2. best-of
  3. 977350766

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
wvick
70 posts
 
In no particular order but some of the best were; Yes in the round with Wakeman and Howe in Hampton Va late 70's, U2 ZooTV tour in El Paso TX early 90's, ZZ Top anytime, Clapton in Albuquerque early 90's and again in Seattle 2002, Kansas in Hampton VA early 80's, I think.

Best that I missed: Led Zepplin and Stevie Ray Vaughn
tweakgeek
76 posts
 
Both Led Zeppelin shows at Knebworth in 1979 were phenomenal. Unfortunately, most of their performances during their 1977 tour of the US were marginal.
audiopeasant
9 posts
 
Talking Heads, Santa Barbara County Bowl '83 ish. The Other Ones, Lakewood Amphitheater, Atlanta, Sep '00. Phil Lesh and Friends, Great Woods, Jul '02. Widespread Panic, Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA, Oct '02. The Blasters some bar in Kansas City, '82, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Zoo Amphitheater, Oklahoma City, Dave Matthews
troutki
40 posts
 
One of the best shows I ever attended was Pearl Jam in Las Cruses, NM in 1995. It was such a powerful show and it was on the ill-fated "Non-Ticketmaster" Tour. Great show. Great rendition of Blood.
Saw them this month in Oklahoma City and they played "Deep" and "Blood" back-to-back. Great show again.
bianchi27
189 posts
 
I wish I could have been around for some of the classic shows that people have been reporting on, but here is my list and I am including solo performances because some of them were the best shows I ever saw by far and will not eliminate based on someone's criteria. A rock show is a rock show

1) Roger Waters - Radio Kaos Tour
This shows was perfect in all areas, it was an absolutely brilliant realization of this concept album and throwing in the video of arnold layne was great.

2) Jethro Tull - although circa 1992 it was an absolutely fabulous show in a 2,000 seat auditorium with wonderful accoustics and old dirty Ian was at his filthy best. and the inclusion of "my god" was great.

3) Elton John - around 1981, this show was a last minute invite and it was phenominal. Elton still rocked back then, even if I had to listen to that insipid song "empty garden". He was reunited with his old band mates and ftom "funeral to a friend" until the last encore.

4)David Bowie - Lets Dance tour
Although no SRV and that insipidly paced version of "lets dance" this show was a killer. And since I was not old enough to see him in his at his productive best, he brought out the classics, including "Station to Station" among others and I was overwelmed.

5) Stevie Wonder - In the early 1980's he did a number of gigs at a 2000 seat auditorium in Detroit and did a retrospective of his career to that point. This event was later put on Showtime cable I believe.He even did fingertips, and did an impression of himself at that age. Me and my friends were some of the youngest members in the audience and the music that man made that night, and what I hear all those nights was breathtaking. It was a nostagila party for most but for us it was just great evening of wonderful music played by a genius who still mattered.

Now for the worst show I ever saw was a tie:

Rolling Stones 1981 - massive football statium show in which the sound was horrible the band played like crap. If it were anybody else they would have been booed from the stage. Santana was the opening act and even in that tomb of a place performed an awsome set that rocked the house and even sounded good.

U2 - It was a small tune up 8 city tour for their "unforgettable fire" release. And I could not wait. in a 2000 seat auditorium I was expecting greatness after having seen the performance at red rocks, although on tape, I thought this best was fantastic. But it just seems they went through the motions and then only played for 85 mins. What a let down. The only good that came out of it was The Waterboys were the supporting act and they rocked I went out the next week and bought "this is the sea"
More to discover