Best Concert You've Ever Been To

[lucyrocks73]

I went to the Journey/Cheap Trick/Heart concert last night... What a show!!! It was FANTASTIC. Best concert I'VE ever been to, hands down.

First of all, I think that we should just skip high school geometry and go to a Cheap Trick concert, because they kept switching guitars- square, rectangular, flying V, X-plorer, Strat, Les Paul- it was awesome. They even came out with a FOUR BRIDGE guitar!!! They rocked as the opening act.

Next was Heart. The keyboardist wore pigtails, and no words can state how awesome Heart was. Nancy Wilson jumped all over the stage with her guitar. I can't even play the guitar very well sitting or standing, and she was practically doing the Cotton-Eye Joe with it.

Last was Journey, and the new lead singer sounded EXACTLY like Steve Perry. He jumped better than most cheerleaders I know. They found him on YouTube, and it was AMAZING.

I'll stop gushing now. Greatest concert ever. Of course, I'm comparing this to the Chicago, Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys, and Hilary Duff (twice when I was 11) concerts I've been to before.

-Marty

[Cassini90125]

Stars, I've been to so many over the years it'd be almost impossible to pick just one. I saw Journey at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, which was quite an experience. It was an all-day event which included John Cougar and Bryan Adams among the performers. By the time Journey hit the stage the sun was going down, and the rain was coming down, too. Turned into a downpour. Steve Perry gets to the microphone and calls out to the crowd, "We're not gonna let a little rain stop us, are we?" Yeah, easy for you to say, Steve, you've got a roof over your head. Still a dang good time, though.

Another group I saw in Philadelphia was Styx, at the Spectrum. Memorable in a lot of ways, all good, not the least of which was that it was the first concert I ever attended. Good seats, too, not too far from the stage, and I learned that "floor seating" means if you want to actually see the band you'll spend a significant amount of time standing on your seat.

I had very good seats for ZZ Top and Heart as well, two more good shows I attended. Much of ZZ Top's material was new to me; I wasn't very familiar with them at the time but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Heart was another matter; I knew half of their songs by heart and I was expecting a great show. They did not disappoint. And nobody kicks higher, or looks better doing so, than Nancy Wilson.

AC/DC... Gotta love these guys. Most other bands spend a couple of hours before a show getting into costumes and make-up. Angus Young dresses as a British schoolboy, the rest of the band throws on whatever T-shirts and jeans happen to be lying around. Who needs costumes when the music is that good? Besides, no one pays any attention to the outfits of a band who's stage show includes cannons.

Yes likes to dress up. What really sets their shows apart is the length of some of their songs. Other groups might drag one out for up to ten minutes or so but Yes can run some of their classics for nearly a half an hour. Worth every second, too. It was a very long show that night, kind of fatiguing, but absolutely worth the price of admission. Berlin had originally been slated as the opening act but Yes scoffed at the idea, scornfully saying they'd rather have a Bugs Bunny cartoon. That's what they got, and ol' Bugs got more applause than any other opening act I've ever seen.

Boston was so good I saw them twice, up in Springfield, MA, at the start and end of the tour. Both times they played their entire third album from start to finish, as well as all the classics from their first two albums. Tom Scholz's guitar solo in the first show was amazing, an almost spiritual experience, but you really had to be there to understand what I'm talking about. It was one hell of a show.

I've seen many, many other shows as well, but topping them all, if I had to pick just one, would be Foreigner. Few bands have written so many songs that have moved me in some way as Lou Gramm and Mick Jones have, and the ones that aren't moving are just plain good listening. No opening act that night; none were good enough, none were needed. Like most bands they sound a little different live than they do on a disc or a tape, which only adds to the enjoyment, and enjoy myself I did, through more wondrous classics than I care to list. Hours of hits, both great and small, hard rock, ballads, and that shining moment I'd been dreaming of when I stood on my seat with my arm outstretched, lighter in hand, surrounded by ten thousand other flickering points of butane light, and listened, enraptured, as they played Waiting For A Girl Like You. For me, that was the greatest concert moment ever, and a truly unforgettable night. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

[jekylljuice]

I've been to quite a few great concerts throughout my lifetime (most of which have actually been within the past few years), though the one which really takes the cake for me was most definitely the Genesis reunion concert at Twickenham Stadium in summer 2007. It was simply spectactular - they had successfully transformed the stage, what with all the wonderful lighting effects, into a legitimate work of art within itself (all of which was brilliantly co-ordinated with the individual song numbers), and Phil Collins can certainly play a mean tambourine with his feet.

