The Smiley Smile Message Board

What's the best show(s) you've ever seen? Take into consideration all things, including music, energy, overall vibe, etc. Having seen only on video or DVD doesn't count--I mean in person.

And explain why.

Elliott Smith
Weezer, twice pre Green Album.

Frank Zappa, Queen, Elliott, Sleater-Kinney, Neil Young, Raspberries, Kiss, Bob Dylan, Ramones etc. More later.

Ramones, Wilco, Elvis Costello.  I actually saw Morrissey put on a hell of a show in Portland back in '97.  Too many others to list.

The Church, Tony Joe White, The Finn Brothers (with Paul Hester making a surprise appearance), The Finn Brothers (after Pauls passing, incredibly emotional), Brian Wilson does Smile

no question about it .....PRINCE

Springsteen 1977

This concert is number one cause it blew everything I'd seen before or since out of the water. First off, Bruce and the E Street band played two full sets with an intermission. I mean the first set tore you apart: Something In The Night, Rendezvous, a six minute Spirit In The Night with Bruce staggering down the darken aisle of the old theater cum concert hall singing "me and crazy janie were making love in the dirt singing our birthday song" and then crawling to a stop lying face down, halfway up the aisle, motionless for a couple of minutes and then jumping up to sing the jublent end. Then back on stage a long monolouge about his father and growing up in Jeresy ending in a powerful cover of the Animals's tune It's My Life, going right into Thunder Road! followed by a ten mintue She's The One...then just as you're catching your breath, Bruce announces they're taking a short break, but will be back soon for the second half of the show. Whew, and what a second half: Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Action In The Streets (using the same basic music as A Love So Fine), Backstreets, featuring a monologue style middle to end section, a ten minute Jungleland, a thirteen minute Rosalita, and ending with Born To Run! The encore is Quarter to Three and you don't want the party to end...

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U2 1983

Saw U2 at the US festival, some strange three day festival that was put on for a couple of years by the co-founder of apple computers, Steve Wozniak. Some huge field in the middle of no where outside Los Angelas. Saw the Greatful Dead play a set there at 9:30 AM on a Sunday morning in 1982. U2 was just becoming popular on LA radio. Had a few hits. They were defintely not the headliners (that was David Bowie), the act that followed U2 was Missing Persons, the act before them was Quarterflash. It was 12:30 in the afternoon when U2 came on like gang busters. From the main stage Bill Graham introduced U2 as "One of the greatest bands out of England". This agitated Bono, who greeted the crowd by saying "We're not an English band, we're an Irish band!" Everyone went wild. The crowd for the festival was huge, 350,000 people, and Bono had them in the palm of his hands. Waving a huge Irish flag, climbing the scaffolding half naked, singing at the top of his lungs, getting the mass of people swaying their arms in the air as he swung his flag from one hand 100 feet in the air, climbing the rigging and singing "In the Name of Love" from *on top* of the stage...wow.

Also, this was back when the Edge had hair...

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U2, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Elton John

Barry & The Remains - not in the 60's, but rather in 1998 !!! Un-frickin'-believeable !!

I've seen McCartney, Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Monkees (with Nesmith), et al ad nauseum...
Barry & The Remains were far & away the absolute best- it actually made me cry, it was sooo good!!
BW's Smile portion of the show is #2.

one show that almost made me cry was James Carr at the house of blues in cambridge MA. ...he was dressed in a  baby blue suit and was very fragile looking ..but he sang like an Angel !!!

There are so many, but the first version of the expanded Talking Heads in 1980-"Remain In Light" tour stands out.
Iggy Pop
Elvis C. , of course.
Steely Dan was amazing about two years ago.
Zappa's "best band you've never heard" was also a very special show.

A tough question.  As I've said here before, The Who.  Spring of 1970.  Cincinatti Music Hall.
Pretty much the same show as Live at Leeds, the complete version including Tommy.

This had to be the Who at it's peak.  All 4 original members on what had to be a good night, putting out 110 %.

And this following a not to be followed warm up act of the original James Gang playing to Joe Walsh's  home town Ohio crowd.

Pete windmilling the guitar and leaping into the air, Roger roping the audience with the mic cord, Keith thrashing his drum kit tossing sticks in the air, catching them and resuming without missing a beat...and John stretching out on the bass...

The venue was much like an opera house with balconies and carpeting...adding to the total effect of Tommy...we could have floated home that night but decided to take the car as we might need it in the morning....

