most memorable concerts?

Fran604g

Fran604g

Just Call Me Junior
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From the vault: summer 1977.

I wasn't willing to drive my '68 Mustang all the way to Rich Stadium in Buffalo from my townhouse in Henrietta NY (no license, no valid regi, insurance or inspection - although it was my daily driver-  regardless), and no one else was going.

Couldn't find a ride with anyone I knew.

So I hitchhiked there by myself.

I walked to the Thruway (I-90) entrance a couple miles from my townhouse, and with a big cardboard sign that said "Rich Stadium", I held out my thumb and eventually got lucky when 3 RIT (nearby Rochester Institute of Technology) students picked me up who just happened to be going there.

Lucky to say the least, they even took me back home after the concert, and dropped me off at my door. Crazy great time!

A VERY memorable TRIP, to say the least. I'll never forget that day. I wore that shirt and tux jacket the entire day.
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August 1982, Grand Circus Theatre (Now the Detroit Opera House)* in Detroit.
The Clash.
They opened with London Calling and got the place rocking right from the start. It’s been a long time, so I’m not sure how far into the show it began, but people started making their way onto the stage and diving back into the crowd. Eventually there were so many that they overwhelmed security and just started dancing on the stage. I got into the crush of people but not close enough to get on stage. Strummer, Jones and Simonon ended up on the drummer’s riser to finish a song and then they all left the stage. Somebody came out and announced that if everybody would get off the stage, the band would come back out and finish the set. The stage cleared and for the rest of the show nobody climbed back on stage. Best concert I’ve ever been to.

* Fascinating history of what began as a movie theatre to the extensive renovations to become the Detroit Opera House with a grand opening featuring Luciano Pavarotti.

I last saw Beetlejuice there.

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I think my buddy and I saw Jean-Luc Ponty at the Detroit Opera House, back around 2001 or so. It was one of the smaller theater venues down there but wasn't the Fillmore, Fox, Orch Hall, etc. Might be thinking of another place, but it was a perfect venue as the band didn't need to play loud to be heard.

A few memorables (including the above).

Peter Gabriel for his Up album, I'm thinking 2003 or so. It was the second tour where he visited smaller venues rather than arenas, and I got tix at Pine Knob. The show was sold out or only had crappy lawn seats. On a lark, I checked 36 hours prior to the concert and I got aisle seats in row I (nine from the stage), and the band picked up portable instruments and walked the venue for "Solsbury Hill" up and down the aisles. The theatrics were scaled to fit the stage. Was worth every penny I paid!

The Cramps at The Majestic, which is attached to a bar and pool hall. That was 2003-2004? People watching was as interesting as seeing The Cramps after having played their records for 25 years. Poison Ivy as sexy as ever, and Lux as always sporting his size twelve sequined pumps. 🤣 The opening act was dreadfully bad; the crowd pretty much ignored it. Upon leaving the theater, the floor was covered in broken glass beer bottles. I didn't buy any paraphenalia after the show, but one of the featured items was apparently a Cramps mainstay--a back scratcher...?? 😁 I did get a Bad Music for Bad People t-shirt locally that week, though.

First "pop" live show I attended was KC & The Sunshine Band at Pine Knob; "Please Don't Go" was the current hit, so he was still red hot on the charts. My cousin worked as KC's main sound engineer at the time and comped the family tickets; he warned us it could be deafeningly loud, although it turned out to be fine. Didn't get to meet the band though--KC was supposedly in a terrible mood, so we steered clear. Apparently the promoter didn't do his job promoting the show and attendance was poor; the lawn patrons soon filed into the pavillion and it still wasn't full. (I never heard a peep about the gig on the radio or in the paper, unlike all the other concerts that summer at the Knob.) Still was a good show, and KC even paid $1000/minute past curfew to extend the encore as a "thank you" for the audience that did turn out, ending the show in better spirits. Opening acts were Jimmy "Bo" Horne (who had the dance club hit "Spank") and Stephanie Mills.

