Best/Worst Live Shows

Wow loaded question. I will say worst I have ever been to for me is Boston. Most unemotional, just put the record on and listen concert ever.

Some great shows....AC/DC and Van Halen, but old school. Bon Scott and David Lee Roth. Saw AC/DC with Brian Johnson...good, but not the same as Scott.

Best "always a good show"....Petty and the Heartbreakers. Maybe one of the tightest bands out there. Although saw the Replacements open for them...Horrible opener.

Overrated...Chili Peppers. Saw them and Foo Fighters opened. Foo absolutely blew them out of the water.

Most Surprising...Don't laugh, but took daughter to see Nelly years ago. First "rap" concert and I'll say the energy of the crowd was amazing. I was stunned. Also saw Wyclef at Riverstages and he blew me away.

Best concert I've seen most recently....Beck. Probably a year or so ago and was simply amazing. Going from hip hop, folk, country, rock vibes. Incredible. Add to that having Giovanni Ribisi come out dressed in full Porter Wagoner gear and stage dive....blast

Of course the countless Cantrell's shows (old school nashvillians know what I'm talking about) were amazing....REM, Black Flag, B-52s, White Animals, etc.....

 

I always liked these guys. Kind of a one trick pony style-wise but it was a pretty good trick. My friends used to give me grief when I'd throw them on.

I saw Huey Lewis on his tour for the album "Sports". It was at a great, natural outdoor amphitheatre at the amusement park Canada's Wonderland. I was so intoxicated that I barely remember the show. Sadly that's the case with many of the shows I saw in the eighties... thc/alcohol/cocaine /acid... I was pretty much game for anything when it came to going to shows. I guess this is as much of a cautionary tale as you'll ever get from me, but I must confess that I almost always had a fantastic time, but the memories are blurred. By the time the nineties rolled around I was sensible enough to stick to alcohol and THC so my recall of concerts from this decade is much better. Now I stick to the herb and most of my more recent memories remain intact (for the moment at least).

That amphitheatre I mentioned above was the same venue that I watched both Seger and Sade. I should have included Sade amongst the best shows I've seen... but then again I'm sure we all can think of dozens of shows worthy of adding to our faves already posted.

Venue and timing is certainly a key ingredient to a great show. Seeing an act at an intimate venue can make all of the difference in the world. I saw INXS at a bar in Toronto when they launched their tour for the album "Listen Like Thieves". At that time they were relatively unknown in North America having scored minor hits with the songs like "Burn for You" and "Original Sin". The video for the song "What You Need" had been out for about a week and it was apparent that it was going to be a huge hit. It was a hot sweaty, summer night and the packed bar had a real and palpable sense that something special was about to happen. The band sat amongst the audience at a table prior to the show... again, they really weren't famous at that point... they just had a recent catchy pop video, but beyond that much was unknown about this Australian act. Well what most in the Canadian audience didn't know (including myself) was that INXS had honed their skills by touring relentlessly in clubs all across Australia for years. The result was a fun and raucous, but amazingly tight, bar band, with incredible presence and swagger. The already expectant audience was blown away by a three hour balls to the walls show. It was just one of those incredible, bordering on indescribable, sweat soaked, dancing all night, bar concerts that hopefully we've all experienced at least once at some point.

Eight months and millions of albums sold later I saw INXS again, but this time at an open air football stadium in Toronto. It was alright, but really just another big stadium concert.

 

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The best for me was Mellencamp in 6th grade.... and then Metallica later in high school. Both were the best i've ever seen. Obviously, my age had something to do with that. I really don't go to concerts anymore. I just haven't had anyone that I care enough to pay 50, 60, or 100 bucks to go see. The worst show in recent memory has to be Def Leppard. They were down town N'ville, at River Stages, a few years ago and it sounded like hell. That guy can't even come close to hitting the notes that he used to...

 

Pearl Jam is my favorite live band overall. They switch their setlist up so much you could see them 5 different times on a tour and have a completely different show each time. But my two favorite individual shows are the White Stripes and REM. I have heard the WHite Stripes are hit and miss, but the night I saw them they were incredible.

 

Best: Black Flag (w/ Henry Rollins) at The Wooden Nickel 1983 (A real mental enema)

Kiss (w/ pyrotechnics and make-up) 1975 ( I was 10)



Worst: The Police 1982 (Sting was wearing some kind of tu-tu chit and accoustics totally sucked)