MOMENTS AT CONCERTS THAT LIVE IN THE MEMORY

[leddy]

You know what I mean when you think back to the gigs you have been to , some moments just bring a shiver up your spine or a smile.

1- Kashmir - Led Zeppelin O2 arena 2007

Thinking of this does make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up The pounding riff, the light show, the crowd jumping, the floor shaking and just being there after the journey of getting a ticket makes this a special moment.

2- Highway Star - Deep Purple Knebworth 1985

Jon Lord playing Bach as they came on stage then kicking into the duh duh duh riff building the song up and realising I was seeing the classic Mk II lineup. It was wet, very wet, but again its a moment I will never forget

3- Mozart Flute Concerto- My Dad B.S.O Winter Gardens 1977

Please forgive me for self endulgence on this one, there were a few candidates, but none that could really take the place of this. Seeing my dad play a concerto at a wee age always makes me smile, His playing was really wonderful and as my dad is my thoughts at the mo this is up there ! You could hear a pin drop when he played a cadenza in the Mozart Flute Concerto ! My heart was in my mouth as I saw him up there and although I saw him many many times play, this one is the one I always remember the most.

Edited August 31, 2008 by leddy

[Bring Them On Back]

I've only been to one but it was when I heard the intro of Run to the Hills (Iron Maiden) in February. And I wish I'd been there when Hendrix set fire to his guitar

[chef free]

3. Inca Roads- Zappa Plays Zappa, 2006, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, perfection!

2. Sheltering Sky- King Crimson, 1981, Second Day Late Show, Old Waldorf, San Francisco, Fripp actually stood up!

1. Dark Star- Grateful Dead, 1978, New Years Eve, Winterland, San Francisco, !

[leddy]

3. Inca Roads- Zappa Plays Zappa, 2006, Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, perfection!

2. Sheltering Sky- King Crimson, 1981, Second Day Late Show, Old Waldorf, San Francisco, Fripp actually stood up!

1. Dark Star- Grateful Dead, 1978, New Years Eve, Winterland, San Francisco, !

My mate is a huge Grateful Dead fan ! He saw theem a few times in the 70's

[JethroTull]

1. Yes in 1974 - Throwing up during John Martyn's opening set

2. Bruce Springsteen in 1976 - I took a sweet little cutie pie to that show and didn't try to get any action afterwards.

3. Jethro Tull, Robin Trower and Rory Gallagher at Shea Stadium in 1976 - Some dick lights my parka on fire during a rain drenched show.

[Gegenschein]

Sorry, too drunk at the moment to remember two other moments or even type properly... but still capable of sharing this one:

It must have been somewhere in 1995-96(?) we went to a few small performances in Glendale public library - mostly ethnic/folk music, the unusual stuff. One time it happened to be Hans Olson. Well, see here, I do respect the guy. The little problem is - he thinks what he's playing is blues. So sorry, but blues it ain't. I don't care how many greats he'd played with, the true sad story is that the gap between Mr. Olson and real blues was so wide that back in 1995/96 we decided to make up for our disappointment by seeking out some real stuff.

As luck had it, some true north Mississippi blues was about to arrive in town, in the form of R.L.Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. We wasted no time turning up at the Rhythm Room, and there he was

we were shocked at the fact that the musicians at the venue damn near outnumbered the audience... the place was almost empty... we were among the very few lucky to witness the outstanding, inspired performance... and one unforgettable moment.

A moment in time which still defies description, after all these years, but I'll try.

I'm not sure what he was playing - Nick thinks it was Robert Jonhson's Walking Blues - and he was doing it solo, just the guitar and him. Yes, it was just the old black dude sitting on a chair playing guitar, but suddenly something unspeakable happened. Suddenly, the time stood still, and the immense power coming from this guy's guitar sound took hold, and it was fucking scary. I think he stole a glance at the audience from under his visor and it didn't even seem human. No lightning from the sky, but we felt our skin crawl, and I think if there were a dog around it would have started whimpering in fear. All of a sudden all those ridiculous tales about selling your soul at the Crossroads started to make sense...

