Most and least favorite concerts?

[CyberGene]

I used to be a huge Snarky Puppy fan in the past. Then I stopped listening to jazz and I’ve been rather annoyed by it for the past 10 years. Blame it to that, but there was a free admission, open-air Jazz festival in the nearby park to my house (Sofia, Bulgaria) this summer and they were the crown-jewel and I was eager to hear them. Managed to stay for 2 or 3 pieces and it was so dull and boring I went home… 

[stillearning]

Best by far was Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live tour I saw in Cleveland Ohio. Absolutely an experience I’ll never forget. 

 

Worst was Mountain way back in the early days with Leslie West. Just way too damn loud. No longer qualified as music, just ear splitting noise and I just wanted it to stop.

[zephonic]

Whoa!:

The Time

Run DMC

Yellowjackets

Funky Knuckles

 

Meh:

Herbie Hancock/ Wayne Shorter/ Stanley Clarke/ Omar Hakim

Wu Tang Clan

Mariah Carey

 

[niacin]

Best - Ahmad Jamal quartet, Sydney Opera House, 2009, w. James Cammack, Herlin Riley and Manolo Badrena.  They were all on that night, grins from ear to ear, the interplay was magical.

Honourable mention - Royal Southern Brotherhood (Cyril Neville, Devon Allman et al.), Great Southern Blues Festival, Narooma (Australia), 2015 (seen from backstage).  A masterclass in having the discipline and good sense to just play the groove: despite the phenomenal collective chops on stage, they all understood that the effectiveness of musical fireworks is in inverse proportion to how often you use them.

 

Worst - a few I won't mention cause it wasn't their fault, it was the guy at the desk working the suck knob.

[Wrrtyuuiioop]

No contest for me, the greatest by a country mile.

 

Robert Plant and the Sensational Shape Shifters at City Hall Sheffield

 

Next up the keyboard God himself

 

Rick Wakeman, seen many times, solo, when a member of Yes, 50/50 talk and play, just in concert, King Arthur, one cannot get enough of RW

 

Worst

 

The Temptations at Liverpool Arena, the band was great as usual, it was the loud drunken Scousers that totally ruined it, we left after 30 minutes.

 

Bad and Great on the same bill, 

Belinda Carlisle earplugs required, totally off key.

she was one of the supports for the outstanding Tina Turner.

 

Great and Greater on one bill

Deacon Blue supporting Simple Minds

[Ivan May]

My parents saw Fleetwood Mac in 1988 as part of the "Shake The Cage" tour that they embarked on in support of the album Tango In The Night. Lindsey Buckingham had already quit by that point, which was a little sad, but his replacements, Rick Vito and Billy Burnette, weren't that bad when it came to guitarists.

 

My mom saw ACDC at around the same time, and has been suffering from tinnitus for years as a result.

[Rod S]

Best - 

 

I am lucky enough to have gone to tons in my life, tough to list all the good ones.   This stand out due to the quality of the show, timing, surroundings, and other aspects.  

 

Pink Floyd (1994) - It was in the grounds on some castle in France, the combination of the band, sound, and the scenery was amazing.  

Queen (1985) - I was 13.   Holy Sh*t.  I think it was one of the first big act concerts I went to (The first Rock in Rio - Queen's performance is legendary).   I thought my head was going to explode (in a good way).   Had most of their records.  

Bon Jovi (1988/9) - They were at the peak, we were covering their songs in my band.    Had VIP tickets (my dad's employer was the event sponsor).  

2cellos (2019) -   My wife was in tears. She loved it.

Living Colour (1991) - Crappy venue in Rochester NY but with surprisingly good acoustics,  their loud, raw sound.    Different experience, but good memories 

 

 

Worst - 

There are probably others, but these two popped in my head 1st.  

Whitesnake 2019 - Don't know why I bought tickets.  Sound was awful, band apparently just wanted the paycheck.  I guess I had some 80s / 90s nostalgia.  

Philip Glass - Brazil had a big event in the 80s called "Free Jazz" - 3 -4 acts per night.   There was something else I wanted to see that day.    I knew about his minimalistic style, but it was horrible experience.  The venue was great, the sound quality was fine, my stupid choice.   (Had free tickets too)  At one point we left and hung out at the lobby until he was done.  

 

[Cliffk]

I don't go as much as I'd like but these are my most memorable down the years. The pattern is obvious! 😉

 

Kool and the Gang

Michael Jackson

Prince

Stevie

Diana Ross

Peabo Bryson

Randy Crawford

Luther Vandross

CeCe Winans

Jonathan Butler

 

Standouts were Luther (for top-notch quality, production and vocals) and Kool and the Gang (when JT Taylor was leading them to all kinds of successes). I was unexpectedly blown away: these cats put on a performance I'll never forget. Oh and CeCe is a monster live vocalist.

