Your 5 greatest concerts.....

[hollies65]

#1 [For obvious reasons] Hollies Reunion w/Graham Nash 1982 at the Front Row

#2 Elvis Presley @ Richfield Colliseum. It was the King.

#3 Raspberries at The State Theatre [This show was perfect]

#4 The Nerves at the Looking Glass w/The Pagans 1977 With about 125 people, the Nerves were traveling in a station wagon. AWESOME!

#5 Ricky Nelson at the Afterdark in Mentor. Just went back to his 'Ricky' moniker...a fantastic blend of his old stuff and Stone Canyon stuff...another perfect show!

I'd like to name another twenty...those are hard to top though.

[MJ]

Do you mean as to the music played perfectly or just the entire vibe of the show???

Mine according to vibe and not necessarily perfect music:

1) Raspberries HOB 2007

2) Aerosmith - hmmm sometime during the Pink/Jaded release - killer show - they also did songs from Honkin on Bo Bo which was killer blues-wise OMG.

3) Kiss Sydney Australia 4/2001 the first night.

4) Rick Springfield free concert at Vinoy Park last year

5) Bon Jovi - New Jersey Tour Lakeland Fl/ tied with Hysteria Tour Lakeland, FL - too close to call for me lol.

[hollies65]

Yeah, just the vibe of the show...take everything in account. When I saw Elvis...it was the old Elvis...but it was ELVIS! And he was in good voice.The fact that I saw Elvis was what made it watershed for me. The Raspberries on the other hand were just locked in at the State!

[Jay52]

Terrific thread and its just begun..

1.The Beach Boys-1976 at the old Chicago Stadium. A completely sold out show during their "Endless Summer/15 Big Ones" summer tour. That night, there was more love for the band than I've ever seen.

2.Elvis Presley-May 1977. Again at the Stadium, 8th row dead center and really overwhelming at times.

3.The Raspberries-Chicago reunion tour. The most exciting, electric, fans in a frenzy type show I've ever seen. The band was simply on fire and destroyed the place. Incredibly fun.

4.Paul McCartney- Soldiers Field Chicago 1989.

Outdoors and spectacular.

5.Bruce Springsteen during the "Magic" Tour. It was special for me cause it was my 1st time seeing him, I'm embarrassed to admit.

[missy]

1. Chicago w/ Earth, Wind and Fire at Red Rocks in Colorado-2005. EW&F was in their hometown so they were absolutely wild.

2. Chicago at the Greek Theater in L.A.-2000. because we got to go to the "after party" both nights.

3. Bob Seger at Boston Garden-2006. He played for almost three hours. Hit after hit some I had even forgotten. He's still got it!

4.Elton John/Billy Joel at Boston Garden-2001? We had lousy seats but I still had a great time.

5.Doobies/Foreigner at Great Woods-1993. When Lou Gramm was still with them.

[Anna R]

Great thread!

1)Rolling Stones w/ George Thorogood & The Destroyers (it was GA and we slept overnight and were some of the first ones in- front row!!)

2) Raspberries @ HOB Hollywood (a dream come true!)

3)Bruce Springsteen @ LA Coliseum

4)Rick Springfield @ HOB Anaheim

5) Michael Buble ( I had terrible seats but it was the BEST show!)

[angelina]

What an incredible thread..okay here goes....

1) - Concert for Bangla Desh (matinee)Summer 1971 - Madison Square Garden..my first concert...George Harrison, Ringo, leon Russell, Bob Dylan Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton and Billy Preston.

2) - Springsteen July 1985 - Wembley Stadium London. I was working in London back then...it was very cool to see him play across the pond.

3) - Raspberries - Summer 2005 (second show @ BB King's)The boys were so tight, the crowd was filled with stars, notably Jon Bon Jovi...and we were right up front against Wally & Paulie. The show was so good...it even made chatting with BeatleBum fun!

4)- Elton John Free Concert in Central Park 1980 for the absolute magnitude of humanity there.

5)- Elton John Thanksgiving 1974...that's when John Lennon came out and played with EJ.

John

side note ....concerts/shows I went to kicking and screaming thinking they would suck but were actually GREAT:

Patti LuPone, Wham, Peter Allen, Celine Dion, Kool & the Gang.

[Tim From Wisconsin]

Wow - Being a concert freak, this could be the hardest question I've ever seen on the message board! I'm going to have to put a bit of thought into this.

Tim

[Doug]

Love this topic!

1) Rush @ Vets Memorial, Columbus, OH, 1975. I know a lot of folks hate them, but I've loved them since this night when they just blew my teenage socks clean off.

2) Dave Edmunds @ Alrosa Villa, Columbus OH (Where Dimebag Darrell was killed) 1982. First post-Rockpile U.S. tour. Simply the best guitar playing I've ever seen/heard live!!

