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10 Best Concerts You Have Seen?

pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
edited August 2007 in Strut Central
So this is the topic of convo in my office today and I got to thinking about it and damn it's hard. I'm really just not sure what the best concerts/live shows I've ever seen are.What were they for you?
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  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    you need to start
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    One of the best shows I ever saw was Elvin Jones at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philly. He fucking killed it, had a great bad with him too. He died the next year, so I felt really blessed to have seen him.

    Saw the Arkestra at the Tritone several times, but one show in particular blew my fucking mind. They were really on point that night.

    I used to go to a lot of shows, but I can remember only a few of them.
  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    Prince
    LoveSexy tour '88
    Wembly Arena, London

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    The Jacksons - Victory Tour @ Giants Stadium
    Maxwell/Alicia Keys @ Hammerstein Ballroom
    Showbiz & A.G./A Tribe Called Quest/Boogie Down Productions @ The Apollo circa '92
    Chaka Khan @ Wingate Field
    Wynton Marsalis @ Fordham University
    Kelis @ The Bowery Ballroom
    Trans Am @ Irving Plaza
    Omar @ S.O.B.
    Mandrill @ Brooklyn Bandshell circa '97

    PUBLIC ENEMY - New Years Eve 89/90 @ The World in L.E.S
  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    Ween on New Years 1999. I can take it or leave it with their records but they really kill it live. I also saw them when they toured for the country album they did. They had some great country players with them, they called the band the shit creek all stars. That was a really good show too
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts

    Saw the Arkestra

    i saw the Arkestra at Yoshii's a few years ago and they were incredible. They did a lot of the caravany sounding stuff like the stuff off of Angels & Demons at Play. there was one weird moment where they did that jiminy cricket song though which was kinda but they ruled otherwise
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts
    you need to start

    Will do my best I've thought up so far.

    James Brown Bayou Place Houston His first tour once out of jail.
    Fugazi 1996 Some roller rink in the Houston hood.
    Jesus Lizard Houston Mary Jane's January 1998
    Guitar Wolf 1997 Austin
    Bad Brains OG line up 2000
    Little Buck and Barbara Lynn Continental Club Austin 2006
    F lamming Lips Houston Jones Hall 2002

    I still have plenty of kinks to work out here. I know I'm missing some amazing things I've seen over the years I've yet to think of.
  • Pistol_PetePistol_Pete 1,289 Posts
    Radiohead at the Greek Theatre in LA 6/29/06
    Beck in a private warm up show in front of friends and family.
    The Mars Volta at the Orpheum in downtown LA. Their music isn't for everyone, but I've never seen anything like these guys live.
    Beastie Boys & A Tribe Called Quest in 98
  • edith headedith head 5,106 Posts
    i'm really bad with remembering the years, but mine are like this

    prince in san jose i think in 2004
    mission of burma @ the fillmore
    the ex @ the great american music hall
    robyn hitchcock @ the great american music hall
    wire @ the fillmore
    big star @ the fillmore
    tful282 @ the great american music hall
    pere ubu @ slims
    deerhoof @ the castro theater doing live accompaniment to harry smith's heaven and earth magic
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Seems like I'm missing some good ones, but here goes...

    Nirvana at Liberty Lunch, Austin, TX 1991
    Sade at the Concord Pavillion 2001
    Bobby Hutcherson at Mr. E's, Berkeley, CA ~2000
    Sizzla (any of the multiple times that I've seen him)
    Fishbone (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Rebirth Brass Band (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Primus (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Soundgarden, Austin City Coliseum 1991
    U2 at the Houston Summit 1987
    New Order at Astroworld, Houston, TX 1989
  • pointmanpointman 1,042 Posts

    New Order at Astroworld, Houston, TX 1989


    Oh shit. I remember this show, back before all they booked was Weird Al and Timmy T.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Seems like I'm missing some good ones, but here goes...

    Nirvana at Liberty Lunch, Austin, TX 1991
    Sade at the Concord Pavillion 2001
    Bobby Hutcherson at Mr. E's, Berkeley, CA ~2000
    Sizzla (any of the multiple times that I've seen him)
    Fishbone (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Rebirth Brass Band (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Primus (any of the multiple times that I've seen them)
    Soundgarden, Austin City Coliseum 1991
    U2 at the Houston Summit 1987
    New Order at Astroworld, Houston, TX 1989

    Oh yeah, rap-wise...

