Favorite (and not so favorite) concerts

Started by wyodeb, June 10, 2005, 10:00:58 AM

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Quote from: AdventureGuide on June 13, 2005, 12:23:04 PM
Quote from: wyodeb on June 10, 2005, 10:00:58 AM
... Which concerts have you enjoyed the most. When, where, who, why? ...

Without a doubt, my favorite was in October 1997.  John Denver, alone on stage with just his guitars.  Two-and-a-half hours.  That man could really play!  And then one week later he was dead.  What a shame.

Here is a picture taken in September 1997, in Houston.  Just two weeks before the fatal accident.

Jim McCrain


A lot of people bad mouth J Denver but man, the guy could play and he was a superior songwriter.  My favorite is Rocky Mountain High.  I've always loved that tune.


And let's not forget his sartorial splendor. 

Quote from: Denis on June 13, 2005, 01:23:13 PM
Quote from: AdventureGuide on June 13, 2005, 12:23:04 PM
Quote from: wyodeb on June 10, 2005, 10:00:58 AM
... Which concerts have you enjoyed the most. When, where, who, why? ...

Without a doubt, my favorite was in October 1997.  John Denver, alone on stage with just his guitars.  Two-and-a-half hours.  That man could really play!  And then one week later he was dead.  What a shame.

Here is a picture taken in September 1997, in Houston.  Just two weeks before the fatal accident.

Jim McCrain


A lot of people bad mouth J Denver but man, the guy could play and he was a superior songwriter.  My favorite is Rocky Mountain High.  I've always loved that tune.



And his witty repartee!

Faaarrr Out!
Don

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Quote from: Fergy07 on June 13, 2005, 07:45:20 AM
How about concerts you didn't get to, and still yourself in the butt about? I had the chance to see U2 when they first toured in  the US (83?) and they played in a small club by where I was living at the time. My friends still give me grief about talking them out of going.

Andy

Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles at Folsom Field in Boulder. Summer of 1978. My parents wouldn't let me go (I did have casts on both legs at the time, but still...)
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July 11, 1976.....Elton John - Louder than Concorde, But Not Quite As Pretty tour.  89,000 crazies in the "new" Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit.   We were all the way back (but center) and a few rows up into the stands....I have NEVER heard a better mix in my life.  My rock and roll days have been over for a LONG time, but I will never forget that night.....that was a band/performer that were way ahead of their time!!

Summer of '78 at Pine Knob.......three different shows within a few weeks of each other.......Doobie Brothers/Toby Beau (My Angel Baby).....Tom Petty.......Foreigner (especially good!)   

Also Summer of '78   Van Halen (3 weeks or so after the 1st album came out!!)  and Bob Seger.  Van Halen was INCREDIBLE!!   Seger played for about 2 hours and 45 minutes and ended with "Turn the Page" with Alto Reed hanging from a piano wire dangling about 40 feet above the stage while he played the opening sax part!!

Fall of '78   Pat Travers Band......they backed up Foghat (we left after the third song as they were HORRIBLE!!)  Pat Thrall, Mars Cowling and Tommy Aldrich were out of this world.......I have always thought that they would have been REALLY big if Pat Travers could have dropped the ego down a notch and let someone else sing!!

Fall of '80.....Toto in a 1200 seat movie theatre (front row center) Seriously good musicianship

Fall of '82.....Roxy Music Avalon tour.......backed up by Art in America (whoever put those two together got fired, I'm sure)   "Art" was booed off the stage after the third song.......Roxy fans want to hear Roxy!!!!

Fall of '83.....Jaco Pastorius with Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine and Peter Robinson (front and center, again)

a few weeks later in '83.....Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Fab Thunderbirds.  I had a guy working at the record store that played and had lived in a house with Stevie and Jimmy for a while.....got to hang out with them for part of the day.....pretty cool!!

Summer '84  Albert Collins at the Soup Kitchen (about 200 seats tops)   Albert walked down the aisle pulling a folding chair with one hand and doing hammers on the Tele with the other......he sat down about two feet in front of me on the aisle and played about a five minute solo.....

