ADVERTISEMENT

Picking up on psuro's thread - concerts

mrtailgate

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2005
5,987
3,335
1
Best concert you saw

Worst concert you saw

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going

Act you saw most in concert

Most famous opening act you saw in concert

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again

Here are mine -

Best - I had front row center for the Stones in 75 and had front row center for many Bowie shows. So, I would say Stones in 75 at the Spectrum and Bowie at Hershey Park for Reality last tour.

Worst - Eagles at the Spectrum in Philly. Left before end. Very mechanical, might as well have just been listening to the albums.

Still Kicking Myself - Bob Marley at Spectrum (classes had just started at PSU and did not want to miss the first couple of days), Led Zeppelin (wasn't the biggest Zeppelin fan and figured I'd see them another time - drummer dieS and that was it, and Pink Floyd The Wall at Nassau Collesium (started new job the next day and did not use my ticket)

Most - Dead, Bowie, Bruce, and Allman Brothers. No triple digits for Dead shows but easy 20 shows for each of these artists.

Most Famous Opening Act - Kind of should be disqualified but saw Traffic reunited as part of Dead RFK shows

Concert I Wish I Could Go Back and See Again - Bruce 1975 Tower shows, the craziest atmosphere for any shows I went too. I had started seeing Bruce a LOT starting in 73 and you realized that it would never be the same after the 75 Xmas - New Years run at the Tower. Honorable mention to a bit of a surprise - I saw Jimmy Cliff a couple of years back and he was spectacular.
 
Best concert you saw

Worst concert you saw

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going

Act you saw most in concert

Most famous opening act you saw in concert

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again

Here are mine -

Best - I had front row center for the Stones in 75 and had front row center for many Bowie shows. So, I would say Stones in 75 at the Spectrum and Bowie at Hershey Park for Reality last tour.

Worst - Eagles at the Spectrum in Philly. Left before end. Very mechanical, might as well have just been listening to the albums.

Still Kicking Myself - Bob Marley at Spectrum (classes had just started at PSU and did not want to miss the first couple of days), Led Zeppelin (wasn't the biggest Zeppelin fan and figured I'd see them another time - drummer dieS and that was it, and Pink Floyd The Wall at Nassau Collesium (started new job the next day and did not use my ticket)

Most - Dead, Bowie, Bruce, and Allman Brothers. No triple digits for Dead shows but easy 20 shows for each of these artists.

Most Famous Opening Act - Kind of should be disqualified but saw Traffic reunited as part of Dead RFK shows

Concert I Wish I Could Go Back and See Again - Bruce 1975 Tower shows, the craziest atmosphere for any shows I went too. I had started seeing Bruce a LOT starting in 73 and you realized that it would never be the same after the 75 Xmas - New Years run at the Tower. Honorable mention to a bit of a surprise - I saw Jimmy Cliff a couple of years back and he was spectacular.
Best- I love Jimmy Buffet saw him Riverbend in Cincy center 8 rows back
Worse- tie Bob Dylan in huntington Steve Stills at Shippensburg
Most famous opening act- Dave Bromberg. Pretty sure he opened for Focus
Regret- U2 at Cole field house College Park 1983 just didn't feel like going
Most? buffet 2x unless of course you count the Jordan bros
One again ? James Taylor merryweather post D.C. Don't know if it was JT, being 24, my job, my then squeeze or her TR6
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nitwit
Good topic. I have been to a fair number of concerts and honestly, there are few bands I would go to see and lay out $150 or more anymore for various reasons. Don't dig crowds and traffic, I've already seen most everybody I'd want to see (and the ones still touring are not getting any better) and the noise bothers me now that I'm not a kid anymore. That being said it's hard to identify which is the "best concert" when comparing multiple shows of the same act (sometimes same tour) and varied musical styles but I will give it a go. Memory fades with time.

Best: Either Steely Dan with Michael McDonald, Clapton at Wells Fargo, or the Bruce show in the Spectrum in 84.