There was a feeling of oneness with the band....there was a rumor that the band would visit a local bar called Ludlows garage to hang out withthe fans....Pete told the audience during a break that there was a rumor they would be at Ludlows but that unfortunately  it wouldn't be possible due to their flight leaving right after the show...But Joe Walsh and Company were planning to appear..

People, you weren't asked to list every good show you've seen -- list and describe the BEST! I know it's probably hard to choose...hence the fun. Describe it...

Besides Brian?  I would say Vince Gill on the High Lonesome Sound tour... and also the KISS reunion tour was a lot of fun too.

luther, check the edit on my last post

Brian Wilson, Alicia Keys, Nsync (at the time), Al Jardine, Clay Aiken, PAUL MCCARTNEY!!!!  ;D

Brian Wilson (2 times), Nine Inch Nails, Death From Above 1979

First time I saw Brian Wilson, October 15, 1999, Moore Theater, Seattle. Musically amazing, of course, but also because it just seemed like such a miracle. And I've never, even at other Brian shows, felt such love for a performer emanating from the audience. Pete Buck and Eddie Vedder were sitting together a few rows ahead of me. Folks noticed them (Buck kept walking up and down the aisles), but nobody really cared because, you know, we were there to see a real legend.

As far as sheer musicianship, King Crimson live in 1982 on the Beat tour. Astonishing tight, passionate peformance of incredibly demanding material. Also Zappa on his last tour (twice) and Prince on the Lovesexy tour.

And of course, Springsteen. Many times.

No question: Cheap Trick, summer of '78, Community Theater, Morristown NJ. A smallish theater, maybe something like 1500-2000 seats. This was just after "Heaven Tonight" came out, so they were known to critics and hipsters, but it would be another eight or nine months before "Budokan" broke them wide open to the masses. I had never heard of them, but a friend had their three albums and said they were really good, so a few of us decided to go just to pass a Saturday night. I had no idea what to expect, and I wasn't expecting much. We brought along a bunch of pot, if the concert sucked we'd at least catch a buzz.

The Cars were the opening act, and this was just after their debut came out. Nobody had ever heard of them at this point, they'd yet to start making the big NY station playlists. I remember thinking the name of the group was a little too "new wave," smacked a little too much of jumping on a bandwagon. The Shoes, The Shirts, The Jags, The Cars... I figured I'd seen this before in the Tuff Darts, an average band trying to hitch a ride on the latest trend. So I wasn't that impressed with them, only listened with half an ear. But I thought Ocasik looked pretty damn cool, thin as a rail and wearing a black leather jacket. Mostly, I felt that sense of, "Okay, let's get rid of this opening act and get down to the real show." Nowadays I wonder if they did perform a decent set and I just didn't give them a fair shake. I can't remember the music at all. Come to think of it, though, they must have been good because our local paper reviewed the show a few days later and said of them, "Therse guys are going to be big." That I remember.

Cheap Trick's set was another matter altogether. I have no expectation of ever seeing a more thrilling and perfect execution of adrenalin fueled, catchy, melodic, piledriving rock and roll. It was overwhelming. They came out blazing with the trademark opener, "Hello There" and for the rest of the show we proceded to have our collective minds cracked open and rewired directly into their overloaded amps. Not one of the songs was familiar to me, but time and time and time again they crashed down on us like pure magic; soul-shaking thunder and lightening from the gods. It was so euphorically hard and loud, and yet so unbelievable catchy and melodic, I couldn't beleive how perfect this music sounded to me. And then on top of that, you've got Neilsen in his Sears sweater and baseball cap, running around the stage, doing his spastic Huntz Hall on acid routine, climbing onto this little three-step platform at the foot of the stage to rip loose a blazing solo, running back down, spinning in circles, his eyes darting around their sockets like a squirrel about to get hit by a bus, his mouth distorted in an exaggerated scowl of concentration like a five year old learning how to hold a pencil properly. And at the mic, Zander, in an all white three peice suit, his pretty boy rock star looks perfect, golden hair falling to his shoulders, his feet slightly spread, guitar slung down strumming out the rhythm, his voice one of the greatest in rock and roll IMO, belting them out. Now, if you know Cheap Trick, you know they were working thier asses off at this stage, playing something like 250 shows a year, always on the road, but they seemed to be having so much fun. Petersson full of smiles, looking like he'd rather be doing nothing in the world besides scattering those rumbling bas notes all over the theater.

