Here is the top 5 I have attended: 1. John Fogerty at the State Theater; Minneapolis, MN; September, 1997 -- Incredible show and audience. I went expecting to enjoy some old CCR memories and wound up attended a giant dance party. No kidding. I have NEVER EVER in my life seen an audience boogie so hard at a concert. I ended up drenched with sweat by the time it ended. 2. The Who at Target Center, Minneapolis, MN in the winter of 1997. The Who has always been one of my favorite bands, and I jumped at the chance to see their Quadrophina Tour. A friend and his wife got special invitation to sit in a suite owned by the (local) Old Dutch potato chip company. I walked into the suite and looked at the leather couches, full bar, and indirect lighting and thought "Man, this is the way to attend a concert." We sat and schmoozed while the opening band played, but when The Who got ready to take the stage, I opened the sliding soundproof glass door and took a seat in one of the leather "cooshies" that perched out over the crowd. I was always a fan of the Quad album and was amazed that the band played it all the way through note-for-note. Of course, Moonie, was long dead, but Zak Starkey was a fantastic replacement (way way better than Kenny Jones was) and Pete's son Simon did a great job playing the leads on guitar while pop sang and played rhythm. As soon as Entwhistle hit the opening bass riff to "The Real Me" the show moved like a stampede of crazed cattle. This concert is one of maybe two that ever made me actually cry tears. I'm talking hard weeping. Songs like "Bell Boy," "Sea and Sand," and "Love Reign Over Me" struck deep feelings inside my soul; it was like all of the past inner turmoils and tortured thoughts drained out of my body as I wept. This was not a concert--it was therapy! When "5:15" rang out, I almost fell off of the balchony as I jumped up and down in elation. The Who was MY band, and I felt indestructable!!!!! A great time (and excellent seats.) 3. Rod Stewart and Faces at the Minneapolis Auditorium; Fall, 1972 -- Rod the Mod was touring his "Every Picture Tells a Story" album, smack in the middle of his prime music and performance period. This was the first real rock concert I attended at 16 years old. I had just gotten my license and was driving my first car: a volkswagon microbus (kilo anybody). Did lots a partying on the way to the Twin Cities and ended up lost. I asked my buddy to check the map, as it was about 25 minutes until the concert. He mumbled something; I looked over and saw he had the map UPSIDE DOWN!! Anyway, we all made it and saw a fantastic show and sang "Maggie May" all the way home. 4. Loggins and Messina, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles at the "new" Tampa Stadium; July 3rd, 1976 (the Bicentennial)-- I remember driving to Tampa early in the day and was looking forward to seeing The Eagles. Got there and settled on the field about 4PM. It was a beautiful HOT day out. People were roudy and drinking beer and pop. Every once in a while, there would be a huge WAR of crushed wax cups between the people on the field and the people in the lower deck. Sometimes so many cups would be flying, it looked blue-grey towards the sky. Loggins and Messina were very mellow and got everyone in a great mood. Then Fleetwood Mac came out. I had only heard their older records at the time (Bare Trees, Kiln House, etc.). Stevie Nicks did Rhiannon and totally mesmerized the entire crowd of 70,000 people. Their entire set was unbelievable, and I knew that day (pre-Rumours) that FM would sell millions of records. The Eagles sounded so tight that you might has well have had a recording playing. But their sweet harmonies drifted across the stadium as the sun set and the orange-blue sky darkened and a warm Gulf breeze cooled the sunburned stadium crowd. 5. Mason Prophet, Canned Heat, Jo Jo Gunne, J. Giles Band at the St. Paul Civic Center, sometime in 1973 -- This was another LONG concert and one of the first in the Civic Center. We got there VERY early and staked out a spot about 1/3 back from the stage on the floor. It was sort of odd because of the mix of bands, but after about 5 hours of music, the J. Giles Band came on stage and rocked the entire center silly. Fresh from the success of their "Bloodshot" LP. They played cut after cut of harmonica-laden blues rock with 20,000+ people writhing and boogieing like animals throughout their set. Magic Dick, anyone? And I just gotta add ONE more... 6. Andrew Gold, Hall and Oats, Jimmy Buffet, The Eagles at the Tangerine Bowl stadium Orlando, FL; Summer 1977--this was The Eagles "Hotel California" tour and another hot one. Andrew Gold was passable and did a cute rendition of "Oh What a Lonely Boy." Then a gentle rain started to fall as Hall and Oats took the stage to play an hour of blue-eyed philly soul while everyone swayed to the music (Sara Smile...). Then there was a long break and the sun popped out. Just in time for Jimmy Buffet! I am not a native of Florida, and I only lived there about 4 years, but the people there were totally crazy over Jimmy. It was like partying in someone's back yard--but with 50,000 other people there with you! Buffet had the audience in the palm of his hand and the crowd loved it. He must have played for about two hours as the sun started to sink. Then, The Eagles took the stage as huge "black silouetted palm trees on orange" netting was back illuminated on each side (covering the band's PA speakers). I couldn't believe it, but The Eagles were even tighter than they were the year before. Joe Walsh was a madman on guitar, and the band really ripped up the place. Every note was clear and every harmony was perfect and sweet. A great concert, indeed. ------------------------- This space is reserved for the concerts I never got to see, but that would probably have made my list: Led Zepplin, circa 1973 to 1975 Pink Floyd, circa 1971 to 1977
Your 5 Fav Rock Concerts
There are certainly more than a few geetar fanciers among us judging by all the threads on guitar bands and best guitarist. This thread is about the best rock shows you saw. Let's limit it to the rock shows. Not Blues or Jazz or solo performers. The concerts that raised the hairs on your neck or made you want to take up an instrument or raised your pulse through their sheer energy or just moved you through their performance on stage. The only ones that count are the ones you've seen. After making a list in my mind of the many rock concerts I attended, most from the late 1960's through early 80's, I have come up with mine. It was tough, I’ve seen well over 200 rock concerts over the years and it is really hard coming up with a top 5 but we have to limit this so here go mine. "Yes" - This group stands out as the 2nd best concert I ever saw with Steve Howe and Chris Wakeman. They opened for Emerson, Lake and Palmer and after their set I do feel that EL&P were disheartened and knew they couldn't match it; they didn't. Funny thing is like most, I was there to see EL&P. They were forced to have another concert the following night by popular demand. Virtuoso musicianship, “Poco” - This group could put on a show. I saw them 4 different times in the many various stages of their evolution. They never had the commercial recognition of some of the other great bands of their era but they sure made up for it in their live performances. No one stayed seated during a Poco concert. “Rod Stewart and Faces” - Ron Wood on guitar and Rod Stewart strutting all over the stage. Rod was probably the greatest natural Rock showman I ever saw, including Mick Jagger. His uninhibited manner and constant movement and soulful vocals brought the house down. The crowd wouldn't let him go after the 5th encore so he invited everyone ("especially the pretty young ladies") to his hotel to “party on”, and so they came; Led Zeppelin I had to include them because next to the Doors and of course Jimi Hendrix they were my favorites of that era and I never did get to see either of the other two. The acoustics were bad and they played so loud you couldn’t really hear the music. But they were great none the less and it was special to me. The best should be kept for last. "The Who" was acknowledged as the best concert band at the time. Getting tickets meant getting in line and waiting. I imagine at the time the only tougher ticket would be the “Beatles” and they weren’t even together then. They didn’t disappoint. The reaction of the audience was beyond anything I ever saw at a live concert before or since. The band was so cohesive and the energy they put out put them into a different realm. They just have to be on a very short list of the best live bands ever.