The best concerts you've ever seen:

Sonicpharmacist said:
In no order

Tool opening for Rollins Band at Iguana’s. July 18, 1992
Oingo Boingo, San Diego State Univ, June 13, 1993
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, San Diego Sports Arena, April 23, 1991
Peter Gabriel, San Diego Sports Arena, July 23, 1993
Sonic Youth, SOMA, July 20, 2002
Radiohead, Bayside San Diego, June 26, 2006
Paul McCartney, Univ of Montana, Aug 5, 2014
Metallica/Guns N Roses/Motorhead, Pasadena Rose Bowl, Oct 3, 1992
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Wow, I didn't even know Oingo Boingo was still active in 1993, I'll bet they were nuts live. Would love to see Neil Young live. You reminded me that my mom took me to see Peter Gabriel when I was a kid, had to edit my list yet again. And Paul McCartney puts on a great show, that guy is awesome.
 
willcoll said:
Channeling my inner Rob Gordon, my top five favorite concerts attended:

1. The Cure/Love & Rockets/The Pixies - September 4, 1989 - Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre - Greenwood Village, Colorado
2. Gang of Youths - March 19, 2018 - The Basement - Nashville, Tennessee
3. Pearl Jam (Day on the Hill 1992) - May 2, 1992 - University of Kansas Campus - Lawrence, Kansas
4. Nirvana/Mudhoney - October 21, 1993 - Memorial Hall - Kansas City, Kansas
5. The Church - October 1, 1988 - Uptown Theatre - Kansas City, Missouri
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Nirvana would have been my first gig. Unfortunately events overtook. Jethro Tull has the honour of being my first gig now!
 
dansomeone said:
Wow, I didn't even know Oingo Boingo was still active in 1993, I'll bet they were nuts live. Would love to see Neil Young live. You reminded me that my mom took me to see Peter Gabriel when I was a kid, had to edit my list yet again. And Paul McCartney puts on a great show, that guy is awesome.
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Yeah Boingo has a ton of energy live, a ton of fun. PG I had 4th row, so incredible. McCartney my mom and I went, and we’re close to the stage, so great to spend this with my mom, and the dude still puts on an amazing show
 
Sonicpharmacist said:
Yeah Boingo has a ton of energy live, a ton of fun. PG I had 4th row, so incredible. McCartney my mom and I went, and we’re close to the stage, so great to spend this with my mom, and the dude still puts on an amazing show
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We had fourth row for McCartney. That scamp winked at my wife a few times. He's incorrigible.
 
I've gone to literally hundreds of shows, here's some of my favorites

1 - Diarrhea Planet + Faux Ferocious + H.A.R.D.
2018/09/09 - Exit/In - Nashville, TN
Diarrhea Planet's final performance. Absolutely transcendent. Massive setlist, nonstop mosh, epic crowd surfing, 100% good vibes. Will never be topped

2 - The Darkness + Foxy Shazam + Crown Jewel Defense
2012/02/03 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
The Darkness' first US performance in 7 years was massive in every way. The very definition of a triumphant return!

3 - Mastodon + Mondo Drag
2016/01/15 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
One of the biggest metal bands in the world playing a secret show at a 200 person venue. Nuff said

4 - Minus The Bear + Tristen + Twin Tigers
2010/11/27 - Firestone Live - Orlando, FL
Prior to the show a group of evangelical christians were protesting MTB's "devil music." The band came out onto the street and attempted to engage in a rational dialog about acceptance and tolerance. The evangelicals weren't having it and called the cops on the band. When MTB took the stage a couple hours later they played like they never played before. A huge, powerful set bursting with energy

5 - Death Valley Girls + L.A. Witch + Candy Warpop
2015/08/10 - Beauty Bar - Las Vegas, NV
Skipped out on a work conference to catch two of my favorites at the super tiny LV Beauty Bar. AC was broken and it was hotter inside the venue than out. DVG and LAW played incredible, sweaty sets. Bonnie gave me a shout-out during the set. Not long after they both made it big. Proud to call both bands friends :)

6 - Death From Above 1979 + Biblical
2014/11/17 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
DFA1979's first tour after reforming for The Physical World. The Indy is probably my favorite venue ever. Perfect size, perfect sound. The band was on fire and the crowd was lit the fuck up. Jesse played an after-show MSTRKRFT DJ set. It was insane

7 - Carpenter Brut + Vector Hold
2017/03/24 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
The most metal synthwave band tore it the fuck up with a massive crowd that pulled in ravers, metal heads, synth dorks, and video gamers in one giant party and then capped it all off with a killer cover of Michael Sembello's Maniac!