Worst: U2 the 3rd time I saw them. Horrible seats up in the last row of the Wells Fargo. Acoustics up there were ass. Probably not their fault. 1A was the Allmans at the BJC. Got front row and had to move back. Again bad acoustics.

Still Kicking Myself: Recently U2 in Phila, but only to fit the topic. They were good but I'm not losing sleep over it.

Most: Bruce x 5, (possibly Billy Joel or Elton John because I can't keep the shows straight how many times I saw them solo or together.) Probably ten combined BJ+EJ.

Most Famous Opening Act: Little Feat or Jeff Beck.

You should include worst opening act. For me that would be Kings of Leon.
 
Best: The Eagles In Atlantic City
Bette Midler at Wells Fargo Center, and many times in the 70s in small venues like the Academy of Music when Barry Manilow was her piano player and music arranger.

And while a student: Simon and Garfunkle in Rec Hall

Worst: K C and the Sunshine Band In Las Vegas, what was I thinking? I walked out.

Saw the most: David Bromberg, Lyle Lovett, Jimmy Buffett

Going this weekend to see James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt at the Wells Fargo Center - 2 from my era.
 
Last edited:
Best - May just be the Metallica show at the Citrus Bowl two nights ago. Difficult to compare different bands, but Metallica totally exceeded expectations. It's not fair to compare the big screen shows with those low tech shows in the 70's and 80's.

Worst - Motley Crue in Jacksonville- it was all about them. They claim it was their last tour ever... we'll see.

I've seen Van Halen x3, Judas Priest x3, and U2, Ted Nugent, .38 Special, Def Leppard, and Dio twice. I've also seen Triumph, Dokken, Krokus, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Muse, Ratt, Alice Cooper, Avenged Sevenfold, and now Volbeat, which is a new band I really like.

Back in the early 80's I saw Judas Priest in Lakeland, FL for $12.50 (General Admission). Good luck getting those tix for under $100 now. That's why I'm skeptical that MC is done. It's huge compared to the pennies they used to play for.
 
Best concert you saw

1. The Scorpions at Riverport Ampitheater in St Louis - just one great song after another and a 6 guitar instrumental jam that was lights out.

2. Ozzy/Motley Crue in Rochester NY when Ozzy was still primed and MC was hitting the road on their first big tour.

Worst concert you saw

A long past over the hill Dr Hook in s small club in Sauget, IL (next to the strip club). Only concert I went to where the lead singer out drank me during the show. Kept blaming the girl on the sound board for the horrible sound. She wasn't the cause, but it was entertaining in that my buddy and I just laughed and laughed during the show.

Act you saw most in concert

Kiss

Most famous opening act you saw in concert

Night Ranger, I guess.

My own category, true professionals

I go with LA Guns for this one. Past their heyday, they were the first opening act of a 3 band show. Played on a hot day in front of a half full arena with the fans still dribbling in for the main acts. Real professionals as they gave off a ton of energy and put on a good show.
 
Best concert you saw- Cream

Worst concert you saw -Janis Joplin

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going- Woodstock

Act you saw most in concert- Fleetwood Mac

Most famous opening act you saw in concert -Journey

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again -Cream, obviously
 
Best (Visually) - Nine Inch Nails - Mohegan Sun 2008 - Set was designed by the guys that design Cirque Du Soleil shows and it was totally amazing

Best (Overall) - Foo Fighters - Worcester 2008 - Really enjoyed the show and the band. Second place goes to Foghat 1982 at a bar in Des Moines. They were a little past their prime, but blew the doors off the place.

Worst - Counting Crows with Michael Franti and Augustana - all 3 bands were on the stage at the same time, jamming. It was horrible.

Regrets - Led Zeppelin in DC 1977 - I was in 9th grade and a girl I was crazy about had tickets and maybe some pot. Mom caught wind of it and shut me down ( I think my brother let the cat out of the bag). Could've been a great night (sigh).

