There are certainly more than a few geetar fanciers among us judging by all the threads on guitar bands and best guitarist. This thread is about the best rock shows you saw. Let's limit it to the rock shows. Not Blues or Jazz or solo performers. The concerts that raised the hairs on your neck or made you want to take up an instrument or raised your pulse through their sheer energy or just moved you through their performance on stage. The only ones that count are the ones you've seen. After making a list in my mind of the many rock concerts I attended, most from the late 1960's through early 80's, I have come up with mine. It was tough, I’ve seen well over 200 rock concerts over the years and it is really hard coming up with a top 5 but we have to limit this so here go mine. "Yes" - This group stands out as the 2nd best concert I ever saw with Steve Howe and Chris Wakeman. They opened for Emerson, Lake and Palmer and after their set I do feel that EL&P were disheartened and knew they couldn't match it; they didn't. Funny thing is like most, I was there to see EL&P. They were forced to have another concert the following night by popular demand. Virtuoso musicianship, “Poco” - This group could put on a show. I saw them 4 different times in the many various stages of their evolution. They never had the commercial recognition of some of the other great bands of their era but they sure made up for it in their live performances. No one stayed seated during a Poco concert. “Rod Stewart and Faces” - Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart strutting all over the stage. Rod was probably the greatest natural Rock showman I ever saw, including Mick Jagger. His uninhibited manner and constant movement and soulful vocals brought the house down. The crowd wouldn't let him go after the 5th encore so he invited everyone ("especially the pretty young ladies") to his hotel to “party on”, and so they came; Led Zeppelin I had to include them because next to the Doors and of course Jimi Hendrix they were my favorites of that era and I never did get to see either of the other two. The acoustics were bad and they played so loud you couldn’t really hear the music. But they were great none the less and it was special to me. The best should be kept for last. "The Who" was acknowledged as the best concert band at the time. Getting tickets meant getting in line and waiting. I imagine at the time the only tougher ticket would be the “Beatles” and they weren’t even together then. They didn’t disappoint. The reaction of the audience was beyond anything I ever saw at a live concert before or since. The band was so cohesive and the energy they put out put them into a different realm. They just have to be on a very short list of the best live bands ever.
Absolutely no question, from then till now... inaugural show Dark Side Of The Moon - 1973, in Jacksonville, Fla. at the venue across from the then Gator bowl.. The only act that night and certainly they were enough. Catch as catch can seating... $6 or $7 I think. 21 700 watt Phase Linear amps, (Bob Carver's offering), eight stacks of speakers spread around the venue with the engineers actively mixing during the show... no taped perofrmances back then. (the engineers let us sit on the platform in front of their mixing boards directly in the center of the theater... the absolute best spot!)
#2 July 4th, 1976 at University of Tamp, tampa, Fla. KISS, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Pure Prairie League, Johnny Winter with Rick Derringer, Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, and ZZ Top. ...ZZ Top didn't stand a chance by the time they took the stage to end the concert.... CDB Johnny, & Marshall all on stage at once for the Marshall Tucker encore (s) , blew everyone away! $12. Deal, huh?
#3 Cat Stevens Yeha, I know, I know, but trying to decide between that show and the then farewell tour for David Bowie with Jackson brown as his front man was pretty hard. Cat gets the nod as the more memorable event. Passion, power, accuracy, and acoustics remain still vibrantly memorable... (before the name change, of course) at the now defunct 'Curtis Hixon Hall' Tampa, Fl. 1969 - 70 (?) He did his Tea for the Tillerman, completely, and followed it by his then, new release, teaser and the Firecat. Didn't miss a beat, absolutely on time and sonically super... simply outstanding acoustic performance... remarkable & most memorable. best $3 I've ever spent. Never heard of him before that night, just giving a friend a ride... and decided to go too..
#4 Aerosmith & Black Oak Arkansas. Whew! Words simply do not say enough. Inagural tour for Aerosmith, toys in the Attic album, and Oaks "Hot & Nasty' offering Wow! My ears are still ringing... Sweat, power, exploding guitars just amazing! Black Oak opened and if you left right after they did their gig you would have had gotten your moneys worth... $7.50 ... inflation, I guess.
#5 Paul Thorn. Doing his 'Ain't Life Strange" album entirely, along with some of his upcoming offferings, at a local venue, Skipper's Smokehouse, Tampa,Fl. 2004. As entertaining a show as I've ever attended. Very funny guy with great driving rythym & blues rock. An involving fan oriented showman. Just palyed forever!.. Best $15 Iv'e spent in years...
