Best and Worst Rock Concert Moments


I will start this off. 1975 Jethro Tull concert at the Seattle Center Coliseum. About midway through the show an M-80 goes off in the crowd in the middle of a song and Ian Anderson holds his hand up in the air and counts to three with his fingers and the band stops playing in mid measure all at once as though some one had flipped a switch. The whole place goes dead quiet for about 15 seconds or so. Anderson says something like "Well, that was bloody ******* RUDE! If you want us to keep playing then you better cut that crap right out and have a little more respect for your NEIGHbor. Do you really want us to play some more?". The crowd slowly starts to applaud and then it builds to a crescendo. As the applause starts to die down, Anderson holds his hand up in the air, counts out loud to three and the band cuts back in full force absolutely mid-measure where they left off.

When the song ended I have never heard such intense applause in any arena or hall for any song at any show. I was completely dumb struck by how Anderson handled the situation and by the musicianship of the whole outfit. Maybe it was a staged event, but I doubt it. Either way, it was really something else...
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Two worst concert moments:

I agree with Mapman, JFK did stink for concerts.

1). Went to see The Who, Clash, Santana at JFK in the 80's except my friend who was treating me hated Santana and refused to see them, so I missed a great band. When we got to our seats at JFK in the middle of the afternoon, the sound was horrible but that wasn't the worst part.

Worst part - we were in the nosebleed section and this obviously very drunk kid was directly behind me drinking what looked to be pepto bismal mixed with alcohol in a large container. His hand was covering his mouth most of the concert as if he were going to blow lunch at any time. Behind him were these huge Temple Univ. football players, one instigating and nudging the kid to throw up, the other ones saying, if you throw up on me, I'll f'in kill you. I turned around and told the kid if he threw up, I'd f'in kill him too...the kid got reminded about 100 times that if he threw up, he was dead...not a fun way to watch a concert thinking someone might throw up on your back.

2). Went to see Parliament/Funkedelic at the Phila. Spectrum in 79 in the height of their popularity. Double dated with my buddy Sr yr in high school. Bootsy's Rubber Band and the Brides of Funkenstein were the first 2 performers. We had 10th row seats. 10 whites in the whole place and we were all in the same row. After about an hour or so, it got very crowded. If we stood up, people came in behind us to stand on our chairs. If we chased them away and stood on our chairs, people shuffled in in front of us.
Worst ever: Hot Tuna at the St. Joseph's College field house in 1976 or 77. I love all rock, but they blew....

Best: Bonnie Raitt at the Main Point near Villanova, PA around late 1976. Everyone that played there sounded crazy good.

2nd place: David Bowie, Tower Theatre 7 day gig in mid 1970's.

Sorry, my memory for exact dates is as bad as I am old!!!
Hi Rootman,
Good to hear from another local audio guy...the Hawk will Never Die...meanwhile, how bout those Fightin' Phils !!!

Unfortunately, I never got to go to the Main Pt but heard it was a great venue for concerts.
Rootmann,

Do you like the Tower Theater as a concert venue these days?

Its a classic building but I have not been overwhelmed with the acoustics there. I've attended 2 concerts there in recent years, Walter Becker and the Moody Blues. These were great performances but I left feeling underwhelmed with the sound...not horrible, but lacking and leaving me hesitant to go back.

My expectations with the Steely Dan material in particular may have just been too high going in, so I was bound to be disapointed.

I may be spoiled by some other more high end venues I've frequented, like the Meyerhoff in Baltimore and some clubs in NYC, but I just thought some things could be done inexpensively with the Tower to make it sound a lot better.
Mapman,

Just saw Gov't Mule at the Tower last week and it sounded good to me.
Much better than the Electric Factory, TLA, and Trocadero.
The Tower and Keswick Theatres are my favorite local venues.