Best concerts you've seen

[motherlode]

Day on the Green (84ish) Scorps - Y&T - Metallica

Roger Waters - Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking - oakland - 84 - waters opened up with welcome to the machine - did about 90 minutes of floyd stuff - then intermission and another hour or so of solo stuff - still the most impressive stage show for an indoor setup I have ever seen

Ozzy/Metallica - Cow Palace

Judas Priest - Coliseum Arena

Pink Floyd - oakland - 86 in the rain - fucking spectacular

Alice in Chains - 91 at the Stone in SF

The Dead - Chinese New Years 92

the first lollapalooza at shoreline when Tool played the side stage

Soundgarden - 92ish at the Warfield

Suicidal Tendancies - the Warfield

Bill Graham Memorial Concert SF Golden Gate Park

Page and Plant with Bonham Jr at the shoreline ampitheater

Dynamo metal festival - Eindhoven Holland 93

Public Enemy / Disposable Heros of Hiphophricy at the Warfield

Ozzy - Black Sabbath - Sepultura (95ish) - Long Beach - this was the first time the original members of Sabbath played together since they broke up - Dio was singing with Sabbath during that tour but got pissed beacuse Ozzy and the orig members planned on playing together for the encore - Dio left the tour over this and Rob Halford ended up singing for Sabbath when they opened for Ozzy

Ice Cube - 97 at the Warfield

the 1st Ozzfest - San Bernadino

the Who - 2001 - Shoreline

Rojer Waters - Dark Side - took my son for one of his graduation presents

Les Claypool at the Fillmore NYE 2007

worked with a few bay area bands from the mid 80's to the mid 90's doing security - lighting

also worked for Bill Graham doing concert security during that time frame

met so many people - worked so many shows - its all one big ass blur now -
I tried to put them in order - the dates are pretty much guestimates on a lot of them

I have been fortunate to see many bands up and coming in very small venues

I could spend a couple hours trying to remember and sort all the great shows

 

[Seamaiden]

Oh! ^That reminds me of another very memorable show and I think there's a CD. Universal Amphitheater, around... I wanna say 1990-91. Sepultura, HELMET, and MINISTRY.

I missed most of Sepultura and they never really were my thing, but I did get to see Helmet and ohmymuthafuggingawd, those boys were tight. Ministry... how does one adequately go into all that is Ministry, Al Jourgensen and the enigma you're about to behold? That show just completely kicked ass.

i would love to have seen the butthole surfers back in the day!!! thats awesome seamadien. i saw the reunited sublime with rome in denver last summer that was something i never thought i would get to see. it was pretty cool, rome does a good job, but the best is bradley.

Gibby was (is?) a hell of a talent, but that booze, yeah? I think one of the shows I saw was after Rembrandt Pussyhorse, not sure, but they had two drummers and these girls painted green from head to toe except for their red Converse high-tops. They were stark naked, but I didn't even realize they were female until I went into the ladies room and heard all these chicks bitching up a blue streak about how their boyfriends had tricked them and they weren't staying. A couple dozen, at least. Laughed my ass off, I liked the green girls even more after that.

I think it was at the Variety Arts Center...? I'm kind of drawing a blank on the name, but it was somewhere near downtown LA and was a disaster waiting to happen. Gorgeous inside, like many of the old hotels and the like down there, but completely forgotten, run down, and waiting for the next big one to fall down.

Every time I've been at an indoor venue I think about earthquakes. Every. Fucking. Time.

I saw the butthole surfers at redrocks when i was a teen.. got to meet gibby and very thing..man was that guy piss drunk..lol

LMAO! I wrote the above before I read the below.

MARRS (Pump Up The Volume), sometime in the 80s, was memorable because it was the only show I walked out of with tinnitus.

 

[jeffadies]

Damn Seamaiden your my kinda chick..I was lucky enough to see Ministry and the jesus lizard a long time ago....Ministry will always be top 5 for me.

 

[sensisaint]

alot of you farmers have been to some amazing shows. my fav would have to be white zombie and pantera in 1996 0r 97 cant remember,but was the sickest show. r.i.p.dimebag

 

[WomBat]

The closing of Winterland, New Years Eve 1978. With Blues Brothers, NewRiders, Greateful Dead till Dawn.

just a Little jealous =]

 

[GanjaGardener]

Here's a couple- I'll prolly think of more- got about 55, (oops- 45- not that old yet), years to go through.

Jimi Hendricks Experience, (Brown University Field House, 1968) Jimi during black hat and silver conchos period. Mitch Mitchell's head was buried in the drums- never saw his face only flying hair. Noel Redding looked like a twig w/ a beer belly and, like Jimi, could play behind his head and w/ his teeth which was unheard of before they hit the scene.