After it was over, I remember being afraid to talk to the rest of the guys about how profoundly it moved me. It wasn't just a show, it was the pinnacle of everthing I loved about the greatest passion of my life - music. I thought they might laugh at me, but when we did talk about it, we did seem to have the consensus that we'd just been through something amazing. My father, who was waiting outside in the car to pick us up, said two guys came out of the theater before the show ended saying, "That was BAAAAAAAD!!!" We became disciples after that, listening to Trick constantly thoughout the next few years. When there were rumors of a live album only available in Japan, I went on a zealout's quest to find it. I looked everywhere, I drove people nuts having them look for it. It was a single minded passion, it HAD to be found. We saw them again that December, the anticipation was incredible, and although we enjoyed it and revelled in it, it wasn't as good. Nothing will ever be as good as that August night in Morristown. Not in a million years, that was the tip of the mountain.

Amazing, soul-shaking post, man. Just reading that was a rock and roll experience. Damn.

Thanks, Ian.  :)

And good work on describing your best live act, not every band you've ever seen and enjoyed.

Well, I've seen hundreds, so there's no way I could narrow it down to one or two!

Therein lies the fun. Otherwise we're all just listing bands we enjoyed. Most of us could guess those...

Stone Temple Pilots and Local H

The Black Crowes to a crowd of about forty or fifty people. They played their ASSES off even though there was nobody there. This was just barely after the release of the 1st album.

The Verve, right around "Storm In Heaven."

I'll have to say the greatest concert experience I've ever had was Jonathan Richman a few months ago. Second to that would be the two Brian Wilson concerts I've been to.

The Byrds in the autumn of '70, promoting the "Untitled" LP. The band was tight and Clarence was hot. They did two shows that night and I got to see both because one pair of tickets had been given to me as a birthday gift after I bought the first pair. I decided to use both pair and I'm still glad I did. Live or video I've never seen a guy do so much with just a Tele and a Twin.

Who was the guy who said he saw Suicide open for the Cars? He said he thought Suicide blew the Cars away! That post was a corker in the Suicide thread on the old board.

Have you ever seen Suicide, Jason. Cause, wow.

I wish I could've seen Suicide live. They still play, but mostly in Europe.

When I saw em, Alan jumped off of the stage and did the Frankie scream in my face.

What year?

2000.

Ahhhhhh man, I wish I was there in '78 when they played in Brussels. I dunno if you've heard "23 Minutes Over Brussels" on the 2000 reissue of the First Album, but I have never seen so much hatred being felt for any band in my life. Needless to say, no one in my family, not even my father, get Suicide.

"23 Minutes Over Brussels" is Suicide?! Wow, I didn't know that. I've only heard Luna do it, and I  love their version, best thing they ever did. I always assumed it was an original. (I've only got it on a CD-R, so I never saw the songwriting credits.)

Glass Harp in 2000 (or 2001?) at a local club in Dayton.  The venue held less than 200 people and I was in the front row, sitting right on top of one of the subwoofers.  My seat was directly facing Phil Keaggy's Vox AC15 (and it hit me directly all night), Phil spent the whole show less than 6 feet from me, giving me a bird's eye view of all of his pedals and gear, and the trio was cooking all night long.  For those who don't know, Keaggy is one of the greatest and most accomplished guitarists around (not just rock, though he can blister with the best) and Glass Harp is a great progressive rock trio.

Simon & Garfunkel a couple springs ago.

Brian Wilson performing SMiLE in March 2004. It was in the "Alte Oper" ("Old Opera") in Frankfurt. Maybe 1.500 people.

Not only the first time that I saw Brian live, but also the first time that I heard the finished SMiLE in it´s entirety. To make things short: I was blown away. In fact, I was so overwhelmed that I hardly remember any details, it was like a wonderful dream. As cheesy as it sounds, but MAGIC describs it best.

see my edit

The Beach Boys day after Thanksgiving 2005, and JET summer of '04.

I saw Suicide open for the cars circa 1982 ish Panorama tour, Hartford Civic Center.
fans just did not get it and they were booed mercilessly
Suicide never missed a beat and played their entire set despite the acrimony.
Great stuff.
they were way better than the cars, tho. i went from kinda liking them (the cars) to hating them after that show. They were extremely stiff and boring.

