Top 5 concerts?

The  five come to mind most often ,

Echo and the Bunnymen,, Birmingham Odeon 1984 ish

One of the first gigs i ever went to so tend to think of this with rose tinted hearing.. loud and sweaty and a lot of big spiked  hair is all i seem to remember and getting a very slow cold bus home humming zimbo zimbo zimbo,,,,,

PJ Harvey  Wolverhampton , 1991 or 92 

 just as the debut album was released. A mate of mine dragged me along to this gig in what was then more or less  a room above  a pub to see this great new singer he had heard..( my claim to phj harvey fame is having shared a hello with  polly in the bar before she went on stage sad but true), also stood next to her watching moonshake some years later ,though she didnt recognise me)  3 piece polly harvey ,, very raw but fantastic , been a fan ever since and have seen her to many times to count since then.

Nirvana 1993 or 94 ,,

Birmingham hummingbird as was,, the gig of  a lifetime,,  captain america supported ,,  Nirvana were superb and  at there peak i would argue . Noisy, hot, energetic ,the atmosphere was incredib  ewaiting for  them to come on stage .  mosh pit covered the downstairs of the venue  crowd surfing ,,deaf for a week after . aaaaaaaaaahh heaven !

Brakes,,2005 ish  some gig  pub in Derby near the train station,,cant remember what it was called but  basically the band were great ,,  one of the best live bands you can see . again small venue with 40 people in it . one of those had to be there nights.

Half Man half buiscuit , shrewsbury severn theatre 2010 ,,,,,,,,,,,  national shite day .. just every thing needed for middle aged gig going ..

 this list is likely to change depending on mood what i am listening to at the time and my long term memory being triggered ,

TWP

1. Van Morrison & The Caledonia Soul Orchestra - Birmingham Town Hall (about 1973?) Before he became Mr Grumpy. He was in the bar with fans, approachable and seemed to be enjoying himself. A great selection of songs and a stirring performance in my favourite venue.

2. John Stewart, The Junction Pub, Harborne, Birmingham - about 2000? Ever since "The Phoenix Concerts" album, I had loved this guy. Managed to see him several times in the midlands but here was a man who played to 3 or 4 thousand crowds in the states playing to about 200 people in my (nearly) local!

May have got the year wrong because the time has flown since his death.

3. Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis and Lindisfarne - Birmingham Town Hall, about 1970/71. Cost all of 6 shillings (30pence) to get in. I wish I could remember PG's story about a light bulb in his nose, I recall it was very funny at the time but it must have been the Ansell's mild we had quaffed in the bar.

It would seem from the above that all my gigs have been in the dim and distant past but I have attended regularly since the late 60's, it's just that there are not many people I would pay a lot to see anymore  - or they are dead. So to cap it to 5, a few recent ones

4. The Darkside - Kidderminster Rose Theater recently. I generally do not go to see "tribute" bands but these were down the road and were very, very good! Not as good as The Australian Pink Floyd but you have to get your Fat Old Sun fix whenever you can.

5. The Trevor Burton Band - Plays at my local occasionally, maybe 300 yards away and there is always the chance that a Mr Robert Plant may pop in and get up.

Otherwise most Richard Thompson ELECTRIC gigs and about 1 in 10 Fall gigs. Hoping that Neil and Crazy Horse would be on this list next year.

Have a good weekend

Ron

In no particular order....

Nirvana at the Reading festiival - Curt Cobain being pushed onto stage in a wheelchair and dressed in a surgical gown.  Gets out of the chair, croaks a few words before collapsing onto the stage.  Band then fly into the most ferocious set.

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - seen many times, each one as good as the previous.  I have never seen a mosh pit so big and so busy.

Echo and The Bunnymen - Hammersmith Palais, early 80s.  Being in the mosh pit and being lifted off my feet and carried from side to side by the crowd.  Both electrifying and scary at the same time!  Awesome band, great songs!

Sex Pistols - Just too young to see them the first time around but have seen them on their many reunion tours.  Couldn't care less about the grey hair and the beer bellies - they still have something that sends a tingle up my spine when they start playing.

Suede - saw them somewhere in Norwich (I think).  Great tunes and a great atmosphere.

These are the best i can think of at the moment.  However, ask me tomorrow and I may come up with a different 5......

In no particular order . . .

