[def]

Day dreaming while working has me thinking about all the shows and concerts I've seen over the years. I was wondering what's the best one you've seen?

Me: Back in 02 or 03 (last year of college) some buddies and myself drove to Nashville to see Avail at The End. Cool little venue, stage 12" off the ground. Two of the three opening bands were local and good as well. Overall the night was tight and loud and just good ol' fun energy. I haven't seen much since and the scene around here is pretty weak. I miss DC and Richmond.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Nashville does have a great music scene, that's one thing about living here I like...
Ive been to more concerts than I can count, but Roger Waters in 2000 is still the best show Ive ever seen. Even beat out seeing Maiden for the first time last year.

 

[macko]

One of the best live shows I've seen recently was Ozomatli. If they play near you, see 'em!

 

[PonySoldier]

Pink Floyd Animals Tour Soldier Field 1977...

 

[Polandspring88]

When I saw them Fear Factory kicked ass big time.

 

[caboverpete]

I've been to alot of hardcore show, seen Avail more times than I can count but I still think the best live show I've been to would have to be the Pietasters, no matter how many times I've seen them they have always put on an amazing show.

 

[stevew]

Nick Cave.

Seeing Bob Mould play Husker Du songs last year would have been fun. But he would have had to play them all at once so I could leave for his solo work.

Dinosaur Jr is doing another swing through the states. Go punish your hearing if they are playing near you.

Built To Spill and Camper Van Beethoven are touring together. CVB wasn't that bad when I saw them @ 90-91.

The Hellacopters are playing in the states. Go see them.

 

[Tenchiro]

My favorite concert was a Halloween show back in like 1990 with Bob Mould opening for the Pixies. Not only was it an awesome show, but they passed out blood capsules and it was pretty ghoulish looking after a while.

 

[narlus]

i 2nd the Nick Cave mention....he was incredible. i've seen so many shows it's hard for me to remember them all. here are some which stand out:

robyn hitchcock/egyptians @ TT's. this was an unadvertised show which he mentioned a couple nights prior when he played @ Berklee on the Queen Elvis tour...totally different setlist, and a ton of old stuff, covers and Soft Boys songs. amazing.

jesus lizard/tar @ paradise holy christ what a racket. tar were a bit stoic on stage, but the same can't be said about david yow. word is lucky chicagoans will be treated to a one-off Scratch Acid reunion show later this year. pounce on it.

Tortoise @ the middle east upstairs 1st tour, when bundy brown was still in the band. great stuff.

peter jefferies/alastair galbraith @ middle east upstairs two of my all time musical heros, all the way from new zealand. great stuff, great people too.

mogwai @ the olympia theater, dublin such power, grace and all-out assault. is it too cliched to say the light show was great? because it was.

the stooges @ dublin castle iggy and the ashetons, w/ watt on bass. wow. never thought i'd see it. glad i did.

calexico @ the middle east upstairs again the 1st time i'd seen them and still the best. played w the mariachis, and opener Pinetop Seven joined in for the last few songs too. must have been 12 people on the tiny stage.

helmet/vertigo/claw hammer @ club babyhead back when AmRep ruled the earth

butthole surfers @ paradise (and the channel) very unpredictable band, a sense of menace.

 

[greenchris]

umphreys mcgee new years show celebratin 2005 in chicago. they rocked from 730-230am and never stopped.

 

[corey_rideDC]

top 5 (in no particular order):

• afghan whigs @ 9:30 club, black love tour - IMHO, the best live band ever. dulli is a magnet.
  
• rocket from the crypt/internat'l noise conspiracy/the explosion @ black cat - rare to see a bill this solid, INC's Denis (ex-refused) was amazing
  
• mono @ warehouse next door - the guy behind us had a seizure, it seemed like a common response
  
• jawbox any of the 80 million times i saw them - man i miss that band
  
• fugazi @ any fort reno/wash monument show - more 'chills up my spine' moments than any other band ever

 

[Trainwreck]

There's been too many good ones to pick just one- some memorable shows were...

The Damned- I was crewing for a band that opened for them, we got to party backstage with Captain Sensible.