Walden Woods Concert. (have to look up date) By Invite only. Free booze during the break. I tipped the bartender $5. Tom Hanks was next to me and tipped $1. I looked at him funny. He looked at me as if to say, "Hey, I'm just one of the boys."- I was working as a cameraman for HBO. Shot an interview w/ Henley before show. Told Henley how I really got off on "Dirty Laundry". 1st song of his set. yep, u gottit. When Don Henley unexpectedly came out to join Roger Waters when the 1st chorus of "Comfortably Numb" hit, I thought the goosebumps were going to jump right off of me. 1st time in 20 years that Fogerty performed any of his Creedence songs, Neil Young, forever in search of new/different did his set in dirge fashion w/ a pipe organ. "Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you." No shit, Neil. You got that right.

I worked in the entertainment industry for 30+ years. Whether that's good or bad, (I have a mixed opinion) I did get a few stories about concerts and backstage scenes out of the deal. Mostly old school stuff, though. The last concert I shot was Third Eye Blind when their 1st disc came out, so it's been awhile.

 

[delamountain]

Best live show was Rage Against the Machine at the Shoreline in 98'.Wu tang was suppose to open but had some last minute legal problems so the Roots opened and they where great but Rage was just awesome.The acid we dropped before the show was very nice also.Super jealous Chickenman of seeing The Band one of my favorite groups wish I could have seen them but I wasnt even born in 78'.

 

[Steel Erection]

Pink Floyd I think '94 the last time they played in the US at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ. Spectacular.-SE

 

[mal]

Been to a Few Myself

1976-Superbowl of Rock-Lynrd Skynrd,Ted Nugent, 38 pecial, Journey,REO
1979 Day in the park- Stones, Santana, and 3 bands I can't rememberBad Co
1980-Led Zepplin-had tickets when bonham died-no concert Chicago
dates get fuzzy but saw
YES-in the round (round stage that went around all concert)
Pink Floyd in denver- had the big pink floating pig
Elton John-2x Chicago/Denver
Kiss-
AC/DC
The Dead-Alpine valley3x
The Who
Meatloaf
The guess who- dude told me it was the who
Journey5x-when they were young they rocked
janes addiction
Metallica, Guns&Roses, Faith no more
Moody Blues-2x on mushrooms
Peter Gabriel
Phil Collins
Genesis-3x
There's a bunch that I've burned from my memory, but thats a start
OH Jimmy Cliff in boulder- Burned a dube with him back stage was in a small bar downtown, cool dude-his weed was really a cone(huge J)
Melissa Ethridge-Boulder/she rocked when she 1st came out(not gay)
I hung out with Big Head Todd in a bar he played wednesdays in Boulder, it came to me White Horse was the bar, I lived with one of his backup singers
Going to see jon anderson outside chicago august 5th
i'm having Flashbacks-LOL if I wait more will come
Thats it for know
Neil Young in a bar in Chicago, got rowdy the night before so there was no drinking in the bar the night I went, out came Neil with a Bud, took a sip and began it was acoustic
Saw U2 in Chicago in front of 1,500 people, sat in muppet seat that overhung stage-early 80's
mal

 

[jeffadies]

Man i dont know how i forgot my first concert. Scorpions at red rocks. Also the first time i ever got high. happy times.

 

[mrbong73]

Tool at the Warfield was pretty badass! Saw em there twice.

 

[TrichromeFan]

I have forgotten more shows than I have been to, but there have been some memorable ones.

Old punk days: Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Henry Rollins early solo, Young and the Useless (beastie boys pre-band), and many other sweat soaked pits at the infamous city gardens in Trenton, NJ.

Sublime at the HOB sunset strip. I believe it was their last show before Brad died. I somehow ended up blacking out on my feet at that show, taking out a poor girl in my collapse.

The halloween shows. Boingo at irvine meadows. The Roots at HOB sunset.

New punk rock shows. Anywhere guttermouth plays. Seen shows with people hanging from the rafters, the crowd hawking loogies at the band like a machine gun, fans throwing change & high ball glasses, and the best was the lead singer passed out drunk over a PA on the front of the stage for almost the entire show. They are the only real representation of the genre.

Primus new years eve last year, with les claypool and the fancy opening at the fox in oakland. Even the ushers had a circle going with a few bowls going round, and a sprinkling of whip-ets. Anything Les is the shit!

AC/DC - got to go backstage after the show, and meet angus & brian. Pics with them to boot.

Rage @ the forum. Zach was stupid good. He was full of..... rage.

Slipknot. First album tour. Key club in Sunset. I was on the stage for that show. I got my buddy a job with the band. I did have to take an oath to satan before the show :D

Gogol Bordello. Every time I see these guys, I wanna be a gypsy. They have one of the most jumpinest vibes of any concert that I have ever seen.

Mixmaster Mike @ HOB sunset. Fuck. This guy destroys the turntables!