 

The one bad concert was when I went with a girl I was trying to impress. Got tickets cos I knew she loved this group. It was The Braxtons - but f--- me sideways, that was excruciating. Needless to say, the relationship went south before the group had even left the city for their next tour date ... talk about dodging a bullet there.

[Tusker]

I'll leave out the bad for now.

 

My two favorite concerts ever were both Pat Metheny. Both of them were with people I cared about. The first was  in Dallas 1992, and there was a Pat Metheny sign at the Southern Methodist University campus.  I was driving by with my wife who is not a jazz fan. She had a headache. We were both tired. But we were newlyweds and she agreed to give it a try. I found a guy near the front door who had a family emergency and was trying to dispose of four tickets. We snagged two. 5th row seats. My wife loved it. Forgot about her headache. It reminds me that music (maybe art, generally) only needs to be "accessible" when there is a lot of distraction. If you can give it your attention, it will reward you.

 

The second concert was at UMASS Amherst. It think it was 2013. Pat Metheny Unity Group. I was with my teenage son who was already accomplished on the Tenor sax. I was disappointed that Lyle wouldn't be there. I didn't think there would be the kind of magic I had loved with the Pat Metheny group. Pat began the concert with a solo song on this multi neck guitar thing  (a Pikasso guitar) and I knew the night was going to be great. Not a wasted string on that thing. Tons of intention, in every movement. It was like he was channeling all the harps and lutes which had ever been played...

 

 

 

Of course Chris Potter was brilliant and Antonio Sanchez just tore the place up. I am glad I saw it with my son. My appreciation of horn players grew from that. I became a Chris Potter fan. They did "All the things you are" and I was puzzled when they started out. By the time they were done I got it. Later I ran across these YouTubes of Chris Potter doing extended improvisations on that tune. It feels like the Goldberg Variations! He has so much vocabulary, it's insane. This was a whole different plateau of music from the PMG I had come to expect. I began to understand why Pat felt he had to grow beyond PMG. 

 

Those are my two favorites... hope this is fun for someone.

[JimboKeys]

My most memorable concerts:

 

Iron Butterfly, Boston Tea Party 1968.  Yeah it was my first ever concert but still one of the best i've ever seen.  They totally nailed the sound of the records, and Lee Dorman's stage banter took the edge off whatever technical problems they might have had.

 

Sam Rivers Trio, Carrboro (NC) Arts Center, 2005.  I had no idea what they were, just knew he played sax which i was taking lessons on at the time.  What i got was the most energetic 82-year-old you'll ever see, along with a couple young guys, who between them played every instrument imaginable.  A song would start out as a piano/bass/drums jazz trio and somewhere along the way morph into a 3-part solo sax section.  Incredible.

 

Genesis, Boston (not the Orpheum but a similar but smaller theater), 1973.  A totally captivating and mind-blowing experience, from the opening chords of Watcher of the Sky until the final note.

 

New York Rock Ensemble, Boston (Orpheum ?), 1971.  Classical musicians mixing it up with Bach and rock.  And if you heard Michael Kamen on the RMI Electra-Piano you'd never dismiss the instrument again.

 

Happy the Man, Riverside High School Auditorium, Durham NC, 2002 (Progday indoor venue).  I never got to see them during their original foray in the 70's, so i was pleased to catch this reunion with David Rosenthal taking over lead keyboard duties from Kit Watkins.  And i was not disappointed -- on the contrary, totally blown away.

 

Worst concert experiences:

 

Number one would have to be Aerosmith opening for Yes, Boston Orpheum, 1973.  Aerosmith had just hit it big with Dream On and this was seen by their fans as their big homecoming concert.  Unfortunately they were so drunk / stoned / coked up that they could barely stand, let alone play their instruments.  But the loyal fans didn't care, they kept shouting “Aerosmith, Aerosmith”, even as Yes were trying to play their opening number.

 

King Crimson at New York Academy of Music, 1971 (opening for Procul Harum).  Even Robert Fripp has said words to the effect this particular lineup was better left forgotten.  Mostly memorable for Boz Burrell's forgetting and stumbling over most of Peter Sinfield's and Greg Lake's lyrics.  (The other opening band was Yes … my first reaction when they came onstage was “Where's Tony Kaye?  And who's that guy with the blond hair wearing a cape ?” ☺️).