Frank Black and the Catholics @ the Starry Plough Sugar and Radiohead @ the Warfield The Cranes and Dinosaur, Jr. @ San Jose State DOA @ The Outhouse Jesus and Mary Chain @ The Fillmore
Well, you asked for best shows, not best bands. But aren't they if they are that good live? A conundrum.
1. Stevie Ray Vaughn, the pier in New York City, played with Double Trouble, The Fab Tbirds opened up for them, encores with Steve Winwood and texas bluesman Johnny Copeland...1985
2. Desmond Dekkar, Hepcat, The Whiskey, LA -1992
3. Fishbone, Palladium, NYC 1991
4. The Dickies, Jawbreaker, and Huskier Du, some punk club that held about 40 people...
If i ever get ahold of one of those time machine things, i might have to start off w/ that Uncle Meat show! I bet hardly anyone there in 69 was ready for it.
DuaneG--you are correct. The gig was a midblower. I'd never seen so many horns before, and doing their let's call it 21ist century rock/jazz. Never heard any rock star put down things that I thought were hip and talking about those plastic people... Hey, I'd try that time machine too in order to hear that gig again.
And how could I have forgotten that Little Feat show I saw with Lowell in about 1973, or the Little Feat show in about 2001. Or......................
Damn you Dgplo for getting to see Dickies, Jawbreaker AND Husker Du. I will have your soul. I would kill to see Desmond Dekkar. Can I add in Steel Pulse somewhere to my list?
sigur rós- kulturitalo, helsinki 2005 jesus lizard- lupo's heartbreak hotel, providence RI 1995 neil young/primus/ween/beck- horde tour, mansfield MA 1997 george clinton pfunk all stars- harbor lights boston, 1996 fugazi- pearl street, northampton MA 1995 shellac/the ex- villa 1898, Tampere, FIN 1999 Fishbone- Klubi, Tampere FIN 2004
Another topic might be greatest cocert halls..all my top concerts were at the Fillmore East,NYC...The Who, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix,Jeff Beck,Allman Bros, Santana,Cream,Grateful Dead,Joe Cocker,Janis Joplin...many of them before they became famous..
Paige and Plant in '94 with a full orchestra...It was the closest thing that I will ever see to Led Zep live. I remember standing on my chair with the tears streaming down my face in complete awe...Incredible... Robert Plant said that this was the show to where it all came together...(it was the third show of the tour in Orlando) after that it was the Cult in 2003 in Columbus...it was magical. Ian Astbury actually said to the crowd which was totally in a magical place as well, that the night was one of those magical evenings where the planets align and everyone present band included is in some other euphoric place where all was perfect....it truly was..
Rolling Stones at the Cow Palace in '75.Taj Mahaj and Parliment in front of the DNA Lounge in '99.Peter Tosh at San Diego State in '81.Dizzy Gellipse in S.F. and favorite musician but played drunk as hell-Van Morrison at the Great American Music Hall.Oh,and Clarence Clemons at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley.Opps,can't omit The English Beat at the Del Mar fairgrounds.
#1 1981-J.Geils at Curis Hixon Hall in Tampa. Some band I had never heard of named U2 opened up for them. Both were great and J. Geils came back for a third encore for about 50 people after the lights had come 20 minutes earlier. #2 Stones at Tampa Stadium sometime in the early 90's. #3 Stevie Ray Vaughn after drug rehab about a year before he died. He can qualify as rock and blues. #4 Eric Clapton early 90's at the Thunderdome in St. Petersburg, Fl. (Now called Tropicana Field-home of the mighty Devil Rays) #5 New Years Eve concert with The Outlaws, Molly Hatchet and .38 Special. My southern roots run deep.
Most memerable: The Who BGSU,Ohio they played all of Who's Next 71 Nils Lofgrin & Grin / Neil Young Atlanta ,Ga 75 Spirit (w/out J Ferguson) Cleve,Oh 90-91? LYNARD SKYNARD some HS Gym early 70's Jetro Tull Public Hall Cleve,Oh 72
GENESIS Nov, 1971 at Bergen Community College gym. Peter Gabriel in full theatrical mode in a tiny gym on folding chairs. The scale of the show was so large relative to the venue that the impact was amazing (especially at age 15).