8 - The Shrine + Dirty Fences + Banquet
2015/04/04 - Thee Parkside - San Francisco, CA
Holy fuck, Thee Parkside is small and super divey. One of my favorites. The Shrine was insane and the crowd was wilder, diving off the bar into the crowd, a mosh that almost tore the walls down. So much fun

9 - Chelsea Wolfe + Ioanna Gika
2019/11/01 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Steel is a massive venue in an old steel mill. Chelsea Wolfe chose this spot for the NYC stop of her solo acoustic tour. The entire venue was packed. Maybe 2000 people. For the better part of 2 hours Chelsea Wolfe stood alone on stage with only an acoustic guitar and commanded the attention of everyone. You could hear a pin drop. Pure magic.

10 - Beck + Thundercat
2017/07/14 - Greek Theater - Berkeley, CA
Beck is a leagcy act, for sure, but it was a blast seeing him live even though he legit forgot the words to Where It's At. Highlight of the show was Thundercat, tearing it up as the opener BUT THEN joining Beck and his full band for the ENTIRE 30+ minute encore. Pure fire!

Honorable Mentions

The Bronx + Culture Abuse + Sharp/Shock
2017/12/08 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Night two of The Bronx's semi-annual holiday shows in SF and LA. Night one was awesome as well (Mariachi El Bronx + guests), but Matt Caughtran in a Santa suit on the floor leading a venue-sized circle pit for the entire show is an experience. Sliced my back up in the pit on broken glass, stil have the scar. So rad

Diarrhea Planet + Lovely Bad Things + Trendy Dad
2016/11/17 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
I mean, every DP show is incredible. This one holds a special place in my heart because I broke a rib in the mosh pit!

Andrew WK + Shame Waves
2017/09/28 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
First time seeing AWK performing his own material. I had seen him before doing lead vocals for Marky Ramone's Ramones cover band Blitzkrieg (which was rad), but AWK with his full band doing his material was a blast
 
CAPacelli said:
I've gone to literally hundreds of shows, here's some of my favorites

1 - Diarrhea Planet + Faux Ferocious + H.A.R.D.
2018/09/09 - Exit/In - Nashville, TN
Diarrhea Planet's final performance. Absolutely transcendent. Massive setlist, nonstop mosh, epic crowd surfing, 100% good vibes. Will never be topped

2 - The Darkness + Foxy Shazam + Crown Jewel Defense
2012/02/03 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
The Darkness' first US performance in 7 years was massive in every way. The very definition of a triumphant return!

3 - Mastodon + Mondo Drag
2016/01/15 - The Chapel - San Francisco, CA
One of the biggest metal bands in the world playing a secret show at a 200 person venue. Nuff said

4 - Minus The Bear + Tristen + Twin Tigers
2010/11/27 - Firestone Live - Orlando, FL
Prior to the show a group of evangelical christians were protesting MTB's "devil music." The band came out onto the street and attempted to engage in a rational dialog about acceptance and tolerance. The evangelicals weren't having it and called the cops on the band. When MTB took the stage a couple hours later they played like they never played before. A huge, powerful set bursting with energy

5 - Death Valley Girls + L.A. Witch + Candy Warpop
2015/08/10 - Beauty Bar - Las Vegas, NV
Skipped out on a work conference to catch two of my favorites at the super tiny LV Beauty Bar. AC was broken and it was hotter inside the venue than out. DVG and LAW played incredible, sweaty sets. Bonnie gave me a shout-out during the set. Not long after they both made it big. Proud to call both bands friends :)

6 - Death From Above 1979 + Biblical
2014/11/17 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
DFA1979's first tour after reforming for The Physical World. The Indy is probably my favorite venue ever. Perfect size, perfect sound. The band was on fire and the crowd was lit the fuck up. Jesse played an after-show MSTRKRFT DJ set. It was insane

7 - Carpenter Brut + Vector Hold
2017/03/24 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA
The most metal synthwave band tore it the fuck up with a massive crowd that pulled in ravers, metal heads, synth dorks, and video gamers in one giant party and then capped it all off with a killer cover of Michael Sembello's Maniac!

8 - The Shrine + Dirty Fences + Banquet
2015/04/04 - Thee Parkside - San Francisco, CA
Holy fuck, Thee Parkside is small and super divey. One of my favorites. The Shrine was insane and the crowd was wilder, diving off the bar into the crowd, a mosh that almost tore the walls down. So much fun

9 - Chelsea Wolfe + Ioanna Gika
2019/11/01 - Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Steel is a massive venue in an old steel mill. Chelsea Wolfe chose this spot for the NYC stop of her solo acoustic tour. The entire venue was packed. Maybe 2000 people. For the better part of 2 hours Chelsea Wolfe stood alone on stage with only an acoustic guitar and commanded the attention of everyone. You could hear a pin drop. Pure magic.