Fall of '84    Steel Pulse.......those guys have RHYTHM!!!!!!

Summer '86   Gordon Lightfoot at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre.....magical night with the sweetest woman I have known (yes, she got away)

Every time I have seen David Wilcox (ended up on stage with him a couple of times!)

Every time I have seen Loudon Wainwright

Everytime I have seen Hot Rize/Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers

Most every time I have seen Buffett

Most every time I have seen Nanci Griffith....the best was REALLY early on (just before the release of Once In a Very Blue Moon)   Saw her about four times with just her and her Guilds!

Getting to see and meet Emmylou in about '85......great show at Meadowbrook Theatre!  I've met a lot of performers in my day, but when I was introduced to her and shook her hand,  I must admit my knees were a little weak and wobbly!!

Fall of '85    Michael Hedges with the Anger/Marshall quintet.....this was the first of many times I saw Michael. and the next day my buddy and I were walking through the Amway Grand hotel checking out the art display and saw a guy standing up agains the check in desk with a familiar, crumpled velvet sport coat and a guitar case.....we talked for a few minutes and he was very gracious......I am very grateful that I got to spend time with him on several occaisions later on.....I was quite depressed when we lost him.

Strength in Numbers at the '91 Watson Festival in NC.  Mark O'connor picked up an acoustic guitar during that set, and to this day I have NEVER heard a live sound so good......it sounded like you were sitting in front of a '39 D-45 with your head about two feet from the soundhole

Tom Paxton and Anne Hills at the Ark in Ann Arbor......if you have been to a Tom P show, you know about the glorious harmonies that unfold!

Summer '97   Alison Krauss at Meadowbrook Theatre......need I say more!



that's the tip of the iceberg, but my fingers are getting tired!!!! ^_^









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"One small heart, and a great big soul that's drivin"

Here are some of my fav concerts

Robert Cray
Great Big Sea
Colin James
Jack Semple
George Thorogood
Tragically Hip
Erin McKeown

To chime in again, one of the best I ever saw was Warren Zevon at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. It only sat about 1-200 people, so every seat was no more than three rows from him. Great concert with out the annoying crowd.

Andy
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Worst concert ever: Van Morrison back around 1970. He did two shows here in Montreal in a small theatre. Unfortunately, I went to the second show and by then he was drunk as a skunk. Falling down stupid drunk.
I understand this was not an unusual occurrence for him back then.
But, I still like his music and I'd go to see him if he came to town.
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One of my more disappointing concerts:

Loudon Wainwright III at Sellersville Theater in PA last year. I've seen Loudon over twenty five times in the past thirty years, and it seemed to me that he barely "phoned in" this performance.

I've seen him on nights he was great, OK, the venue horrible, the place packed, the place empty, but here, on this night, he just seemed to be completely disinterested and even resentful about performing. I came away from the concert thinking that maybe he just didn't reach me any more, or he was fed up with performing.

Fortunately, I saw him at Outpost in the Burbs last month, and the old Loudo was back: funny, animated, sardonic, engaged.


Paolo
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DMB at the Gorge in WA... x3 wow!! what a place to see a show.
Elvis Costello - Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Vancouver
Ben Harper - Queen E / Van
Chris Issak - Queen Elizabeth Theatre / Vancouver
John Hiatt - Edmonton Folk Festival

i don't think i have seen a bad Tragically Hip show.....

oh "Another Roadside Attraction tour in 96 or 95 i forget....
blues traveller, matthew sweet, los lobos etc. great show

1993 - Larrivee D-60 Rosewood w/ Bband A1 / ust
a good way to start my Larrivee collection!

Celebrate we will Because life is short but sweet for certain

1. Genesis-I.U. Auditorium 1977
2. Zappa and the Mothers w/George Duke and Jean-Luc Ponty-I.U. Auditorium 1977
3. Return To Forever w/Chick C., Stanley C., Lenny W., Al DiMiola, and Gayle Moran- I.U. Auditorium 1978
4. CSN & Y at United Center 2002
5. Bob Weir and Ratdog with Warren Haynes-NIU Convocation Center-2003
6. Allman Bros, Greg, Warren, Derek, Butch et al- Rockford, IL 2004
7. Yes-Milwaukee 2003
8. Dexter Gordon- Chicago Jazzfest 1991
9. Miles Davis-Chicago Jazzfest 1990
10. Pat Metheny-Chicago Theatre 2001
11. Buddy Guy-Buddy Guys Legends 2000
12. Muriel Anderson-Old Town School of Folk Music-2002
and a bunch more Yes and CSNY shows
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Recently was truly impressed seeing Los Lobos for the 1st time live.