The Who. Wembley Empire Pool, October 1975. I saw them twice a couple of months later at a smaller show at Hammersmith, but despite the larger venue this gig was special. It's the only gig where I had a sort of out-of-body experience caused totally by the music - no drink, no drugs, just the music. I remember jumping up and down on a crash barrier for ages totally out of it. Total musical high.
Other shows have been great for different reasons - the second night at the RFH with SMiLE is the other one that sticks out, and Springsteen at Birmingham in 1981 when Townshend joined him for the encore, but that's the one.

Best concerts?

Talking Heads, with their expanded band was great. 1980-1981? The big suit, the running around on stage, the Tom-tom Club interlude, the BIG base sound.

The Kinks, a few years before that. A live album was released of that tour. It was a outdoor concert. It started raining just before they were due on stage. But Ray remained in front, in the rain, for the entire show. He really was one withe the public that night. Man, what a concert!

But, the best concert ever - the only one  I wept - was Brian Wilson on his SMiLE tour last year. It was in Antwerp, in a beautiful old concerthall. 2 000 seats and it wasn't even sold out.

Magnetic Fields.......69 Love Songs tour......mesmerizing.

Peter Gabriel in Chi-town in the fall of 04. It was something I had waiting to see since I was 5 years old. Peter just has a presnece on stage that no other has.

But I also gotta say the Green Day show I saw in Peoria in May of this year. There's never been so much energy at a show in my life. If you don't believe me, watch the Bullet in a Bible DVD. Even if you don't like Green Day's music, you can't deny they don't give you more than your money's worth. They work their ass off for their fans and really appreciate the support they've given American Idiot.

OH! And I gotta say that the best FREE show I've ever seen was at the Taste Of Chicago celebration in 01. A Beatles tribute band that consisted of: Todd Rundgren, John Entwistle, Alan Parsons, & Ann Wilson (along with some drummer and two keyboardists) played in the amplitheater and we got great seats (the place was PACKED).

The first set was of tunes by each member or member's band (You haven't truly heard Barracuta by Heart until you've heard it with The Ox on bass), and then an hour and a half worth of Beatles tunes in which Rundgren, Parsons, and Wilson handled the vocals incredibly. It was in the middle of the afternoon nonetheless with the bright August sun shining down and a cool breeze coming in off lake Michigan. Afterwards you could get close to where they got back on the bus and got to shake hands with both Entwistle and Rundgren.

I'll try to get the pics I have of the concert scanned and post them. It was a thrill getting to see The Ox play in person once before he passed, even if it wasn't with The Who.

This is a tough one for me. Rocket from the Tombs (not CRYPT -- this was David Thomas, Cheetah Chrome and Richard Lloyd) was devastating, absolutely the best guitar rock band I've ever heard live. I also saw Cheap Trick in a small club once about eight years ago, after they'd recorded their self-titled attempted comeback album (which was wonderful, by the way), and it seemed like they had something to prove, even if there were only about 200 people in this place to hear the Trick blow the doors off it.

But best for me was Jon Brion at Largo, whom I'm sure a few of you knew I was gonna say. Sorry to be predictable. I saw Jon upward of 30 times, but I knew a few people who'd seem him HUNDREDS of times -- it takes at least 10 shows to even begin to understand him. I've never heard anybody so diabolically musical in all my life, and it pretty much ruined me for virtually every band in the world who plays their 10-song set of the same songs exactly the same way each time after hearing Jon spontaneously conjure up a Velvet Underground rhumba medley or do a vocoder-damaged take on "MacArthur Park" by request. ("He's a Whore" on ukelele was cool, too.)

Yeah, I saw him at Staples Center that year. Great show.
If you think that Gree Day is good now, you should have seen them when they were 17 when my band used to do shows with them on the same bill. They were amazing, haven't been as good since IMHO.

Great post. Did you se Elliott Smith guest at any of those Brion shows? That was the best one I saw, when Elliott plyed drums and they took requests for Beatles tunes for an hour, and Elliott played Ringo's parts perfectly!

I'd say it's a tie between Rush and Green Day. 

Rush delivers BIG TIME and has a very long set...go figure, they've been consistent for the past 30 years considering the huge miseries Neil Peart has had to endure a few years ago.  I don't know how he does it, let alone play his ass off at every gig with immaculate precision, power and raw balls (figureatively).  Lifeson and Lee hit all the notes and they're both up and down their fretboards, covering all the gaps...hell, I'd say their live performances considering some of their intricate and unconventional chords, are better than the studio albums.  OK, so they've kicked down the chords for 2112 because Geddy's not 25 anymore and can't hit those high notes.  Even though I find Lee's voice sometimes painful to the ears, the music and the band's performances make his voice's unintentional obnoxiousness seem miniscule.

