The One Rock Concert you enjoyed above all others

[DiabloTX]

Feb. '85 Metallica, Ride The Lightning in a small, small club in Houston that doesn't exist anymore.  I met the band at a record store in Pasadena a few hours before the gig.

The very next night...

U2, The Unforgettable Fire tour...wasn't much of a fan going in, a total convert coming out.

The night after that...

Iron Maiden, Powerslave tour, 14th row floor, Dave Murray's side of the stage.  Wow.  All I can say is WOW.

Best three nights of my concert career.

[Toad]

Zeppelin, August '70, Kansas City, Municipal Auditorium

[loser]

'94, Stones in Edmonton.

Silat no one can step to that list.

[rpm]

Farm Aid 2- Austin, Texas    July 4, 1986
What I can remember of it anyway.

Bob Wills Days- Turkey, Texas  April 27-30, 1988
While technically a country music festival, this was the Mother of all parties! We took over that town for 72 hours.

[Boroda]

Any Deep Purple show. The best one that I saw was in April 2000, Palace of Sport, Moscow. Their last show here with Jon Lord. I will go to every their show, even if they'll play in wheelchairs.

I saw Pink Floyd in Moscow in summer, 1989. My first big concert. Was almost a shock. Now I think it was too much "show" with all that effects only distracting attention from music. And I never liked PF without Waters. Waters was here 2 years ago and I think it was much more impressive then Guilmore's "PF" (tm).

[Saintaw]

Not rock, but... Cypress Hill, in "Dour Festival 2001". Close second was the "Biohazard" concert during that same festival.

[culero]

I'm like Silat here, so many good ones, hard to say which was best...

I guess I'll have to say Pink Floyd, Animals tour, 1978 in Houston (Jeppeson Stadium), only better than other times I saw them because it was an outdoor venue. They played Wish You Were Here, Animals, then Dark Side of the Moon as their "encore".

In the rain. Amazing.

Close second, Blue Oyster Cult at the Armadillo World HQ in Austin in 1976, with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet as the opening act. Their laser show was in full bloom, before any restrictions on power began to be applied, and their musical prowess hadn't yet started a decline. Awesome show.

Some honorable mentions -

Led Zepplin, Denver, 1972. Wow.

Johnny Winter, 1973. Double wow, best guitarist EVAR. (When he'd solo, the crowd was awed into silence.)

Yes, Denver, 1972, but not for their performance, they were stumbling drunk. They just had the good taste to have Edgar Winter and White Trash as their opener, and that was a ROCKING good show!

ZZ Top, Edinburg Texas, 1971. They played in the new university auditorium, and led a little revolt when school officials tried to enforce a "no smoking" rule. The show ended up having the band crowded together in a huddle, playing while about 150 of the crowd surrounded them onstage, passing joints all 'round. It was the first and last rock show in that auditorium

Seompi, Spring Break - South Padre Island, 1970. A local band which featured 3 players - a drummer and two bassists. (Pat Rockhill, one of the bassists, played lead.) It was my first-ever experience with LSD (Orange Sunshine imported by some freaks from University of Kansas, sold in a tent on the beach made from an orange parachute). I could literally see the music as it flowed out of the speakers, it was wonderful

I could go on

culero

[xrtoronto]

Another fond memory:



At Exhibition Stadium (no longer standing) on another beautiful summer late evening. Let me set the scene:

a huge stage at the east end of the stadium....on either side of the stage two enormous silk screens of the album cover of Hotel California. As I recall the Eagles came on stage with little fanfare and immediatley broke into the beginning of the title track: 'Hotel California'; near the end of the vocals all of a sudden Joe Walsh takes over playing lead guitar and the place went nuts.
The Eagles are so polished, so slick...the two massive walls of speakers behind the silk screens provided flawless sound reproduction. The weather that day was perfect. The performance could not have been better. A legendary band; A legendary show.

[midnight Target]

I forgot a good one....or two

Day on the Green - Candlestick Park 1975? maybe 6??
Opener - The Who
Closer - Greatful Dead


Genesis - Trick of the Tail  Tour 1978 in the Forum in LA. Laser show and acid = hootin good time.