Best of all times though...

Stevie Wonder in the '80s at the Sunrise Musical Theater in Florida.

Paul Simon in the '90s Miami Arena.

  Both have over 2 decades worth of material to draw from and reached deep into their catalogues at their concerts.

The Dead and WHO concerts in the '70s Oakland coliseum. Two greats on one day, with on one else on the bill to ruin it.

Frank Zappa (the Live at the Roxey era band) with Tom Waitts as the opener at the Circle Star theater in the '70s. First time I heard Waitts (unaccompanied), he was as amazing as Zappa's band was. The music was great, he (Waitts) made you laugh with his jokes and made you cry with his great version of Phantom 309.

One night - Rory Gallagher (opener), Robin Trower (first time through America), Marc-Almond Band, Poco (headliner) at Winterland. Incredible show.  Jon Marc was actually upset at the strong reaction Trower received from the crowd and the press.

Most annoying act. No question the B(r)EACH BOYS. Never cared for their music. Well actually, I could never get passed the insipid lyrics. Yet at one time they low balled their way onto so many bills, in the heyday of stadium concerts, that I had seen them more than any other band. Mike Love ruined even the occasional pleasant moods that they did conjur, with his hyped up babbling.






fun thread.  thinking way back ...

bath festival - 1968 - the who, pink floyd, bonzo dog do da band, and others I can't recall
isle of wight - 1969 - hendrix, the who, joni mitchel, and many of the same  folks that played at woodstock a few weeks later
jefferson airplane - syracuse - 1969
thelonious monk - syracuse - 1969
allman brothers - jacksonville - 1969
derek and the dominoes - 1970 - london
greatful dead - winterland - 1971 + (many times)
rolling stones - sanfrancisco with stevie wonder - 70's
rolling stones - washington dc - 90's
sun ra - silver spring, md and again washington dc
bruce springsteen - 70's - washington dc
tom waits - 70's cellar door - washington dc, dar constitution hall, washington, dc

lots of other favorites but these were the best.
h anymore
among the others, seeing the beetles in '64(?) at RFK Stadium

underwhelming?  stevie "guitar" miller too drunk to do his show in philadelphia in the 70's

looking at the dates, I'd say it looks like I don't get around much any more.  probably just more critical in recent years.

jeff

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sayhey, 

  Can you please share any recollections of seeing Monk in concert.?

Some of the favorites I recall. I have to guess at the year in many cases

Segovia-  Chicago 1972
Joe Pass- Silver Spring Md- 1979?
The Doors- St. Louis 1968
Jimi Hendrix- St Louis 1969
Doc and Merle Watson- West VA- 1975?
Doc & Merle Watson- Wash DC- 197?
Weather Report- Wash DC- 1980?
Frank Zappa- Fillmore West- 1971
Miles Davis- Central Park NYC- 1970
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Madison SQ Garden- 1970
Albert King- Mississppi River Festival- 1969
The Band- Mississippi River Festival-1969?
Eagles- Champaign, Il  1973?
Johhny Winter-Milwakee Blues Festival, 1969
Tim O'Brien- Charlottesville, VA- May 2005

Disappointments
Gratefull Dead- St Louis, 197?
Velvet Underground- St Louis 197?
ZZ Top- Normal, Ill 1974?



Quote from: ronmac on June 10, 2005, 11:52:41 AM
1) 1990 Dire Straits, Hamilton Ontario "On Every Street Tour" (with Paul Franklin on pedal steel!) The quietest rock concert I have ever attended. 25,000 people sitting there in slack-jawed amazement. Awesome in the truest sense of the word.

