Best Concerts??

[Dave2112]

What were the best Live Shows you ever saw? Not just your favorite band live, but a concert that really stood out?

I'd have to say mine were Rush with Primus in '92 (Geddy Lee and Les Claypool did an impromptu "Dueling Basses" thing), Journey with a little known Canadian singer named Bryan Adams in '83 and The Clifford Ball...a three-day Phish Phestival right up here at the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base in '96.

The most interesting one I ever saw was Asia in '84. John Wetton (formerly of King Crimson) was the singer and bassist, but was ill for a long time. He was replaced for part of the tour with none other than Greg Lake. Asia has a habit of doing crossover stuff from the members' previous bands, with John Wetton doing a few acoustic Crimson tunes and keyboardist Geoff Downs incorporating "Video Killed the Radio Star" into his solo from his days with The Buggles. However, when Greg Lake played with them two-thrids of Emerson,Lake and Palmer were together on the same stage (Carl Palmer was the drummer.)

The audience was treated to not only a great Asia concert, Lake having a similar style as Wetton, but a few old ELP tunes as well, with Geoff Downs doing a wonderful Keith Emerson impersonation. I'll always remember that show.

What about you guys?😎

 

[DarkSoul]

the Pledge of allegiance tour kicked ass it had

5.american headcharge
4.Mudvayne
3.RAMMSTEIN
2.SYSTEM OF A DOWN
1.slipknot

best concert ever

 

[red indian]

Apache Dance

No question in my mind, George Coleman Quartet at Ronnie Scotts round about 1979/1980 with Billy Higgins on drums, I can not remember the pianist and bass players names but I know they were brothers and they were bloody fantastic players. I went to the gig with my own quartet and we all thought that perhaps we had chosen the wrong job and perhaps our futures lay in the less challenging but fruitfull local industries, namely limestone mining and haulage. To take the question a little further the best gig I have played myself was with the late Dick Morissy of "Morissy Mullen" fame, great player great guy.

 

[CurtWild]

disfunctional family picnic 3.....RATM kicked ass
the up in smoke tour at nassau coliseum.....the whole thing was great

 

[Mimi]

Wow, that's a tough one! But lemme think about it....


Weird Al was a RIOT to see live. He brings all his costumes, and gets into character for every song he performs. He puts on a great fast paced show filled with laughs.

Night Ranger kicked ass. They were so incredibly energetic, bouncing from one side of the stage to the other, and they put all their heart and soul into their performance.

The final KISS concert we attended (we attended 3 in all) was awesome, especially due to the fact Skid Row and Ted Nugent opened for them. SR were great, full of energy, and I was thrilled to hear Sebastian can still wail like he did in the 80's. Nugent, well, I HATED him before we attended this concert. I swore I was gonna use his performance as an opportunity to go get something to drink and use the facilities. Did not work out that way. As soon as he hit the stage, I was glued to my spot. He was absolutely amazing! I had heard some incredible things about his live shows, but you just can not imagine without actually being there. He is truly a helluva performer!

Savage Garden (stop the boos now....I am mostly a rock fan, but SG just struck a chord for me and I love em to pieces...my favorite band) ranks up there because 1) They ARE my favorite group, 2) Because we had front row center seats, and I got sweat all over me (YOWZA!), and Darren even threw me the drum stick (although I did not catch the damn thing), and 3) Just cause they were awesome. High energy, fun, REALLY got the audience into it, and it was just a super, super event.

But my FAVORITE concert would have to be the second KISS concert we attended. It was for the Psycho Circus tour, and there stage setup was breath-taking. Lots of pyro, lots of lasers, big screens with 3D effects....just killer. What really makes that concert special for me though was the opening act. The band that opened for them is/was a little known band out of Florida called Econoline Crush. They do have two videos now on Much Music and MTV X, but many people still have not heard of them. They were fantastic! Rarely do I love a band upon the first time I hear them, and even more rarely do I love every song a band ever produced. Well, these guys have it. Sensational live show, and their are astounding musically. If you're a fan of rock, I highly recommend them!

Okay, I think I am done now...lol. These are not even close to being ALL the concerts I have attended, but they stand out as being the best. I hope to add many more to that list as my love for music continues to grow with my age.

Mimi

 

[CitY of MicA]

hey red indian

George Coleman is one of my favorite players. There is a long litany of players who have died before I had gotten a chance to see them live, and I didn't want him to be one of them (no offense to George, of course- contrary to popular belief, he's not getting any younger). I saw him a couple of years back in NYC at the Iridium- expensive, but worth it. He still can play. Have you ever heard the Chet Baker quintet recordings from the 60's with him in the line-up? Great stuff.

It's hard for me to say what were the best live shows I've ever seen. I was delighted to see Wayne Shorter/Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Tony Williams/Wallace Roney when they toured in the wake of Miles' death. I saw them in a relatively small, intimate space which made it all the more special. I would have hated to have never heard that rhythm section live, and, with Tony Williams having passed, one can no longer do so. Another rare example of my having come out on top 🙄 .

I went to Lollapalooza when it came to the Northeast ('93, perhaps), and that was a lot of fun. I saw Tool, Fishbone, Dinosaur Jr., Alice in Chains, and Primus amongst others. They had two stages set up at the festival. Tool appeared on the second stage (they were not big at the time), and my friend and I stood and watched them play a very long set. I really wanted to see Fishbone most of all, and in between songs in Tool's set, I heard something damn good coming off the main stage. I told my friend that I thought it was Fishbone, and we hurried over to the other stage. The fact that they had started to incorporate metal into their attack threw me off at first. They sounded great. The atmosphere and freedom one had helped make it an enjoyable event as much as anything.

That must have been fun to see Greg Lake with Asia, Dave. I always liked him as a vocalist; he has a very distinctive voice.