    A Tribe Called Quest/De La Soul/Souls of Mischief at the Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX 1993
    Mac Mall/Volume10 at Glam Slam, Los Angeles, CA 1994
    The Roots at the Texas Union Ballroom, Austin, TX 1996
    Devin the Dude (any of the multiple times that I've seen him, except the time he got kicked off of the stage at Austin Music Hall for all-too-blatantly smoking herb)
  • JimBeamJimBeam Seattle. 2,012 Posts
    1)fugazi- @ the maritime, SF 1998ish
    1.5ish) Massive Attack @ the Warfield, Mezzanine tour (when they still had a bunch of the original people in the group) There must have been some frustration within the band, they did start falling apart shortly thereafter- but it made for one of the most incredible live performances I've ever seen, and they're not even huge on my list of bands that i geek for.
    2)Sonic Youth @ "this is not a festival", Greek Theater @ Cal- Last show they played before all their instruments were stolen
    3)Radiohead @ the Fillmore, 1995 (the Bends tour)
    4)David Holmes @ some electronic music showcase. His set =
    made me want to dig records
    5)Shadow and Babu had some scratch battle thing go down when they played together at the Phoenix theater in Petaluma that was melt. ahh, back when i cared about scratching...

    i'm gonna stop b/c this could go on forever. I think I clocked me and the homie dstill goin' on about this comparing each other's concerts for about 2 hours the last time we talked about it.
  • proteusproteus 77 Posts
    It's hard to say but I also reckon the best was Elvin Jones as well. It was late 90s or early 2000s I think, at Ronnie Scott's. He was playin with Ravi Coltrane, can't remember who else. Just about everyone left after the first half, deserted the gaff?? The fuckers we're too busy chatting and clinking glasses in the first half anyway, that's what you get with sit down meal jazz venues - people who go for background entertainment. Sorry, point was it was empty so sat down literally a metre away from the bass drum, I was right, right in front the kit. Heard and saw all the little cymbal shimmies and felt the drums. It's was awesome, must have gone on for nearly an hour. I spoke to Elvin and Ravi and band after, got him to sign his 'Prime Element' LP. Wicked night. Had another good night at Jazz Cafe in Camden when was about a metre behind McCoy, that was also pretty mental and I got him to sign his 'Today and Tomorrow' LP. Saw McCoy at the bBarbican earlier this year but I'm not into massive venues and distant stages, he's was looking a bit shaky sadly too. I've had some quality nights but Elvin night still amazes me when I think about it...
  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Carlos Santana Calderone Theatre 1974
    Arthur Lee opening as a solo for Clapton Nassau Coliseum
    Mountain New Years Eve Felt Forum
    Johnny Winter/Muddy Waters/James Cotton Hofstra University
    Hall & Oates '74 Bottom Line - Pre hits era
    Led Zeppelin Madison Square Garden first U.S. Tour
    Clapton/Santana/John McGlaughlin L.A. Forum
    Allman Brothers 5 hour set Nassau Coliseum
    Todd Rundgren & Utopia - Aragon Ballroom, Dallas '80
    Thin Lizzy - Moody Coliseum
    Ramones - Calderone Theatre '75
    Be Bop Deluxe
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    A couple off the top (I know I'm forgetting some):

    Public Enemy '90
    Gangstarr '92
    Boogie Down Productions '92
    Stereolab '94
    Burning Spear '01
    Capleton '02
    Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings '05
  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    My memory for years is awful--these are +/- 2:

    Abdullah Ibrahim Trio--1999 Chas SC
    Jimmy Guiffre 3--1994 Chas SC
    London Jazz Composers Orchestra--1995 Austria
    Jackie McClean Sextet--1993 NYC
    Ornette Coleman Trio--1993 NYC
    Neil Young/Sonic Youth--1990 Chapel Hill
    Jorge Ben--2004 DC
    Brotzmann/Hopkins/Drake--1996 ATL
    Primus/Tad--1991 Cola SC
    Pavement--1992 Cola SC
    Culture/Israel Vibrations--1988 Chas SC
    Jesus Lizard/Jon Spencer BE--1993 Cola SC
    Peter Kowald--1999 Chas SC


    I went over.
  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    PS--Seen a lot of hip hop shows. None were remarkable.
  • DJCireDJCire 729 Posts
    Great thread. Being near LA, I've been able to check out some nice shows (IMO). Here we go...

