all awesome venue. Not a bad seat in the house. Tesla opened and were very good. Styx Come Sail Away might be the best song performance I have ever seen in concert.

3. Green Day At Hartford CT. Most energetic performance I have ever seen. Played for 2 1/2 hours straight. Billie Joe Armstrong was great.

 

[G- RUnit]

1. Any Bruce concert.
2. U2 at Met Life
3. Rolling Stones at Met Life
4. Buffett & Huey Lewis at Camden

 

[DJ Spanky]

Aerosmith, summer of '78 in Houston, TX. First concert ever. Went as a kid.

Aerosmith absolutely sucked, they were in their drug induced haze. Joe Perry turned his guitar up so loud you couldn't hear anything else. My ears rang for 3 days afterward.

Did I say it was the best concert? Yes, I did. Because they had 2 relatively unknown opening acts that happened to go by the names of Journey and AC/DC.

 

[RuBird]

Aerosmith, summer of '78 in Houston, TX. First concert ever. Went as a kid.

Aerosmith absolutely sucked, they were in their drug induced haze. Joe Perry turned his guitar up so loud you couldn't hear anything else. My ears rang for 3 days afterward.

Did I say it was the best concert? Yes, I did. Because they had 2 relatively unknown opening acts that happened to go by the names of Journey and AC/DC.

Well....Don’t stop bELieving!
Would have loved seeing that show

 

[mikebal9]

Billy Joel is #1 for me. I've seen him 8 or 9 times and he's finally starting to show his age.
Believe it or not, Lionel Richie puts on a phenomenal show, even Still.
Green Day, Linkin Park, STP, and Metallica were all very good as well. (Though STP depended on Weiland's sobriety and Metallica was much better at Giants Stadium than Wells Fargo Center.)

 

[RU Mike73]

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Not even my favorite band, but Pearl Jam at Randal's Island New York back in 1996 was an epic 2 nights including John Popper coming out to play harp on Even Flow.

Not a single show, but the annual March Madness Allman Brothers shows at the Beacon Theater when Dickey was still around were some of the most enjoyable shows I've ever attended.

 

[ashokan]

I've only been to a few and never to a bad one

"The Cure" in 2016 was the best - crowd was awesome (crowds count a lot with me)

After that:

Bruce in Syracuse was good. Morrissey in 2007 was about as good but better crowd.

My most interesting gig was Placebo in NYC. The band was ok but they were never a fav of mine.

I knew a UK girl (who I knew for awhile but mostly online) from Birmingham who was a huge fan, and she got me to go. She was actually picked to be in a Placebo video. As the band played I saw my friend in the video being played on the wall behind the band. That's when I realized the power of the web and internet

 

[fischy5000]

i think my fav was Barenaked Ladies. The did a great live show with nice improv on the 'million dollars' song.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Well....Don’t stop bELieving!
Would have loved seeing that show

Sadly it was 3 years before that song was released. But to this day, Wheel In The Sky remains one of my favorite songs.

 

[R U Crazy]

1) Rammstein at the Hammerstein Ballroom (2001 i believe)....Amazing venue to see the pyrotechnic show (Seen them 5 times)
2) Outlaws and Molly Hatchet (Orlando Fairground 1984)
3) Any trans-Siberian orchestra show (had the best seat in the house one year they played at Beacon Theater)

 

[CranfordKnight]

A couple stand out:

Peter Gabriel at what was then Garden State Arts Center 1983
Steve Winwood/Jimmy Cliff Pier 84 NYC 1986
REM/10,000 Maniacs Radio City Music Hall 1987

In recent years, I've been to great concerts like Sting/Peter Gabriel, Billy Joel, Hall and Oates which I loved, but the smaller venues are much more memorable. Frank Turner at White Eagle Hall and The Hold Steady at Asbury Bowl are probably my two favorites over the past 5 years.