[Lynnie]

I've been to a lot of Christian concerts, my favorite of which is the group Avalon. I've seen them four times. And one of the best concerts I've ever been to is the "Celebrate Freedom" day-long concert the Dallas/Fort Worth area has every year over the Fourth of July weekend where there may be 20 "big" artists performing throughout the day. Such an awesome event. One of the reasons I miss Texas.

My most recent concert was Josh Groban in February of '05, and it was indeed awesome. What an amazing voice! And he's learned to interact with the audience very well too, and can even be funny! I remember when he was still a "young'un", he was so shy and bashful on stage. Not anymore! He's just amazing. Possibly the only thing that would have made it better is if I had attended with someone other than a retirement age couple who complained the music was turned up too loud, and even insisted on leaving before he finished singing his last song (or, at least what I HOPE was his last song) in order to beat the traffic. They were friends of mine, sure, our ages made no difference I suppose. But it would have been sooooo much better if I had gone with someone who appreciates the excitement of seeing him live in concert a bit more.

[Howard]

Yes (the Union tour 1991). It opened in Pensacola, FL. They did four days of rehearsal, and that is where I met Chris Squire (bass), and Rick Wakeman (keyboard). I was in uniform when I was at a rehearsal, and I went to the main show later. For a musician, it is an experience and a half!

Another great group (musically) that I saw, was Jethro Tull at the State Fair back in the late nineties. Ian Anderson is the man who brought flute to rock and roll.

Pat Metheney is one of the best jazz (and all around) guitarists ever. I saw him three years ago at Chandler Center for the Arts (in AZ). He was promoting his "The Way Up" CD. He is in two bands; he has five musicians (including pianist and co-writer Lyle Mays) in one band, and he heads a trio. When saw him with his trio in '04, he had Christian McBride on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums. Christian McBride is a highly sought after bass player in jazz. He has his own quartet as well. Anotonio Sanchez is one of the greatest percussionists in jazz

[koosie]

Haha good thread. A few old rockers in here! Great that Heart are still going, that takes me back, wow.

I can think of a few that stand out. I've seen The Monkeys (minus the MTV guy) and that was fun. Radiohead were very good but the venue let them down (Birmingham NEC). Most of the best gigs i've been to are for bands that no-one here is likely to of heard of, like Corduroy, The Ozrics or Half Man Half Biscuit.

I must tell you,though, about Iron Maiden at Daytona Beach in 1988 when I was a cute little teenybanger. I've never had an experience quite like it. It's the only gig I've ever been to where religious folk were at the entrance asking people not to go in for the good of their souls. I really wanted to take them in with me (some of them very very pretty girls, certainly nicer than the local rock chicks anyway!) to demonstrate that these were just some blokes from Sheffield who meant no harm whatsoever. As if to demonstrate this point, lead singer Bruce Dickinson temporarily stopped the gig 2 songs in to ask the larger lads in the crowd to stop pushing foward so much as he afraid of the younger audience members, like me getting hurt. I've always thought if I ever run into Mr Dickinson again, I owe him a drink at the very least. They were great that night, too. My ears have never been the same since.

[taranchula]

I've narrowed it down to four...mainly because as of this moment they're the only concerts I've ever been to.

Kiss (1996) They came to Ottawa during one of their many many reunion tours and as in true Kiss fashion blew me away. The noise, the lights, the explosions, the making the audience wait through two encores before they sung "Rock and Roll All Nite" routine. Gene and the boys brought it all.

Ozzy Osbourne w/ Danzig (1996) A friend of mines father works as an advertising executive at a local radio station, so he gets full reign of private box at our local NHL hockey venue in order to schmooze potential clients. So imagine to my absolute surprise when my pal calls me up to invite me to go see the Oz man from said private box. I don't remember much about the concert itself (Well it's Ozzy, so it had to have been good) but the seating arrangements were super super sweet.

Barenaked Ladies (2001) BNL's live shows are great due to their massive amounts of improvisational comedy and tons of audience participation and interaction, and this concert was no different. All in all a very very fun show from one of Canada's most talented and all around entertaining performers.

Ozzy Osbourne (2002) Again, another trek to see Mr. Osbourn. Only this time the seats were not as nice as before (I was sitting in the "pot smoking section", I don't know how they were able to smuggle it in, but I know it was there because my jacket smelled like weed for days ) But still it was another great show with Ozzy bringing a nice solid mixture of his old and new material and keeping the crowd pumped during his set.