Well, it's been hours since I saw Mark Knopfler at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto - what a fabulous concert. So, my vote goes to this show (even though I was sick and tired of all the rednecks shouting their lungs out during quieter and magical moments, such as the solo from Brothers in Arms).
The worst show: Yes at ACC in Toronto, not because of them, but because of a completely non-professional sound engineer, that made some of the best musicians in rock sound like amateurs.
Mike
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The J. Geils Band with opening act the James Cotten Blues band in about 1975. 
Natalie McMaster, the Cape Breton fiddler.  That girl can play the fiddle.
Bruce Springsteen on his latest solo acoustic Devils and Dust tour in May
Alison Kraus and US
BB King at a little supper club that sat about 200 in California in the 80s. 
Skynard in their Free Bird heyday, about 1975. 

I must have seen KISS in the 70s about 40 times.  ZZ Top opened for them one time, right after La Grange came out.  No beards, just jeans and dirty tee shirts. 
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Life is too short to drink cheap beer.

Oh yeah,

   Not a guitar in site. But in the 70's I got to see Phil Woods and Zoot Sims together at the Great American Music Hall, a few times. INCREDIBLE SHOWS these 2 masters put on. Great contrast in styles between them, which added a lot to the combination.

  Someone else mentioned Joe Pass and jogged my memory of the Great American Music Hall. Saw him there a couple of times too. One time at about the 3rd set, he just looked up and said "any requests, just call out what you would like to hear". People did and he cmae up with amazing versions on the spot. What a treat.

Least enjoyed (sorry) It was a good concert, but not what I hoped for:
John Denver - early 80's - I was all set for jumbo Guilds and Rocky Mountain High, but he played a gold Les Paul most of the time and sang all that social conscience stuff - it's OK but not what I was hoping for...

Most enjoyed: George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, U.I.C. Pavillion, Chicago, early 80's.  Could feel the music down in my bones.

Most often enjoyed: Muriel Anderson at her annual "homecoming" concerts at her high school in Downers Grove, Il.  Had some lessons from her one summer before she got "famous" (at least the acoustic guitar version of famous...)

Well, we are a great concert-going group!...
some awesome experiences here! 
Fitness; " Fall of '85    Michael Hedges with the Anger/Marshall quintet.....this was the first of many times I saw Michael. and the next day my buddy and I were walking through the Amway Grand hotel checking out the art display and saw a guy standing up agains the check in desk with a familiar, crumpled velvet sport coat and a guitar case.....we talked for a few minutes and he was very gracious......I am very grateful that I got to spend time with him on several occaisions later on.....I was quite depressed when we lost him." 
Was this at the Power Center in AnnArbor?  Darol and Mike stayed at a friends house the night before--and they "rehearsed" a little, I just sat with my jaw on the floor.  Mike Marshall is a funny guy and can play anything stringed just the way I would like to.  I too was really bummed when Michael Hedges passed.  Saw him every time he came to the Ark (Ann Arbor); once sat thru the two show set--he came out in-between and talked w/me, told me I would hear the same jokes in the second show!  And Hot Rize!! they are a hoot!!
My favorite may have to be Hedges at the 2 show night; seeing him do what you think is studio-mixed, twice, and then having fun with improvising--whew.
Also:  David Sanborn at Meadowbrook, he had Hiram Bullock on guitar  that night and Hiram was just smokin'!  David sat back while Hiram flailed around on a couple solos (especially Slam) and just laughed.  Pat Metheny / Meadowbrook also, when he introduced Perre'- 4 Afr. Am. ladies who had put lyrics to some of his tunes (Jaco and Lone Pine, etc.)  He had them come out and do their thing (their 1st performance)--and he was just smilin' too--they did awesome.  And went on to be pretty big.
I have over 300 ticket stubs I have saved.  My wife freaked when we were going out and I showed her!
...the original Spirit (w/Cassidy and California), Santana walking on to play w/Neil Young at Bread & Roses Concert in San Fran., Allman Bros. 3 hr. jam session concerts... enough for now.
P.S.  I dont go to big venues anymore either.  Too many people dont have respect for others or the performer while s/he is playing.

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