Lake having a similar style as Wetton

Funny you should say this; Lake was in King Crimson prior to Wetton!

 

[darkfeather666]

best concerts

Okay, I'm gonna be an awkward sod and pick 2.

1) ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION - a beautiful band from London that mash up dub poetry, radical socialistic politics and a great open-minded attitude wit drums & bass, punky reggae guitar and blinding live shows. The audience was made up of people of all ages, colours and sexualities which made the atmosphere feel radical as Karl Marx on gabba-gabba ketamine pills.

2) FEAR FACTORY - The hardcore Metallica. I saw 'em at Brixton Academy and whilst I'm not much of a mosher, I loved every minute. Only concert I've ever been to where I got emotional & just I didn't wanna leave at the end. THAT good.
😀

Greg

 

[red indian]

Rearin back!

My goodness Mica what impecable taste you have! I know what you mean about getting to see these guys live before they leave for the great jazz club in the sky, you would be amazed at the number of jazz greats i have "murdered" over the years simply by seeing an add saying they are touring the uk and saying to myself "oh I cant be arsed to go, I will catch him next time" and thats it! instant death sentance.

I,m very jealous that you got to see "THE" rythm of all time, Herbie Hancock and .......oh my god!......he is touring the uk now and I said I would.....oh well tell me where to send the flowers will you?!!

So whats this Baker/Coleman album you mentioned? sounds good, is it the one made in late 65 with kirk Lightsey, Herman wright and Roy Brooks? with tracks called "So easy" "Go Go" and "Bevan Beeps" produced by Richard Carpenter? Nope sorry Mica never heard of it mate!

 

[CitY of MicA]

right back at ya

When I signed on for this job (posting to the TMF), I don't think I could've possibly imagined that I would find a big George Coleman fan! And no one I know is familiar with those recordings with Chet Baker! Your knowledge is very impressive. I'm guessing from the four tunes you named that you possess or are familiar with that Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker double album compilation. I have actually never heard or seen what I believe are 3 separate albums of George Coleman with Chet Baker. I think a couple of them were released on CD within the last year, but I still haven't seen them. What always killed me about that Mulligan/Baker album is the fact that the liner notes state that Chet Baker was never the same after he parted ways with Mr. Mulligan. In my mind, that last side of post-Mulligan Baker is the best stuff that I've ever heard from either of them!

How good and underated is George Coleman? Amongst jazz players and jazz fans, I almost never ran into people who were really into him. Some of those solos he played with Miles and on Maiden Voyage are so timeless. I think due to his sound and, perhaps, the fact that he was not a card-carrying member of the avant-garde, he was relegated to a certain obscurity. Hank Mobley and Lee Konitz seem to have suffered from a similar fate.

I will keep my fingers crossed that Herbie Hancock will live long enough for you to see him 😉 . When I was a freshman in college, I spent entirely to much to see him play trio at the Blue Note (he was just about the only big name I would've seen back then for financial reasons); he came out late and left early. His set must've lasted 20 minutes. Al Foster was the drummer, and he almost succeeded in giving me my moneys worth (man is he good!). Seeing Herbie with Carter and Williams allowed me to let bygones be bygones.

 

[red indian]

Lo Joe

One of my favourite albums of all time is "George Coleman in Amsterdam" do you have it Mica? first thing I did after hearing it about 200 times was to transcribe all the "Heads" for my own band, some very interesting "changes" especially "Amsterdam after dark" (in fact that may be the album title thinking about it) its always a good one to pull out on some tenor player who thinks he is "The dogs bollocks"

 

[CitY of MicA]

No, red, I'm actually not familiar with that recording. I will definitely pick it up, though (can't go wrong with George). Is it an 80s release? I loved his version of "Lush Life;" it was on an album from the early 90s called My Horns of Plenty (good- I think all his stuff is- but not great album). He plays the introduction and part of the head straight and then switches to 3/4 for the rest of the head and solos (it feels great in 3). Billy Higgins is the drummer on the album. While George Coleman was one of those uncategorizable, sometimes modal but not 'out' players, I think he was one of the most tasteful when it came to harmonic content. Why I feel compelled to categorize a player I just called 'uncategorizable,'
I don't know.

Sorry once again, Dave, for taking another thread of yours on a tangential tear 🙂 .

 

[Slappy McGee]

now this is a good thread!

first off I have to say that watching tori amos sing and play is like having an orgasm.... she simply rules

also, pink floyd, even in 94, was visually and sonicly stunning,

other great things I have seen,

tool,
smashing pumpkins
pearl jam

and never doscount small, local shows... I prefer watching a shoiw wioth 50 real fans than 500,00 half ass fans... support your local music,

plus, I also saw that rush tour with primus, and it was really sweet... good combo 🙂

still want to see the beastie boys

 

[CurtWild]

slappy.........

my friends saw the beastie boys a few years ago and said it was the most kickass concert in te world

 

[TicklingDuo]

I was out of town when this thread got started, I'm sorry I didn't catch it sooner. Here's some of my favorite concerts:

U2, 1984 "Unforgettable Fire" tour. I did not want this show to end, it was so awesome. Also, U2 1988 "Joshua Tree" show, mainly cause they came out during the tape of John Lennon's version of "Stand By Me", and continued it live. Then went into "Pride", all while the house lights were still on!

Van Halen, 1979 and 1980 tours for "VH 2" and "Women and Children First" albums. Need I say more?

Neil Youngs "Trans" tour 1982, solo acoustic show until the end when Neil stapped on an electric guitar and turned on his "machines". The place sounded like Crazy Horse was with him.

Also, any shows by ZZ-Top, Little Feat, Allman Bros, and BB King.

Drew