 

[RUinBoston]

Big venue? This one by far. U2 MSG 9/28/1987. Bono had a broken arm and sounded a tiny bit squeaky IMO from voice strain, and I wasn't the hugest fan of the Joshua Tree album (just a bit too popish and 'girly' for me at the time LOL) . But the show those guys put on is just insane. They recorded one or two songs for Rattle and Hum at that show.

As for small venues.... I dunno, too many to list I guess.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/MTBConcert.htm

May 16, 1981 turned into the busiest day in the history of Great Adventure (to that point) with the park quickly reaching capacity. Guests had to be turned away because there wasn't anywhere left to park in their lots. Traffic quickly backed-up down the entrance road, all along Route 537, up onto I-195, and even back to the New Jersey Turnpike. Traffic was tied-up for miles with nowhere for the cars to go. Many park goers simply pulled-over and abandoned their cars wherever they could find a place on the side of the road and walked into the park.

Being the shoulder season, the park was not up to full-speed with staffing; pushing facilities to their limits. Making matters worse, park employees coming in for afternoon and evening shifts couldn't get to the park and those who were there were trapped unable to leave due to the traffic jams. The local and state police came-in to try and help alleviate the situation but it took a long time to clear the lanes of traffic trying to get past the park.

The Marshall Tucker Band concert at the Great Arena turned out to be the biggest day in Great Adventure's history: drawing more than 50,000 guests which at the time was nearly twice what was considered a "moderately busy" day for the park.

Since the 1981 Marshal Tucker Band Concert, Great Adventure has limited the capacity of the park to a much more manageable number to prevent such extreme overcrowding. This momentous event also prompted several traffic studies which developed plans to help prevent such wide-spread traffic backups around the park.

The band usually did 2 "encores" at the end of the show (a 2 song set..left and came back for 1 more song.)--- but the crowd refused to leave after that 3rd song - and kept yelling for more... after 20 minutes (to alleviate any concerns -- the band came back out and did 1 last 3 song set...and said "thank you - but, that's it.... now please leave"....

if you look close, you can see me....

 

[RUBOB72]

Janis Joplin with Big Brother in the Garden 1969 along with The Chambers Brothers and Johnny Winters. Probably because she was a classic blues singer and a great performer on stage. Have been to over 200 rock concerts in my life . To witness Morrison and the Doors in 1970 at the felt forum was an experience . Picked up returned tickets at the box office and got 4th row. For a 20 year old with my fiancé it was fantastic . The reality was many were great venues.

 

[mikershoein]

Semisonic with Pete Yorn opening at the the TLA in Philly

 

[Ronnie_B]

Lynyrd Skynyrd first tour back in 1987, it might not have been Ronnie singing but his brother filled in nicely.

AC/DC concert at MetLife a couple summers ago was the loudest concert I went too.

 

[Plum Street]

Billy Joel is #1 for me. I've seen him 8 or 9 times and he's finally starting to show his age.
Believe it or not, Lionel Richie puts on a phenomenal show, even Still.
Green Day, Linkin Park, STP, and Metallica were all very good as well. (Though STP depended on Weiland's sobriety and Metallica was much better at Giants Stadium than Wells Fargo Center.)

Will agree with billy Joel. Saw him last concert at Shea stadium ...he brought out acts that played at Shea over the years. Tony Bennett performed ny state of mind, Paul McCartney did hard days night , Steve Tyler did walk this way ...among other some other performers . Joel closed with piano man during the encores and people were getting up to leave and McCartney came out and said something like “we opened this place 40 years ago and now we are gonna close it.” McCartney closed the Billy Joel show and Shea with Let it Be . Crowd went nuts and Shea was actually shaking.
I also saw Billy Joel at MSG a couple years ago. Great show and venue

 

[Letitrip]

Genesis (with Peter Gabriel) - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour December 1974 - Academy of Music - NYC

Talking Heads at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium - August 1983

Peter Gabriel - Garden State Arts Center - July 1983 (best year ever for summer concerts)

 

[fischy5000]

ohh and I've been to two Rock n Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies which had some amazing live performances. When they honored Journey, i was hoping that Steve Perry would make an exception and sing one of their songs, but to no avail. They performed with the young asian kid who fills in for his voice.

