OT: Best concert you have ever been to?

[JMORC2003]

Not really a big concert guy but I saw Coldplay at MSG while they were supporting X&Y (2005), got the tix from work so was center stage about 6 rows back. Amazing amazing show. I was/am a fan, but I can't imagine anyone not being blown away.

Another memorable show was Jay Z/Eminem at Yankee Stadium. Casual fan of both but standing in left field of at the stadium was incredible in and of itself. At one point I looked back toward home plate and the sea of people in the seats and it was jaw dropping. I called it the Hideki Matsui view. Other memorable part of that night was Jay Z didn't go on until really late, so I raced out trying to still catch the last train back to NJ, heard a few songs from the subway platform (also cool). I was on local back to Penn and realized there's no way i was going to make it so hopped out and grabbed a cab. He's racing along while i'm watching the clock and instead of Penn he brings me to Port Authority. At this point i have like 3 minutes to catch my train, so he zooms out and heads to Penn. I didn't even wait for him to stop, just opened the door as he pulled up, threw a handful of cash into the front seat and sprinted for the train just making it. Good times.

 

[Jm0513]

Primus was great at that show too. Should add Ozzfest 1999 with Black Sabbath, Slayer, Slipknot, System of a Down and many others.

Remember that awesome Korn concert a year ago that we both had tickets to? Oh, that's right:Angry thanks mother nature!!

 

[RU_DIO]

Remember that awesome Korn concert a year ago that we both had tickets to? Oh, that's right:Angry thanks mother nature!!

You should have went with him to Slayer like I did. No rainout as it was Indoors.

 

[Jm0513]

You should have went with him to Slayer like I did. No rainout as it was Indoors.

I was bummed about Korn. I think I shed a tear over it and my bf laughed. I was more mad we stood in the rain. Lol
Slayer is one band I'm not really into.

 

[mildone_rivals]

I have seen boatloads of live music. And was blown away by the shows many times.

But for pure musical bliss, seeing King Crimson (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, and Bill Brufurd) at the Pier (NYC) in the early 1980’s still stands out as my favorite concert ever. An outdoor, perfect temperature, non-humid night with perfect acoustics and brilliant musicianship.

When they were little, I used to daddy dance our kids to sleep at night, to a lot of Peter Gabriel songs. So when I took them all to see him in his last tour, in Philly, that was a very, very special evening. The music was great, and Gabriel’s music is among my favorites. But it was the time with my kids, remembering them as infants and toddlers, who were in high school and college at that point, that made it so special for me.

Celebrating a family birthday with friends and family in Michigan at an outdoor Jimmy Buffett show a few years back is also way up there for me. I’m not much into Buffett’s music, and don’t recall hearing an entire song all the way through. But getting to spend that time with people I love once again elevated the event well beyond just the music.

Besides those events, some of the best live music I’ve heard has been in small, sometimes tiny, clubs in NYC or Philly with various virtuoso musicians. Often small side projects of band members from bigger name bands, playing entirely different styles of music from what their “paying gig” was.

 

[RUgrad]

Saw Springsteen in The Spectrum the night Lennon died. After 3.5 hours and all his normal encores, he came back out and did a Beatles medley and no one knew why at the time (no cell phones in 1980).

 

[sugarkane2]

Nov., 1969 stones, bb king, ike and tina turner and terry reid at msg

 

[Knight Shift]

Remember that awesome Korn concert a year ago that we both had tickets to? Oh, that's right:Angry thanks mother nature!!

Have seen Korn:
1. First time in Bogart's in Cincinnati in the summer of 1995- at that time, IIRC, Korn was only receiving airplay on college radio stations. But Bogart's was sold out, and the energy during the show was close to one of the highest energy shows I have been to. The floor of the club felt like a trampoline from all of the people jumping up and down. Here's a clip from that 1995 tour from Milwaukee


2. Later that year or the following year, they toured as a support band for Ozzy Osbourne.

3. It was a long while before I saw them live again- Starland Ballroom in 2013, and they still brought it live.

4. Saw them again in 2017 at PNC Arts Center

5. Cancelled last summer on double bill with Alice in Chains

6. Cancelled 2020 in double bill with Faith No More.

 

[JMORC2003]

Man, the memories are coming back... saw MxPx at that place in Old Bridge on Rt 9 (I think.. was that Starland?). It was the same night that Roger Clemens threw the broken bat back at Piazza, I remember seeing it on the TVs there. Anyway, power goes out mid-set so they move everyone into other 1/2 of the place, which i guess was a dance club that night. Some people just bailed, but once they sorted out the power situation, MxPx played a full set, full volume for whoever was left. They're great live, and seeing them full-tilt in a small setting, small crowd was awesome.