 

And i’ll add one more category: “Shows i didn’t get at the time (and walked out of) but would like to go back to with new ears”.  That would include Parliament/Funkadelic, Dr. John, and Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

 

 

ü ´ − " ≈ à ß → ← Þ ↓ J ♪ ♩ ♥ ▪

 

·         

·         

 

[16251]

2 hours ago, JimboKeys said:

My most memorable concerts:

 

Iron Butterfly, Boston Tea Party 1968.  Yeah it was my first ever concert but still one of the best i've ever seen.  They totally nailed the sound of the records, and Lee Dorman's stage banter took the edge off whatever technical problems they might have had.

I was only 12. Three years from owning my Vox Continental.

[RABid]

One I forgot for the worst list...

 

Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra - Went to a Star Trek convention maybe 12 years ago at the Vegas Hilton and one of the events was the LVPO playing music from Trek. I tried to tell myself that Vegas is a small city and I should not expect much from the orchestra. The sad truth is it was an obviously phoned in effort from the entire orchestra. I felt embarrassed for them. The music was totally lifeless, like they were playing it for the first time and just trying to hit the correct notes.

[Husker]

On 10/6/2022 at 9:20 PM, Tom Williams said:

Worst by far: Petra, late 1980s I think, Charleston WV.  No tickets left at the door after a 2+ hour drive to the venue.  Bought tickets from a scalper.  Lead singer Greg Voltz apparently had the flu, and sang horribly. 

Impressed someone else on this board has heard of Petra, let alone actually went to a show.  Only saw them once sometime early 90s during the Beyond Belief tour.   Always thought Whiteheart was a better band... 

[bill5]

  

On 10/6/2022 at 5:47 AM, stoken6 said:

Worst - Steely Dan at Wembley Arena. A studio band in a big iron shed, with the usual crap sound: booming bass and icepicks-in-your-eyes bright guitar.

Wow. I can't go so far as "worst," but saw them in early 2000s and it was disappointing. Had a mailed-it-in thing about it  

 

  

On 10/6/2022 at 12:52 PM, JamPro said:

Best: I got to see Joni Mitchell during her  Shadows and Light tour - at Tanglewood.  Her band included Pat Methany on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, Lyle Mays on keys, and Micheal Brecker on sax.  The opening act was the Temptations, and they joined the JM band on the song Shadows and Light.

 

I hate you. Because I can't make this claim.    

 

Tempted to add The Guess Who, but I wouldn't really call it a concert, just a thing at some bar. In fact, I wouldn't call it The Guess Who, as I'm not sure there were any original members present. Awful. Similarly I saw Little River Band a few years back...none of the original members. It wasn't horrible, but kinda lame and I felt ripped off. Basically I was seeing a cover band. 

[stoken6]

7 hours ago, bill5 said:

Wow. I can't go so far as "worst," but saw them in early 2000s and it was disappointing. Had a mailed-it-in thing about it 

Probably the same tour. I'm a fan of SD, but this was not an enjoyable way to experience them.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[bill bosco]

my most favorite , maybe because it kind of goes goes back to my childhood , i saw the Chamber's Brothers . saw them do Time Has Come Today . a monster 

memory for sure . my least favorite , that i can think of , was The Mahavishnu Orchestra . they did a bunch of stuff from Birds Of Fire but it was so loud and 

the sound system was so bad you couldn't make out what John McLaughlin was playing . it sounded like one big blur . was amazing to watch Billy Cobham on

his drum kit though .

[weegeebored]

Good thread. As much as I love music I was never a concert-goer. I have seen maybe 10 concerts in my life, mostly because of seating/sound issues at venues that weren't designed for music (the old Chicago Stadium, for example).  So I can't say that I have seen any bad concerts but I certainly have had my favorites.  At the top of that list would be Blue Oyster Cult. A big fan before they got popular (pre-"Agents of Fortune") I saw them at the Willow Ice Chalet in Willow Springs, IL.  General Admission tickets and my friend and I got in the line pretty early. We were probably 50 feet from the stage, near the center. A decent-sized crowd, a few thousand jammed onto an ice rink. The opening acts were Roger Moon (he was booed off the stage; I had never heard of him), and Joe Vitale's Madmen.  They had pads covering the ice but it was still too damn cold to sit down. Didn't matter -- I would have stood for the entirely of the BOC act no matter what.

 

I also saw the late Jeff Healey at a bar in Urbana/Champaign when I was a grad student at the U of I. Color me super impressed. His live guitar playing was every bit as good as his studio work. He was a gifted musician and an inspiration.