Most - Jimmy Buffet - I went mostly for the parking lot parties

Famous opening act - Bon Jovi opening for the Scorpions in Chicago in 1983. Could barely hear them over the screaming girls.
 
Best ( most fun ) - Spinal Tap at the Palumbo Center in Pgh in 1992. It was their Break Like the Wind tour.
 
Best - May just be the Metallica show at the Citrus Bowl two nights ago. Difficult to compare different bands, but Metallica totally exceeded expectations. It's not fair to compare the big screen shows with those low tech shows in the 70's and 80's.

Worst - Motley Crue in Jacksonville- it was all about them. They claim it was their last tour ever... we'll see.

I've seen Van Halen x3, Judas Priest x3, and U2, Ted Nugent, .38 Special, Def Leppard, and Dio twice. I've also seen Triumph, Dokken, Krokus, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Muse, Ratt, Alice Cooper, Avenged Sevenfold, and now Volbeat, which is a new band I really like.

Back in the early 80's I saw Judas Priest in Lakeland, FL for $12.50 (General Admission). Good luck getting those tix for under $100 now. That's why I'm skeptical that MC is done. It's huge compared to the pennies they used to play for.

I was at the same Judas Priest show! Defenders of the Faith tour, right? I think I still have the T-shirt somewhere. Weird thing about the shirt is that it shrunk a lot.

I was in high school in Hawaii in 1979 and almost went to see Fleetwood Mac at Aloha Stadium. But tickets were $16 and there was NO WAY I was going to pay $16 to see a band.
 
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Origi...3A1febad8415d0a994b5562a64ffef0952%7Ciid%3A10
I was at the same Judas Priest show! Defenders of the Faith tour, right? I think I still have the T-shirt somewhere. Weird thing about the shirt is that it shrunk a lot.

I was in high school in Hawaii in 1979 and almost went to see Fleetwood Mac at Aloha Stadium. But tickets were $16 and there was NO WAY I was going to pay $16 to see a band.

I'll buy the shirt from you... Wish I still had mine. Have you priced them?
 
Last edited:
Best concert you saw- Cream

Worst concert you saw -Janis Joplin

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going- Woodstock

Act you saw most in concert- Fleetwood Mac

Most famous opening act you saw in concert -Journey

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again -Cream, obviously


Well done! My buddy had two older brothers with there being about 6-7 years between oldest and youngest. My buddy was the youngest brother and for some reason my friends mom let the oldest brother take the two younger brothers to their first concert - Hendrix. So my friend can say that he saw Hendrix.

The three acts I wish I saw were Hendrix, Janis, and the Doors (even more so than the Beatles). So, I'm envious of you seeing Janis.
 
Best - U2 Worcester Centrum 1982 (War Tour)

Worst - Aerosmith 1982... Steve Tyler OD'd on stage (was when Perry and Whitford were not in the band)

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going - AC/DC last tour right before Brian Johnson had to step out

Act you saw most in concert - Tie... Ministry and Aerosmith and One Direction (3x each)

Most famous opening act you saw in concert - The Alarm opened for U2 in 1982

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again - AC/DC "For Those About to Rock" tour 1982
 
Best - May just be the Metallica show at the Citrus Bowl two nights ago. Difficult to compare different bands, but Metallica totally exceeded expectations. It's not fair to compare the big screen shows with those low tech shows in the 70's and 80's.

Worst - Motley Crue in Jacksonville- it was all about them. They claim it was their last tour ever... we'll see.

I've seen Van Halen x3, Judas Priest x3, and U2, Ted Nugent, .38 Special, Def Leppard, and Dio twice. I've also seen Triumph, Dokken, Krokus, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Muse, Ratt, Alice Cooper, Avenged Sevenfold, and now Volbeat, which is a new band I really like.

Back in the early 80's I saw Judas Priest in Lakeland, FL for $12.50 (General Admission). Good luck getting those tix for under $100 now. That's why I'm skeptical that MC is done. It's huge compared to the pennies they used to play for.

What, no AC/DC?!!
 