THE WHO at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ late '70s or early '80s. Unlike some others above, I wasn't crazy abou the Quadraphenia Tour which was largely on tape. This small venue show was tremendous.
JOHN HIATT/SHERYL CROW at Irving Plaza NYC ca. 1991. Hiatt replaced the Goners with a younger, harder rocking band that tore the place up. This may have been Sheryl Crow's first tour. I had never heard of her, but she was a great opener.
KID CREOLE & THE COCONUTS at Tramps NYC ca. 1993. The best (of many) show(s) I've seen from my favorite live band.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 1975 at Jennison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan. There's a reason this tour generated so much ink.
SPECIAL MENTION:
CHUCK BERRY at Randy Hill's birthday Party at his house in North Jersey ca. 1995. Just plain weird late era CB in the strangest possible place. I'll never forget it.
NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL at The Greek Theater LA in Sept 1997. John Hiatt, Richard Thompson, Wilco, Joan Baez, etc, etc, etc.
BILL BRADLEY FUND RAISER at Garden State Arts Center mid 1980's. Paul Simon and Patti Smith among many others. Patti Smith at a political fund raiser is worth the price of admission alone.
ALSO:
Sly & The Family Stone, Prince,Beausoleil,Pink Floyd-Animals, many Todd Rundgren/Utopia, many RT,many Stones, Bowie outside Paris in the mid '80s,Led Zep at MSG-NYC in 1974or1975, Kim Richey, Alison Krauss, Talking Heads, Allmans at the Beacon, etc,etc.
OOPS, forgot a couple (since limit of 5 doesn't apply to me - I granted myself a special exemption!)
I just read Walter Salas post - How could I forget the Feelies?! The Glenn Mercer& Bill Million guitar fest every couple of months at Maxwell's in Hoboken.
Also forgot the tribute shows: Bob Dylan Fest at MSG, Danny Gatton memorial show at the Bottom Line and the Don Byron (Razor & Tie Records Founder singer/songwriter for The Marys) memorial at the Bottom Line featuring Marshall Crenshaw, Graham Parker, and re-union of The Bongos.)
Yesterday I saw Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band close out the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Easily one of the best concerts I have ever seen, in part because of the setting and Bruce's remarkable ability to deliver a revival meeting. Close to 20 performers, all acoustic instruments, brilliantly mixed sound, wonderful arrangements, and it all rocked nearly as hard as the E Street Band. As moving and powerful as anything in my experience. If you like him, do not miss this tour.
Favorite small venue: recently saw Nels Cline Singers and Good For Cows-wow. Favorite all time shows: Kings X anytime anywhere. They are never short of awesome.
1967 - Monterey Pop Festival - in particular Otis, Janis, Jimi and Ravi Shankar 1968 - Woodstock - Jimi again, the Band, Mountain and Country Joe 1969-70 - A Who/Led Zeppelin concert at an outdoor amphitheater in Maryland 2003 - Dixie Chicks "On Top Of The World" Tour, Staples Center LA, CA 2005 - Diana Krall and friends at a private "Friends of Jazz" Concert at Schoenberg Hall at UCLA
I realize that there is a 34 year gap in between but I can't say that I am particularly disturbed by it... LOL
Frank Zappa in 1971 at Beloit College in Wisconsin. We were all just sitting on the floor of a relatively small gymnasium. Frank was incredible! The only other time I felt like that was after the first time I saw Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey".
i share lots of these. Poco,Who,Dead, CSN&Y the night Nixon resigned, Floyd for Dark Side of the Moon tour etc. I recommend you all checking out Vault radio.com to listen to cuts of many of these. ken
#1) The Who in 1989 at the Tacoma Dome, 3rd row center, Keith Richards stabbed his hand on the WaWa bar doing his "windmill" thing.
#2) The Stones row 19 at the King Dome, the sound sucked but the show was wild.
#3) CS&N at Key arena toooo cooool!
#4) ELP on one of their last tours in 1978 or so in Portland OR. They had just fired the touring orchestra and now were doing the show as a trio...I was a bouncer sitting in a closed off section of seats behind the stage looking down on the stage. My job was to let down a backdrop canvas about 2/3rds through the show, they projected some pictures on the backdrop and then it fell away by design. So I really got paid $15 or so to watch a concert, that rocks.
#5)Hootie and the Blowfish, 1995 at the Pier in Seattle. The group was unknown when the tickets went on sale at $15 each, by the time they got to Seattle their album was a SMASH HIT and the scalpers were getting hundreds for the tickets. I was maybe 5 rows back and these guys rocked the house.
