What was the best concert you've ever been to?
Posted by: hungryhalibut on 10 March 2017
The best concert I ever went to was The Smiths in November 1983, at Leicester Poly. I went with my friends Keith and Hat Top, and Keith's two brothers. The older brother was a miner (the UK had mines back then) and I recall him wearing his miner's helmet, complete with torch. The band we just superb, and played three encores. They didn't have many songs written, so had to play a couple twice! It was just the most wonderful evening.
The other best, and I can't really divide then, was Joy Division and The Buzzcocks at Bangor University, in October 1979. It was my first year at Uni and I want with my friends Tim, Frank and Marten. It was in the Refectory, and despite the sound being ropey and the fact that the full lighting rig couldn't be used because there wasn't enough power, it was just wonderful. Joy Division were such a high energy band live, very different to their two albums. It was so hot that the walls were running with sweat. Of course, we were all dripping with sweat and after turning out into the Welsh evening and walking back to our hall, we all ended up in bed with dreadful colds. But it was worth it. And only £2.50 too.
A couple of years later one of my friends told be that he was having lunch in the refectory on the day of the gig and four mancunians joined him at the table. If was only when the band came onstage that he realised who they were.
forgot springsteen in cologne, some years ago, pre tour concert, few days before christmas. Clarence Clemons with a red christmas cap on his head was very special 
I've got a number.
First of all, my first-ever concert: Pink Floyd at the Empire Pool, Wembley on the Animals tour - Saturday 19th March 1977, 40 years ago this month, scarily enough.
My big cousin, who was 10 years older than me, took me along. I was just 14 at the time, any my mind was well and truly blown. The Floyd played all of Animals first half, all of Wish You Were Here in the second, and "Money" as an encore.
I'd never seen anything so big, heard anything so loud or seen so much blue hash fug. I still have the ticket stub somewhere - £2.50 I think it cost. 
Kevin-W posted:christoph posted:Pink Floyd 1986 in Dortmund, my second concert ever. music light, everything was perfect. Blown away for many days.
Sorry to be a pedant, but Pink Floyd played no concerts in 1986. Do you mean June 1988?
sorry, you are right!!
Richard Morris posted:Van Morrison at the Rainbow in 1973.
Which just goes to show
If we had a worst concerts thread, this would be one of mine. I was a huge Morrison fan, bought everything on spec etc. At that gig I thought he resented the audience being there, resented his musicians and treated his own songs with complete disrespect. Never bought another of his albums.
Went with a friend who loved every grumpy, miserable minute of it though
Gary Shaw posted:Richard Morris posted:Van Morrison at the Rainbow in 1973.
Which just goes to show
If we had a worst concerts thread, this would be one of mine. I was a huge Morrison fan, bought everything on spec etc. At that gig I thought he resented the audience being there, resented his musicians and treated his own songs with complete disrespect. Never bought another of his albums.
Went with a friend who loved every grumpy, miserable minute of it though
Ah! If we had a worst concert thread, it would definitely be Bob Dylan about three years ago in Cardiff. I went with a mate after deciding that seeing his Bobness was one of those things that had to be done in life. He crucified every song. He didn't play any guitar, rather just hovered behind a small electronic keyboard. We left before the end. Dreadful.
Clive B posted:Gary Shaw posted:Richard Morris posted:Van Morrison at the Rainbow in 1973.
Which just goes to show
If we had a worst concerts thread, this would be one of mine. I was a huge Morrison fan, bought everything on spec etc. At that gig I thought he resented the audience being there, resented his musicians and treated his own songs with complete disrespect. Never bought another of his albums.
Went with a friend who loved every grumpy, miserable minute of it though
Ah! If we had a worst concert thread, it would definitely be Bob Dylan about three years ago in Cardiff. I went with a mate after deciding that seeing his Bobness was one of those things that had to be done in life. He crucified every song. He didn't play any guitar, rather just hovered behind a small electronic keyboard. We left before the end. Dreadful.
thats Dylan, you like him or not i like his destruction of his songs every night, it is always the resurrection of a new one...
