Just one? I’ll risk inciting the ire of anyone already finding me too "something" by listing a few:
- The Beach Boys at The San Jose Civic Auditorium in the Summer of 1964, my first concert. Brian Wilson was playing Fender bass and singing.
- The Beatles at The Cow Palace in the Summer of 1965. Not as good live as on their recordings. Don’t blame the messenger ;-) .
- The Band at The Berkeley Community Theater in 1969. The absolute masters of ensemble playing, they were like a Jazz band.
- Rockpile at The Country Club in Reseda, CA in December 1980. The best pure Rock ’n’ Roll band I’ve ever seen live.
- The Lyres at Club Lingerie on Sunset Blvd. in the mid-80’s. A great , great Garage band. Much better live than on recordings. I almost lost my mind during "Help You Ann".
- Big Joe Turner backed by The Blasters, also at Club Lingerie, also in the mid-80’s. The first Rock ’n’ Roll singer? What a man!
- NRBQ at The Roxy Theater in the mid-90’s. Bassist Joey Spampinato turned down Keith Richard’s invitation to become the replacement for Bill Wyman in "The Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band In The World!" to remain in the best American Rock ’n’ Roll band.
- Little Village on a sound stage in Burbank, CA at the time of their lone album release. Ry Cooder’s guitar solo on "Lipstick Sunset" was the single greatest musical moment I have ever experienced.
- Leonard Cohen at The Universal Amphitheater in the early 2000’s. Very dramatic, unique, and classy.
- Iris Dement at The Troubadour in West L.A. in the 90’s. The room was so quiet and reverential you could have heard a pin drop. Iris is an Angel, a gift from God.
I saw a bunch of Rock bands many may prefer to the above, including Hendrix, Cream, The Who, The Dead, The Airplane, The Doors, The Stones, etc. Kids stuff ;-) .