 

[rubaseball78_rivals]

Billy Joel at Capital Theatre in Passaic 1975/76 ish.
Billy Joel & Elton John together at Continental Arena in 80's.
Renaissance at Capital Theatre 1977 or there abouts
Stones at MSG 1975 (Billy Preston was keyboard player)

 

[RuBird]

Billy Joel at Capital Theatre in Passaic 1975/76 ish.
Billy Joel & Elton John together at Continental Arena in 80's.
Renaissance at Capital Theatre 1977 or there abouts
Stones at MSG 1975 (Billy Preston was keyboard player)

Forgot about Billy And Elton. Loved when each one performed one of the others songs.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Not even a close call:

The best = Metallica, Black Album tour, late 91 or early 92, Brendan Byrne Arena, no opening act, just 3 hours of them

Second best = Green Day, American Idiot tour, Giant Stadium, 2006

Honorable mention = Iron Maiden, Seventh Son Tour, 87?, also at BBA, first real concert ever

 

[garyrc70]

Stones multiple times sitting in first 10 rows!! Rock and Roll at its best.

Late 60's and early 70's: Jefferson Airplane (Fillmore West and East); Cream, Jethro Tull and Chuck Berry (Fillmore West); Eagles (multiple times); and Led Zeppelin (somewhere on long island, kind of blurry). Jimi Hendrix, The Who doing the full Rock Opera Tommy...

 

[RU19931]

Eric Clapton and Elton John at Shea Stafium

 

[albanyknight]

David Bowie, Radio City Music Hall, circa early 1970's.

 

[Bugibba]

Saw The Cult nov 1987 at Brixton Academy in London. My buddy was doing his junior year in London and went to visit over thanksgiving break. Cult was pretty popular here that year. Were literally walking down the street and saw a poster that said “ Cult..live tonight only” . Just seeing them on their home turf unexpectedly just made the whole experience. Smosh pit and all. Seen many great shows but that stands out for the whole cultural experience as well.

 

[Kbee3]

David Bowie, Radio City Music Hall, circa early 1970's.

Was there. Great show.

 

[Colbert17!]

Crosby, Stills and Nash, 1987 (?) Jones Beach

One of the nicest places to see a show

 

[chickenpatty2]

Didn't want to post a new thread, so I'm including this here and in the "Phil Collins" thread.

WXPN (88.5 Philly/91.9 Hackettstown) is starting up XPNStock, tomorrow morning. Last year, they played the ENTIRE Woodstock concert in real time, keeping true to the times that the performers went on stage, and including all the in-between announcements about weather, bathrooms, first aid, not eating certain colored pills, etc. This year, they are spreading it out so that it's more manageable, time-wise. Thought many of you would be interested.

https://thekey.xpn.org/2020/08/05/xpnstock-woodstock-week/

 

[Yeah Baby]

Billy Joel and Elton John Dueling pianos at the Garden.

also PNC a couple of years ago had Peter Wolfe, Little Stevie’s Band and Jackson Browne. Bruce showed up and played a couple of classics with Stevie and Take it Easy (which JB wrote) with JB. Great jams.

 

[Kbee3]

Billy Joel and Elton John Dueling pianos at the Garden.

also PNC a couple of years ago had Peter Wolfe, Little Stevie’s Band and Jackson Browne. Bruce showed up and played a couple of classics with Stevie and Take it Easy (which JB wrote) with JB. Great jams.

Somebody is actually into dueling pianos ?

 

[wisr01]

You were at the Barton Hall show??!! You win. Just got the 6 vinyl box set for Christmas. Legendary show.

Not sure of my BEST show, but some of the more memorable ones:

1. Red hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. at Roseland 1992. That lineup though.

2. Pearl Jam at the Limelight 1992. Grabbed Eddie Vedder's hand while crowd surfing.

3. Phish Big Cypress festival on a Seminole reservation for the millennium New Year

4. Kiss at MSG when they put the makeup back on with the original band 1996

5. Black Crowes Beacon Theater 1992

6. Dead & Company The Gorge in Washington State. If only for the venue.

7. Iron Maiden Meadowlands 1987. The famous car burnings show and my first unaccompanied concert. Eye opening.

8. Spin Doctors Brookdale Park 1992. Only because my band opened. Ha.

I was working in Pharma in 1987 and the day after the IM car burning show folks were talking about it at the lunch table. Never told anyone I was there and the car burning was a few rows from me. Great show and wild tailgate before it.

 

[tom1944]

I took my daughter and her friend to a Warped Tour concert in Buffalo when they were around 14. Best concert ever because my kid was too sheltered by her mom and the concert was a big deal to her.

I stayed in an area on the outskirts of the concert and shoved some tissues in my ears and went to sleep. Some guy with huge gauges and full body tattoos gave me plastic ear plugs. About 4 hours later a little after midnight my kid and her friend came walking out covered in sweat and dirt with the biggest smiles on their faces. They got to the middle of the mosh pit and all the older college kids carried them above the crowd to the front stage where they just had a blast.

