Best Concert You've Ever Attended

[UNCMSinLS]

I'm kind of embarrassed to say it but the best concert I saw was Meat Loaf. The guy was broke. It was before "Bat Out of Hell 2". The stage was at the Charleston, WV Sternwheel Regatta and attendance was sparse. I think he was sober at that point and he SANG HIS ASS OFF. The band was tight and hot. The show was off-the-charts great.

The best I've seen in SC was Dwight Yoakam at Columbia's Township Auditorium. The lead guitar mix was a little too piercing for my taste but Yoakam was in good voice and was as cool as he is on video.

 

[heelinhell]

Slight diversion--worst Concert
Around 1973-took a bus from Madison to Milwaukee. Van Morrison in a fancy little padded seat hotie totie theater, He came out-said nothing-played for 45 minutes-got up and left
What a putz he was that night

I had a very different experience . Van Morrison was doing his Wavelength tour and I saw him perform at Alex Cooley's club in Buckhead ( Atlanta)

He had a 10-12 piece band and four fantastic female back up singers. His performance lasted around 90 minutes and it was a concert I should have included in my previous post

He was not a putz that night, but my understanding is that he is a putz in general

 

[finesse]

Man, they must've been way under the radar b/c I'm from Wilson and, although I was only 8-10 years old at the time, I'm sure I would've heard about those if they'd been bigger names at the time. Of course if they'd been bigger names at the time, they wouldn't have been playing ACC (that's what everybody in town called Atlantic Christian back then). I do remember when KC and the Sunshine Band played in Wilson a few years later. Now that was a big name band...

When was this? Fleetwood Mac was fairly famous as a blues band in the mid 60s. It's by far my favorite version of the band. They lost two key people and reformed ,initially adding Christine Perfect and then Buckingham and Nicks. I wonder if this was in that transition period.

 

[hedge]

When was this? Fleetwood Mac was fairly famous as a blues band in the mid 60s. It's by far my favorite version of the band. They lost two key people and reformed ,initially adding Christine Perfect and then Buckingham and Nicks. I wonder if this was in that transition period.

I think it must've been. Google says 1975. I have since come to learn that FM had indeed been around since the 60's, but their popularity and wide-known-ness (certainly not to a lad of 8) was nothing like it would become in a few short years. Looks like the Eagles played Wilson in 1973 but again, their mega-stardom was still a year or two down the road...

 

[ChileG]

9:30 Club New Years Eve
. Cibo Matto
. Southern Culture on the Skids
. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
. Jesus Lizard

- a couple of years ago I watched a YouTube video of Jon Spencer and his drummer, and referenced this show, and he said anyone in attendance that night knew what a special night it was. It is the one and only concert ticket I saved, and have it in a small frame in my home office.

ASU Gymnasium (~1994)
. Meat Puppets
. Blind Melon

 

[ChileG]

Can’t pick one.

When I first saw Archers of Loaf at the Milestone in Charlotte in 1994, it rocked my world. I was already a fan but had not seen them live before that. I became a huge fan after that and saw them live many times. Their show at Cat’s Cradle in spring (April?) of 1995 was one of their great shows.

Tortoise at Cat’s Cradle in May 1998 was a great one.

I’ve seen Broken Social Scene four times— once somewhere in San Francisco, twice at the Orange Peel in Asheville, and once at Neighborhood Theater— and those were all great shows. Killer live band.

I saw Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings twice— once at McGlohon Theater in Charlotte and later at the Orange Peel— and those were both great.

I’ve seen a number of Andrew Bird shows, which all have been really good, but his 2012 performance at Neighborhood Theater blew me away.

The last show I saw that I thought was really great was Father John Misty at Neighborhood Theater in April 2023. It actually started off really, really mellow and I was wondering if I could make it through the whole thing. Then it just got really, really good and engaging.

I think I was at that Milestone show for AOL

 

[He's Not Here]

Man, they must've been way under the radar b/c I'm from Wilson and, although I was only 8-10 years old at the time, I'm sure I would've heard about those if they'd been bigger names at the time. Of course if they'd been bigger names at the time, they wouldn't have been playing ACC (that's what everybody in town called Atlantic Christian back then). I do remember when KC and the Sunshine Band played in Wilson a few years later. Now that was a big name band...

I remember he said fleetwood opened for Mothers Finest. As you can imagine, Mothers Finest was completely overshadowed by the opening act.

 

[He's Not Here]

I think it must've been. Google says 1975. I have since come to learn that FM had indeed been around since the 60's, but their popularity and wide-known-ness (certainly not to a lad of 8) was nothing like it would become in a few short years. Looks like the Eagles played Wilson in 1973 but again, their mega-stardom was still a year or two down the road...

I assume it must have been during the transition. You have to remember that I get these stories from my dad’s nostalgic memory

 

[hedge]

I remember he said fleetwood opened for Mothers Finest. As you can imagine, Mothers Finest was completely overshadowed by the opening act.

LOL, I actually did know who Mother's Finest was in 1975, they may have been from NC. At any rate, they played a lot in NC in the 70's...

 

[finesse]

I think it must've been. Google says 1975. I have since come to learn that FM had indeed been around since the 60's, but their popularity and wide-known-ness (certainly not to a lad of 8) was nothing like it would become in a few short years. Looks like the Eagles played Wilson in 1973 but again, their mega-stardom was still a year or two down the road...

It was a different band. Peter Green was one of my favorite guitarists. This is his song that Santana covered more famously.

