Best Concert You've Been To?

So what was the best concert you've ever seen? Who played, where did they play, when did they play, what in particular made it the best, etc.?

For me, it's a two-way tie:

One was Radiohead at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (a lovely outdoor venue here in H-town) right after "Amnesiac" came out (c. 2001?). The show was so amazing, because while they had kind of gotten a reputation for moving away from rock and toward computer-generated sounds, they took all of their songs and made them into true rock songs; they played 3 (3!) encores, including playing a little-known song off of the "Romeo & Juliet" soundtrack which also happens to be one of my favorite Radiohead tunes. They were all so friendly with the crowd and just so amazing live. If you're a Radiohead fan and you haven't seen 'em live, do it the next chance you get.

The other is Stephen Malkmus, who was the lead singer of seminal '90's indie band Pavement. This was right after his first solo disc (I think it was 2001 as well), at the Engine Room, also in Houston. This was just a fun show--lots of between-song banter, lots of Pavement tunes, and the bassist (named JoAnna; the namesake of the song "Jo-Jo's Jacket") decided that she needed to go to the bathroom, so between songs, she just left the stage, walked to the restroom (not backstage--the proletariat restroom) and did her thing; she came back and the band kicked it back up.

Other good shows I'd recommend, if they come through your town: Tenacious D, The Oranges Band, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, The Frames.

 

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One of the best concerts I've ever been to was, believe it or not, the Mighty, Mighty, Bostones at Sacred Heart University. About 3,000 people in a gym, lights out and just madness. College was great.

 

RE: Best Concert You

No Doubt (I think 1997) at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee was fun. Blink 182, HomeGrown, and MXPX, again at the Rave, was good. Pink Floyd in '94 at the HHH dome in Minneapolis was quite entertaining.

I've been to a few bad shows too. Groovy Ghoulies, Me First and the Gimmies Gimmies, and Mr. T Experience at 1st Ave. in Minneapolis...the show was great, but some other things after made a good night go bad. Oh and I sunburned my head at Warped Tour one year when it was in the County Stadium parking lot in Milwaukee. Not fun.

 

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Oh geez I forgot one of the bestest evgnar: HORDE Festival at Alpine Valley (near Milwaukee). Kula Shaker, Primus, Neil Young, Beck, Morphine...the list goes on and on.

 

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David Gilmour this year in Hyde Park was a great concert. Also ACDC at Wembley arena a few years ago was probably the loudest concert I have seen. Page and Plant again at Wembley Arena was another good one.

Probably best concert for me though was in December of last year in Cardiff. The Coral, The Foo Fighters and Oasis on the same bill. An absolute belter of a gig.

By the way, this is my first message I have posted on here, so Hello to all.

 

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The best show I have ever seen was Wilco in Berlin. They played at a small converted train station in east Berlin on a cold night. If you can see the band they always play a good show.

 

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Big Venue: AC/DC in Pensacola when I was 18 years old. Went to a couple of Lollapaloozas, but that just seemed like a big circus.

Small Venue: Widespread Panic in Athens, GA before anyone knew who they hell they were. These were my college years, so many factors as to why they were so good.

 

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Been so long since I went to a concert with over 10,000 that I couldnt even remember the artist's name -Richie Havens!... and Anne Murray was on the bill.

I cannot imagine going to a stadium concert for anyone but the 'Stones' and I passed up the Steel Wheels {value for money just wasnt there, IMO}..
I WOULD go see Guns'n'Roses at the right venue.
Or Bob Seger in a bar..

I guess I was spoiled by being there in the sixties when every bigger bar had a cover band, and the biggest bars had big names in every month or so.

Just posting for perspective, being a geezer, and all...

 

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Best concert I ever saw was Symposium at the Metro here in Chicago. This band is not around anymore but they made an EP and a full-length record back in the late 90's. Talk about a band that had chemistry and energy on the stage, this was them. Phenomenal band and excellent live show!!

I would also say that Mojave 3 at the Ascot Room, which is part of the Quest Club, in Minneapolis was good in November of 2003. Great band and great live show! They played really well that night. I will be seeing these guys in Chicago in October and the next night in Madison, WI. I can't wait! My favorite band!

Last, but not least, Interpol at the Aragon Ballroom here in Chicago. Excellent show and quite simply, I was blown away. I can't wait for a new record by these guys.

 

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Petty, I used to live in the same apartment block as Mick Jagger in London. For the Steel Wheels concert he gave me an envelope with 2 tickets, but being a kind hearted 16 year old, I gave the tickets to my old man 'cos he was a big Stones fan in the day.

My Dad reported that the seats were in the VIP section and he was sitting beside David Bowie. However, the concert was too loud for him and he left after 20 minutes. Needless to say, if I could have divorced my Dad, I would have..

 

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Heh.. a Stones fan.... ????

I woulda ripped up my shirt and stuffed it in ear-holes.. but perhaps his brain cells were rattling too much to think.

 

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Dublin, summer 1983

U2, Eurythmics, Steel Pulse, The Alarm, Big Country, . . . an all day affair.

Either that or the Clash, summer 1982, where the encore was "White Riot" in a downpour. I think that was the only concert where the band exhausted the fans.

:rock:

 

i've been to a lot of gigs, here' some of the stand out gigs i can remember...

Wembley Arena: ACDC, Miami Sound Machine, the Cult, Rush (3 different tour's), best support band Primus!

Wembley Stadium; Soundgarden, Faith No More, Gun's n Rose's (same concert)
Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Long Pig's ( same concert)

Hammersmith Odean, Hawkwind ( yes hawkwind!), Robin Trowl, Blondie, Electric Boy's, Extreme, Living Colour, Joe Satriani,

Shepperd Bush Empire; Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Adrian Legg, the Waterboy's,(best venue)

the Marquee (the old one Wardour Street) ; Sex Pistol's, 999, Chelsea , the Buzzcocks,the Damded (i was 12 or something back then)

just a few, being a muscian, i get a lot of freebies 8)

 

*insert lilty singing voice here* "One of these things is note like the other... one of these things does not belong"

 

Oh, I have to add to this:

Moby's Area 1 tour was awsome as well...The Roots, Nelly Furtado, Incubus, Outkast and Moby. Sweet, especially from the 4th row...