Yea Pete Townshend...that's the guy...these flashbacks are a b!@#h I gota get off the ludes, and I mean quick. :) I must have been still thinking about the Stones, when I was typing about The Who... concert!
springsteen/e street band @notre dame fall 1978 darkness tour. i was blind but now i see. after a draining 3 1/2 hour show. the band erupted from backstage in the midst of a food fight to do a killer "twist and shout"
muddy waters opens for clapton 1979. with disciple clapton watching his show barely offstage, the master was particularly lively( he was wearing a red t-shirt with champange cadillacs and cash printed on it) i always felt muddy made the best guitar faces.
jeff beck and the mahvishnu orchestra chicago 1977? it was the blow by blow tour and mr grouchy beck seemed very happy with the way his band was playing that night.
j geils band south bend in 1973. this was the first concert i attended. this band was so tight yet so sloppy fun! maybe it was the bowls of gooey hash we smoked throughout the show but i swear on this night they were the worlds greatest rock and roll band.
herbie hancock ann arbor mich feb 1976. in the accoustically perfect hill auditorium herbie and his headhunter band put the funk in jazz that still gums up my brain when i think of that night
Great bands putting forth their best to create magical moments are all too common, if you attend many shows. It must be more than just a phenomenal show to achieve something that will stick in your mind forever. For me it was my first Dead show as a sophomore in H.S. ('73). I knew it would be a gas since it was the Wall of Sound tour and they just released Wake of the Flood. So, I asked the prettiest girl in school to go, and...she said "Yes". Dropped half a 'pane in each eye prior to picking her up and the rest is history. The Dead opened with a killer "Me and My Uncle" that still rings in my ears and the rest of the show was Europe 72 on acid, literally. No show has ever come close, not New Years in Oakland nor many Red Rocks concerts. #2 must be Jesse Colin Young, The Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at Mile High Stadium in '75. #3 Jerry at The Stone in SF - tiny little club. He came out at 11 toasted, then layed into anything and everything. We danced all night - 6 feet away from him!
Years are hard enough to remember let alone dates, but Jerry Garcia band tour 84 or 85 upstate New york,1990 was also a very good year. Pink Floyd, seen every tour since 1980, Jefferson Airplane reunion tour 1989?..one of my favs I never thought I get to see. They blew me away. Black Sabbath with Randy Rhoads special guest late 70's before he died. Never seen anyone play like that since. First Dead show Boston 1981 or 1980? the music has never stopped.
>>>>....__------Jerry Garcia rest in Peace, your deeply missed, always remembered and never forgotten! Thank you for the music.
GOLDEN EARRING AT THE PARK WEST IN CHICAGO 1979 TROWER EARLY 80'S ARAGON BALLROOM - OR BRAWL ROOM DEPENDING ON WHO'S PLAYING CAPTAIN BEYOND ARAGON EARLY 70'S SANTANA >.... ANYTIME ANYWHERE GENESIS 1977
1. 1967 maybe? The Who opened for, get this, Herman's Hermits. Never heard of them prior to the show. They lit the place up and trashed their stuff at the end. I was about 14 and born again that night. 2. 1975-Carlos Santana opened for Clapton, post Cream/Derek. Santana was mesmerizing, hypnotic. The house went totally dark to open Clapton' set and out of the blackness he rang the opening notes to Layla and I swear my heart stopped. 3. 1967-Hendrix. A couple months after the Who. I was on my way out of pop and into rock. Sparked my interest in the blues. 4. 1972-John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra opening for Zappa and the Mothers. Altered my consciousness. Saw them both at the airport the next day and praised both. McLaughlin was humble and gracious. Zappa simply said, "Of course you enjoyed it, now leave me alone." 5. 1990-John Hiatt. Played everything from Stolen Moments, Bring the Family and Slow Turning. No one sat, I became a huge fan of his adult approach to rock and roll.