Best: Stones '75, at the LA Forum.

Worst: Can't recall any that were truly BAD (guess I lucked out), but The Who at the Shoreline Ampitheatre (in roughly 2010) was not up to their standard. Daltrey's voice was particularly shot that day.

Concert I kicked myself for not attending: Any Queen concert. Never saw they live.

Act I saw most in concert: Little Feat, by far. I love that band. Have seen them roughly 20 times, but they are a pale imitation of what they were when Lowell George was fronting the band.

Most famous opening act I saw in concert: Fleetwood Mac, opening for Dave Mason at the LA Forum in 1974.

Concert I wish I could go back in time and see again: Earth, Wind and Fire at the Universal Ampitheatre in 1988, so I could shake Jim Brown's hand. He was right behind me in the drinks line during intermission, and I thought it would be uncool to ask him for a handshake. Wish I had.
 
Best - Tie, ABB Beacon Theater, Lollapalooza 92 (Pearl Jam, RHCP, Ministry, Soundgarden, Ice Cube), Fugazi in the HUB ballroom

Worst - Tie, Dylan at the BJC, George Clinton at Rec Hall, both sucked donkey

Regret - Dead right before Jerry passed

Most - ABB x 7

Opener - Jimmie Vaughn, SRV's brother. Honestly, played a lot like his brother.

Again - Buffet at the Starlake, we planned on tailgaiting for hours, got stuck in traffic and only had an hour and a half, chugged rum, I remember the encore and that's about it. My wife said it was fun, I guess I believe her.....
 
Best, there are so many but Cassandra Wilson and Shirley Horne at Carnegie Hall during the JVC Jazz festival in 2000 was insane. I am a huge Jazz fan and this may have been it from the hundreds of jazz concerts I have attended.

Worst. Heart. Sucked.

Regret. None. If I were a little younger I would say Miles Davis.

Act I saw the most. The Grateful Dead. Well over 150 shows with many subsets thrown in as well. 76 to 95 and beyond. 77 Englishtown with New Riders and Marshall Tucker was insane CSNY comes in second.

Opener: Queen. We saw them open for Mott The Hoople in 73 right after they released their first album. Keep Yourself Alive was a great out of the gate rocker.

Show I wish I could go back in time for: B52s at the Ontario Theater in Adams Morgan DC in the late 70s. Insane. or Lou Reed or Frank Zappa.

Most massive Buzz, possibly The New Riders of the Purple Sage show at the Astor Theater in Reading Pa. where Bonnie Raitt and Jerry also played.
 
Best concert you saw

Worst concert you saw

Concert you were going to go to and kick yourself for not going

Act you saw most in concert

Most famous opening act you saw in concert

Concert you went to and wish you could go back in time and see again

Here are mine -

Best - I had front row center for the Stones in 75 and had front row center for many Bowie shows. So, I would say Stones in 75 at the Spectrum and Bowie at Hershey Park for Reality last tour.

Worst - Eagles at the Spectrum in Philly. Left before end. Very mechanical, might as well have just been listening to the albums.

Still Kicking Myself - Bob Marley at Spectrum (classes had just started at PSU and did not want to miss the first couple of days), Led Zeppelin (wasn't the biggest Zeppelin fan and figured I'd see them another time - drummer dieS and that was it, and Pink Floyd The Wall at Nassau Collesium (started new job the next day and did not use my ticket)

Most - Dead, Bowie, Bruce, and Allman Brothers. No triple digits for Dead shows but easy 20 shows for each of these artists.

Most Famous Opening Act - Kind of should be disqualified but saw Traffic reunited as part of Dead RFK shows

Concert I Wish I Could Go Back and See Again - Bruce 1975 Tower shows, the craziest atmosphere for any shows I went too. I had started seeing Bruce a LOT starting in 73 and you realized that it would never be the same after the 75 Xmas - New Years run at the Tower. Honorable mention to a bit of a surprise - I saw Jimmy Cliff a couple of years back and he was spectacular.