 

[Kbee3]

That's gotta be a long, long list covering over 50 years for me. I don't think I've ever been to a concert that sucked.
1. Bruce Springsteen anywhere in his prime....particularly a series of concerts at the Capitol Theater in Passaic.
2. The Allman Brothers Band at the Fillmore East in 1970.
3. Bob Marley opening for the Commodores in 1980 at MSG.
4. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young 1974 at Atlantic City racetrack in a driving rain storm.
I'm sure I've overlooked many and probably will amend this list at some point.

 

[Kbee3]

Genesis (with Peter Gabriel) - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour December 1974 - Academy of Music - NYC

Talking Heads at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium - August 1983

I missed Gabriel for some reason I can't recall. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is one of my favorite albums.
I did see that Talking Heads show. They were better than I expected. I'm not a big fan of their music though.

 

[zappaa]

Marshall Tucker Charleston SC 1975
War in Pittsburgh 1982...without Eric Burden

 

[e5fdny]

Allman Brothers at Waterloo in Stanhope was pretty good. Saw them at the Beacon too.

Have seen the Stones and Bruce multiple times they were good too.

Dead a few times. Just okay.

Pink Floyd was an experience.

Clapton at the Meadowlands Arena was good.

Was at the Woodstock ‘94 show. Crazy few days. I think I saw the Stones or Clapton on the way home, forget who.

Went to many Lalapaloozas and saw
many up and comers like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains to name a few.

Beach Boys at Great Adventure right after one of the Wilson brothers died was really good...the female nudity added to the experience.

Lots of intimate shows over the years too...Sonny Roads at the old Jason’s in Lake Como was fun. Mick Taylor (who used to play with the Stones) in NYC was a very good show and night.

But the best for me was seeing The Saw Doctors for the first time at the first Guinness Fleadh on Randalls Island in NYC. They weren’t the headliner yet as Van Morrison was that year and we didn’t even know who they were but they put on a helluva show in the big top side tent. All the Irish expats were going crazy when they started playing and knew EVERY word to EVERY song. Since it was was big top circus type tent the Irish guys started climbing the poles. Wild scene and show.

 

[Kbee3]

Marshall Tucker Charleston SC 1975
War in Pittsburgh 1982

Saw Marshall Tucker at Asbury Park Convention Hall...can't recall the year.
What ever happened to Toy Caldwell ? He could play...not the same group without him.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

Missing going to concerts big time. Was thinking back on some of my favorites. Granted my taste in music has a wide range

1. Disturbed at PNC. Sat 4th row with my daughter. They opened with Ten Thousands Fists. Crowd went absolutely wild.

2. Def Leppard/Styx/Tesla at Mohegan Sun. First of all awesome venue. Not a bad seat in the house. Tesla opened and were very good. Styx Come Sail Away might be the best song performance I have ever seen in concert. Def Leppard played all their hits. Loved Bringin on a Heartbreak.

3. Green Day At Hartford CT. Most energetic performance I have ever seen. Played for 2 1/2 hours straight. Billie Joe Armstrong was great.

a few from the older days:

1. Grateful Dead, Cornell Barton Hall, 1977

2. Bruce Springsteen, Binghamton Broome County Arena, 1977

3. Little Feat, Ithaca College, 1978

4. Allman Brothers Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Syracuse Manley Fieldhouse, 1979

5. Marshall Tucker Band, Red Rocks, Colorado, 1980

 

[Cookie81]

Saw bunch of great shows at the Garden, but thinking about it here are three from the the Capital theater in Passiac.
1. Who- opening USA tour, 1st show without Keith Moon.
2. Springsteen fall of 1978.
3. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
New Years eve show. With Robert Gordin opening. Springsteen joins at end

 

[hankee18]

I'll go more recent. Guns N Roses first night at MetLife 2016 when they finally reunited after over 20 years. That crowd was absolutely electric from start to finish.

