If you had access to a time machine, what concerts would you go back to see?

I missed a legendary rock band's epic performance in 1969.  Yes, I was there, at the venue that day.  But, I missed the performance.  The "when" and "why" I missed the performance may be more interesting than the performance itself.

It was Labor Day Weekend, 1969.  One of my buddies borrowed his parent's car and crammed in 4 blue collar community college midwestern 18-year-olds, food, tent, sleeping bags, beer and cooler and pointed it towards Dallas/Ft Worth to attend the Texas International Pop Festival.  A 'little" 150,000 attended concert that nobody knew about that took place 2 weeks after the concert that everybody knew about -- Woodstock.

Day One gave us Janis Joplin, Grand Funk, BB King, Chicago, Canned Heat and more.  We tried prove that 4 dudes from Missouri could party just as hard (and, live to tell about it) as any of those other states.   Day Two looked promising with a star-studded line up.  About half way thru BB King, we decided it was time for nutrition and a break from the action.  As we wandered back to the campground we noticed a little commotion on the shore of the lake.  And, some boats anchored on the lake in pretty close proximity.  We strolled over for a closer look.  It appeared that some guys and gals were swimming in the lake -- and, left their clothes on the bank.  Of particular interest was a blond girl wading about waste high who could have easily graced the cover of Playboy magazine.  This was all the motivation we needed to sprint back to the car, lock our valuables in the trunk, and take the plunge, sans clothing.  We're not sure just how much time transpired, but it was "quality time" by any standard.

Dry bodies and proper attire later, we returned to the concert.  A band had just finished and was toting their equipment off the stage.  The on-deck group set up and moments later, the lively sound of percussion instruments filled the venue -- Santana.

It wasn't until we got back home that we discovered the group we missed while we were skinny dipping was -- LED ZEPPELIN!!

My AARP brain may have forgotten the experience of the Zeppelin performance.  But, I'll never forget the skinny dipping.

If I could time travel, we would have timed our skinny dipping to sync with a less formidable band.

Led Zeppelin, Elvis and Frank Sinatra 

Oops, left out Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans.  

Traffic from 1967 - 1973. I'd want to see the original lineup with Dave Mason, the modified original lineup for "Welcome To The Canteen" (with Jim Gordon & Ric Gretch), the "John Barleycorn" lineup and the lineup with the Muscle Shoals boys that did "Low Spark" & "Shootout At the Fantasy Factory."

Also, nice to see a so many mentions for Mick Taylor!  

     Surround sound Dark Side of The Moon at Hollywood (FL) Sportatorium would certainly be at the top of my list.  At times, the sounds were circling in both directions, from stereo from the main stage, stereo in the rear, and full range speakers on either side. 
     Alice Cooper's current band at Fort Lauderdale's Eau Rene at the Performing arts Center, about five years ago (The tour that is shown on AXS as, "From Austin City Limits") for the music, and early Killer and Billion Dollar Babies, for the lace and bras, and general outlandishness that Rocky Horror quashed.     Definitely, early 1970's Jethro Tull "Stand Up" tour from the early 1970's at Pirates World,   near Hollywood, FL, and "Aqualung" the next year from West Palm Beach's Leaky Tepee, in which the band played the title song for over an hour.  When the applause finally died down, Ian , then Anderson said, "For our second number...."     Ike and Tina Turner from Pirates World.     Frank Zappa from the "Overnight Sensation", "Apostrophe" era, and Grateful Dead's Wall of sound for the 30 McIntosh amps and a zillion JBL speakers, both from Miami Jai Alai in the early 1970's. Dead'system designed by the king of LD's Owlsey Stanley, and get this:  John Curl! Yes, our great designer, John Curl.
      Led Zeppelin at the Sportatorium.     I could go on and on, and yes, I am wearing my t-shirt that proudly proclaims, "I may be old, but I saw the great bands."     Oh yeah, The post Woodstock, 1969, 4 day Thanksgiving, Palm Beach Music and Arts Fesitival, with the Stones, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many many more, but hopefully with better weather.     Al Hirt from his New Orleans club.  Maynard Ferguson at the University of Miami in the early 1980's.  Buddy Guy (Tennessee Theater and Au Renee).  Dizzy Gillespie from The Bijou in Knoxville.
I could actually go on and on!