Best Concert was probably Talking Heads 1983 tour (Stop Making Sense Tour) at the old Stanley Theater in the Burgh.
A very close second was the Peter Gabriel So tour at Reunion Arena in Dallas in '86.

I've been luck I really haven't seen a "bad" concert but my least favorite was Bruce Springsteen (I'm just not a Bruce fan).
 
Best 2 -R.E.M./Madness/Joan Jet/Police@JFK.10,000 Maniacs/R.E.M. Worst-U2 @ the 930 club DC
 
Best, there are so many but Cassandra Wilson and Shirley Horne at Carnegie Hall during the JVC Jazz festival in 2000 was insane. I am a huge Jazz fan and this may have been it from the hundreds of jazz concerts I have attended.

Worst. Heart. Sucked.

Regret. None. If I were a little younger I would say Miles Davis.

Act I saw the most. The Grateful Dead. Well over 150 shows with many subsets thrown in as well. 76 to 95 and beyond. 77 Englishtown with New Riders and Marshall Tucker was insane CSNY comes in second.

Opener: Queen. We saw them open for Mott The Hoople in 73 right after they released their first album. Keep Yourself Alive was a great out of the gate rocker.

Show I wish I could go back in time for: B52s at the Ontario Theater in Adams Morgan DC in the late 70s. Insane. or Lou Reed or Frank Zappa.

Most massive Buzz, possibly The New Riders of the Purple Sage show at the Astor Theater in Reading Pa. where Bonnie Raitt and Jerry also played.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tgar
Best: Zeppelin in Landover, MD '77. Not even close and I've seen a lot of shows.

Worst: Have to go with the Stones in Philly in '79. They were mailing it in and only played 70 minutes. A riot ensued. To be fair, Mick had the flu. Peter Tosh, Foreigner ( who was god-awful) and another act I don't remember were the openers and all got booed off the stage.

Most: Kiss, Queen, Alice Cooper, Boston off the top of my head.

Opening act: Thin Lizzy for Queen. I wasn't expecting much but they were fantastic. My biggest surprise group by far.
 
Best: Pearl Jam at the Spectrum, 2009 night 3.

Still can't believe I missed the Smashing Pumpkins/Pearl Jam/Chilli Peppers show at Rec Hall while I was a student.
 
Was anyone here at Live Aid? Watching some old vids from that right now. Good memories. Many of my friends and I spent the entire day watching that whole deal.

Not the concert but I worked downtown and went over to the Four Seasons after my friend told me he was sitting next to Clapton in the lounge area there. Stayed there until probably 2am waiting to see Dylan arrive. A limo pulled up every 5 mins it seemed. Saw Tina Turner, Jagger, Robert Plant, and countless others arrive. There was a hotel across the street and the artists walked back and forth between the hotels to visit each other. Biggest reaction to arrival was Madonna- people went crazy when she got there. Biggest A-hole by far was Jack Nicholson. I walked between the hotels with The Thompson Twins. I might have got a bigger reaction then they did. Not one person paid even the least attention to them.
 
Best: Rage Against the Machine - 9:30 Club in DC
Worst: REM
Missed: Clapton in DC
Most: Phish and the Grateful Dead - too many to count, too wasted to remember
 
Best: Herbie Hancock
Worst: late 70's Aerosmith (considering expectations)
Most: Pat Metheny
Missed: Led Zeppelin/Freddie Hubbard
 
Best: Herbie Hancock
Worst: late 70's Aerosmith (considering expectations)
Most: Pat Metheny
Missed: Led Zeppelin/Freddie Hubbard
Saw Freddie Hubbard in 75. Saw Herbie with Chick a couple of years ago, that was pretty special.
 
Saw Freddie Hubbard in 75. Saw Herbie with Chick a couple of years ago, that was pretty special.

Sweet! Didn't see the Herbie/Chick tour - would have loved to. Would have loved to see Freddie especially with the VSOP Quintet which, arguably, could have been the best band ever assembled.
 