Green Day, saw them in October and they played about a three hour gig.  All of "Idiot" along with all their hits, a few covers (Queen, Ben E. King, Tears For Fears, Iggy Pop).  They invited audience members to come up and play some little G-C-D chord ditty, Bill Armstrong gave the person playing the guitar the actual guitar - a nice shiney new Gibson with twin humbuckers, had loud banging pyrotechnics...they put on a hell of a show and added on a few extra musicians to round out the sound.  They got the audience going on their feet, the crowd was very well behaved and Armstrong has been probably the most interactive with the audience since Freddie Mercury.  Obviously Armstrong "borrowed" a lot from the Mercury-Bag-Of-Tricks...but hell, that's been missing in rock for so long!   I also find it nice that Green Day are just three guys from poor working class roots...unlike these wannabe-working-class people who permeate country like a bad staph infection lately that's probably got Cash and Jennings both on full rotisserie in their graves.  Green Day spells out their distrust of the government as of lately; not some punker band who claims "anarchy" yet is too pretentious and socially retarded to even attempt to talk to their audience.

Green Day and Rush...I'd say those have been the best performances I've seen. 

Yeah I saw CT at the 930 Club in DC about 5/6 yrs back. Awesome, wasn't quite a fan yet but it was truly great. Guided By Voices opened and that was a sweet drunken mess.

Ian, I arrived late on the Jon Brion scene (physically, that is -- I've been a fan since I first heard the Grays back in the mid-'90s) -- too late to hear Elliott Smith perform with him, so I unfortunately can only imagine how great that must have been. Loved ES, though not necessarily so much as my avatar, JB.

I loved going to Largo so much. I lived in an apartment behind Canter's on Fairfax, so it was a very short walk to the club, which was like going to church for me every Friday night -- if church had ample amounts of Guinness, that is. I'd get ripped and go home with my very hot then-girlfriend. It was the life 'o' Riley, man -- best year of my life was the one spent in L.A. Damn, I miss it.

EDIT: Beckner, saw GBV in '97; they were great and woulda been a perfect foil for Cheap Trick.

a great show i saw was The Replacement's at the Living Room in Providence RI. When we first arrived we saw Tommy Stinson walking around the outside patio asking and receiving slices of pizza from  a group of girls eating at a table. once the show started it was pure mayhem . They would start songs and then abruptly end the song after a few verses and kick into a different tune.The audience was out of control kid's would climb up into the suspended ceiling and toss down ceiling tiles. At one point the band stopped and asked one kid to kindly climb down .....the band was on fire , i saw them after this a few more times opening for elvis costello and they were very tame in comparision.

I can narrow this down to 4 (I've been to hundreds of shows)

(1) KISS 1996 reunion tour - the first time seeing the original 4 together as I was 9 when Peter left the band. What power, and every single song was great.

(2) Roger McGuinn (solo) 1995 - Roger took us through a "Storytellers" type show which was later memorialized on the "Live From Mars" CD. He took requests at the end, and I shouted out "Someone To Love" which he immediately tore into after nodding at me. I met him afterward and he autographed my "Back From Rio" CD booklet.

(3) Ringo and the All-Starr Band (1992) - Dave Edmunds, Burton Cummings, Todd Rundgren, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren...when they belted out the harmonies on Burton's "No Time," it was chilling. Edmunds' "Girls Talk" was fun, and even Schmit's Poco nugget "Keep On Tryin" came across sweet. I had front row and slapped Ringo "5" during "You're Sixteen"

lastly, (4) Brian Wilson, 2002 Pet Sounds Live tour, the first set, especially. He did "Melt Away", "The Night Was So Young", "Busy Doin' Nothing", and "Friends" among others. On the Smile tour, he abandoned his solo work on the first set and did an all Beach Boys set that didn't get past CATP(albeit great). But on this August night in Boston, we were treated to the best setlist of any single set I have experienced in my life. Then we got Pet Sounds for Set Two, and I know I am in the minority on this, but I enjoyed it way more than Smile. Then I got to go to the after show meet and greet - Brian wasn't feeling well so I simply got to see him from about 5 feet away as he walked by, but we chatted with Probyn, Scott, and Darian and got a bunch of head nods from Jeff as he was saving his voice for the next night.