Seeing Prince during his historic 6-performance run at the Masonic Temple on the tour for the 1999 album was another unforgettable gig. The Time opened, and almost overshadowed the main act. I believe he returned to Detroit much later in the tour and played at JLA.

I've wanted to see some in recent years but refuse to go through the LiveNation/Ticketmaster monopoly and pay insane prices. I'll stream a video of it at home instead. Unless it's a small venue outside the monopoly's grasp, my concert days are over and done with.
 
Rudy said:
I think my buddy and I saw Jean-Luc Ponty at the Detroit Opera House, back around 2001 or so. It was one of the smaller theater venues down there but wasn't the Fillmore, Fox, Orch Hall, etc. Might be thinking of another place, but it was a perfect venue as the band didn't need to play loud to be heard.

A few memorables (including the above).

Peter Gabriel for his Up album, I'm thinking 2003 or so. It was the second tour where he visited smaller venues rather than arenas, and I got tix at Pine Knob. The show was sold out or only had crappy lawn seats. On a lark, I checked 36 hours prior to the concert and I got aisle seats in row I (nine from the stage), and the band picked up portable instruments and walked the venue for "Solsbury Hill" up and down the aisles. The theatrics were scaled to fit the stage. Was worth every penny I paid!

The Cramps at The Majestic, which is attached to a bar and pool hall. That was 2003-2004? People watching was as interesting as seeing The Cramps after having played their records for 25 years. Poison Ivy as sexy as ever, and Lux as always sporting his size twelve sequined pumps. 🤣 The opening act was dreadfully bad; the crowd pretty much ignored it. Upon leaving the theater, the floor was covered in broken glass beer bottles. I didn't buy any paraphenalia after the show, but one of the featured items was apparently a Cramps mainstay--a back scratcher...?? 😁 I did get a Bad Music for Bad People t-shirt locally that week, though.

First "pop" live show I attended was KC & The Sunshine Band at Pine Knob; "Please Don't Go" was the current hit, so he was still red hot on the charts. My cousin worked as KC's main sound engineer at the time and comped the family tickets; he warned us it could be deafeningly loud, although it turned out to be fine. Didn't get to meet the band though--KC was supposedly in a terrible mood, so we steered clear. Apparently the promoter didn't do his job promoting the show and attendance was poor; the lawn patrons soon filed into the pavillion and it still wasn't full. (I never heard a peep about the gig on the radio or in the paper, unlike all the other concerts that summer at the Knob.) Still was a good show, and KC even paid $1000/minute past curfew to extend the encore as a "thank you" for the audience that did turn out, ending the show in better spirits. Opening acts were Jimmy "Bo" Horne (who had the dance club hit "Spank") and Stephanie Mills.

Seeing Prince during his historic 6-performance run at the Masonic Temple on the tour for the 1999 album was another unforgettable gig. The Time opened, and almost overshadowed the main act. I believe he returned to Detroit much later in the tour and played at JLA.

I've wanted to see some in recent years but refuse to go through the LiveNation/Ticketmaster monopoly and pay insane prices. I'll stream a video of it at home instead. Unless it's a small venue outside the monopoly's grasp, my concert days are over and done with.
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I’m of the same mind with concerts now. Prices have far outpaced inflation from the late 70s early 80s when I was going to a ton of shows. And I’m doubly as sure not to pay the ridiculous prices for arena size concerts. Been to lots of concerts at the various arenas around Detroit and the sound almost always sucks.
 
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Fran604g said:
From the vault: summer 1977.

I wasn't willing to drive my '68 Mustang all the way to Rich Stadium in Buffalo from my townhouse in Henrietta NY (no license, no valid regi, insurance or inspection - although it was my daily driver-  regardless), and no one else was going.

Couldn't find a ride with anyone I knew.

So I hitchhiked there by myself.