Axl is his former self but Slash, that man is still totally on his game. They sounded great that night and all I kept thinking was they how much better they must have been back in the day. What a show

 

[okieKnight908]

A Perfect Circle/Nine Inch Nails @ MSG
Bonnaroo 2006 - Tom Petty, Radiohead
All of the Disco Biscuit 3-night runs over at Starland

 

[chrisru99]

MANA in Mexico City intimate small club. Everyone knew all of songs they sang it was awesome. Santana in Vegas was also pretty cool.

 

[RUnTeX]

at the first Guinness Fleadh on Randalls Island in NYC. They weren’t the headliner yet as Van Morrison was that year

Reminds me of the Guinness Fleadh in '99 when I lived out in SF. IIRC, Van Morrison may have been headlining that one too, but mostly I remember really enjoying listening to Ben Harper that day. Foggy on some of the other details, musical acts, etc....too much Guinness consumed on a hot afternoon and too many special brownies consumed

 

[CommonSenseA]

Fleetwood Mac, Jones Beach
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Nassau Coliseum
Elton John, Caesar's Palace (Vegas)

They were all fantastic. But the show that absolutely took my breath away was a free concert in Central Park, featuring two marvelous groups from years gone by: The Ink Spots and The Platters.

 

[RUforJERSEY]

Rick James and the Stone City Band at Great Adventure. Of course back in the day.

 

[e5fdny]

Reminds me of the Guinness Fleadh in '99 when I lived out in SF. IIRC, Van Morrison may have been headlining that one too, but mostly I remember really enjoying listening to Ben Harper that day. Foggy on some of the other details, musical acts, etc....too much Guinness consumed on a hot afternoon and too many special brownies consumed

The mistake Guinness made the second year was listening to a local promoter and allowing some of my fellow firemen be the bartenders for the event.

Only venue they lost money on. Imagine that. LOL

Every bar tent I went to I knew a guy. I didn’t need any stinkin’ brownies that day/evening. LOL

 

[ecojew]

Two come to mind. The first was in the old St. John's Arena at OSU in 1972, where I had front row seats for the Bee Gees.

The second was in the 3000-seat gym at SUNY-Oswego, right on a frigid Lake Ontario. We were there to see Bruce in his "Born to Run" tour, which I believe was the last tour where he still did small venues.

 

[Beancounter88]

Yes (rotating stage)
Rush (Neil Peart, nuff said)
Van Halen (with DL Roth)

Most underrated - GoGo's at Spectrum (very loud)
Most overrated - The Police (studio band does not translate to live stage)

Sorry I never saw The Who and AC/DC

 

[Rutgers85_rivals]

1. Queen with Billy Squire opening 1982 Brendan Byrne Arena
2. Twisted Sister 1983 Fountain Casino
3. Springsteen, 1981 opening Brendan Byrne Arena

 

[RUInsanityToo]

REM/10,000 Maniacs Radio City Music Hall 1987

No way......you were there too?? Thanks for the Ticket!! Definitely on my list.

Others.....

Police @ Shea in '83
George Thorogood @ Capital Theatre (when it still existed)
Jeff Beck / Stevie Ray Vaughn - MSG - '89ish

 

[snowboarder]

1. Bruce (Too many to count)
2 Not a concert but I was no more then 20 feet from John Denver as he sang Rocky Mountain High in a bar in Aspen.
He also sang Take Me Home Country Roads and Poems and Prayers and Promises. Jimmy Buffet was with him and sand Volcano and Margaritaville.
3 Beach Boys, Roosevelt Stadium 1975 or 76
4 CSNY at Garden State Art Center
5 Paul M and WIngs (Wings over America Tour) MSG
6 Phil Collins MSG