Hey, Zen, was that first Replacements show while Bob was still in the band? That lineup is the No. 1 act I wish I could've seen live. Seen Westerberg three times, but never the "Mats. Came too late. Love the 'Mats, though. "The Sh*t Hits the Fans" is a masterpiece.

I'd have to say that my favorite concert event ever was Brian Wilson's Smile in Glasgow, March 3 or 4, 2004. It was something like the eighth show of the debut tour. I intended to avoid any mention of previous shows, but of course checked the message boards the day after it premiered, so I did end up knowing pretty much the gist of what was coming. Even though Brian was absolutely atrocious throughout the first set, it was still fantastic. He really sang well throughout Smile, and it was also the final night of my first overseas trip. Very fun, amazing piece of music debuted (to me, anyway) by a fantastic band.

Some runners up are Prince in spring 2004 (Musicology tour); Prince at Mill City Music Festival (downtown Minneapolis, outdoor show) in 1999; Of Montreal many times has amazed me; Fiery Furnaces in early 2005; and Brian Wilson in June 2001 in St. Paul, MN -- my first time seeing him, and coupled with Paul Simon, who was more fun to watch than I had expected.

The only "real" band I've ever seen live was the Allman Brothers this March at the Beacon Theatre in NYC (I don't get out much). We had tickets for all the way in the back, but slowly but surely we made our way to the third or fourth row. They were pretty good; I liked the atmosphere, too.

Last summer I got to see Bob Dylan, with Willie Nelson opening, in Lancaster, Pa. They were on a tour of minor league stadiums and ticket prices were reasonable.

Willie came on first, smiling, bantering with the audience, and tossing cowboy hats into the crowd. He played a "hits" setlist; what a canon of songs he has! His performance was outstanding. You could tell he loved what he was doing. It was very positive.

Dylan came on and  played a mixture of hits and some newer (post 1988) stuff. He played an electric keyboard the entire set, only occasionally stepping out front to play a harmonica solo. You could understand his vocals, he gave a 100%. The band was tight; it was pretty much a rock and roll sound.

While Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan have some things in common - older, country-influenced, great songwriters, once dueted on "Pancho & Lefty", etc - their sets were completely different from each other. Willie's was loose, fun, kind of clap/sing-along-like. Dylan was serious and kind of aloof, but nevertheless brilliant. It was as if he was trying to make a point that he was there to present great "music", not  just represent some 60's cultural era. He succeeded! It had an effect on me.

I went home and made mix CD's of both artists and have been listening to them constantly since...

Captain Beefheart, in 1972 at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

This was during his Spotlight Kid period so the Captain was looking super suave. To back him he had Zoot Horn Rollo and Winged Eeel Fingerling on guitars, Roy Estrada and Rockette Morton on bass (RM stole the show) and Art Tripp on drums.

Simply astounding!!

OK, this is another mega ancient thread but so many new folks have joined since then...

Spiritualized. Seen them 4 times. Been blown away each and every time, and they constantly change the act. First was acoustic with strings and choir, the next time with a garage band set up, then once with orchestra performing an old album, then last time with an orchestra playing their new album  ;D


Oh, and they're the loudest bastards I know.

Van Halen (3 times), The Kinks, Heart, and George Thorogood & the Delaware Destroyers.

The Clash

Lucky git  ;D

I may have already answered this thread, years ago, I don't know.  The best live act I've ever seen were the Rolling Stones.  I 'got' the Rolling Stones after that concert.  I wasn't ever a fan, although I knew and liked a handful of songs, but I got a free ticket from a friend and we went.  We sat on about the 50 yard line in a football stadium here in Charlotte to watch it.  It was great from beginning to end.   Blues Traveller opened up, and they were great too.  What struck me most about the stones were a few things: how professional they were, and how POLITE believe it or not Mick was.  I'm sure it was well rehearsed but he talked to the crowd a few times and told them how happy they were to be here, and they had been here in the 70's in this arena, and blah blah blah and chatted up the audience.  It was kind of a jaw drop moment for me.  I'd say it was the first time I saw somebody with real talent, and a really good work ethic doing something BIG.  I understood how they were able to be so successful and it wasn't an accident, it was a lot of hard work. 

The music of course was top notch, and Mick ran around the stage without his shirt on for 2 hours.  Crack or running around the stage had him in perfect shape well into his 50's.  It was the Bridges to Babylon tour. 