Mom still doesn't know I never was with them.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Crosby, Stills and Nash, 1987 (?) Jones Beach

One of the nicest places to see a show

Agree. Interesting fact: there was a moat around the stage when the venue opened in the early 1950's.

 

[Colbert17!]

Billy Joel 1976 at The Bottom Line in the Village.
If you were never there that club was smaller then 90% of school cafeterias. Sat one table away from the piano.

 

[bossnj1]

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

Nice list. Seen them all and agree.

 

[bossnj1]

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, Still, 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.

Seen Bruce 50+ times. Would have loved to have seen the rest on your list, especially Bob. Slightly before my time..

 

[bossnj1]

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

Agree about the Police. Great band and definitely one of my faves, but 3 instruments isn’t enough to fill the musical spectrum. Still glad I saw them in the Atlantic City Convention Center in the early 2000’s.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Van Halen at the Poughkeepsie Civic Center in 78 was insane. The venue holds less than 500 people. Also saw Kiss and Aerosmith there.

Twisted Sister used to play at a lot of the local Poughkeepsie Bars back around 80-81. Never forget a concert at "Let's Dance" Poughkeepsie back when Dee was cross dressing. He was the most aggressive singer I ever saw where he would go into the crowd and if you were not clapping over your head with everyone else, he would grab your hands and pull them over your head and make you clap.

A GREAT show was Zebra at The Chance in Poughkeepsie as well.

Doobie Brothers and Cheap Trick at SPAC were great too. Rush up in Albany.

Went to a few big Stadium concerts like The Stones with the Foo Fighters but that was more like being at a Superbowl than a intimate concert. Actually enjoyed Adam Lambert and Queen a couple of years ago as well.

 

[wisr01]

I have been to many great shows over 40+ years but my very first is still my favorite. The Grateful Dead at MSG in January of 1979. I think it was their second night of the first time ever playing there. They were awesome.

 

[leftoright]

OK. Had to check back in. Who was there? What year?
Bob Dylan...College Ave gym...solo.
Sang a song called John Birch Society Blues, I never heard it again
1965

 

[RuBird]

The Alarm at the College Ave gym. Not a bad first concert for me

 

[BigWill]

Some guy at Stone Pony that we (NJSP and APPD softball teams) told him was too loud and he left for the night. He later became a leader; Boss of something.

Beach Boys in Syracuse; Have never figured out if anyone has ever surfed in Onondaga Lake (super site EPA "water"). As usual it snowed in Cuse that day.

Doors in Colgate gym; First place I ever smelled something funny burning.
Now that I recall that night it snowed in Hamilton NY just like Cuse....

Dead at Giants Stadium. Got Mad Dog a date with someone known in the Stewardess business as a sure thing. (think the movie). He brought her home early, "Dad that smell gave me a HUGE headache." It must have been that same funny smell that I smelled 20 + years previously at Colgate.

 

[tom1944]

I thought there would be at least one Deadhead who would be impressed I was at the Barton Hall show.

I was at the concert with the Dead and Marshall Tucker Band in September 1977 at Raceway Park

It was more about consumption of plants and liquor than about actually hearing the music for my group.

 

[RUfromSoCal?]

Jesus at Red Rocks

 

[[email protected]]

OK. Had to check back in. Who was there? What year?
Bob Dylan...College Ave gym...solo.
Sang a song called John Birch Society Blues, I never heard it again
1965

I transferred down from Rutgers Newark to the BIG school in 1966. Wish I had seen Dylan.

MO

 

[mildone_rivals]

Jesus at Red Rocks

He played a mean air-guitar, back in the day.

 

[gman500]

I saw Dave Matthews play at Giants stadium in 2001. It may not be the best overall concert I've been to, but the encore was the best and i’ll always remember that as an amazing experience. Dave played Two Step as a large thunderstorm began. There was lighting all over the sky and the rain was blowing sideways hard. Dave changed his lyrics to go with the weather, with the peak of the song concurring with the thunder. I remember the whole crowd being euphoric and soaked walking out, cooled down from what had been a hot day/evening

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Although nothing really matches MSG, I have fond memories of the Capitol Theater in Passaic. IIRC, it was a porno theater during the day. Saw many great concerts there in the 70s and early 80s, including the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, etc. One concert that really stood out there was seeing the Pretenders (after their first album was released) + the English Beat.

 

[RUGuitarMan1]

There was an extended period when I stopped going to concerts. I went pretty often in the late 70s to early 80s, the started going again in the mid 90s. Some concerts that stand out to me:

Grateful Dead - Capitol Theater in ‘78 I think

The Who with The Clash opening at Shea Stadium in ‘82 I believe

Then several in the last 15 years:

The Allman Brothers & Santana @ PNC about 2012.

Steely Dan @ PNC 2015

Hall & Oates @ MSG 2016