King Crimson- with Fripp/Belew circa '82, loudest show I have ever seen.

Jason and the Scorchers- At a small bar in Springfield, IL- Jason was out in audience stringing the mic cord across tables, raking off pitchers, glasses, etc. The place was packed and the entire crowd was stacked in the back of the bar out of reach of Jason.

The English Beat w/ Electric Guitars

Albert Collins

Rory Gallagher

Butthole Surfers w/ Supersuckers, Rev. Horton Heat

 

[BikeGeek]

This is by no means a complete list, just the first that come to mind.
- Rocket From The Crypt in front of a home town crowd at Cane's in San Diego, 2001
- Prince @ 9:30 Club in DC, 1997...say what you want about the man, but damn can he play guitar.
- Fugazi, pretty much any show
- Bauhaus @ 9:30 Club, 1999 ...I'm sure it paled in comparison to the '80s shows, but wow.

edit: almost forgot about the 3-day "funeral" when the Simple Machines label folded in '98. 24 bands played: RFTC, Tsunami, Ida, Retsin, Superchunk, Versus, Scrawl...damn, I wish I could remember them all...Danielle Howle, Godzuki, Liquorice, Shipping News...

 

[-dustin]

Monte Montgomery's Birthday Bash, 2001, Antone's.

that show was absolutely insane.

 

[DNA]

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone @ Mississippi Nights in 1987
-Fishbone was nutty

Slapshot @ some random union hall in 1989
-old tyme hardcore show that some locals booked into the only place that they could find

Quicksand and Helmet @ the Blue Note in 1993
-Quicksand opened and blew the doors off the place; Helmet was the loudest, clearest and crispest show I have ever seen

Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite boys @ the Blue Note in 1993 (2 days after Helmet)
-catchy, dancey, texas swing band led by a really big guy with a sugary sweet voice, they made Son Volt (the headliner) seem dreary and dull

Calexico and Wilco @ the Blue Note in 2004
-I hadn't seen Calexico before and was impressed, Wilco performed as always

Kasabian @ Mojos in 2005
-this show must have been booked a year in advance for this band to be playing in a club as a small as Mojos. They pulled all the tables and chairs and it was wall-to-wall people. I suspected the band might just go through the motions since it was their last show before opening for Oasis in big arenas. Kasabian played like it was their last show on earth. Unbelievable.

 

[Tame Ape]

Guided by Voices. 1998(?) at the Gay/Rainbow eating house/Frat at Princeton U. This was right before Mag Earwig came out. Some dude was heckling Bob Pollard and I stepped up to tell him to shut it. Scary moment, but he backed down for a while. In the end, one of the Matador people came over and gave me a promo copy of the CD a few weeks before it came out. There was like 20-40 people total at this show. Awesome show, you could lean in and sing along into Bob's mike. Sooo rad!

 

[stinkyboy]

Stevie Ray Vaughn when he was still using.

KISS in the 70's

 

[narlus]

Guided by Voices. 1998(?) at the Gay/Rainbow eating house/Frat at Princeton U. This was right before Mag Earwig came out. Some dude was heckling Bob Pollard and I stepped up to tell him to shut it. Scary moment, but he backed down for a while. In the end, one of the Matador people came over and gave me a promo copy of the CD a few weeks before it came out. There was like 20-40 people total at this show. Awesome show, you could lean in and sing along into Bob's mike. Sooo rad!

nice! i forgot to add the two shows they played in Jan of '00 @ the middle east downstairs (best of the 6 times i've seen them)...my wife was 8 months pregnant and made both. good times. one night culminated in monoman (aka jeff connolly of the Lyres) getting a pile of potato salad dumped on his boxer-clad ass. GBV was *the* ultimate drink-yr-face-off band.

 

[Jim Mac]

SF's High on Fire was pretty good last year here in the little Capital Region of NY...

Anyone know the Hellacopters tour dates? Northeast? Help! (their website is down it seems).

Locally and recently, The Wasted were also very good.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Loco said the Pat Benetar show was good.

 

[Trainwreck]

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone @ Mississippi Nights in 1987
-Fishbone was nutty

I remember Fishbone performing a killer cover of Soul Makossa on that tour...