    - Donald-D, Robe Base & Ice-T (Circa 91) - In the crowd, hanging out was Ice Cube as well as Rhyme Syndicate. Freedman Forum, Anaheim, CA
    First rap concert and never looked back, not a bad line up for being 5 minutes from Disneyland.

    - Cut Chemist, PUTS and Breakestra (LA - 2005?) - Had never seen any of these 3. All killed it - was good to see some good LA shit.

    - Clipse, Black Eyed Peas and NERD (NYC, 2005). Was on vacation in NYC and we were at Coney Island chillin. Copped a newspaper and saw the bill for this show. We headed toward the venue copped some scalpor tickets and watched the show. ?uestlove and Jay-Z made cameos and the crowd was hyped.

    - Rose Royce, Ohio Players and Zapp (with Roger) headlining. Circa'97? Each band killed it. I was heavy into these band around this time and this is probably one of my favorite shows just off sheer performance.

    - Gangstarr w/ Rage Against the Machine (LA Forum, circa 1999). Freddy F-O-X-X-X opened, Gangstar followed and Rage headlined.

    - Smokin Grooves Tour - went twice (Universal Amphitheatre and Irvine Meadows, 1998?). Busta Rhymes, Fugees, ATCQ, Cypress Hill and Ziggy Marley.

    - Spearhead with Digable Planets (1994/95?) - Right after Blowout Comb came out. Cool shit. Jazzy Joyce on the cuts.

    - De La Soul (Group I've seen the most). Because of them I saw Common, Mos Def before they blew up. Mos hadn't even dropped the Rawkus shit yet (at least not that I knew of).

    - Ozomatli, Santana & Man?? - Ozo got the crowd hyped and Santana RIPPED shit. Was very impressed how he took control of 30,000 people with not much talking - just music.

    - Up In Smoke Tour (circa 2001/02) - Dre & Snoop, Eminem, Ice Cube (WSC), plus others. Gangsta'

    - Group Home with Redman, Das Efx and Onyx (House of Blues Hollywood, 1996?). This must have been an industry show or something because there were a gang of people in the crowd and on-stage. As we entered, I remember seeing Tha Alkoholiks, Melle Mel, Kurtis Blow, chillin, hangin out having drinks with other artists. After Group Home performed, Redman came out and did a set with Keith Murry and Erick Sermon. Das came out and did their thing with PMD in the background. Finally Onyx came through after a long ass wait. During the middle of their set there was a cluster of dudes surrounding Tupac, who looked pissed off about something. As Onyx was going through songs Pac's emotion didn't change until Onyx performed "Last Dayz", which brought out a smile and head nod to Tupac. Everything was cool the rest of the time but I never seen so many artists at a show. Other highlight was seeing Jam Master Jay come out with Onyx - only time I ever saw him.
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    (I know I'm forgetting some)

    Oh yeah???

    Kraftwerk '90
    and that Neil Young/Booker T '93 show that Rockadelic started a thread about on waxidermy.
  • deejdeej 5,125 Posts
    sonny rollins

    Abdullah Ibrahim Trio
    yes
    also
    smokey robinson
    cassandra wilson

    david young -> local chi trumpet player

    maybe on the h-h point prince paul (basically just as a DJ) pete rock (same) and naughty by nature
  • FatbackFatback 6,746 Posts
    '90
    and that Neil Young/Booker T '93 show that Rockadelic started a thread about on waxidermy.

    I saw that too, but I really liked the Crazy Horse shows that he was doing after Ragged Glory.
  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    Prince
    LoveSexy tour '88
    Wembly Arena, London


    Prince
    Rehearsal Show for Lovesexy Tour '88
    St Paul Civic Center

    Show was announced on Thursday afternoon that tickets would be on sale Friday 8am.
    The show was the next night, Saturday. $10 plus a canned food donation for MN Food Shelf.

  • high_chigh_c 1,384 Posts

    A Tribe Called Quest/De La Soul/Souls of Mischief at the Bomb Factory, Dallas, TX 1993

    I was there... one of few anglos in the place so I stood out and you may have seen me... oh and I was on acid.

