Best Concert You've Attended

[Ramiros_Soccer_Chica]

(note: I looked back a few pages and didn't see anything of this nature)

Incubus at the Warfield back in 2001. Nov. 19th and 20th.
Nothing tops them in my book.

[bojendyk]

The Replacements, Paramount Theater, Seattle, early 90s. Thought it would let me down, but it turned out to have been brilliant.

Rocket from the Crypt, 3-B Tavern, Bellingham, WA, All Systems Go tour.

Nirvana/Mudhoney, WWU Carver Gymnasium, Bellingham, sometime before Incesticide. This was a legendary secret Nirvana show.

Yo-Yo a Go-Go, early 90s.

The first times I saw Man or Astro-Man and the Melvins also blew me away.

[CHICO13]

The J.Geils Band, Mountain and Humble Pie at the Cap Center 1976. I think they had to replace the roof after that one.

[Claymore]

The Jam, Ritchie Colisseum (University of Maryland), May 1982.

[GringoTex]

U2 (circa 1991)- the opening acts were Bjork and Public Enemy.

[Captain Splarg]

I saw Kraftwerk play an almost 4 hour set once. it was good.

[Dyvel]

In no particular order

The Clash @ Asbury Park Convention Center, Asbury park NJ

Dead Kennedys @ The Showplace, Dover NJ

The Ramones - any one of the dozen times I saw them

PJ Harvey @ CBGB's

Sonic Youth @ The Irving Plaza, NYC, and at CBGB's

Husker DU @ The Ritz, NYC

Bad Brains @ CBGB's

Minor Threat @ Great Gildersleeves, NYC

Yo La Tango @ Maxwells, Hoboken NJ

Firehose @ Maxwells Hoboken, NJ

Black Flag @ the Ritz, NYC

Nirvana, autumn 1991 at a place somewhere on the west side of Manhattan, the Marquee I think it was called.

[Saltenya94]

Fugazi @ the Sacutary(?) church in DC. It was around when End Hits came out - summer of 98'. I saw them play some amazing sets for a few years at Fort Reno, but if I had to choose one condert (so far) that be the one.

[amerifolklegend]

In no particular order

The Clash @ Asbury Park Convention Center, Asbury park NJ

Dead Kennedys @ The Showplace, Dover NJ

The Ramones - any one of the dozen times I saw them

PJ Harvey @ CBGB's

Sonic Youth @ The Irving Plaza, NYC, and at CBGB's

Husker DU @ The Ritz, NYC

Bad Brains @ CBGB's

Minor Threat @ Great Gildersleeves, NYC

Yo La Tango @ Maxwells, Hoboken NJ

Firehose @ Maxwells Hoboken, NJ

Black Flag @ the Ritz, NYC

.

Man, that was one hell of a concert. What time did this thing kick off? And how much money in cab fair did you blow that night?



My favorite concert was pretty damned lame compared to that. Four bands, one venue. Practically not even worth mentioning that The Breeders, The Afghan Whigs, a Band called Schwah, and some other band played in Dayton that night.

[art]

The Replacements, .

The Replacements occupy the top of my list, AND the bottom of it too. How they played seemed to depend on how drunk they were.

Best show though may have been one of the Andrew Bird shows I've gone to, no one else I've seen can just MAKE everyone in the room shut up and listen.

Oh wait....f that, no, it was Tom Waits in ...er...cant remember where (NYC?) round about 10-12 years ago, before he totally lost his voice. Absoultely the best thing ive ever seen.

[Laggard]

Too many to count.

Black Flag, Naked Raygun in '89, every single time I saw Bad Brains, every Fugazi show, a couple Jawbox shows blew me away, Circle Jerks circa '86, Shellac in the Entry, and many more.

[TeamUSA]

Recent one was at the SXSW festival in Austin in March at Maggie Mae's. The Ocean Blue was the main draw. They played something from almost every album. Tickets were $8. Front row standing. But also had three other acts before them with one of the acts called Smoosh. Two young girls, cuties. One played drums, the other keyboards. Then before The Ocean Blue took the stage, one of the Smoosh girls helped carry an amp for David Schelzel and he chuckled from having a young groupie. Then ****** proceeded to kick-ass.

But a good show years ago was seeing School Of Fish at 13th and Parish in Denver. Had the mosh pit going for one song which was kinda fun and overall good sounding show.

[jmeissen0]

virtually a tie

flaming lips at the high dive in champaign (a couple hundred people, sold out)
smashing pumpkins at the canopy in urbana (~700, sold out, first show of their farewell tour)...

i was in the front row for the pumpkins... 7th person let into the show... ran forward to beat everyone to the center of the stage... insane

[nostopping]

Neil Diamond, summer of '91, The Pyrimad, Memphis, TN

While I certainly respect the man as an artist, I went with my mother who, like many women her age, is obsessed with Neil. My father refused to go (he's like that) and I knew my mother would not go alone so I volunteered.

Our seats were way up in the nose-bleed section and we arrived a full hour or more before the show started. We found our seats and were talking in privacy as no one was yet anywhere near us. From seemingly out of nowhere a man comes down the aisle from behind us and sits down and starts talking to us about where we were from and such small talk. He had a neck full of tour regalia and passes. After a few minutes he introduced himself as the tour manager and asked us if we would like to be "guests of Mr. Diamond" and move into two available front row seats. My mother lost her mind. We went down and encountered four of five other women who had had similar experiences. Neil came out and ROCKED! We didn't get to meet him or anything, but my mother and I can say we saw Neil Diamond on the front row. As an adult child of your parents, it's enjoyable to witness something so nice happen to your mother.

On a more personal level. Tori Amos, who I had previously not cared much for, blew me away when I went to a show with a friend in '95. And the Mars Volta at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, 2003.

[96Squig]

It's nowhere near bands like Nirvana, but here my best-of for concerts:
Die Ärzte, Stadionsporthalle Hannover 2004
The Donots, Faust 60er Jahre Halle Hannover 2004
Fettes Brot, N-Joy Plaza/Expo revival Festival Hannover 2004
REM, Colour Line Arena Hamburg 2004
Peter Gabriel, Preussag Arena Hannover 2004
Millencollin, Berlinova Festival Lausitz 2004

[odg78]

--Sebadoh and Elliot Smith at The Ritz in Raleigh NC.

[RandyNA74]

The one I just came back from. Kasabian at the 930 Club in DC. Unbelievable. Brilliant comes to mind.

Going to see U2 in Philly on Saturday, which promises to be another tremendous show. What a musical week...

[Przybylinski]

Dave Matthews Band & Big Head Todd and the Monsters - I think it was 1995 maybe 1994 at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, WI. Great show by both bands. I didn't even know who Dave Matthews was, but it was a great performance and I was hooked.

Grateful Dead 1987 Alpine Valley - just an awesome week of shows, great crowd great music.

Simon and Garfunkel Milwaukee County Stadium sometime around 1983.

U2 - All 6 times over the years.