My most memorable ROCK moment

I have many concert memories, but two intimate experiences that were the result of dumb luck. The first was in Atlanta around 1980 when a friend and I went to the Moonshadow Saloon to have a few beers. We walked in to a bar with about 30 people in it and the band setting up was called BHLT (Dicky Betts, Jimmy Hall, Chuck Leavell, and Butch Trucks). They proceeded to play about two hours of Sea Level type fusion jazz. The second serendipity was in Nashville in 1984. I was with my sister,who was at Vanderbilt at the time, and we went to the Exit/In for a few beers (there seems to be a pattern here!). It was about 3:00 in the afternoon and we were the only people in the bar besides the staff. In walks Jeff Beck carrying a guitar case. He was in town recording with Rod Stewart. He asked the manager if he could plug in and play for awhile. He used a Heineken bottle as a slide and the sounds he created were incredibly melodic. In the hands of a master, a guitar and beer bottle made beautiful music, whereas most people would merely produce noise with the same accoutrements. Someone called a local radio station and by 5:00 there were 200 people there. Like Beck, Trower and the old Allman Bros. guys are iconic artists that frankly won't be able to tour too much longer. We should all support and enjoy them while we can.

Wow. Hendrix, the Dead in Amsterdam, the Stooges in a fist fight, Chuck Berry at a birthday party? Although I have seen countless arena tours with most of the big name acts over the past 40 years, this thread makes me want to see even more. The problem I have is one of simple economics. Is it really worth $250 for me to go see the Stones or U2 again? At this stage of the game, I would rather go to a smaller venue and see someone like Big Head Todd or Railroad Earth for $30- especially if I don't have to stand up the whole time- except to dance of course.