• Page & Plant "No Quarter" March 1995, US Air Arena (Washington DC area). I'd never seen Led Zep and so this was a treat.  And the sound quality and productions, including the backing orchestra, were just fabulous.  The hurdy gurdy to open Kashmir -- woo that was memorable.
• Supertramp "Even in the Quietest Moments" tour August 1978, Williamsburg, Virginia.  My first rock concert ever, and I was and am still a huge Supertramp fan.  The video with the hands on the jail bars appearing during Crime of the Century, and the train video during Rudy, I remember like it was yesterday.
• Roger Waters "The Wall" 2010, Boston.  What else can I say?
• Paul McCartney, "World Tour" 1990, Washington DC.  My first time seeing a Beatle perform live, and to see all those Sgt. Peppers and Abbey Road songs performed live was a huge thrill.
• The Grateful Dead, Chinese New Years Jan. 1991, Oakland (Calif.) Coliseum.  The opening act was the Greater San Francisco Chinese Orchestra, playing traditional instruments. A Chinese New Year parade in the middle of a Grateful Dead show, complete with a giant dragon, and a very rare late-era performance of New Speedway Boogie.  Stood on the floor surrounded by hippies twirling.

• David Bowie-Glastonbury 2000

We were miles away from the stage and it was the last Glasto before the "super fence" went up so most of the crowd didn't have tickets. Some reports said there was 250,000 people there and I can believe that.

• The National-Stoke Sugar Mill 2007  

My favourite band. I've seen them 5 times now but this was the best. The Sugar Mill has a great atmosphere.

• James-Manchester GMEX 2008

A great homecoming gig. Tim Booth started off at the back of the venue and sang Lose Control while he walked through the crowd to the stage. We were stood right at the front. The crowd were amazing that night. I can't bring myself to go and see James again because I know it won't be the same.

• Neil Young and Crazy Horse-Fleadh Festival, Finsbury Park 2001

I'd seen Neil once before at Glasgow SECC but didn't really enjoy it. The venue and the setlist weren't great. This time he lived up to his reputation and put on an amazing show. Gary Moore also played that day.

• New Order-Manchester Versus Cancer, MEN Arena 2006

I was never a huge New Order fan and I mainly went to this charity gig to see Elbow, Doves and Johnny Marr who were all great but they were completely blown away by New Order. Their set consisted entirely of Joy Division songs.  The setlist was Transmission, She's Lost Control, Shadowplay, Atmosphere, Twenty Four Hours, Warsaw, Love Will Tear Us Apart and Ceremony. Amazing! 

No particular order:-

1981 Brighton Bruce S

1979 Knebworth Led Zep

Pick one of 10+ Richard Thompson Concerts

ELO "Spaceship" tour.

Steve Hackett Tunnel tour.

Very difficult to choose 5 from all the concerts I saw over the years. I could easily choose five from 2 festivals I went to in 1970. Led Zeppelin were brilliant headlining at the Bath Festival that year but the 1975 concert at Earls Court is probably the best Zep concert I went to. I remember John Mayall putting on a good set with Peter Green on guitar and it was my first introduction to the music of the Mothers.

At the IOW Festival I was lucky to see 2 legends before they subsequently died; Hendrix and Morrison. When I say 'see', we were at least 100yards away and for the Doors set it was played in almost total darkness. But at least I can say I was there. 

Of indoor concerts I would have to include:

David Bowie 'Ziggy Stardust Tour' Torquay 1972. When I first discovered the 'Dame'.

Led Zeppelin Earls Court 1975

The Who Wembley 1975

Bob Dylan Earls Court 1978

Neil Young Wembley 1982. The loudest 3hr set ever heard in the arena.

These were all great concerts by great artists where I had good seats.

Led Zep - Newcastle Mayfair 1971(?). Midway John Bonham did a 10 minute drum solo - cue mass exodus to bar. They ended with a rock and roll medley that still makes me smile and my jaw drop.

The Who, Alex Harvey etc. - Charlton. Mid 70's. Pi**ed down most of the day but fantastic Won't Get Fooled again.

Rodrigo and Gabriella - Shepherds Bush a couple of years ago. Flipping Blink!!!

Johnny Winter - Newcastle City Hall 1972(?) easily the best concert and guitarist I have ever seen. Buy the expanded 2nd  Winter album with the live stuff on it. You won't be dissapointed.

Chris Woods - Acoustic maestro  at a guitar retreat in Bude last weekend. Top bloke and hairs on the back of the neck songs.

Dave

Not really ranked as such but:

1. Genesis - Portsmouth Guildhall about '71. I actually went to see Van der Graaf Generator and, difficult to believe now, Genesis was the warm-up act! They performed the newly released Nursery Cryme and I was hooked. Peter Gabriel was both mad and brilliant. Can't remember a thing about VdGG.

