Best and Worst Rock Concert Moments

Tom Waits in New York, then in Columbus. Amazing performer, amazing set and lights,great songs.

Leonard Cohen in Paris. Incredible voice, increadible crowd. He played that song, oh what is it, "the partisan", the whole audience sang along in french. It's an old french song about the resistance, written in the 40s. He read some of his songs, spoke some, played like 3 hours.

Patti smith, bower ballroom. One show tom verlaine sat in, michael stipe served champagne and sang later, and sonic youth played later. another, she just sounded beautiful, could get as close to the stage as you wanted.

2nd best: COLOSSEUM at Keitele Jazz Festival, Finland 2010. They were heading for seventy but played and sang like young men, and Barbara Thompson was absolutely brilliant, with her style of her very own that fitted the music nicely and just perfectly. Of course, we got an excellent drum solo from the maestro himself, Jon Hiseman. As always. Not a single boring moment from these veteran master musicians. Stunning experience.

The best: GENESIS LIVE REVISITED EXTENDED LIVE, Spring 2014 in a small venue in Finland. Faultless classic Gabriel era GENESIS music performed LIVE by the best professional musicians available conducted by the maestro Steve Hackett himself, for three hours with just a short ten minute break. Sound balance & quality practically perfect as well. No drinks, no wives, no girlfriends/chicks messing around, just a perfect illusion of being in a GENESIS concert in the 70´s. Me and my buddy found ourselves shouting "The Knife" ! Nad Sylvan was/is the perfect interpreter for the classic GENESIS stuff. They made the illusion of the music alive in today for those who missed the band in their glory days forty years ago. There will never again be another concert that caliper... unless they do it again. But that´s unlikely. Me and my buddy were blessed. Stunning faultless performance. End of an Era.
Period.

I will think about this and get back to you .

Wow I really enjoyed reading every one of these posts! Brings back old memories. 

Where to begin? At an AC/DC concert, Pat Travers opening in Norfolk VA, a tiny hall, between bands the bathrooms where up on the second floor messanine, and people were trying to get down to get a close place for AC/DC (with Bon Scott) and people were trying to get up to the bathrooms! The stairs got jammed and people were walking on top of people's heads! We had to pee under the bleachers! Awesome show though. 

ZZ Top, Richmond VA, about '81? Someone threw what sounded like a quarter stick of dynamite on stage! Almost stopped the show, but they came back and started again. A later ZZ Top show they threw the sticks into the crowd, my friend caught them! And I wound up in a huge fist fight! With some guy a foot taller than me! He got a good hook on my right ear, but I busted his lip, call it a draw? 

And at an all weekend concert in '80 at Slades Park in Surry VA, like 10 or 12 bands over two whole days! Last band to play, Greg Alman, about the second song, someone threw a full beer and hit him square on the forehead! Show over. 

Hootie and the Blowfish in Richmond VA, at the fairgrounds, a nice outdoor amphitheater there. It clouded up, and a huge lightning bolt hit the building! I mean a bolt 30 feet in diameter! Shut the place down, then it rained so hard it flooded the stadium, water 3 foot deep was rushing through the first 20 rows! Everyone ran to the shelter of a nearby building, after about an hour and a half they got the show going, and finished up.  But then everyone was stuck in the mud in the parking lot! Took me 4 hours to get out of there. 

Wow I could go on and on! I've been to a lot of shows. They just don't throw shows like they used to. I saw a few alt bands a few years back, and with assigned seats, they wouldn't let anyone approach the stage, too much security, no smoking or drinking, I.e., no fun at all. Last rock concert I'll ever go to. I'd rather see a local band in a pub where I can enjoy myself and not spend $150 on a ticket.