For reference: my favorite live performance was Jawbreaker, Descendents, Samiam, and face to face in Denver this April.
My first punk show, with a huge mosh pit and lots of body surfing. Saw a guy try to breach the stage and got arrested. Someone tried to physically harass me for my front row spot too. Enlightening experience for sure.
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I went to Rammstein concert last week. They put on a great show and have good music anyways. Half way through they got in inflatable boats and crowd surfed back to the stage before playing Auslander. The highlight was Ich Will with a lot of fire.
I saw Willie Nelson. He was great and can still play the guitar. I loved the opening acts but as soon as he took the stage it seemed as if weed smoke smell was pumped in
Any show at the Carter Family Fold. Its just a real neat venue with a lot of history.
Jane’s Addiction reunion tour.
My wife and I drove into the city a few hours before the show, knowing sometimes traffic can be a beast there. Killing time we stopped at a few places, including an adult shop. While we were browsing, a woman cam bursting in and yelled in a frantic voice “I need all the pasties you have in the store, RIGHT NOW!!!” The clerk helped her, she bought them and ran out.
When we got to the show we discovered why. The band was touring with a large group of dancers who were topless. I guess we were their first stop in the ol’ Bible Belt haha. They must have found out at the last minute from the venue manager that you can’t do that in that kind of venue here. When we saw all the dancers come out with their pasties we were like “Oooohhhhhhh…so that’s what that was about.”
It was a great show, musically, and the stage show was very cool too. The dancers were like, real dancers, not strippers. The dance part of the act was artful and impressive, in addition to hot. At one point Perry Farrell came out wearing this dress with an enormous skirt, and then when the song reached a crescendo, all these legs emerged from holes in the skirt and waved around, making him look like a huge human octopus. The dancers also spent time on big pedestals placed throughout the audience part of the arena.
There was some horny energy in the air for sure, with an unexpected erotic dance show thrust into a powerful rock concert and the dancers being out in the crowd and all (safely placed on the pedestals above grabby-grab level, but close). As we were walking out in the press of the crowd after the show my wife had her ass grabbed three times. That might seem like not a fun time for some people but we just thought it was funny. My wife isn’t easily intimidated. After the third time I got close behind her to run interference.
I’ve seen probably at least a *thousand* different live performances over the year, but my favorite was when I saw Amenra, a Belgian doom metal band, in a small bar-style venue about 10-15 years ago. Their lead singer is a little belgian dude, probably 5′ 6″ 140 lbs kind of guy, with the voice of some sort of tortured demon from the abyss. Well, anyway there was this drunken urban cowboy dude (6′ tall, 220+ lbs kinda guy) that had somehow made his way into the bar and was lightly heckling the band between songs, but it seemed to get more and more obnoxious as the set went on. Between songs at one point the cowboy yells “play some fucking american rock and roll or go back to your own country!” and the lead singer looks right at him and says “we’ll play some fucking rock and roll for you, you stupid fucking american asshole” and they just launch into their next heavy as fuck doom metal song with dude immediately screaming his guts out (as he does). Well, cowboy doesn’t like being called “stupid fucking american asshole” so he gets up and walks to the stage (the “stage” at this place is basically just a raised platform about a foot above the rest of the floor) and tries to “get in the face” of the singer while he’s singing and then shoves him. This little belgian dude, between breaths/death screams jumps forward and clocks the cowboy straight in the jaw with a brutal ass overhand punch and knocks him out cold without missing a beat and then just continues screaming like a ghoul into the microphone while me and a couple of other metalhead like dudes pick up the dumb cowboy, drag his ass to the front door, and throw him out onto the sidewalk (I was a known bouncer at one of the other rock bars in town to the staff at this bar). It was goddamn glorious and hilarious all at once.
Great band, great show, badass frontman.
My first concert was Van Halen supporting their second album, in 1979. The energy, the crowd, the music; your first is always the best.
Saw Aerosmith at frontier days like 5 years ago. Steven Tyler is so talented it’s stupid.
July 2019. Dodger Stadium. Paul McCartney.
He played great music for a solid 3 hours. Beatles, Wings—all the hits.
Plus a surprise appearance at the end by Joe Walsh *and Ringo Starr*!
Phenomenal show.
I have seen a number of great acts in really small venues. That makes a huge difference. Seeing George Clinton and P-Funk All Stars in a room that holds less than 200 people is pretty wild. I have also seen some incredible cabaret shows in very small (like 50-75 seat) halls, people like Elaine Stritch and Judy Collins and Kathleen Turner.
Kiss in 2009 in DC. Incredible energy and I was eye level with gene Simmons when he lifted up into the light fixtures.
The Mountain Goats in Boston (Brookline actually).
Just absolutely beautiful show. Tons of banter from the lead singer.