2. Floyd - Wembley arena when Animals was released. I was stunned by the care and attention to detail put into setting up the whole performance in both sound and visuals. How could they do such things live? Clearly aristocrats of the rock world.  

3. Tull - Portsmouth Guildhall early seventies on the Thick as a Brick tour. I remember the band disappearing inside this hastily erected camping tent on stage midway through the performance. Mad but great. These guys seemed to be having fun and Ian Anderson has such charisma. 

4. Pink Fairies - South Parade Pier Portsmouth. Early seventies. Had never heard of the band but someone said they had heard the band had been deported from Australia so they had to wild, didn't they? They were. Played Never, Never Land and had two drummers. Pure, mad, raw rock (the band seemed to sink without much trace not much later).

5. Dire Straits - Brighton early eighties. Yes, I know my inclusion of DS will cause a groan among many forum members but it was fantastic concert and I was hugely impressed that the band could produce such quality renditions of their ablums at tolerable sound levels where you would have noticed the failings had they been there. And the band members really demonstrated their skill as musicians. Hugely professional.   

Happy days.

MDS

Although not live music's greatest advocate there have been some memorable concerts ... 

Dates are approximate  

1. Planxty ... 1975 in Southampton: great band and loved it when they asked the audience to stop with the synchronised clapping ,,, brilliant   
2. Half Man Half Biscuit - 2007 in Cambridge (goes without saying they were every I expected and not too far from Chatteris -= a market town quintessence, but I think there was a drive by shouting once)   
3. 10CC ... 1976 in Southampton - brilliant group and at no time did feel the urge to load up with rubber bullets
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1970 at Royal Albert Hall with quintessence as backing band who really weren't very good, but when JC Fogerty took centre stage I felt like a fortunate son.  
5. Pink Floyd - 1967 in Chelmsford when they were at their best - I can't even remember what they played - free gates of may? (I saw PF again at Knebworth and Syd wasn't well he stayed back at the hotel - they were good, but the Captain and Roy Harper were there and were very difficult acts to follow)

Genesis - Earls Court 24 June 1977 - my first concert and still the best. I was 15 and overwhelmed. 

Rush - Hammersmith Odeon February 1978 - I was blown away. Check out the Different Stages CD.

Led Zeppellin - Knebworth 4 August 1979 - not their best but I was there and too young for the Earls Court In '75.

The Police - Reading 24 August 1979 - we didn't expect much but found ourselves watching the birth of one of the great groups. I saw them again at Wembley Arena in 1984 but the magic was gone. Message in a Bottle was released a few days after Reading.

Prince - O2 Arena August 2007 - unforgettable. He owned the place.

i've been to many great gigs but it's those early ones that live with me Most vividly. I suppose it helps to be a teenager, especially in the era before YouTube and MTV.

Talking of dim and distant I was at that gig but I seem to remember it was at Birmingham roller(or ice) rink!

Other faves:- (Only 5!!! crikey that's tough)

Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band..Free Trade Hall Manchester,twice in the early/mid seventies.

Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon....Manchester Palace I think!

Genesis.. The Lamb Lies Down...as above.

Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green et al.) Wolverhampton Town Hall 70/71ish

Led Zepplin....The Belfry Ballroom Sutton Coalfield(yes,that Belfry!) 70/71 ish (70 pence per ticket IIRC)

Radiohead in Sydney about 8 or 9 years ago.

Their 'On Every Street' tour is at least in my top 10!

Cheers!

Ian Dury - Southampton Gaumont c1980

Finale was the whole crowd on their feet singing F+*king Ada at the tops of their lungs.  I've never experienced anything else like it before or since.

Thin Lizzy - Black Rose Tour, Ipswich Gaumont 1979

Best gig of my schooldays by far.  Moore & Gorham on lead guitars, Lynott in his pomp - fantastic!

Little Feat - Hammersmith Odeon, 1989

Alas I was too young for Little Feat with the late, great Lowell George.  This was their first reunion tour with Fred Tackett and Craig Fuller taking the place of the great man.  Hayward, Gradney and Clayton just blew me away, the best and tightest rhythm section ever.

Gregg Allman - Symphony Hall, Birmingham 2011

OK his voice isn't what it was, but he lives his music and seeing him perform really brings home what great songs have come from his pen - Please Call Home went up my playlist about 100 places off the back of this gig.  NB Tift Merritt as support was quite superb too.

BB King - Hammersmith Odeon c1985

Very difficult to pick out one BB King gig, should it be The Hexagon Reading in 1989 when I got a handshake, or the Royal Albert Hall in the 90's when he brought a soporific audience who been "blissed out" on 90 mins of jazz noodling to its feet within 2 numbers, or his Wembley Arena farewell that turned out not to be a farewell after-all, although I'm convinced that at the time he thought it would be.