3) Raspberries 1st Reunion show 11/26/04 - still the best of all the Berry reunion shows I've seen(5?). VERY different set lists, arrangements, etc. from all the other shows. Plus, how can you beat the 1st Berry show in 30 years?? I cried.

4) Fountains Of Wayne @ Aloha Tower, Honolulu, HI (2003) - Fantastic band having a great night in a magical place!

5) Rolling Stones @ Cleveland Muni Stadium 7/1/78 Keith was awaiting word on his Canadian heroin-sales conviction sentence, and played like a house afire!

[Doug]

1) - Concert for Bangla Desh (matinee)Summer 1971

5)- Elton John Thanksgiving 1974...that's when John Lennon came out and played with EJ.

Holy smokes!! You went to BOTH of those?

...game over, man. We have a winner.

[James]

Hey Doug, I saw a bunch of concerts at Vets back in the mid-late 70s. In my concert going experiences Vets Memorial was the best venue of them all! I always seemed to be in the 8th or 9th row but all the seats were good..

And you're right, RUSH killed at Vets! Especially back then when they were playing stuff only from their first 4 or 5 albums..

[Tim From Wisconsin]

This would be tough even if it was "Top 50" but here are 5 for now in chronological order.

Supertramp w/ Pablo Cruise at the Milwaukee Arena on 5/20/77: This has always remained one of my favorites - Supertramp was astounding in concert!

Black Sabbath w/ Van Halen at the Milwaukee Arena on 8/22/78: Van Halen played their entire 1st album and pretty much blew the entire crowd away! Ozzy was just about on his way out of Sabbath, but they were still great!

Ozzy Osbourne w/ Def Leppard at Alpine Valley Music Theatre on 8/23/81: Def Leppard was supporting their "High and Dry" album and were very good. This was Ozzy's first full solo tour, I had front row seats, and he and his band (including the great Randy Rhodes R.I.P.) were incredible!!

Barbra Streisand at The Palace in Auburn Hills on 5/15/94: She had Marvin Hamlisch and a full orchestra with her and it was her first tour in over 30 years at that time. It was an amazing show. A once in a lifetime event!

Raspberries at the House of Blues in Chicago on 1/15/05: A band that I NEVER thought I'd have the opportunity to see hit the stage, and for 2+ hours I sang along, shed a few tears, but most of all I smiled a lot!!

There you go - Like I said, I could list dozens more, but the above were 5 of my favorites.

Tim

[Shelley]

David Cassidy...Providence Autotorium(before the Civic Center was built)..I think it was 1972, or 1973

Beach Boys...The old Narragansett Race track..Pawtucket, R.I....I think it was 1977 or 1978..can't remember

Earth, Wind and Fire...1981 in LA

NSYNC..Miami Beach 2004

Those are the ones that come to mind right now, I remember seeing Boston, but it was before they made it big...it was at a club in Naragansett, R.I

[Danny S.]

1)Van Halen at Music Hall, opened for Black Sabbath, and blew them off the stage.I was in the fourth row.

2)Kiss "Alive 2" at the Richfield Colisseum.Artful Dodger opened

3)Whitesnake at Public Hall, Vivian Campbell, Adrian Vandenberg, Rudy Sarzo, and Tommy Aldridge.Great lineup

4)Rush, Saw every Cleveland show from Chanel High School(1973) on , except for "Snakes And Arrows"(2007)

5) Raspberries at the State Theatre.The emotional high, as well as probably the best sound (acoustically) I have ever experienced.

[Drupelet]

Impossible to choose 5... but just off the top of my head:

1. Bruce Springsteen et al. M.U.S.E. Concerts @ MSG - Sept 1979

2. Brian Wilson - private party @ SOBs in NYC 1995

3. The Tubes - Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ 1976 (w/UK Squeeze)

4. Bob Dylan - Camden , NJ - July, 2000 - 3rd row, dead center, Bob sang every last song directly to me for 2 hrs!! Wild.

5. Roger McGuinn - Mt Tabor, NJ 1999 he ran through his greatest hits on his 12-string. I was the ONLY other person in the room! (backstage before the show. does that count?)

[Kirk]

I'll try to keep it to one each for Raspberries and Eric-

1- Eric at the Roxy, 1975 & 1976 (I fudged)

2- Raspberries HOB, Live On Sunset Strip

3- KROQ concert, L.A. Coliseum (ok, I'm fudging some more- Raspberries played there)

4- Cliff Richard (Santa Monica Civic & Greek Theatre)

5- Elton John at the Forum (around '74 or '75)

Tough choices...