    Shortly after that I saw the common sense/beatnuts show there, although I don't think the beatnuts showed up. Common's DJ (was it Roc Raida?) was

    ah those high school days
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    Bjork::::::::2 nights n a row in Paris, June 2003....amazing
    Butthole Surfers:::::Dallas 1989 total mindfuck
    Flaming Lips/Butthole Surfers:::::Dallas 1992.... so so good
    Sonny Rollins::::Fort Worth 1993
    Tom Waits::::::::Austin 1999
    Spiritualized:::::Dallas 95, Galaxy Club
    Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings:::::Fort Worth 2003
    Junior Kimbrough:::::::Memphis 1993
    Metallica:::::::::::Memphis 1986
    Meat Puppets:::::Flagstaff, AZ 1989
  • hammertimehammertime 2,389 Posts
    in no order:

    Alice Coltrane
    Willie Nelson
    Sonny Fortune/Rashied Ali
    Six Organs of Admittance
    Boredoms
    High on Fire
    Noah Howard
    Acid Mothers Temple
    Lightning Bolt
    Brotzmann/Parker/Drake
  • johnshadejohnshade 577 Posts
    the two best concerts i ever saw were both put on by the beta band.
  • brokenrecordbrokenrecord 338 Posts
    suzy ibarra
    keiji haino
    alice coltrane
    tina turner
    cui jian
    harry pussy
    john brannon solo
    butch morris skyscraper
    james carter
  • DJ_NevilleCDJ_NevilleC 1,922 Posts
    1) The Who - 1980 - Omni, Atlanta
    2) The Pretenders - 1981 - Agora Ballroom, Atlanta
    3) Replacements - 1984 - 40 Watt Club, Athens
    4) Pere Ubu/John Cale - 1987 - Peabody's Down Under, Cleveland
    5) NRBQ - around 1992 - New Years Eve show at Slims in San Francisco
    6) Jorge Ben - 2004 - some venue in Lapa (Rio)
    7) Fugazi - countless times in DC
    8) Grateful Dead - 1983 - The Down at Santa Fe, NM
    9) Pharaoh Sanders - 1981 - Student Union , Athens, GA
    10) Tom Waits - 1985 - Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

    I could do three more of these but I'll spare ya.
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    The Accused/Wehrmacht @ Benton/Frankin County Fairgrounds Warehouse, Kennewick, WA, November 1988
    Beastie Boys/Big Chief/Fu-Schnickens @ Moore Theater, Seattle, 5/92
    Michael Brecker Quartet @ Richland High Auditorium, Richland, WA, 1998 (w/ Ben Perowsky on drums)
    Buzzov??en @ Hoedown Center, Richland, WA, 1992 or 1993
    Christ On A Crutch, homecoming last show @ Hoedown Center, Richland, WA, 1992 or 1993
    Clash Of The Titans Tour @ Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington, 1992 or so (yes on Anthrax, Slayer, and Alice In Chains, no on Megadeth)
    DJ Shadow/Anti-Pop Consortium @ Showbox, Seattle, 6/9/02
    Frankie Goes To Hollywood @ Schnitzer Hall, Portland, OR, June, 1985
    The Gits @ Hoedown Center, Richland, WA, 7/3/93 (I believe this was the last show (or one of the last) Mia Zapata did before she was strangled to death a few days later in Seattle. I later found out she wanted to meet and thank me for the positive reviews I gave her music)
    Lenny Kravitz/Ozomatli @ Paramount, Seattle, 9/13/98
    Loggins & Messina @ HIC, Honolulu, 1976
    Medeski, Martin & Wood @ Moore Theater, Seattle, 4/1/99
    Medeski, Martin & Wood @ Paramount Theater, Seattle, 4/12/01
    Medeski, Martin & Wood @ Paramount Theater, Seattle, 4/24/02
    Mission:/Boom Bap Project @ I Spy, Seattle, 8/23/01
    Mudhoney @ Kennewick VFW Hall, Kennewick, WA, July 1991
    Ozomatli @ Key Arena, Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA, 9/3/00
    Ozomatli @ Showbox, Seattle, WA, 9/3/00 (same night as Bumbershoot show)
    Ozomatli @ Showbox, Seattle, WA, 6/9/01
    Ozomatli @ Showbox, Seattle, WA, 10/01
    Robert Palmer @ Andrews Amphitheater, University of Hawai'i, summer of 1986
    Pantera @ Pink's Garage, Honolulu, Hawai'i, July 1991
    Pink Floyd @ Kingdome, Seattle, 12/8/87
    Ravi & Anoushka Shankar @ Benaroya Hall, Seattle, 10/27/01
    Sore Jackson @ Hoedown Center, Richland, WA, 1992 or 1993
    Word Of Mouth Tour @ aro.space, Seattle, July (?) 1999
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