1. Tool - UNO Lakefront New Orleans 2. Radiohead - UNO Lakefront New Orleans 3. Queens of the Stone Age - Voodoo Festical New Orleans 4. The Mars Volta - Orpheum Theater New Orleans 5. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Voodoo Festival City Park New Orleans
At the risk of dating myself: 1) Bruce Springsteen, 1975 Geneva NY. He was just about to break, had recorded but not released Born to Run. I was listening to WCMF in Rochester play Rosalita every night and heard he was coming to town. My buddies and I jumped into a truck and drove down. The hall was an old little vaudeville house, beautiful and small, smack in the middle of this tiny upstate NY town that didn't know what hit them. There was only one security guard who didn't have a chance with this situation. There was a grocery store across the street from the hall and the crowd emptied out every beer in it. I remember guys carrying two cases of beer down the middle aisle and just passing them out before the show began. No opener, he played over three hours, pulled out all the stops, every trick of the trade that his legend became based on, including best light show I ever saw, and Bruce earned every bit of hype and reputation that came later in that one unforgettable night. 2) Patti Smith Group, 1978 Buffalo NY SUNY gymnasium. She had just fallen off stage a few weeks before and was still in a neck brace so she couldn't move around; instead she put all that frenetic energy into her singing. The best garage band ever sounded like the best r n r band ever that evening. Patti's star was already in decline then, after she released radio ethiopia, and I remember telling myself as I left the show that if she turns out to be just a footnote in the history of RnR for Horses, at least I know she was the real deal, a true RnR genius, as close to God that night as you can get. 3) The Clash, winter early 1979, Boston Their first show in the States; never heard anything like it before or since. Huge runway lamps hooked up to drums. Really was the only band that mattered for a few years. Saw them several times at Bonds during their crazy, beautiful Times Square stand. 4) Talking Heads (also Elvis Costello, Pretenders, several others) some field in eastern Canada, early 80s. Incredible all-day concert but it was THs that came out last, after dark and burned the house down. They had recorded but not released their third record yet and went from a solo version of Psycho Killer to a sixteen piece orchestra playing the wildest rhythmic-funk we'd ever heard. Being outdoors with fires burning under the stars made the entire thing primitive, tribal and transcendent. 5) Wilco, Starland Ballroom, NJ Friday April 21, 2006 Greatest American band playing today. Blew us away from the first note to the last. And Jeff Tweety had an incredible dialogue with a drunk fan. Anybody else there that night?
In no particular order: Jimi Hendrix Experience at Virginia Beach Dome, 1967. Richard & Linda Thompson at Washington, DC Wax Museum, 1983. The Byrds at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 1970. Stephen Stills & Manassas at William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, 1972. The Band with the Cate Brothers at Washington Wax Museum 1983(?). Sonny Landreth at Wolf Trap Barns, 2006. Lucinda Williams at Wolf Trap, 1996. Little Feat in Hampton, VA 1973. Sorry, that's more than five.
While definately not my most favorite band...I once saw .38 Special open for YES in California & the highlight of the show was the intro to .38 Special's song "Chain(ed) Lightening". They had placed a long row of LARGE white lights above the stage running left to right & during the intro which starts with that haunting/erie guitar strum & before the thunder hits, those lights were rotated from a lowered position to a position facing the crowd & turned on & off VERY quickly to simulate a lightening strike...well...let me just tell you... to an unsuspecting...highly stoked out ticket holder sitting in the upper reaches of the arena...it was something to behold & something to this day I'd love to experience again!(especially the highly stoked out part)
ive seen over 200 live shows but what immediately comes to mind is,
the mighty black crowes in raleigh north carolina at the ritz in 1999/2000? a few months before they broke up for several years,which at a 600 plus mile drive was the longest distance weve ever driven to see some one play,my wife and i were the first 2 people in line and were front row center the whole night
green day on the nimrod tour in 97 at the agora theater in cleveland,i went by myself and was directly in front of billy that night,the was the first of 6 times ive seen green day and 5 of those times has been in the front row the only pick billy gave out that night was to me after he finished the second encore,i happened to be out near the green day bus after the show and also got billy to autograph a promotional tour poster that i had taken from the clubs lobby earlier that morning
billy sheehan/stu hamm/heff berlin in williamsville ny in 2006 just outside of buffalo ny,i had seen billy play with steve vai in the past as well as having seen stu play with joe satriani a few times,ive always liked jeff berlins music but had never seen him play live so to see the three of them on the same night was a killer show to say the least,i took some killer high resolution pictures that night and had some 8x10's made up the next day and took them to cleveland 2 days later and all three were kind enough to sign them for me,all three were phenomenal bassists with completely different styles and were extremely friendly with the crowd both nights
eric johnson at graffiti in pittsburgh pa in 97,graffiti was always my favorite pittsburgh club and i had been to it many times in the past and it was always a nice big open area in front of the stage with all of the tables and seats in the back and in the balcony,on this night however chairs were set up filling the whole area in front of the stage,only 3-4 people got through the doors before i did and i sat down at a table with a perfect stranger right in front of where eric would be playing,it was an incredible show to say the least,i had listened to his music for years without ever seeing him play live and here i was 3-4 feet away from where he was going to play
willie nelsons farm aid concerts 95,98,99,00,01,02,03,ive seen the farm aid concerts 7 times and they have all been a great time except for 95 in louisville ky because of really terrible seats,at the 98 show in tinley park outside of chicago my wife and i met a couple from an area close to where we live that had a pair of extra media/press,we bought the passes from them for $25 each and that was our first experience going to a press conference before a concert,we got to the press conference after the sseats were already filled and had to stand and watch it from the back,we could tell who most of the people were but there was someone wearing a hat who we didnt know,when it was time for him to talk we were both floored as it was the great neil young,my wife and i have also seen the farm aid concerts twice in manassas va outside of washington dc,once in noblesville indiana,pittsburgh pa, and columbus ohio,we stayed in touch with the people that we got our firsi press passes from and had press and photo passes for every farm aid weve been to since the chicago concert,weve been able to see some great performances and take some great photos as well as some other really fun things like getting willie and neils autograph, eating family farmed organic food at each concert,shaking dave matthews hand,hearing kid rock drop the f bomb and the accompanying quiet for several seconds afterwards
Rush 2x's, Steely Dan, Seal, Days of the New 3x's, Joe Satriani...not in any particular order. All fantastic. From large venue to seedy club. It's all about the music and your liking.
I hate to admit the fact that I forgot to mention Yes 90125 tour Frankfurt...wow!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in H.S. I know that is 6 faves...so what. In fact...if I go to see it then it is good because I'm not going to see someone I don't care for. It's like music...you like it all but what do you listen to the most? That would qualify as your favorite/most liked would it not.
1. Pink Floyd Radio City NYC 1973ish (Debut of DSoM) 2. Bruce Springstein Winterland S.F.around christmas 1980ish 3. Jimi Hendrix Randall's Island Music Fest 1971 or 72ish NYC 4. Many Rush shows 5. A series of other Pink Floyd shows in support of DSoM
Oh, also 6. Led Zepp at the New York Pavilion in Flushing Meadows supporting the first album 1971 7. Cream at Madison Square Garden 1968 (even tho they had their sound system on the revolving stage and you couldn't hear them when theu were revolved away from you)
5. The Replacements -- 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, December, 1984. Saw a couple of the shows from a five-night stand in the tiny Entry, somewhere around the time Let It Be came out. At that particular moment in time, the Replacements were the greatest rock and roll band in the world.
4. Los Lobos -- First Avenue, Minneapolis, Spring 1985. Soon after Will the Wolf Survive was released. Still virtually unknown. House less than half full. Vividly remember dancing a half-assed polka step with my wife-to-be on the nortena numbers. Still one of the best live bands on the planet.
3. Paul Westerberg -- Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, Summer 2004 (I think). A triumphant homecoming show by my musical hero from about the time he emerged from self-imposed exile with the wonderful Stereo/Mono records. Just St. Paul and his guitar. Exhilarating, riveting, poignant, and funny as hell.
2. Rock for Change Concert -- XCel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 2004. Politics had absolutely nothing to do with making this such a memorable show, except that the performers were obviously inspired and played with incredible passion. And what a group of performers -- Springsteen and the E Street Band, REM, John Fogarty, Bright Eyes, and Neil Bleeping Young. Neil Young doing All Along the Watchtower with the E Street Band -- no comment required on that one. The All Star encores of Patti Smith's People Have the Power and Elvis Costello's/Nick Lowe's What's So Funny About Peace Love And Understanding were (at the risk of sounding like some misty-eyed lefty) incredibly moving and absolutely unforgettable.
1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, St. Paul Civic Center, November 1978. My first big-time concert (I was 16). Small wonder that music became one of my life's passions. The best live performer I have ever seen, at the absolute top of his game. My ride to the show (we were a bunch of hicks from Central MN farm country) nearly abandoned me in St. Paul -- he gave me strict instructions to leave for the parking lot immediately after Born to Run, but I COULD NOT drag myself away from encore after encore, each successive one somehow better than the last. When the house lights came up for the Detroit Medley, I decided then and there to spend my life's savings on an electric guitar. They don't call him the Boss for nothing.
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