Your 5 Fav Rock Concerts


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.
tubegroover
1) any of a handful of Blonde Redhead concerts I attended in the mid-90s in NYC, starting with when I saw them at CBGB's on my first visit there. The only time in my life that I felt like I was witnessing something truly historic and great, like (as I imagined) how some must have felt seeing Hendrix in London early on, or Pink Floyd early on... you get the idea.

2) Gang of Four at The Limelight, around 1993. Entire set from "Entertainment" and "Solid Gold." Unbelievable.

3) dEUS at Brownie's NYC. The "In a Bar, Under the Sea" tour. Amazing.

Those are the three that immediately jump to mind... more would require too much thought to sort out!
TOOL.TOOL.Perfect circle TOOL Alice in chains. I have seen hundreds of concerts in my life. From Madonna to Joe Sample. Of all of the shows I have seen TOOL is by far the most entertaining and sonicly impressive band Ive seen. TOOL is to rock what Miles Davis is to Jazz. If you dont own any Tool go grab lateralus and sit back and be blown away. If you do go to a show pay extra for a good seat. (just saw Rush and they were awesome)
Scorpions...anytime anyplace..great live band
Anthrax - doesnt get your head bobbin..check for a pulse
Megadeth - metal musicians at their finest
Van Halen - before say 2000
April Wine - kick ass live
Return To Forever - 1974, Evergreen State College library (OK, its half-jazz, but it was LOUD and FAST and CLOSE)
Fleetwood Mac - 1976, Seattle Center Coliseum (Buckingham and Nicks rock much harder in person than you would have thought)
Rolling Stones - 1981, Seattle Kingdome (and I thought they were old then!)
The Clash - 1982, The Warehouse, New Orleans (Boom!)
The Talking Heads - 1982, The Warehouse, New Orleans (Bang!)

Have seen a lot of good shows, but nothing has been better than these.
I wish I could remember the dates- but from the late 60's Muddy Waters/Chicago. Aerosmith Cape cod Coliseum. Rush, of course. Chuck Berry has to be there and Paul Mc Cartney rocked Foxboro Mass in the early 90'sSo many but those were all some of my favs