Another one was my first (and, sadly only) Grateful Dead show. It was at Wembley Arena on Hallowe'en night, 1990. That show began my love affair with the Dead, whom I'd dismissed previously as a bunch of creaky old hippie has-beens.
I was taken there by my editor at the time, who was writing a feature on the Dead for one of the national newspapers. In exchange for a free ticket and £100, I was to get some "local colour" - ie interview the fans.
They were an extraordinary bunch - mostly Americans who'd made the trip over or who were resident here in Blighty. Many of them had seen the Dead hundreds of times. There were the tapers, jealously guarding their position in front of the enormous sound dessk, many of them with Walkman Pros and Nagra reel-to-reels plugged into mikes on very high stand; there were the refugeees from "the Phil Zone", Deadheads who stood in front of Lesh's bass rig, hoping to have their skulls reshaped by a "Phil Bomb".
Most interestingly there was a guy next to me who was using a stopwatch and frantically writing stuff in a notebook. During the interval I asked him what he was doing; he replied that he timed Jerry's guitar solos and rated them out of 10. He then shared the information on a "Usenet newsgroup on the internet", he explained.
What's a usenet newsgroup? I asked (this was 27 years ago, remember). The Deadhead then explained that there were a lot of computers connected together by phone lines, and that you could share information (and even pictures and sound clips) with other like-minded computer users. Thousands of Deadheads swapped setlists, reviews, stories, gossip etc in this way, he said. It would be the future of communication if it could be made faster and more reliable, he concluded. Looks like he knew something... 
Jerry's voice was shot that but his guitar playing was magnificent. I was also impressed with the quad sound system, the best I had heard outside of a Pink Floyd show. The gig (not one of the Dead's best, admittedly, but it was more than good enough for me) was like going to the biggest party ever, with 14,000 freaked-out revellers united around a common cause.
And i've loved the Dead ever since. In fact, I'm listening to them now.
Kevin-W posted:I've got a number.
First of all, my first-ever concert: Pink Floyd at the Empire Pool, Wembley on the Animals tour - Saturday 19th March 1977, 40 years ago this month, scarily enough.
My big cousin, who was 10 years older than me, took me along. I was just 14 at the time, any my mind was well and truly blown. The Floyd played all of Animals first half, all of Wish You Were Here in the second, and "Money" as an encore.
I'd never seen anything so big, heard anything so loud or seen so much blue hash fug. I still have the ticket stub somewhere - £2.50 I think it cost.
I think that's the one I went to Kevin. Drove up to London from Pompey with a mate in his MG Midget. Mooched around the many Hi-fi stores in Tottenham Court Road in the afternoon, then over to Wembley. I seem to recall we popped over to Heathrow Airport on the way back when they still had an observation facility but because it was dark couldn't see much more than coloured lights. Bloody cold and draughty driving back in the early hours with that crude canvas roof but a bl**dy good day. Wish I still had my ticket stub.
Kevin-W posted:I've got a number.
First of all, my first-ever concert: Pink Floyd at the Empire Pool, Wembley on the Animals tour - Saturday 19th March 1977, 40 years ago this month, scarily enough.
My big cousin, who was 10 years older than me, took me along. I was just 14 at the time, any my mind was well and truly blown. The Floyd played all of Animals first half, all of Wish You Were Here in the second, and "Money" as an encore.
I'd never seen anything so big, heard anything so loud or seen so much blue hash fug. I still have the ticket stub somewhere - £2.50 I think it cost.
Hi Kev, That was my second gig after Bowie Isolar. I'm a couple of years older than you. I would have been 17 at the time of the Floyd gig. We were still at school locally in Kingsbury. They released restricted view tickets on the day and a mate bunked off school to get a few of those tickets. Yeah it was a classic as well.
prem.