Best - Have to also vote for Peter Gabriel 1986 So tour. I saw this twice - the first show was at Bryndan Byrne arena in NJ. One week later I'm in Chicago attending the food industry's biggest trade show and I have a dinner scheduled with an important (at that time) client as well as my boss. I find out from the concierge when making my dinner reservation that PG is playing that night at Rosemont Horizon near ORD. I basically played sick, told my boss I was throwing up in my hotel room, basically asked if he could take out client without me. He reluctantly said yes, I snuck down some back elevators from my hotel and grabbed a cab to the show. The next morning I arrive at my booth (slightly hung over) I told him I must have picked up a case of food poisoning. The boss never figured out what happened.

Worst - Steely Dan - Beacon Theatre in 2008 Ish. Talking about an act going thru the motions. Donald Fagan is just a flat out weird dude. Played 90 minutes - tickets were $125 each. So basically a $1 per minute with absolutely zero improvisation.

Most - ABB- basically every year they did the NYC Beacon shows (6+) from 2008 on. Second was Rush - 4 times at Allentown AG Hall 1976-1979

Opening Act - AC/DC opening for UFO at AG Hall. This was in 1977 right before/during the release of Highway to Hell. Von Scott, Angus in his school boy uni... UFO didn't stand a chance.
 
Last edited:
Best concert I saw: that would have to be one of the 40+ Yes shows I've attended. A couple that stand out was the debut of Trevor Rabin at Millersville Univ. on 2-28-84. Was hard to beat the Union Tour in 1991 from the front row in the round at the Spectrum with 8 hall of fame musicians on stage.

Best opening act: George Thorogood in 1981 for the Stones at JFK. Also loved Peter Frampton opening up for Yes in '09.

Nicest musician I met back stage: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, great guy!

Show I was sad to see cancelled: Booked an entire 10 day vacation in Colorado back in the summer of '08 to see Yes at Red Rocks for their 40th anniversary tour. Unfortunately Jon developed respiratory issues. Still had a blast in Colorado, a vacation paradise!

Hidden gem: Peter Gabriel at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem as he did a warm-up show in preparation for Woodstock back in '94.

If I could go back in time: Any Led Zeppelin tour would do it for me. My second favorite band of all-time.

Most scenic venue for a show: Maryhill Winery on the Columbian River Gorge in Washington State.

https://goo.gl/photos/9echnsi3n1gbKcuEA

Best photos I've taken at a show: Yes in Lancaster last July.

https://goo.gl/photos/X8KXcnbrXjwn7Y58A

Best Steve Howe jam I've uploaded to youtube in the past year:

 
Best concert I saw: that would have to be one of the 40+ Yes shows I've attended. A couple that stand out was the debut of Trevor Rabin at Millersville Univ. on 2-28-84. Was hard to beat the Union Tour in 1991 from the front row in the round at the Spectrum with 8 hall of fame musicians on stage.

Best opening act: George Thorogood in 1981 for the Stones at JFK. Also loved Peter Frampton opening up for Yes in '09.

Nicest musician I met back stage: Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, great guy!

Show I was sad to see cancelled: Booked an entire 10 day vacation in Colorado back in the summer of '08 to see Yes at Red Rocks for their 40th anniversary tour. Unfortunately Jon developed respiratory issues. Still had a blast in Colorado, a vacation paradise!

Hidden gem: Peter Gabriel at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem as he did a warm-up show in preparation for Woodstock back in '94.

If I could go back in time: Any Led Zeppelin tour would do it for me. My second favorite band of all-time.

Most scenic venue for a show: Maryhill Winery on the Columbian River Gorge in Washington State.

https://goo.gl/photos/9echnsi3n1gbKcuEA

Best photos I've taken at a show: Yes in Lancaster last July.

https://goo.gl/photos/X8KXcnbrXjwn7Y58A

Best Steve Howe jam I've uploaded to youtube in the past year:



Thanks for sharing all the pics. Very cool
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT