What Is the best live show you've seen?

[zoinks]

Dire Straits with the Hooters at Red Rocks Amphitheater in the early/mid 80's

 

[20to20K]

Maceo/Lenny/Jaco...

Ac ouple of my favorite were Buddy Guy, Maceo Parker and more recently, Muse. All very different, but all great live performers.

Oh man...you just reminded me of the Maceo shows I've seen at the North Sea Jazz festival. He's there every year. You're right...very energetic, very funky with a great band behind him.

Also add Lenny White at Blues Alley in DC a couple years back with Victor
Bailey on bass.

I saw a washed up Jaco Pastorius at the 55 club in Manhattan in 87ish with
Kenwood Dennard on drums and Hiram Bullock on guitar. Jaco was just a drugged out shell of himself. He literally looked homeless...but he still could pull out a few licks. I knew what state he was in when I went, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the worlds greatest bass player before he overdosed. Actually he was murdered just a couple months later...

Add that to my list too!

 

[rschleicher]

Oh, I forgot two add two good experiences:

1. Seeing Willy Nelson at Billy Bob's (the one in San Antonio, not the more well-known place in the Dallas area) - this is a bar about the size of a football field, with small stages at either (left and right) end, plus the main stage on one side. I was probably the only male in the bar NOT wearing cowboy boots. I have never seen as many talented two-steppers concentrated in one place! My wife and I also got to take a peek inside Willy's custom tour bus as we were leaving, courtesy of his driver who was guarding the bus outside.

2. Taking my duaghter and four of her friends to the Warfield Theater in SF to see Third Eye Blind and Smashmouth, back when both were still pretty new. They were probably 14 or 15 at the time, so I insisted on going, but in deference to their not wanting to be seen with me, I bought my ticket in a different section. It was a little weird sitting by myself, but both bands were pretty good, and the girls thought the show was totally great.

 

[lynn2c]

early who and floyd

Not easy for me to narrow it down to the best, I've been to so many concerts. I'll mention a couple of the most interesting

Saw The Who I think in 68 at a small venue in central Indiana called Indiana Beach. Was very casual and open, you could lean on the stage and a couple of us caught Keith's drumsticks as he threw them into the crowd. This was also the time period when they were crazy enough do demolish their equipment.

The echos tour of Pink Floyd was a good one too. They hadn't become as polished as they were on the DSOM tour. They did most of Umaguma live and I consider that one of their best.

A few pics from these concerts. The floyd was talking off 8mm film, so the quality really stinks, but they are great memories

 

[lynn2c]

floyd

Couldn't make up my mind which ones to upload with the "5" limit..so I'll cheat and do it twice

 

[Zarg]

Live Shows

Well, I **think** I liked DEVO at the Santa Monica Civic. I know I liked Johnny Winter at the Palamino. Mose Allison was sweet at The Lighthouse. The Cars did a great show opening for Kiss. Dead Kennedys rocked at the Roxy (I think that's where it was). And when the Talking Heads played the Palladium, the Hollywood High cheerleaders were the opening act.

Then there was the time that Ella Fitzgerald sang at the Hollywood Bowl, and Joe Pass walked on stage to accompany here. That was special...

But my favorite live show has been when Herbie Hancock and Oscar Peterson set facing each other on grand pianos -- "cutting heads" -- at the Hollywood Bowl. Amazing.

Oscar kicked rear. It wasn't even close.

 

[Leprkon]

Also Celine Dion and soon to be Elton John at Caesars' on Feb 18.

The Elton John show at Caeser's is really good, but his "A Man and His Piano" tour of maybe 7 years ago was alot better. Also worth catching is the Gladys Knight show at the Flamingo.. she may be 60 plus but she's still got more energy (and talent) than Christina Aguilera and Brittney Spears put together

 

[lynn2c]

the who

previous post, I said the Who concert was in 68, my friend corrected me, it was in 69, a month before they played at woodstock. I'll post some more boring pics. Notice that we paid $3.25 to see them

 

[Sleestack]

I'm not really a Talking Heads fan, but Stop Making Sense is one remarkable live DVD.

 

[Dan]

I saw Little Feat at the Warner theater in 78 before Lowell George died. That was the best. George Thorogood in Ann Arbor in 82. THAT one cost me some hearing to this day. I saw Pink Floyd in 75? for the Animals tour. However I was at the very top of Madison Square Garden and they looked pretty small. The sound was awful but the animation screen and the inflatable animals (not to mention the weed) helped.