LA Coliseum - 1977 Jethro Tull with the original "Tullivision" the opening act was the Charlie Daniels Band. Still trying to figure out who put those 2 together.

Angel Stadium - 1974 Chicago and the Beach Boys. All I remember is 1/2 naked women climbing on my body as we tried to build huge human pyramids in the outfield. Surprised no one died. We made a few 4-5 people high standing on each persons shoulders.

AND Angel Stadium 1974 -
Opener - Fleetwood Mac
then - Loggins and Messina
closer - Rod Stewart

1975 - Seals and Crofts - Greek Theater, Hollywood
I went to this show cause a beautiful classmate asked me. She was into them, I was expecting to be put to sleep. This turned into a really impressive show. They played at least 5 instruments each, and rocked the house when they wanted to. Surprisingly excellent.

[flyingaround]

I'm from St. Louis, and bars close at 2am, so everyone drives across the mississippi river to illinois where you can drink all night.  It was 1988ish, 4am and i'm WASTED at a bar called the Oz (huge place w/ like 5-6 bars) and my friend says this guy at the table next to us is Neal Schon, the guitarist from Journey.  I'm thinkin' B.S. so I walk over and ask 'em.  Sitting at the table was Neal Schon, and Jonathan Cain (he was Journey's keyboarist) and they were even more wasted than I was (which IS a neat trick BTW).  They asked me for a ride back to the Hotel Majestic where they were staying.  Gave 'em the ride, and they kept repeating our names, promising to put us down on a list to get into their concert the next night.  

Dunno how many of you remember Bad English, but it was made up of John Waite (vocals), Jonathan Cain (keyboards), and Ricky Phillips (bass) from The Babys, Neal Schon (guitar) from Journey (in which Jon Cain was also a member) and newcomer Deen Castronovo (drums).  Don't think the drummer was in any major bands.  

I was hardly a fan of Bad English, but the next night I went down to Mississippi Knights (local bar that can hold maybe 2-3,000 people) and my name was on a list to get in free.  I had THOUGHT it would be backstage, but heck, free concert why not.  About 1/2 way into the concert, Neal Schon was doing a 10min guitar solo and noticed me and my buddy in the crowd.  He leaned out over the crowd and yelled to us to hang out after the concert.  This was WHILE he was doing a blistering guitar solo, and everyone around us was pointing at themself going "was he talking to me? you mean me?"  It was hillarious.

After the concert he came out and told us to meet him at the Hotel, and we'll hang out.  Did so, but it was not the typical after concert bash.  These guys had been doing this for DECADES, and were well past the "ride a motorcycle drunk into the hotel pool" stage.  It was like partying with my Dad's friends ( I was 18 at the time) and I only stayed for a little bit.  Getting ready to go, I walked over and introduced myself to John Waite.  He was sitting at the bar, sick, and could barely talk.  He must have been exhausted after singing for 2 hours.  He stood up, took off his gloves, shook my hand, and invited me to join him for a drink.  We chatted for 5 min, and I excused myself and left.

I have met many "famous" musician types, but I have to say John Waite is really a class act.  He went out of his way to be polite to me, and that speaks volumes for his character.

Concert was ok.  Not my fav, but a good story none the less.

-WMLute III/JG26 9th ST WidowMakers

[Soulyss]

The Cramps, at the Filmore, S.F.  on Halloween night.

[Lizking]

Black Flag, a Roadhouse in Carencro Louisiana, 1984ish.

[Eagler]

Bad Co - Run With The Pack tour mid 70's

Kansas opened for them

gotta claim the 5th on the details

[Jester]

AC/DC - BACK IN BLACK Tour.

Was still in High School -  the first concert I ever went to. Two friends and myself went and managed to pick up 3 totally hot girls at the concert and - well you can guess the rest.  

Music was just plain killer! They had a outstanding sound system and we were down by the speakers. Was deaf for two days after the concert but loved every minute of it.  

[ravells]

MT said:

Genesis - Trick of the Tail Tour 1978 in the Forum in LA. Laser show and acid = hootin good time.

That I would have loved to have seen.

lucky sod.

Ravs