The Reverend Horton Heat. The man who defines the soul of Psychobilly. Seen him well over 10 times so far.

Some classics: the dead a couple of times. steve miler. pink floyd la colloseum (no waters). crosby stills & nash @ the greek. eagles first date hell freezes over tour @ irvine meadows. Buddy grew up with don felder's kid. Awesome seats.

I think the moral to all this is. Get the fuck out there. Go see some shows. You never know what you will look back on years later.

-TF

 

[coloradochem]

im only a lilttle obsessed, lol, but i belive sublimes last show was in the bay area, he died in a sf motel room. but if u saw them at all in the 90s your more than a god to this colorado boy......

 

[mrbong73]

Yep they played in Chico at the city park then down to the city. I was at the Chico show.
It's a trip my bros band opened that show and a couple years later the lead singer od in sf. Damn. Hucksalt headspead was the band.

 

[TrichromeFan]

My bad. I checked the date. The show was on 4/5/96 he died 5/25/96. Last LA show at least. Greyboy allstars were sweet that night too. I believe that the show closed on smoke 2 joints if memory serves me.

-TF

 

[Seamaiden]

Damn Seamaiden your my kinda chick..I was lucky enough to see Ministry and the jesus lizard a long time ago....Ministry will always be top 5 for me.

Ahhh... so then you'd also be familiar with greats like Revolting Cocks (Beers, Steers and Queers, yeeeee haaaawwww!!!!), MC 900' Jesus... and now I'm drawing some blanks (hey, I was high!).

I just learned that Al is actually CUBAN, wow! Te gusta habichuelas con arroz?

Tool at the Warfield was pretty badass! Saw em there twice.

Memory track ON: I saw Tool with Haunted Garage and White Zombie before they'd become popular at some big club in Hollywood... The Roxy? I can't remember the venue, it was out in Hollywood on the main strip.

And I, too, can't believe I forgot about my first concert. The opening acts were Ronny Montrose and Pat Traverse, opening for Blue Oyster Cult. That was a lot of fun.

 

[Sunbiz1]

Hmm, tough to pick out the best shows I've seen.

1. Rush, Moving Pictures tour 1981
2. Pink Floyd, late 80's...still a great show even w/o Waters.
3. Jethro Tull...late 80's
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan/Jimmy Vaughan...multiple times. The 2 of them on guitar could not be beaten.
5. Robin Trower
6. Guns&Roses...before Axl turned to heroin.
Loudest concerts=Ted Nugent/ACDC
Worst Concerts=All the Grateful Dead shows people used to drag me to where everyone smelled like patchouli oil. LOL, I was just never into them...loved the mushrooms though!.

 

[Texas Kid]

I think my concert days started in '83 with the Texas World Music Festival, which later became the Texas Jam...that year was Ted Nugent, Journey, Ozzy...

Rush Moving pictures tour '83 was killer and then they came back for the Grace Under Pressure tour at the Texas Jam that next year, first time I tripped some old school crackel barrel acid..what a day, I was a youngster in the middle of a sea of bikers, learned tio roll joints on the fly that day also and I still roll that way..it was crazy. Ive probably seen Rush 10 times over the years

Van Halen 1984, went all three nights in Dallas

I've seen Judas Priest, Ozzy, Scorpions and Metallica at least 5 times each

Sat front row center stage for a Triumph concert once that was over the top badass, Rick Emmitt, Gil Moore, Mike Lavine all killed it..

Saw Floyd a couple times but it was after their hayday and I have seen Gilmore and Waters a couple of time, Water's Radio Kaos tour was badass.

Slayer is killer live but ya gotta be into that kinda thing lol

Skinny Puppy back in the day and Marilyn Manson, Ministry, Gwar, Anthrax, Red Hot Chilis all in small venues.

I used to hit all of them but now it is just to much of a hassle for the most part, smaller live shows are killer though, regardless of the genre

Tex

 

[Seamaiden]

Skinny Puppy was at one of the downtown LA underground venues, and it was a disgusting show (they had a bunch of dead dogs they stuck on things and spun around, crap like that, got very messy).

I don't count these as "shows" because they were local parties, and I've seen Van Halen at a local party, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Anyone in the LA area remember or know of a place in the Artists District called Al's Bar? It was very near Little Tokyo and the Neon Museum.

One of the bands I saw at Al's was Fishbone. Can't remember the others, maybe Stone(d) Pony?

 

[Texas Kid]

In recent years its been alot of Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, Primus, Les Claypool, 311, Pato Banton, way more mellow these days...lol

Saw Iron maiden a few times, Alice Cooper, Queensryche, the Stones a few times also.

Chick concerts also like Matchbox 20, Harry Connick Jr., Sarah mcglaughlin, all kinds a love...lol

Tex