In the end it has to be the first time I saw him, a last minute decision, standing room only at the back of the stalls (my how those days have gone), terrible view but nearly 30 years on still hands down the best concert experience of my life and the jumping off point for all those other great BB King concert memories.

I'd like to cheat and add some honourable mentions for those who just missed the cut and would have made it if this had been a top 10 - Texas, The Blues Band, Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne and Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert.   

Olly

Saw The Pogues and Waterboys on a  joint bill at Nottingham Rock City probably 1985. I was not a great fan of either but it was utterly insane. The entire crowd was carried along and ended the night in a vast sweaty heap.

Honourable mention to Jools Holland and his band, who we booked for our University Ball. He played for hours, had a break and then just carried on because he was having fun. He was thoroughly charming on and off stage. I would never buy (or even listen) to his records but it was a top night.

Final one. A totally spontaneous decision after reading a poster on a Parisien church. Just four men, a marvellous acoustic and the most spine tingling atmospheric medieval choral performance. The audience was spellbound. No idea who they were or what they sung but it was magical.

In general live acts have disappointed me more often than not. Rarely go now.

Bruce

I've been looking for my ticket stub collection of the gigs I've attended since the late 70's, but can't find them. Off the top of my head then ....

Paul McCartney - Cardiff 2010. The first concert we went to as a family, my daughters' introduction to live music.

New Model Army - The Marquee, early 80's. It was my first trip to London and I just wanted to go to The Marquee, it didn't matter who was playing. A great gig, as it turned out.

Baz Warne - Berwick on Tweed, about 10 years ago. A friend and I were walking the Northumberland coast and ended up in Berwick on the last evening. We went into a small pub/venue called The Barrel House and caught Baz Warne (Stranglers) doing a small, acoustic set. A man and a guitar, sometimes that's all it takes.

Rolling Stones - Roundhay Park, Leeds 1981. My first outdoor concert. Wonderful weather, support acts were Joe Jackson & J.Geils Band. Saw them again on the Voodoo Lounge tour but the first time is always the best

Live aid - Wembley 1985. Not the "greatest" concert musically but this thread is all to do with memories. A bit like "Desert Island Gigs" really.

I saw IDATB in the mid eighties in Australia. Yes, remarkable and memorable.

I hoarded all mine as well as posters and programmes but they all went missing during my divorce in the '90s. 

Steve

I have also been looking all morning, for my ticket stub collection of the gigs I've attended since the late 60s, Found then in a vintage Doc Martin's shoe box .

1.City (Oval) Hall- Sheffield. The Steve Wounder Show. Friday 14th March 1969. Balcony 7/6.

2.City (Oval) Hall- Sheffield.Led Zeppelin In Person. Friday January 16th 1970.Stalls 15/-.

3. Emerson Lake & Plamer. Tuesday 27th October (no year on ticket) Stalls 15/-.

4.City (Oval) Hall- Sheffield.Lou Reed Saturday September (no year on ticket) Stalls £1.30 including vat.

4..City (Oval) Hall- Sheffield.Ian Dury and The Blockheads Wednesday June 7th(no year on ticket) Grand Circle £2.50 including vat.

5..City (Oval) Hall- Sheffield.Daryl Hall & John Oates Tuesday 18th January (no year on ticket) Stalls £2.50 including vat.

Looks like I did not have to leave Sheffield until about 1984.They all came to me!.

Regards Graham. 

Wow, great idea for a thread, this is really tough though, as I've been to so many gigs over the years it really hard to remember them all let alone pick 5, and to be honest I think I've only been to a couple of stinkers, basically Michael Jackson and Madonna, I was a lot younger then and didn't know any better.

Something like this though - 

1, Bruce Springsteen July 4th 1985 (Independance Day) Wembley Stadium.

Not to be too dramatic but this changed my life, I only knew Born in the USA at the time, but I had never seen anything like this before, over 4 hours of energy and amazing rock music, the next day I rushed out and spent my whole weeks wages on Bruce's entire back catalogue, to this day I still follow him around Europe.

2, Radiohead May 22nd 1997 Barcelona Zeleste

I was in Barcelona for the F1 GP and Radiohead were playing just down the road, can't remember how we managed to blag tickets but what a show, only a small venue and it was just before OK Computer was released so it was the first time anyone had heard the tracks that has gone on to be one of the greatest albums of all time.

3, Prince July 25th 1988 Wembley Arena

Prince at the height of his creativity with a stage show to match, I remember it being extremely hot from so much dancing, I've seen prince many times since but this was certainly the best.