10 - Beck + Thundercat
2017/07/14 - Greek Theater - Berkeley, CA
Beck is a leagcy act, for sure, but it was a blast seeing him live even though he legit forgot the words to Where It's At. Highlight of the show was Thundercat, tearing it up as the opener BUT THEN joining Beck and his full band for the ENTIRE 30+ minute encore. Pure fire!

Honorable Mentions

The Bronx + Culture Abuse + Sharp/Shock
2017/12/08 - Slim's - San Francisco, CA
Night two of The Bronx's semi-annual holiday shows in SF and LA. Night one was awesome as well (Mariachi El Bronx + guests), but Matt Caughtran in a Santa suit on the floor leading a venue-sized circle pit for the entire show is an experience. Sliced my back up in the pit on broken glass, stil have the scar. So rad

Diarrhea Planet + Lovely Bad Things + Trendy Dad
2016/11/17 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
I mean, every DP show is incredible. This one holds a special place in my heart because I broke a rib in the mosh pit!

Andrew WK + Shame Waves
2017/09/28 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
First time seeing AWK performing his own material. I had seen him before doing lead vocals for Marky Ramone's Ramones cover band Blitzkrieg (which was rad), but AWK with his full band doing his material was a blast
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Too bad DP is no more, those were great live shows! Caught them opening for Ex Hex, and they just tore the roof off.
 
In no particular order:

U2-2017 Joshua Tree (anniversary) tour Superdome
Foo Fighters-2003 The Howlin' Wolf
Incubus-1997 The Varsity
Tori Amos - 2002 Strange Little Girls Tour at the Orpheum
Bratmobile and The Donnas - 2001 Donnas turn 21 tour at the Shim Sham Club
The Reverend Horton Heat - 1999 The Varsity
Flogging Molly - 2004 House of Blues NOLA
Death Cab for Cutie - 2018 Thank you for today tour at the Saenger Theater
Weird Al Yankovic- 2019 Strings attached tour (he was accompanied by the NOLA philharmonic orchestra) at the Saenger Theater
Bad Religion - 2019 at the House of Blues NOLA
 
nolalady said:
In no particular order:

U2-2017 Joshua Tree (anniversary) tour Superdome
Foo Fighters-2003 The Howlin' Wolf
Incubus-1997 The Varsity
Tori Amos - 2002 Strange Little Girls Tour at the Orpheum
Bratmobile and The Donnas - 2001 Donnas turn 21 tour at the Shim Sham Club
The Reverend Horton Heat - 1999 The Varsity
Flogging Molly - 2004 House of Blues NOLA
Death Cab for Cutie - 2018 Thank you for today tour at the Saenger Theater
Weird Al Yankovic- 2019 Strings attached tour (he was accompanied by the NOLA philharmonic orchestra) at the Saenger Theater
Bad Religion - 2019 at the House of Blues NOLA
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The Donnas were amazing live, the drummer and guitarist particularly. A totally underrated band.
 
In no particular Order

Oasis - City of Manchester Stadium ‘05
Radiohead - Glastonbury ‘03
Queens of the Stone Age - Leeds Festival ‘00
Rage Against the Machine - Leeds Festival ‘00
Doves - Manchester Apollo ‘05
U2 - Croke Park, Dublin ‘17 (same Joshua 30 tour as @nolalady )
The Music - Rock City Nottingham ‘01
The Coral - The Leadmill Sheffield ‘01
System of A Down - Nottingham Ice Arena ‘01
The Polyphonic Spree - Glastonbury ‘03
 
Joe Mac said:
In no particular Order

Oasis - City of Manchester Stadium ‘05
Radiohead - Glastonbury ‘03
Queens of the Stone Age - Leeds Festival ‘00
Rage Against the Machine - Leeds Festival ‘00
Doves - Manchester Apollo ‘05
U2 - Croke Park, Dublin ‘17 (same Joshua 30 tour as @nolalady )
The Music - Rock City Nottingham ‘01
The Coral - The Leadmill Sheffield ‘01
System of A Down - Nottingham Ice Arena ‘01
The Polyphonic Spree - Glastonbury ‘03
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I got to see System of a Down at Oz Fest in 2006. They were phenomenal. See I knew the minute I made one of these lists, I'd remember more bands.
 
I have no idea how you guys remember where you were in what year. I salute you all for not destroying brain cells at the rate I apparently did!
I saw The Cult at Ipswich Gaumont in the ‘80’s sometime.....or was it the...yeah, must have been...I think.:unsure:
 
This weekend has been a good reminder that I need to somehow cross her off my bucket list in spite of her dislike of touring.

