There have been far too many to list here, blues, jazz, folk, classical, disco, reggae, soul, hard core, crooners, punk, rap, electronic, techno, electronic dance music, rock-includes psychedelic, blues rock, garage rock, Top 40 type bands, progressive, glam, art rock, soft rock, and some others fit into sub genres I won't go into.
Surprising, I'd have to say Neil Diamond, mid 70's. While I enjoyed his early Top 40 hits, I was into more complex sophisticated music in that period, considered him kind of cornball at this point. My gal at the time convinced me to go, I was so wrong about Neil. Great band, great sound quality, covered a lot of territory, and what a showman, how a real professional does it.
Shawn Phillips, again another gal convincing me to go to show, I'd never heard of him at this time, early 70's. Another great show, man, what a voice, magnificent!
Television, small venue, mid 80's, really good friend sound man for show, audiophile as well. Great band, two lead guitars, great sound, perhaps best ever for rock band. That friend now works in sound reinforcement in the Caribbean doing reggae shows.
Another great surprise was enjoying hard core mosh pits in mid 80's, some were too violent for me, Black Flag being one, blood was flowing, including one of my friends. Circle Jerks were one of the nice relaxed ones, lots of physical contact without provocation. Some of the hard core bands promoted violence, others, were more about feeling alienated, yet elicited a sense of everyone being together in that alienation, I could relate at the time. Most hilarious hard core memory was Black Flag bloodbath in Pontiac Michigan, same night the Pope came to Silverdome, hard core people with spiked hair, rings in nose, ears, tattoos, leather walking on same streets in opposite direction of the righteous and pious going to gaze upon the Pope, what a study in social demographics!