John Fogerty. His voice is still amazing. Closely followed by LeeAnn Rimes. She was note perfect the night I saw her. No weak songs at all

The Flaming Lips by a very wide margin.

I've seen a lot of acts: McCartney, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Ray Davies, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones, Randy Newman, The Zombies, Lou Reed, Pulp, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, etc.

By far and away, the best were Rheostatics who I probably saw over 20 times while they were together. Truly the best band you've never heard.

Macca, three solid non stop hours of hits with a few encores including Helter Skelter!!!

I'm not old enough or rich enough to have seen the above mentioned, but of all the shows I have seen, Jethro Tull would be the best.

I saw him last May (I think) and he put on such a great set. One of those performers where even if you don't know any of the songs you'll still recognize them once he starts playing. The drummer sure beats the hell out of the drums, even though he looks like he should be in one of those "special" biker gangs.

Yes! Thick As A Brick or Aqualung performed live would be stunning.

i caught 'Heaven & Hell' live a few years ago and i gotta say it was one of the best sounding gigs i had ever been to

Ronnie James Dio wouldve been around 65 and his voice sounded amazing. I didnt sound all that different to his recordings in the 70's/80s. Cant believe that after all these years his voice still stood up like it did.

Not to mention Tony Iommi's brilliant riffs bludgeoning our ears. The sound was clear and for guys in their 60s it was a show to behold.

Shame RJD is not around to do another 'H&H' album. For my mind, they were just as good as Sabbath, if not better.

They played Aqualung! It was a spiritual experience, but I think that was because of all the old men smoking doobies.  :smokin

Hahaha, the only thing I like about people bumping old threads is being able to read what I wrote six years ago! I've been to many concerts since. To expand upon my original post though, yes, the Allman Brothers in March '05. Notable not just as my first concert experience, but also the first time I got drunk, age 17, with my father and some of his friends. I had two shots of vodka and gatorade (a combination I've never had since) and about six or seven Coronas.

But yeah, I've been to so many shows since. Favorites are Dick Dale in summer '06, Conor Oberst fall '08, Wolf Parade summer '10, Broken Social Scene 1/18/11, and Jeff Mangum last September.

Jeff Mangum? Holy sh!t!

I am seeing Jonathan Richman soon. Will he topple the mighty Spiritualized? I am also seeing Randy Newman a few days before, which will kick many breeds of ass, but I don't think he's bringing a symphony, which I really want to see at some point.

Probably a tie between Springsteen and Arcade Fire.

I haven't been to see many of "the greats" as lots of folk here have but I think the best gig I've been to was Thomas Dolby, I had a smile on my face the entirety of the walk home, all night and most of the day after (compare that to the time I saw Morrissey when instead of having a smile on my face I had a bruise on my rib).

Same goes for The Beach Boys/BW gigs I've attended - I like to measure how good a concert was by the toothiness of my post-gig smirk.

Ouch, but your adventure sounds like to could have come straight from the lyrics of a Morrisey song  :)

'94, Frank Black's 'Teenager of the Year' World Tour, Newcastle (Australia) - Only me and 19 other people show up, but it doesn't stop Frank and Band who crank it like they're in front of 100000 punters.  We all get a turn to stand about a metre away from Frank and bask in his Kimono clad glory. Unbeatable!

Had a big smile on my face after the Pet Sounds Tour '02, even tho' they didn't play Pet Sounds (Brisbane gig)!

The Smiths at Sheffield City Hall in 1984.
New,exciting and different! ;D

Lowell George era Little Feat

On a whole rock and roll show extravaganza thing, I'd have to say Rush.  I like them, never been a huge fan, but that show I saw was amazing. 

On a singer songwriter kind of vibe, it'd be a toss up - I've seen awe inspiring solo shows by Robyn Hitchcock, Ray Davies and Warren Zevon.

On a local level - Art Steele Blues Band in the basement of the long gone, but fondly remembered Sheehan's Pub in Northampton, MA.   Possibly the most entertaining, wild, awesome night of music I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of.

Mine would have to be Brian Wilson. I was at his (I believe) first show of the Pet Sounds Symphonic Tour in Easton, Pennsylvania. Nothing better than watching (and listening) to the master at work on his greatest creation.

Honorable mentions would go to O.A.R. and Goo Goo Dolls from their respective shows at Lock Haven University. Its quite an experience to see bands like these in a college atmosphere!