I walked to the Thruway (I-90) entrance a couple miles from my townhouse, and with a big cardboard sign that said "Rich Stadium", I held out my thumb and eventually got lucky when 3 RIT (nearby Rochester Institute of Technology) students picked me up who just happened to be going there.

Lucky to say the least, they even took me back home after the concert, and dropped me off at my door. Crazy great time!

A VERY memorable TRIP, to say the least. I'll never forget that day. I wore that shirt and tux jacket the entire day.
View attachment 62747View attachment 62748
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1974... I went see Emerson Lake and Palmer, James Gang , and a third band I can't recall in that Stadium.
Don't remember a lot... woke up in a bed and breakfast run by the city...😏
 
JoeThePop said:
I’m of the same mind with concerts now. Prices have far outpaced inflation from the late 70s early 80s when I was going to a ton of shows. And I’m doubly as sure not to pay the ridiculous prices for arena size concerts. Been to lots of concerts at the various arenas around Detroit and the sound almost always sucks.
Click to expand...
I saw one gig at The Palace back in the 90s and it was all reverb. Rather unmemorable...and the crowds... 🙄 Definitely not into the gun-rack-and-cowboy-boots crowd. Any of the bands I wanted to see a decade or more ago (Police, Rush, Genesis, etc.) were very expensive for decent seats. Wasn't feeling it.

That does remind me of one other highlight at The Joe--Earth Wind & Fire, on their tour for the Touch The World album. Well before Maurice White had Parkinson's disease, so he performed all of his signature songs with the group. The sound was excellent considering the venue. By then their shows didn't have all the magic effects, but they put on a solid two hour set, if not more.

But those were the only two arena shows I ever attended. A handful at The Knob, a couple at Meadowbrook, etc. Can't remember where I'd seen Michael Franks (was either Knob or Meadowbrook) but he came to mind as I'm doing an article on him right now.

I did see Steely Dan three times at The Knob--2000 was the best, but 2003 and 2006 felt like repeats. Roger Nichols was engineer for the 2000 tour, so it sounded the best of all three. Tailgating with fellow Dan fans was as good as the music.

My daughter was asked by her bestie to go to a concert later in the summer--Alice Cooper, with Rob Zombie opening. Yeah...Zombie will be eye-opening for sure. 🤣 Alice Cooper was a favorite of her friend's mother, so she has gone to his concerts since she was a young 'un. Definitely a musician's ear plug concert, that one.
 
Two weeks after Woodstock. Only about 30,000 people

en.wikipedia.org

New Orleans Pop Festival - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I came of age in the Golden Age of Classic Rock and saw a lot of great shows like Blind Faith, Procol Harum, The Band (multiple times) The Dead (Multiple times) , Derek and the Dominoes, Kaleidoscope (California not England), JA, , Janis (whom I grew to dislike , her voice was too harsh, multiple times) Blue Cheer (awful!) Bob Dylan (multiple times) Joni Mitchell, and numerous others.

My favorite Rock Concert has to be Santana at the above New Orleans Pop Festival. I had seen their first album at the record store and that is exactly everything I knew about them. They were unbelievable. I crept up onto the stage to watch and listen from there. When their set was done the crowd was screaming for encores. The show promoter got on the mike said "Hey we have a schedule we have to move on etc etc." The crowd of 30,000 or so GROWLED at him very distinctly. "OK , OK" he said as he fled.

Blind Faith played the St. Louis Keil Auditorium. I friend got a bunch of second row center tickets and a gang of us went together. When it was over we had to pause a bit to "scrape our brains off the ceiling" as I used to like to say about the event. They played the first (only) album like perfectly note for note. which not many rock bands could do.

Oh yeah and I saw Spencer Davis at the Rainey Daze club Steve Winwood must have been 15. (he was 19) I was 16 (1967 I know because I drove out there myself) And I caught the last part of Alice Coopers act there soon after. They ripped feather pillows and blasted them into the room with CO2 fire extinguishers. I was on the back wall and they got me good. I have detested Alice Cooper ever since.