Of Montreal in LA. First date with my wife. I never felt more in love than that night.
[Phish – 8.21-23.2015 aka Magnaball](https://youtu.be/jPrQYYlFPA4)
I saw spoon open for The shins back in like 2008, that was an awesome show, I still remember the buildup for Sleeping Lessons. Also the girl in front of me thought I was cute and started making out with me.
I saw radiohead on their in rainbows tour in the middle of this really gnarly rainstorm, also I was on acid. That was quite the light show.
Wilco at Lollapalooza in 2009 was fantastic. Psychedelics helped that one too.
The second time I saw Spoon is one that I think about a lot. It was at Ottobar in Baltimore which was where I saw my first ever concert but mostly because it was the last show I went to with my best friend from back then before he died. I was really upset when I ripped the shirt I bought at that show.
BTS
I’m an Asian girl in her 20s and I will not apologize.
I went with eight of my friends. But seriously, it was the first time I think I had an out-of-body fan experience. When they first came out, I was not in control of how much I was screaming. I could have fainted.
As a failing but trying rockstar years ago I got to open or play bills with “big” bands.
We opened (and early!) for Tool in 1993 about 2 or 3 months after they released Undertow. Maybe 200 or 300 people in the place and free range to be backstage or in the front row. It was fucking absolutely awesome.
I saw Foo Fighters in 2000 and I still think about that show sometimes. Before the show I was more excited to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers but Foo Fighters set was a better show by FAR. Dave Grohl playing a fuckin’ timpani like it was his Nirvana drum kit sticks in my brain.
Top two moments at concerts for me are:
Indianapolis Ribfest 2007: Hootie and the Blowfish played a killer version of Champaign Supernova as their encore.
Ozzfest 2006: the main stage bands joined together to play Walk as a tribute to Dimebag Darrell.
Edit: also at Ozzfest Daron Malakian put on a turban and fake beard and big sunglasses and walked around Riverport all afternoon playing guitar with a little amp on his hip for tips. He came on stage for System of a Down’s set before taking off the disguise and the crowd went wild.
Saw the Smashing Pumpkins play at an outdoor venue in 2007. During the peak of their set a huge thunderstorm rolled in and started pouring on the crowd (It was hot af so it was much welcomed). It was a magical experience hearing the thunder and feeling the rain as they performed “Tonight, Tonight”. Everyone was entranced
Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, and Soundgarden at Lollapalooza
RiverRave in 2000 was really cool, but it was more of a festival so it had line 20+ bands there.
Willie Nelson and Old Crow Medicine Show was really cool too. OCMS are a great live band and seeing Willie play is just incredible.
Jack White, June 14, 2014 at Bonnaroo.
I was on the rail behind the pit.
One of my neighbors had smuggled in some whiskey in a fake sunscreen bottle, and was happy to share it.
Jack played for about 2:45.
I had temporary hearing loss. 5/5 would do it again (with earplugs).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGJ6QRPcl0&list=RDLzGJ6QRPcl0
Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
Foo Fighters at The Tabernacle in Atlanta.
Nils Lofgren acoustic show at a tiny little bar.
Dropkick Murphys at the Heavy Montreal festival in I think it was 2014?
It was a year where the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins were in the Stanley cup playoffs against each other. (I’m a Boston native originally).
That’s relevant because at one point in the show, the lead singer, Al Barr, brought his son on stage. His son was maybe 8 or 9. He was wearing a Canadiens Jersey and was carrying a doll hanging from a stick which was also dressed in a Canadiens Jersey.
Crowd cheers.
Kid then rips off the Canadiens jersey, he’s wearing a Bruins jersey under it, and then starts smashing the little Canadien Jersey doll against the stage.
Crowd starts booing.
Al Barr grins, flips off the crowd and launches into “Shipping up to Boston” (the anthem of Boston sports teams if you’re unaware)
As a Dropkick fan, a Bostonian, and a lover of petty spite, I’ve never been more proud. XD
Ozzfest 2001, summer. I was 15 years old, went with my cousins. My first metal concerts…all day…all day in crowds, and moshpits, and crowd surfing, even unexpectedly met a couple of bsnd members…it was the BEST day!
Now I am a woman in her 30s. I STILL prefer metal, especially industrial metal (Nine Inch Nails – Trent Reznor😘💕) and other types of alternative metal and alternative rock musicians to this day!
Been waiting for this horrendous pandemic to end so I could look up a good and rowdy show to attend…because, oh my god…I miss the release of aggressive energy at those shows. I just wish I still had the stamina I once had in my 20s! But Imma still go! Woo!🤘🏻 😆🤘🏻
Gotta say it. David Byrne in 2018 was the best concert I’ve ever seen, hands down.