[angelina]

Quote:

Originally posted by angelina:

1) - Concert for Bangla Desh (matinee)Summer 1971

5)- Elton John Thanksgiving 1974...that's when John Lennon came out and played with EJ.

Holy smokes!! You went to BOTH of those?

...game over, man. We have a winner.

Doug...the ironic thing is I've seen every Beatle EXCEPT for Sir Paul. I just couldn't bring myself to buy decent tickets from a broker his last tour...too much $$$$

Gotta love the fact that I actually liked the Wham concert. LOL :p

[Anna R]

WHAM! I love George Michael- saw him years ago in concert and he was fantastic! Great voice.

He sure could shake his booty...

[Ecstasy]

In no particular order:

Aerosmith - Allstate Arena, Chicago, Nov 2007

Raspberries - State Theatre, Cleveland Dec 2007

Rod Stewart - MGM Grand, Las Vegas Aug 2008

Moody Blues - Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas Mar 2008

Ides of March - Chicago, Dec 2008

[bahoodore]

1) Raspberries in Cleveland 30 years to the day!!!

2) Brian Wilson, front row centre about 7 years ago

3) Paul McCartney at the Montreal Forum: Thanks Marvin

4) Jackson Browne at a small 300 seater in Barre Vermont - 2008

5)Styx at the Metropolis in Montreal....a very small club....this was about 5 years ago

[sterling]

Paul McCartney - October 2005 United Center Chicago....Just a great concert that Sir Paul performed with no intermission for 3 hours and ran through 37 songs

Raspberries - January 2005 Chicago HOB - Just a totally electric concert that the entire crowd was wired to a really tight band.

Beach Boys, The Left Bank, Electric Prunes and Keith - February 1967.. Bradley University Peoria, IL....another classic concert with a diverse set of performers

The Four Seasons - October 1967 Bradley University Peoria, Il ...What can you say about this classic American band.

Doc Severinson Band - Bradley University March 1972 Bradley University Peoria, IL....wow what an entertainer and trumpeter!

[hollies65]

Impossible to choose 5... but just off the top of my head:

1. Bruce Springsteen et al. M.U.S.E. Concerts @ MSG - Sept 1979

2. Brian Wilson - private party @ SOBs in NYC 1995

3. The Tubes - Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ 1976 (w/UK Squeeze)

4. Bob Dylan - Camden , NJ - July, 2000 - 3rd row, dead center, Bob sang every last song directly to me for 2 hrs!! Wild.

5. Roger McGuinn - Mt Tabor, NJ 1999 he ran through his greatest hits on his 12-string. I was the ONLY other person in the room! (backstage before the show. does that count?)

No...your last pick is cheating.I watched Jeff Beck and Jimmy page run through Becks Bolero, a bunch of Zep and Yardbirds in Becks dressing room at The HOF inductions. No rehersals allowed! Heh.

[CubbiefanMike]

1) Raspberries Concert 2005 Chicago House of Blues

2) Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" Tour

3) Rush "Grace Under Pressure" Tour 1984

4) Genesis "Mama" Tour 1983

5) Police "Synchronicity" tour 1983

[Billy K.]

(1) Beach Boys SF Civic Dec '74- OK my first major concert, but they were really ON that night....I think, if they weren't, I wouldn't have gotten gung-ho to go to concerts(as in averaging once a month) One of those "stars in alignment" deals.

(2) Raspberries, NYC BB King second show. Another "stars in alignment", and then some. Was more than happy to see them the first show, but the second show, WOW! (But you all know that!)

(3) Elton John and Ray Cooper- at Berkeley. Elton

played the first set solo, and the second set with just him and Cooper(no bass, no guitars).

Quite amazing!!

(4) Glykeria. (Who? You say?) One of the top singers in Greece, decides to do a "spur of the moment" concert, summer 1998, in some remote town there.

And a free show, at that. Needless to say, she has quite a dynamic stage presence, and connecting with the crowd.

(5)Earth Wind and Fire, Oakland 1978(?). Excellent musicianship, and showmanship!

[wallytosa]

Wow, tough question, but I'll give it a go, in no particular order:

Elton John & Billy Joel - 1994? - Milwaukee County Stadium - Front row seats - leaned against the stage for the long encore.

Raspberries - HOB - First reunion show, Nov. 2004. - It was magical.

Yes - In the Round, Milwaukee Area - 1979, I think. 10th row on the floor.

Burton Cummings & Randy Bachman - Nightclub in Madison - early 1990s.

Ringo & his All-Starr band featuring Burton Cummings, Dave Edmunds, Nils Lofgren, Todd Rundgren, Timothy B Schmidt, Starr's son Zak Starkey, and Joe Walsh - Milwaukee Summerfest Ampitheater 1992 - 5th row center. I got to see a Beatle, not to mention other greats!