 

[brungeman]

Guided by Voices. 1998(?) at the Gay/Rainbow eating house/Frat at Princeton U. This was right before Mag Earwig came out. Some dude was heckling Bob Pollard and I stepped up to tell him to shut it. Scary moment, but he backed down for a while. In the end, one of the Matador people came over and gave me a promo copy of the CD a few weeks before it came out. There was like 20-40 people total at this show. Awesome show, you could lean in and sing along into Bob's mike. Sooo rad!

I remember playing those eating houses a bunch... they were awesome... that would have been a great place to see GBV... We opened for Codeine there... it was an awesome show...

 

[OGRipper]

Molly Hatchet at the Hartford Civic Center in '81!!!


:dancing:

 

[DNA]

I forgot to mention seeing Morphine (also at the Blue Note). They played a half-full show (it was intersession for the University here) and a month or so before Mark Sandman died. They sound was good and clean and Morphine had the coolest vibe as they played.

 

[jimmydean]

The Cult, Valentines Day in 1994 (or was it '95?) at LaLuna here in Portland. It had snowed the night before and most of the next day. Anybody who has seen snow in Portland knows that an inch of snow shuts this town down hard.

The opening band didn't make it, half the people didn't show, and instead of waiting until 10:00 or so, Ian Ashbury came out at 8:00 and opened the set. They played for nearly 5 hours with a couple beer and crowd breaks mixed in. The whole band was hanging out, having beers, taking requests, it was great.

I also saw The Ramones at the Roseland the last show they ever played in Portland, that was a great show. The Roseland is a great venue for punk type shows. It's small and sweaty.

 

[narlus]

Molly Hatchet at the Hartford Civic Center in '81!!!


:dancing:

sweet...my 1st rock show was going w/ my brother to see The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet at the Spfld Civic Center. i think it was in '79 maybe or '80?

 

[amydalayna]

Here's my top 5 shows. Made me very reminiscent of New England to come up with this list.

nigel 6 at the tune inn in new haven, ct. 1995. it's when i met my husband.

bosstones. hometown throwdown show at the middle east in cambridge. 1995. one of those weekend long adventures in the city

modest mouse and les savy fav at coney island high in nyc. 1997. probably the best show i've ever been to.

Rainer Maria at amherst college (amherst, ma). 2001.

fugazi. west springfield, ma. 2002.

 

[Mackie]

-Fugazi - Multiple shows, always great.

-Superbowl of Hardcore, at the old Ritz. Must have been 1989 or 1990. Youth of Today just ruled after a being on a long hiatus. Just before they became Shelter. People were diving off the balcony. Pure chaos.

-Toots & The Maytals at a free show at Vassar College, 1991. It was outside in a filed, the beer was free, the band was tight -the vibe was great.

Fishbone puts on one hell of a show - seen them a few times as well.

 

[Zark]

Clash of the Titans tour,11/09/90. Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer. Laguna Hills, CA. Crazy show. Anthrax kicked ass live. Slayer almost started a riot, full moon, bonfires, crazy pit

New Titans on the Block tour, 1992, Anaconda, Isla Vista, CA. Napalm Death, Sick of it All, Sacred Reich and Sepultura. Seeing those bands in such a small place was so freakin cool. Sepultura was incredible

Korn @ the Underground in S.B. 1995. They were pretty much unknown at the time, playing a 100 seat venue. Snot opened up and left an impression too.

Greatful Dead @ Pacific Amphithear, 1994. Only noteable because I was so blitzed on acid that I wandered the parking lot for 2-3 hours after the show!

Pantera @ Warfield in S.F., CA. 04/29/1994. This show was on my 18th birthday. I saw in the city, tore up, seeing one of my favorite bands. I also registered to vote and signed the California Hemp Initiative! Another noteable about this show: Crowbar opened up and were practically booed off stage!

 

[Rockland]

All my favorite shows have been local/friends' bands in Portland. Good times, good parties.
Thinking back it seems most of the non-locals shows I remember were metal/hardcore whatnot. And in hindsight most of them weren't very good. One standout was 97 or 98, Worcester, MA, I think the venue was called The Space, Converge/Cave In/Isis. Definitely made me a permanent fan of all three bands.