 

My worst concert experience was at the first (and last) Joliet Jam at the Joliet Memorial Stadium circa 1974. The Beach Boys were the headliners but my friend and I (same friend from the BOC concert) really went to see Bachman-Turner Overdrive. I had just graduated high school and my friend was a couple of years younger. We were soooo naive (as were our parents).  It was really a large drug and alcohol party and that was not my scene at all. We left after BTO finished, and that was probably smart.  One of the opening acts was Fresh Start. I loved their sound and wound up buying what I think is their only album.  I was a bit surprised that they weren't successful. Check out a song called "Taking Care of Business" on the Yootube. Interesting coincidence that BTO had a big hit with a song of the same name. 

[Moonglow]

I’m a one or two trick pony.

 

Best:

 

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, 1994 (I think), Chicago Theater - I saw them a half-dozen times, and they could be somewhat streaky, but that particular night they were on FIRE from downbeat.

 

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Black Moon tour, 1992, St. Louis - First time ever seeing my favorite keyboard player and my favorite band. Walked out of there in a daze, talking to myself.

 

Journey with The Babys as opener, 1980, Rosemont Horizon, Illinois - Featured two of my other favorite keys guys, Gregg Rollie with Journey, Jonathan Cain with The Babys.

Journey, 1983, Frontiers Tour, Alpine Valley, Wisconsin - Gorgeous venue on a gorgeous summer night. Immaculate performance at the peak of their popularity. Drummer Steve Smith was driving the band like a runaway freight train, unbelievable chops.

Will have to put more thought into the worst. Nothing overly horrible comes to mind, but having a hard time recalling otherwise forgettable experiences.

[D. Gauss]

good-

saw the rolling stones/B-52's at a private fund raising party (open bar!!!) at radio city nyc circa 2006. tix were $8000, but wife managed to get us in for free, so that was pretty great. we sat next to little steven and john mcEnroe.

 

bad-

saw peter green at six flags some time in the 2000's.  just sad. he couldn't sing, couldn't play. total exploitation of him just to grab money.

 

and then-

there's prince.  jeezus. jaw droppingly amazing every single time i saw him. no one comes close.

 

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

Ironically I forgot one worth mentioning, Smokey Robinson. His unique voice with that range is amazingly intact after decades of touring. He was in his 70’s. I had seen him on Live From Daryl’s House and Daryl revealed how much Smokey hates performing Ooh Baby Baby. Daryl ended up doing most of it while Smokey reluctantly joined in doing a very improvised approach to his portions.
 

I don’t know whether it is his biggest hit but it is a big hit that has existed through the most generations of audiences and is the signature song which he showcases his unique voice in his live show. Even though he has performed the song thousands of times, in his live show he still belts it out seemingly with heart and soul. Who knows what he is feeling? You would expect anyone to have an intense expression while singing like that but his face is serene while his voice is dancing all over the audio-emotional spectrum. As for being tired of singing that song, I suspect he compartmentalizes and focuses on the performance.
 

After I saw him I ended up watching a bunch of Youtube videos of his shows. The concert I attended came off fresh and inspired but I have since observed that the setlist was pretty close to what he has been doing for the past 20+ years including the Motown history / medley. I videoed a few songs with my cell. The sound was better in the videos on YT but I think his performance was better in mine. I had an invitation to see him again this year and would have gone but passed because the venue is outdoors and its sound is not so good. 

[Michael W]

Favorite:

 

Elton John - 1974

Yes - 1975

Van Halen - 1984

Peter Gabriel - 1992

Janet Jackson - 1994

 

Least favorite:

 

Cheap Trick - 1980 (too loud, not my style)

Madonna - 2019 (disappointing set list, weak material)

 

Pleasant surprises:

 

Dolly Parton - 1991

Disturbed - 2005

 

[CraigT]

Most memorable/best:

Stevie Wonder 2014 Songs in the Key of Life at the MGM Grand.  This album was already etched in my brain and to witness it perfectly recreated literally made me tear up.

 

Forgettable:

Buddy Guy who just wanted to chat, drop f bombs, and play snippets of songs.

Grateful Dead at Rich Stadium.  Literally could not hear them in the stands.  I wish I had another opportunity to see them with Jerry.  Enjoyed the new version with Mayer twice.