So jealous of you. Little Feat kicked so much ass live with Lowell George. Waiting For Columbus is the best for a band supposedly 'past their prime'. When did you see them?

In Denver at Ebbets Field---1973

AC/DC 1981 at the Los Angeles Forum!

I was just kid, but pretty musically aware, and my best friend's heavy metal brother took us!

They opened with Hell's Bells and then ripped right into Let's Get It Up!

I'd never experienced such power and energy and force, and had never heard anyone sing like that!!!!!!

I've seen "better" bands and "better" shows, but there has never been an experience like that.

Probably Jeff Mangum, Feb. 4, 2012.

Jonathan Richman, last night at the Union Chapel.

I don't even have to think hard on this question, but the best live act I've ever seen goes to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in Denver, 2002.  They played for two and a half hours and absolutely blew the doors off the place.  It was my first time hearing a couple of the songs (Racing In The Street, Land of Hope and Dreams) and a number of the tracks from The Rising album were full of emotion.  I wept during Empty Sky - it was so beautiful with only Bruce and Patty Scialfa singing with just a lone piano for accompaniment.  The whole concert was amazing though, with intensity on every song.  I have a good bootleg of the show, but it doesn't even begin to do it justice.  The show was just amazing.

A close second goes to Tori Amos in Denver, 2001.  She played in a small venue (The Paramount Theatre) and we had seats in the 5th row.  It was just Tori playing Piano/Organ with no backing musicians.  Her performance was so raw and emotional in the way she connected with the audience.  On some songs it was like I was the only one there and the song was just for me.  (Unfortunately, the songs would end and I would be reminded that Tori has a bunch of loons in her fan base :-D ).  I have a great bootleg of this show too.

Jay Black
David Cassidy (seriously!)

Brian performing SMiLE at London's RFH moved me the most, but the most impressive had to be Queen at Wembley stadium. Look hard at the DVD and you can see me in the crowd ... somewhere  :p

Awesome........

Mine would be Brian&Band in Summer 2009... the ol' man in damn fine form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmsyJRa5BLE

Yes it was definitely all the more special for being so unexpected. Saw the 2002 tour when he came to Dublin. Had been a fan for many years but never considered it likely to see him perform. Still remember sitting with my brother thinking about our late father during Lay Down Burden. A very special night

The Beatles at their Candlestick show, from right behind the 3rd base dugout.

Jonathan is a 'go every time he's in town' guy for me.  He's always good, but maybe once every three or four shows he's just AMAZING.  Watching him when he really clicks with an audience is one of the best things in life.

Without any doubt , Queen at Wembley Stadium in July 1986 ( Freddy was very much at the top his game ) and I was very very lucky to go to Live Aid at Wembley the summer before , rather surreal watching my fav band ( BB's ) on big screens and the audio as if they actually there at Wembley and the crowd rocking out when in reality they were playing thousands of miles away  - Happy memories

Alternatively the worse show I have ever seen but a top drawer band ( and I have seen them a few times ) was The Stones at Ashton Gate (home of my team Bristol City) in 1982 , terrible...
However the day was saved with a superb set by (another one of my fav bands) The J Geils Band

He's so so soooo good - the night ended with him just going off mic, in the front row and singing several verses of When We Refuse To Suffer and utterly captivating the entire room. He also dances like a bloody champion  ;D

Not the best show I've ever seen in my life, but I saw Of Montreal last night and it was the best of the 8-10 of theirs I've seen. Really, really a good show. Very entertaining (as always) but also by far the most musically talented group they've put forward.

Hey Ocean! with opener Aidan Knight last Wednesday were fantastic, definitely up there with The White Stripes, Guy Davis, and Corey Harris as some of the best live shows I've seen!

I don't get out to shows by big name bands nearly as much as I should...saw OAR in '04 at my college, but didn't know any of the songs...but did get into them a bit later. Saw Naughty by Nature at the same college in '07...the local band opening was better, though I did get a free "OPP" sticker. Saw MGMT in 2010...not bad, I kind of after-the-fact wish they had done a ADITLOAT cover when I read that they liked that song. I've seen more local acts than I can shake a fist at. Some great, some awful, some just OK. Hoping the BBs this summer won't disappoint.

Barry Manilow is a great entertainer.

The Everly Brothers - Dallas Star Amphitheater (kick-off show for their 1984 tour)