 

[DamienC]

I forgot to mention seeing Morphine (also at the Blue Note). They played a half-full show (it was intersession for the University here) and a month or so before Mark Sandman died. They sound was good and clean and Morphine had the coolest vibe as they played.

I had a ticket to see Morphine play a show at the Pier in Seattle. Mark Sandman died the week before that show was supposed to happen. It was devastating. I remember walking by later that week and seeing many Mark Sandman memorials and flowers that people had left outside the venue. Skip a few years later and I caught Orchestra Morphine with Dana Colley, Billy Conway, and supporting musicians at the Showbox in Seattle. It was a great celebration of Morphine's music and it still remains up there as one of the best shows I've seen.

 

[elRey]

i third the nick cave

but I would have to say my all time best show would be last year Iggy and the stooges at bumbershoot in seattle.

 

[OGRipper]

sweet...my 1st rock show was going w/ my brother to see The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet at the Spfld Civic Center. i think it was in '79 maybe or '80?

Nice. I saw Triumph in Springfield a few years later...

 

[narlus]

other Spfld CC shows i saw:

blue oyster cult and foghat
the outlaws and foghat

 

[brungeman]

There are toooo many to really pick 1 here are a few that bring favorable memories...

Operation Ivy @The Electric Banana Pburgh (a show with about 30 people in attendance and totally amazing)
Firehose @The Electric Banana Pburgh (Mike Watt must have pulled his bass strings a foot away from the bass as he slapped them around)
All @ the Ballroom in Erie Pa... we met them a few shows earlier, but really got a treat as teenagers driving the guys around to get supplies for their tour van etc. they took us backstage and hung with us like we were royalty.
Screaming Trees @ Peabody's in Cleveland (Mark L. stood there with Eyebrows raised as 2 girls (supposedly sisters) jumped on stage and made out and fondled each other... Van Connor fell over after a failed jump split and needed to be helped up... (he was already wearing a knee brace)
Skatalites @ Grafiti in Pburgh wow can those old guys lay it down!
Jayhawks @ Rosebud in Pburgh the whole band was amazing and the vocal harmonies were spot on!
Blue Rodeo @ Rosebud in Pburgh one of the most solid performances I have seen in a long time... they were super tight!!! it blew me away!!!
Fugazi @ the Sonic Hall Pburgh & @ the Hub in Penn State and every other time I saw them for that matter.

man I could go on... I LOVE LIVE MUSIC... duh!!!

 

[PonySoldier]

The Outlaws and ZZ Top, Alpine Valley, Wi...

 

[chicodude]

bosstones. hometown throwdown show at the middle east in cambridge. 1995. one of those weekend long adventures in the city

Bosstones are nuts.

Operation Ivy @The Electric Banana Pburgh (a show with about 30 people in attendance and totally amazing)

You lucky bastard. I hate you so much right now.



Few other bands I'll throw out:

Flogging molly
Real big fish
black flag

 

[brungeman]

Bosstones are nuts.




You lucky bastard. I hate you so much right now.



Few other bands I'll throw out:

Flogging molly
Real big fish
black flag

yeah they drove up in an old 70's station wagon with a metal box thing welded to the top with all their equipment in it... they pulled out little 10 watt practice amps and rawked the place...

Jesse lived in Pburgh before moving to the Bay Area... and he was hanging out with us cause my friends older brother was one of his best friends before he left!!! good guys back then!!!

 

[blt2ride]

I saw the Eagles a few months ago, and had a really good time. They played all of their classics.

Aerosmith was also a really good show--they played a lot of their music from the 70s...

 

[chicodude]

yeah they drove up in an old 70's station wagon with a metal box thing welded to the top with all their equipment in it... they pulled out little 10 watt practice amps and rawked the place...

Jesse lived in Pburgh before moving to the Bay Area... and he was hanging out with us cause my friends older brother was one of his best friends before he left!!! good guys back then!!!

Sound quite ill infact....