I saw Oscar Peterson , Count Basie and Joe Pass at the Keil Opera House. But they used the 1930s house sound system and there was so much odd order distortion and they had it set so loud and over driven that we left. It was actually painful.

I attended a lot of classical concerts too.
 
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1977 Pink Floyd LSU Baton Rouge, LA
Opened with Animals album, took a break, Wish You Were Here album, finished with Money

In New Orleans, ZZTop, Fleetwood Mac, Jeff Beck, no name(at the time) opening group Aerosmith…and one other that I can’t remember
 
Very lucky to have seen many amazing shows in my life. Luckier still to be totally uninterested in seeing acts that charge several hundred dollars for a basic ticket. Off the top of my head:

Nine Inch Nails at the Cow Palace in 1999, touring on The Fragile with A Perfect Circle opening.

Adamantium’s retirement show at the Showcase in 2001.

The Pogues at the Wiltern in 2006.

Ghost and Blood Ceremony at Bottom of the Hill in 2012.

Godflesh, Morbid Angel, and Saint Vitus at Maryland Death Fest in 2012.

Skinny Puppy at the Fillmore in 2014.

Danzig (on Halloween!) at the Warfield in 2014.

Neurosis at Maryland Death Fest in 2015.

Failure at Great American Music Hall in 2015.

The Nutcracker at the Montreal Symphony in 2015.

Crypt Sermon at Psycho Las Vegas 2016.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Greek Theater in 2016.

Sleep, Carcass, and Mulatu Astatke at Psycho Las Vegas in 2017.

Nick Cave talking show at SF Symphony Hall in 2019.

L7 at the Folsom St Fair in 2019.

Gary Numan at The Neptune in 2022.

Failure at Neumos in 2022.

Skinny Puppy at the Paramount in 2023.
 
I saw a lot of great concerts while living in Chicago but one that always stands out is Helmet at Double Door in 2016. I’ve seen them several times and nothing compares to the energy of this one. For anyone unfamiliar Helmet is a rock band fronted by Page Hamilton, a schooled jazz guitarist with associations with Glenn Branca and David Bowie. They gained popularity in the 90’s though they still tour regularly. Double Door was a small club in the Wicker Park neighborhood and was featured in the movie High Fidelity. They closed in 2016/17 and this was Helmet’s final show there. It was electric.

Videos aren’t mine but are almost exactly where I was standing.



 
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FalseMetal666 said:
Very lucky to have seen many amazing shows in my life. Luckier still to be totally uninterested in seeing acts that charge several hundred dollars for a basic ticket. Off the top of my head:

Nine Inch Nails at the Cow Palace in 1999, touring on The Fragile with A Perfect Circle opening.

Adamantium’s retirement show at the Showcase in 2001.

The Pogues at the Wiltern in 2006.

Ghost and Blood Ceremony at Bottom of the Hill in 2012.

Godflesh, Morbid Angel, and Saint Vitus at Maryland Death Fest in 2012.

Skinny Puppy at the Fillmore in 2014.

Danzig (on Halloween!) at the Warfield in 2014.

Neurosis at Maryland Death Fest in 2015.

Failure at Great American Music Hall in 2015.

The Nutcracker at the Montreal Symphony in 2015.

Crypt Sermon at Psycho Las Vegas 2016.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Greek Theater in 2016.

Sleep, Carcass, and Mulatu Astatke at Psycho Las Vegas in 2017.

Nick Cave talking show at SF Symphony Hall in 2019.

L7 at the Folsom St Fair in 2019.

Gary Numan at The Neptune in 2022.

Failure at Neumos in 2022.

Skinny Puppy at the Paramount in 2023.
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Huh - you are up in my neck of the woods (a friend of mine was also at that Skinny Puppy concert).
 
So many shows through out the years starting in the early 70s.
One stand out is Ry Cooder opening for Eric Clapton in 82 .
By Cooder was phenomenal and Clapton was amazing aswell.
 
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