4, Rammstein February 25th 2012 Birmingham NEC

This is probably the most extravagant stage show I have ever seen, fire and explosions everywhere, I still can't figure how they get away with it in this health and safety gone mad nation we live in today, can't wait to see them again next year.

5, Bruce Springsteen June 28th 2003 San Siro Stadium Wembley 

This was an amazing gig for several reasons, firstly the Italians love Bruce like no other, the atmosphere was electric, then there was the weather, there was the mother of all storms, we were on the pitch and got totally drenched, but Bruce came out into the rain and joined us in the soaking, and lastly, I'd just got married and this was part of our honeymoon, you can't ask for better than that.

Great memories all of them and I still hope there will be better gigs still to come 

Likewise. Victoria Hall Hanley. Stunning live performance which is only held from my top 5 by the enormity of those gigs listed.

I could name many great live bands as I'm sure all on here could, but I'll add 3  worth a very special mention and note that the 3 'front men' were exceptional. Ian Dury,Alex Harvey(SAHB) and Gary Holton(Heavy Metal Kids).

Great thread - love seeing everyones faves.

Can't cut it down, so this is chronologically the first 5 of my all time top 20 (or so) gigs

1. Pink Floyd - Earls Court 1981.  Other than Live 8 this was the last time the four of them played together.  My fist ever gig.  Totally overwhelmed by the music, the spectacle and the volume - I had no idea gigs were so loud!

2. Echo & The Bunnymen - Guildford Civic 1984.  Couldn't see them for dry ice for the the first 15 mins.  On form they were superb live - even Macs vocals didn't seem too bad.

3. The Larks - Portsmouth Poly 1987.  Criminally unsuccessful.  Saw them loads of times & they had a big following (well, about a hundred) in Pompey.  Check out 'Live in London 1986' on YouTube.  I think one of the brass section is now in Jools Hollands band. 

4. BB King - Portsmouth Guildhall 1989.  I've never seen anyone else with BBs ability to make you cry one minute, and be in stitches of laughter the next.

5. Napalm Death - The Gaiety, South Parade Pier, Portsmouth 1989.  Part of a hardcore triple bill - the perfect antidote to doing my finals!  While they were tuning up I was chatting to (drummer) Mick Harris at the bar.  He cut the conversation short to run onto the stage and attack the drums like his life depended on it.  Latter day incarnations of the band have sadly lost a yard or two of pace.

I'll cheat a bit but must mention Aphex Twin (esp the Wendy House show), Melt Banana, Melvins, Mogwai, Shellac, Cate Le Bon, Gorky's, The Fall, The Pixies, Neil Young (at the Fleadh), Spiritualized who have also given me untold pleasure over the years.

Mark

Deep Purple, Greens Playhouse, Glasgow, February 1971.

My first real headbanging rock concert and and unforgettable experience. They'd just hit the peak of their power and popularity and it was a major event. I'd seen Roy Orbison a couple of years before on one of those 60s tours including dancers, comedians etc and a big act who played for half an hour and it was enjoyable but the intensity of Purple was overwhelming and a complete shock in a good way. I had no idea live music could sound as good and the Greens balcony was bouncing all night.

The Who, Greens, November 1971.

The finale with the searchlights on the audience singing See Me Feel Me was magical. They were so overwhelmed by the crowd that they arranged an extra date at the end of the tour which was equally memorable.

Bob Dylan, Earls Court, 1978.

We started queuing two nights before tickets went on sale but the police moved us on after a few hours and had to start again the following night. We ended up with fabulous seats, dead centre, row E stalls, far better than a few friends who'd bought theirs in London. We saw a couple of lads who'd shared the whole queuing experience with us but they were so drunk they passed out before the show started. What a waste.

The concert was unbelievable. Fantastic sound, fantastic lights, fantastic performance. I remember looking behind me and couldn't actually see the back of the arena so I've no idea what the folk there thought.

Bruce Springsteen, Wembley Arena, 1981.

Two consecutive evenings from six as far as I remember. Each night was three hours of blistering rock'n'roll and we all went back to my best mate's sister's flat in Fulham completely exhausted but high as kites.

Brian Wilson, Clyde Auditorium, February 2002.

We all went assuming this would be the only chance we'd have to see Brian. It was more a religious experience than a concert. He was fragile, vocals not always the best and often relied on his magnificent band to keep him going. But it was simply the most memorable concert experience I've ever had. I literally played nothing but his solo and Beach Boys albums for six months after. I've seen him six or seven times since then, many of them musically superior to this first one, but nothing else has affected me more than that did.