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Your 5 Fav Rock Concerts

There are certainly more than a few geetar fanciers among us judging by all the threads on guitar bands and best guitarist. This thread is about the best rock shows you saw. Let's limit it to the rock shows. Not Blues or Jazz or solo performers. The concerts that raised the hairs on your neck or made you want to take up an instrument or raised your pulse through their sheer energy or just moved you through their performance on stage. The only ones that count are the ones you've seen. After making a list in my mind of the many rock concerts I attended, most from the late 1960's through early 80's, I have come up with mine. It was tough, I’ve seen well over 200 rock concerts over the years and it is really hard coming up with a top 5 but we have to limit this so here go mine. "Yes" - This group stands out as the 2nd best concert I ever saw with Steve Howe and Chris Wakeman. They opened for Emerson, Lake and Palmer and after their set I do feel that EL&P were disheartened and knew they couldn't match it; they didn't. Funny thing is like most, I was there to see EL&P. They were forced to have another concert the following night by popular demand. Virtuoso musicianship, “Poco” - This group could put on a show. I saw them 4 different times in the many various stages of their evolution. They never had the commercial recognition of some of the other great bands of their era but they sure made up for it in their live performances. No one stayed seated during a Poco concert. “Rod Stewart and Faces” - Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart strutting all over the stage. Rod was probably the greatest natural Rock showman I ever saw, including Mick Jagger. His uninhibited manner and constant movement and soulful vocals brought the house down. The crowd wouldn't let him go after the 5th encore so he invited everyone ("especially the pretty young ladies") to his hotel to “party on”, and so they came; Led Zeppelin I had to include them because next to the Doors and of course Jimi Hendrix they were my favorites of that era and I never did get to see either of the other two. The acoustics were bad and they played so loud you couldn’t really hear the music. But they were great none the less and it was special to me. The best should be kept for last. "The Who" was acknowledged as the best concert band at the time. Getting tickets meant getting in line and waiting. I imagine at the time the only tougher ticket would be the “Beatles” and they weren’t even together then. They didn’t disappoint. The reaction of the audience was beyond anything I ever saw at a live concert before or since. The band was so cohesive and the energy they put out put them into a different realm. They just have to be on a very short list of the best live bands ever.
tubegroover
davemon
7 posts
 
1. Genesis '76 Bushnell Hartford, CT
2. Zappa '76 Music Hall Boston, MA
3. Gentle Giant/Jethro Tull '73 Springfield, MA
4. Grateful Dead '77 Springfield, MA
5. Grateful Dead '78 Springfield, MA

Hmmmm....not sure if my rankings are right.....what a long, strange trip its been......
cpdunn99's avatar
cpdunn99
639 posts
 
Any and all Dylan concerts
milagmilag
7 posts
 
Easy:

There is only ONE.

A small rock club back in the 1980's was the El Mocmabo in Toronto. One night it said on the front sign...''tonight's band: The Cockroaches.

Nobody knew'' who the hell they were''but I went anyways.

At around 9:pm a local band came on stage. Nothing special, just your average rock band. They took a break around 10:00 pm.

Lights went out around 10:30, the band came back on stage in the dark....While the lights were still out, and remember this is a small local club packed to the rafters, the first few rifts of ''Start me up.. (Rolling Stones) were hear loud and clear. The lights ( with a strong increase in wattage) came blasting on... WHAT'S THIS ? JAGGER AND THE ROLLING STONES ON STAGE !!!!!!"/*+++**|### UNBELIEVABLE !!!!

They went on to play their hits...some ( and I do mean a small part) of this excitement can be found on the cd ''Kiss you Live'' by the Rolling Stones, where you can read on the back of the cd case the tracks that were recorded at the El Mocambo on this memorable night.

Witnessing the Rolling Stones at ringside blasting away is a once in a lifetime experience. Everything else now is just like watching a movie on a big screen at Madison Square Gardens.

Hope this made for some entertaining reading !

Mike
tubegroover OP
2,320 posts
 
Yeah Mike, I certainly enjoyed it and only wish I were there. I did have an experience similar when I was attending the Philadelphia Folk Festival in the early 70's and Bob Dylan unexpectedly showed up, nothing quite like yours though.
twl
3,251 posts
 
The best one I went to, was Jeff Beck at the Capitol theater is Passaic NJ. He had Mahavishnu John McGlaughlin as the "other" band. At the end, they jammed together. It was awesome.

Next best was David Sancious and Tone, at the Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. campus in NJ. This band was only 3 members, and were so unbelievable in their Fusion capability. If you have never heard David Sancious, you need to listen to his older albums, like "Transformation: The Speed of Love". You won't believe it.

Next was Frank Zappa, at MSG Felt Forum, in NYC. It was the Halloween concerts of 72,and 73. If you have never seen Zappa in the Halloween concerts, you really missed something. In 73 he came out dressed like Cher, with a long black wig.

Then there was a stadium concert that had Eagles, Seals & Crofts, and a couple others. This was back before Joe Walsh joined them. At this concert, at a mid-point, they said,"We'd like to introduce our friend, Joe Walsh". They proceeded to rock out a heavy version of "Rocky Mountain Way" that was the best I ever heard. Totally awesome!

That's my 5, including the 2 Zappa Halloween concerts.
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