 

[TommyS]

Another excellent show: Paul Thorn,,,

check him out,,, incredible songwriting and story telling,,,,

[bill5]

18 hours ago, o0Ampy0o said:

Ironically I forgot one worth mentioning, Smokey Robinson. His unique voice with that range is amazingly intact after decades of touring. He was in his 70’s. I had seen him on Live From Daryl’s House and Daryl revealed how much Smokey hates performing Ooh Baby Baby. Daryl ended up doing most of it while Smokey reluctantly joined in doing a very improvised approach to his portions.

Speaking of Daryl Hall...he rates as one of my most surprisingly good concerts. He did some free concert many years ago that was at some outdoor venue (an airport I think) and I was only familiar with him because of his Hall and Oates hits. I didn't expect much, wasn't much for their stuff mostly, but it was OK in that light pop kinda way, more of a "hey something to do on a nice day" thing. And free. Well I learned he was much more talented than I realized. He did some of their hits, but some other stuff too and some unique covers on a few of their songs. Frankly it made me wonder how much Oates rode his coattails.  

 

On the topic of "best free concert" however he doesn't win. Charlie Daniels wins. Again not his biggest fan necessarily but did like a variety of his stuff and recognized him as a very talented guy. Well his musicianship and his band was outstanding and he was such a hoot personality wise. For example, at one point during during a lively song he started dancing in a way that you couldn't help but laugh (this quite overweight guy pretending he wasn't) and went "check it out MC Hammer, can't touch this!" etc. RIP big guy!

 

[Docbop]

15 minutes ago, bill5 said:

On the topic of "best free concert" however he doesn't win. Charlie Daniels wins. 

 

Best Free concert I ever saw was Fred Hammond I think was 2007 New Year Eve concert for Faithful Central Church I was a member of at the time Fred was great. Then to make the night even better Stevie Wonder came and sat in with Fred.  

[KuruPrionz]

Best free concert I saw was New Years Day some years ago. I walked down to a local club where I'd played many times for a bit of hair of the dog.

I didn't think there would be live music but in between gigs in LA and San Francisco, Modeski, Martin and Wood snagged a quick pick-up gig at Club Fred in Fresno. 

There were maybe three or four customers there and one of the band members told me I could just hang out and listen. So I did. 

 

I"d never heard of them at that point. Medium small venue with a good sound system and a decent sounding room. They kept the stage volume very reasonable. 

So it sounded great. And they played great, 3 sets. More people came but still not much of a crowd. We were all there for the music and the music was there for us. 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

I'd have to rank my two times seeing Rush as my best concerts....  Perfect sound, long shows, lots of new and old variety.  Probably fifteen years between shows but they sounded great both times.

Worst?  That's easy.  Boston, in 1987 at Alpine Valley Music Theater.  They were probably OK, but the rest of the experience was awful.  We got there late, had some "unpleasantness" on the way into the venue, and eventually had to sit so far away on the hill that we couldn't see and could only barely hear the stage (we were beyond the top of the hill and were on the downhill side towards the port-o-johns).  Then we couldn't find our other friends after the show and got out of there super late, and I didn't get home until it was daylight the next day.

 

Runner up would be the Drive-By Truckers at the Vic Theater in Chicago.  They were deafeningly loud, and since I didn't know any of their material I felt all alone amongst 1000 of their most frenzied fans.  I endured about half the show and eventually walked out.

[mate stubb]

Best:

 

ELP - first American tour in a 1200 seat opera house

Allman Brothers - one week before they recorded Fillmore East

Jethro Tull - Aqualung tour

Mahavishnu Orchestra - jaw dropping (a little sloppy by today's standards if I am being honest)

Weather Report - saw them 5 times, every one stellar. 

Zombies - Rod and Colin still got it

Joey D, Brian Auger, Mitch Towne - the organ guys always bring it

 

Worst:

Jerry Lee Lewis - drunk

"Iron Butterfly" - yeah right imposter wankers were lucky not to get shot by the angry ticket holders

Dr. John - unfortunately bad sound

Dr. Hook - I get their shtick but they consumed an entire case of Jack before going on stage

[o0Ampy0o]

Charley Daniels was more diverse than many knew. He did the fiddle and Allman Southern guitar things and there was some jazz and blues seasoning sometimes but he was always topnotch. No Place To Go  is my favorite.

[Bill H.]

1 hour ago, mate stubb said:

 

 

Worst:

Jerry Lee Lewis - drunk

My experience when I opened for him in the 1970s too. I was really looking forward to this one, but he was so wasted that he could barely play piano - doing mostly glisses and smears in place of his trademark solos. 

 

No chance of catching him backstage either. Accompanied by bodyguards he walked directly to the stage from his limo, and left the same way when done.