 

[garysi]

Wow, this could be hard. Elvis Costello, both nights at the Bottom Line for his New York debut. The Clash, early 1978, at the Mudd Club. Talking Heads, numerous times at CBGB's.Little Feat (with L George) Bottm Line. Billy Joel '75 at the Bottom Line. George Thorogood at the Bottom Line (started a riot that night). The Replacements at The Ritz 1981 and the Beacon 1983. There are too many others to mention(and some I probably forgot due to substances.LOL)

The number one show in my life, one that will live with me till I die. Pink Floyd performing The Wall, live at Nassau Colloseum, 1980. They only did 6 or 7 shows in the U.S. It was too big to do a full tour. All I kept thinking was that there had to be one poor slob who was on acid and he definitely was not coming back to Earth after that spectacle. No words could describe thiat show. (and I had seen Floyd 3 times before this, WYWH and Animals)

 

[WooHoo]

Stevie Ray, Eric Clapton, et al. Alpine Valley in East Troy, Wisconsin. It was Stevie's second to last concert before the helicopter crash. Man they were all jammin! Phil Collins was there and everyone got on stage and they put on one heck of a show. Any concert you get to see where the performers are doing it for fun, is worth every penny.

 

[zipper]

Geez gary, you're lucky...........I used to live on the far side of Mitchell Field from the Nassau & played in it while it was being built( I was 7-8 YO)............went to my 1st concert there in '71(?)..........


...........The Osmonds ........


Somehow I think I would've enjoyed PF a lot more.........



Did get to see Dr. J there though (The old ABA)

 

[ReelDeal]

Best Concert

What a great thread this is really. I actually was being babysitted as a youngster and taken to the Band of Gypsy's (Hendrix) concert filmore east new years eve 69/70 with my brother and his friends from college. Was very young. But later seen my best concert overall. Robin Trower live at Central Park I think in 1971. Also Leslie West at Asbury Park New Jersey.

Next Big impressoins came from AC/DC live at the Palladium 1979, and Living Colour live at the palladium, yes I live in New York!

But the best live concert I've ever heard and wish I was there would be Stevie Ray Vaughn Live at the Hollywood Bowl. "Outstanding". If there is "Anyone" out there who might even know the slightest chance of even a recording of this Westwood one endeavor being for sale I'm the customer!

 

[gene]

No contest. The best live shows are as follows:
1) Pat Metheny
2) Genesis
3) Yes
4) U2

This is fact, NOT opinion

 

[Mudcat]

No contest. The best live shows are as follows:
1) Pat Metheny
2) Genesis
3) Yes
4) U2

This is fact, NOT opinion

To quote Mtry:

Was is DBT or ABX or something like that? Otherwise it is just an opinion and opinions are like @$$holes. Everyone has one.

 

[cornelius]

James Brown in the mid-80s at the old Lonestar in NYC (hey 20to20 K - also where I saw the Jaco Tribute shortly after he died). Nice small venue - amazing gig.

Sun Ra somewehere in the middle of nowhere, near Woodstock. Another smaller venue, I'm still not sure how he fit his big band on the stage. They really connected with the audience - amazing - just one of those nights. I saw him later at the Bottom Line and it was not anywhere near as exciting.

 

[20to20K]

James Brown in the mid-80s at the old Lonestar in NYC (hey 20to20 K - also where I saw the Jaco Tribute shortly after he died). Nice small venue - amazing gig.

Sun Ra somewehere in the middle of nowhere, near Woodstock. Another smaller venue, I'm still not sure how he fit his big band on the stage. They really connected with the audience - amazing - just one of those nights. I saw him later at the Bottom Line and it was not anywhere near as exciting.

Hey Cornelius,

Do you remember who was in the band for the Jaco tribute? There have been about 50 Jaco tribute bands in concert or cutting CD's since he died so I'm curious which incarnation you saw. The best CD I've heard by far was the one that came out in 2003 where different bass players are doing seperate interpretations of his work from all his eras. In between songs the've got these spoken word interludes of Jaco himself introducing each song. Pretty cool.

 

[cornelius]

Hey 20 to 20,

I saw the tribute that was done right after he died. It was done at the Lonestar, because it was the only club in town that would still let him come in and play (when he was messed up - when you happened to see him).

It was just an ongoing combination of players/close friends, sitting in and raising money for Jaco's family. Some of the players there were: Bob Moses, Kenwood Dennard, Marcus Miller (he played a seriously fast straight ahead tune with Pat Metheny- NO slapping that night), Victor Bailey (played Portrait of Tracy to a silent house), Will Lee and many others. It was definitely an interesting night, a pretty strange vibe. I moved to NY just a little too late, and never got to see him play.

n

 

[20to20K]

WOW! What a gig!

I was still living in NYC at the time...I'm guessin' this was 88. I can't believe I let that gig slip me by. What a combination of studs. I've probably seen each of them at some point in my life, but never together. The thought of Marcus and Methany playing together sends goose bumps. I've never known those two to EVER play together before.

As much as I cherise seeing Jaco before he kicked off I must admit, you got to see something pretty special as well.

Have you read Jaco's biography by Bill Milkowski? Pretty interesting. Apparently he also transformed it into a screenplay and they're talking about doing a film of his life with Acadamy Award winner Benetio Del Torro playing Jaco. I think that's awesome casting and I hope it happens...