 
There's so many good shows that I've seen in the past, but not so much anymore in the last few years. I'm really missing that. But thanks to my turntable I found my way back to music in the last two years...

So here's a few of my all-time favourite shows....
2002 Tool somewhere in MA
2003 White Stripes in Boston MA, found tickets for 3rd row in the streets
2002 or 2003 B.B. King near Boston MA
2003 Faithless at Rock im Park Festival Germany
2006 DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist performing Brainfreeze in Los Angeles CA
2006 James Brown in Los Angeles CA
2006 Los Angeles Philharmonics - Beethovens' 7th Symphony in Los Angeles CA
2007 The Police in München / Germany
2009 AC/DC in München / Germany, very first row
2009 AC/DC in London / UK, very last row
2009 The Prodigy in Vienna / Austria
2011 The Dubliners in Leonding / Austria
2017 Buddy Guy in Stuttgart / Germany

Well, there's many more, but that's some of my favourite ones I can think of now...
 
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Im sure I’ll add to this but off the top of my head

Radiohead at Bonnaroo 2006
Tom Petty at Bonnaroo 2006
Kiss at Voodoo fest on Halloween night 2009
We were on acid and dressed at the cast of
Alice in Wonderland
Coheed and Cambria at a small bar in Baton
Rouge 2007
311 day 2002 they played 59 songs
Oysterhead Broomfield Co 2020
Phish @ dicks sporting goods park 2012
they spelled out Fuck your face with the
set list (it’s one of their songs)
Better than Ezra at Bonne Fete in Baton
Rouge (year unknown) they pulled me out
of the crowd to play a song on guitar with
them
Voodoo fest 2000. Lineup included Stone
Temple Pilots, Eminem, Ben Harper, Black
Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, Blues Traveler,
Cowboy Mouth, 311, Live, Counting Crows,
Guster, and Galactic ALL IN ONE DAY!!!
Rage Against The Machine voodoo fest 2007
Tiesto voodoo fest 2007
Greensky Bluegrass late night show in Vegas
2014
Beck at Red Rocks 2018
Widespread Panic Halloween 2010 in New
Orleans. Opened with Fairies Wear Boots!!
Beastie Boys Bonnaroo 2009
Particle Bonnaroo 2003 There were slotted to play 4am-6 am but because of the energy they didn’t stop until 9am
Medeski, Martin & Wood Bonnaroo 2003
 
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This is a great thread. I love concerts a lot and I've been to many over the years. To name the gigs that impressed me the most, I just go through the years, so there's no particular order. When I've been to several concerts by one artist/ band, I'll just take the one that was the most amazing for me.

1999 Lauryn Hill (Düsseldorf)
2000 Beck (Bizarre Festival, Weeze)
2001 Björk (Frankfurt am Main, few days after 9/11)
2001 U2 (Munich)
2002 David Bowie (Bonn)
2002 Prince (Oberhausen)
2003 Oasis (Düsseldorf)
2004 Madonna (Paris)
2006 Arctic Monkeys (Berlin)
2006 Muse (Salzburg/ Frequency Festival)
2006 Justin Timberlake (Cologne, in a very small club)
2007 Tori Amos (Zurich, I've talked to her in a meet & greet before that show and thanked her for the music)
2007 Marilyn Manson (Hamburg)
2008 The Killers (Berlin, again in a small club)
2008 Radiohead (Berlin)
2008 R.E.M. (Würzburg)
2009 Nick Cave (Dresden)
2009 Britney Spears (Berlin)
2009 Peter Doherty (Hamburg)
2010 Sting (Cologne)
2010 Lady Gaga (Hamburg)
2011 George Michael (Cologne)
2012 Patrick Wolf (Cologne)
2013 Lana del Rey (Düsseldorf)
2013 Smashing Pumpkins (Cologne)
2017 Rolling Stones (Düsseldorf)
2018 Durand Jones (Cologne)
2019 Mylene Farmer (Paris)
2020 Morrissey (Cologne, last day gigs were allowed in Germany before all got cancelled due to Covid19, and everyone in the crowd knew about that, so there was a very special atmosphere; I'm certainly not agreeing to some things he said in recent years, but still I love his music).
 
Greatest thing I've ever seen was the Rolling Stones perform in Rome. They performed in the Circo Massimo, which is the ancient horse racing track right next to the colosseum. The architecural society of Rome had issues with the concert because they thought the sound waves and vibration would damage the historic artifacts but the mayor or Rome told them to piss off because it's the Stones.

Best. Evening. Ever. It was packed, and the sun set on a this giant crowd in the historic venue - truly one of a kind!
 
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