 

[bridgetender]

By a wide margin.

 

[Ddseddse]

I'm kind of embarrassed to say it but the best concert I saw was Meat Loaf. The guy was broke. It was before "Bat Out of Hell 2". The stage was at the Charleston, WV Sternwheel Regatta and attendance was sparse. I think he was sober at that point and he SANG HIS ASS OFF. The band was tight and hot. The show was off-the-charts great.

The best I've seen in SC was Dwight Yoakam at Columbia's Township Auditorium. The lead guitar mix was a little too piercing for my taste but Yoakam was in good voice and was as cool as he is on video.

Love Meatloaf! Bat out of hell is my go to garage work out album. Whenever I go for a super heavy deadlift set like a 1RM, I need to break out the Great Bolleros of Fire Track to get in the proper frame of mind... The pull comes right around the 1:40 mark or so.

 

[uncsig]

Enjoying reading everyone's stories/lists. And not surprised to see a number of Springsteen shows on the thread.

I wanted to add that until the Vote For Change show on October 8, 2004, my previous best concert was something called the Budweiser Superfest held in the Astrodome on Saturday June 12, 1982. I went by myself as I was unable to get any of my friends interested.

The show started sometime after 6 p.m. and featured:
Millie Jackson
Stephanie Mills
Patti Austin
James Ingram
Quincy Jones
Luther Vandross
Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
And
Stevie Wonder

It was not a particularly well orchestrated show as there was usually at least 30 minutes in between artists to reset the single stage on which everyone was performing. I had been a Stevie fan since 1968's My Cherie Amour but had never seen him live before this show. He didn't come on stage until 1:45 Sunday morning and proceeded to play an awesomely incredible 90 minute set ending around 3:15.

By the time I made it to my car and got home, it was probably close to 4 a.m. I was home that summer between graduating from Carolina and starting law school in Austin and my car's spot in the driveway was right outside the window of my parents' bedroom on my mom's side. As my Dad told the story the next day, she woke up around 2 and didn't see my car so woke my Dad up saying that I wasn't home yet and where could I be. [Remembering this was 1982] My Dad turns on his light, opens the business white pages, finds a number for the Astrodome and dials it. At 2 in the morning, someone at the Dome actually answered the phone and my Dad asked him how long ago the concert had ended. When told that Stevie Wonder had just come on stage about 15 minutes ago, my Dad said Thanks, hung up the phone, turned off the light, rolled over and told my Mom I wouldn't be home for at least another hour and a half.

 

[nashcounty]

It's hard to pick just one, but I'll go with Led Zeppelin in Greensboro, January 1975.

 

[nycfan]

Several concerts by The Waybacks at the Hillside Album Hour event at Merlefest have been among the best concerts I’ve ever attended. The conceit is that they play an entire classic rock album end to end, with medleys mixed in to honor artists who died that year and otherwise on a theme of the album.

Among the best have been Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin IV, Are You Experienced, Very Best of Eagles, Abbey Road, Full Moon Fever, Innervisions, Before the Flood, Sgt Peppers and Born in the USA.

 

[Icky Mettle]

I think I was at that Milestone show for AOL

Nice! It was January. We had just had some a winter storm (all ice, of course), so it was questionable whether the show was even going to happen. But they made the trip down from Chapel Hill.

It was extremely cold outside and the Milestone didn’t have much to offer in terms of heat, so they set up a space heater in the room where the bar is that everybody was standing around before the music started. The band was standing around it too. I brought a friend of mine who was not at all familiar with the Archers at that point (though he became a big fan afterward). and I told him I thought the guys standing around the space heater with us were the guys in the band. He thought rock musicians were supposed to look a certain way, and those dudes just looked like everyday normal dudes, so he said, “There’s no way those guys are in a band.”

 

[nycfan]

 

[roostra]

Sooo, definitely different musical tastes than some of you guys. Here's my top list . . .

1. Pantera/White Zombie - International Ballroom, Atlanta, GA 1992
2. Metallica/Queensryche (Damaged Justice Tour) - Savannah, GA 1989 (my ears rang for 3 days .... it was friggin awesome)
3. Elton John (Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour), Hove, UK 2019
4. Paul McCartney (Freshen Up Tour), O2 London, UK 2018 (RIngo came out and played a couple of songs) - Paul also sang Wonderful Christmastime w/London Boys Choir; I've seen him 4 times but that was by far my favorite show.
5. Van Halen (Lakewood Amphitheater) - Atlanta, GA 1991

I saw Metallica with the Cult opening on that 89 tour in Richmond, VA - loudest event I have ever attended.

 

[NCK9]

Pink Floyd - Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta 1994. Quadrophonic sound - really misty/foggy night that made the light/lasers look really cool.

Honorable Mention: Guns N Roses 1991 Greensboro Coliseum. They played for 3 hours - tons of new stuff off of the yet to be released Use Your Illusion albums.

 

[Croatoan]

Best…Beastie Boys and Biz Markie at the Orange Peel in Asheville in 2010. So thankful I got to see them one last time.

Worst…Toad the Wet Sprocket at Wait Chapel around 1992 or so. Went because of a Wake girl (you know the type). Lost her somewhere along the way and ran across the band looking for her plain ass after the show. Partied a bit and then took them to the IHOP on University for breakfast. Met a group of ladies over stacks of pancakes, the craziest of which would become my future ex-wife. I should’ve never went to that concert.