It was over before we knew it, and the life went back to normal. Never, never-ever-ever again were we to experience any crazy shit like this - neither at his subsequent gigs, nor at anyone else's. His audience grew steadily, which he certainly deserved. Jr. Kimbrough never came back - he died within the next 2 years. R.L. continued to tour and record, eventually with his cheeky grandson Cedric on drums. We were saddened to hear of his death in 2005. But this moment in time will remain one of the most vivid memories allowed to exist, like it or not. It was, in all its frightening glory, the real blues.

[lucyinthesky]

B.B.King final farewell Tour 2006 in Mannheim: At the end of the concert we all walked in front of the stage as BB waved us good bye. So I stood there, a crying 13 years old, hardly 5 metres away from this great old man. That expierience can't be beaten.

My dad's band at Trögelsberg Festival (what a name, I know). It was a sweaty hot summer day, some years ago, and we went there with some friends of ours and danced to the music and slept in tents and enjoying the village athmosphere (not more than 50 people were there.

Again my dad's band, another one which played Raggae played at a street festival in our town. It was darkest night, and through the street there was hammering and pulsating these great rhythms.

There was noone there who didn't dance.

[leddy]

Sorry, too drunk at the moment to remember two other moments or even type properly... but still capable of sharing this one:

It must have been somewhere in 1995-96(?) we went to a few small performances in Glendale public library - mostly ethnic/folk music, the unusual stuff. One time it happened to be Hans Olson. Well, see here, I do respect the guy. The little problem is - he thinks what he's playing is blues. So sorry, but blues it ain't. I don't care how many greats he'd played with, the true sad story is that the gap between Mr. Olson and real blues was so wide that back in 1995/96 we decided to make up for our disappointment by seeking out some real stuff.

As luck had it, some true north Mississippi blues was about to arrive in town, in the form of R.L.Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. We wasted no time turning up at the Rhythm Room, and there he was

we were shocked at the fact that the musicians at the venue damn near outnumbered the audience... the place was almost empty... we were among the very few lucky to witness the outstanding, inspired performance... and one unforgettable moment.

A moment in time which still defies description, after all these years, but I'll try.

I'm not sure what he was playing - Nick thinks it was Robert Jonhson's Walking Blues - and he was doing it solo, just the guitar and him. Yes, it was just the old black dude sitting on a chair playing guitar, but suddenly something unspeakable happened. Suddenly, the time stood still, and the immense power coming from this guy's guitar sound took hold, and it was fucking scary. I think he stole a glance at the audience from under his visor and it didn't even seem human. No lightning from the sky, but we felt our skin crawl, and I think if there were a dog around it would have started whimpering in fear. All of a sudden all those ridiculous tales about selling your soul at the Crossroads started to make sense...

It was over before we knew it, and the life went back to normal. Never, never-ever-ever again were we to experience any crazy shit like this - neither at his subsequent gigs, nor at anyone else's. His audience grew steadily, which he certainly deserved. Jr. Kimbrough never came back - he died within the next 2 years. R.L. continued to tour and record, eventually with his cheeky grandson Cedric on drums. We were saddened to hear of his death in 2005. But this moment in time will remain one of the most vivid memories allowed to exist, like it or not. It was, in all its frightening glory, the real blues.

Ye Gods that was a great tale of a gig !!

[hot dog]

1- Good Times Bad Times - Led Zeppelin O2 arena 2007

Ok, not the best performance of the evening, but I'll never forget that opening and finally seeing Led Zeppelin on stage after a 30 year wait. And then the realisation that they meant business.

2- Pink Floyd - Live 8

The whole set was pretty much perfection (apart from RW's vocals on WYWH). David Gilmour could not have played better. I'd seen Floyd a number of times before but to see the classic line-up on stage for the last time was very special - I was close to the front too. I watched it the other night, very emotional performance, especially after Rick's untimely passing.

3- Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Milton Keynes Bowl 1982

A reunion concert to help fund Gabriel's WOMAD festival which had lost a load of money that year. A dream setlist (Supper's Ready, Firth of Fifth, Musical Box, The Knife etc) plus Gabriel getting out some of his masks and props one more time. Steve Hacket joined them towards the end too. I was in prog heaven that cold, muddy October evening!

[Gegenschein]

Ye Gods that was a great tale of a gig !!

Thanks! It's gotta be forever #1... can't top that!

Here's #2:

The Church - July 2006 At Marquee in Tempe, AZ. An amazing concert. This band has class, I don't care that they're not that huge. Fabulous Aussies. The way they come across is a perfect balance of the dignity and glory of some serious rock veterans, and at the same time none of the arrogance and being full of themselves, quite the opposite - very warm and friendly. The venue wasn't exactly empty, but not filled to the brim either. We had great seats, very close. They had some technical difficulties with sound/equipment, so there were some gaps, which Steve tried to fill with talk and some improvised singing. Even those problems could not spoil the show, they're just too good. Mostly acoustic (surprise!), only bass was electric. I kept trying to figure out how the two acoustic guitars' sound was amplified, I could not see any pick-ups, only what looked like regular guitar signal cables ends taped to the guitar body at the bottom, just below the bridge. They could have been mics, so the two acoustics were probably just miked. Looked like they enjoyed playing, too. And two encores - sweeet - I'm glad the audience did that, they deserve it. Now we have about 6 or 7 CDs, a DVD and a T-shirt....

[Mr.Kite]

Ray Manzarek playing his piano with the foots in the middle part of " Light My Fire" in the ending of a show at April, 11, 2008...

[Gegenschein]

#3

Terry Reid -

Santa Monica, November 9 2008

This was the first time ever I attended Terry's gig, and for some reason worried that I might not recognize him... how silly of me. He's very much recognizable - same huge heavy lidded eyes, impish smile (see the Seed Of Memory cover) and of course the unmistakable voice. I tend to analyze my experiences to death... in this case three aspects converged to make it quite unforgettable: visual, aural, and "there's something in the air of which we're all aware."

Easy on the eyes. When Terry turned up onstage the very first, immediate, faster-than-conscious-thoughts-can-form reaction was - this man is just ridiculously handsome. At 59, with receding silver hair and not quite 100% sober, still.... This is nothing new, of course, but I have to say that like with most people photos don't do him justice for the most part.

SuperLungs. The voice did age a bit, but there's no doubt Mr. Reid will remain tagged with this nickname for life, because it's still justified. Super mighty pipes, only the register lower than in his teens (isn't that kind of normal?) It seemed like at times Terry was tilting very far away from the microphone right as he was about to unleash an almighty wail, so as to avoid sound distortion from the sudden powerful volume surge. After 50+ years of singing things like that must be second nature... The band sound was good but it seemed like occasionally the guitar was "disappearing" in the mix. The set was nice - a healthy helping of songs from Seed Of Memory and the 2nd (1969) album and I think only the title track from the River. Don't Worry, Baby seems to be the only cover played. Too bad, I was really hoping to hear Superlungs (the famous Donovan's song remake which is better than the original)

I put a spell on you. I've seen a few artists like that who have Noble and Class written all over them, with absolutely no effort on their part. They're not straining to be cool - they ARE cool (Three Mile Pilot, Ian Gillan and The Church are certainly in this category) It's in their blood, in the air they exhale, and they might not be famous at all, but this unpretentious dignity is always there. Even as the time went on and Terry's showmanship started to turn occasionally into clownmanship (whatever was in his cup? he even sang the first line of Stairway to heaven!) the understateted magnificence remained intact.

Yet there's more to the story, - the one thing that made the most memorable gigs list. This is the most elusive aspect of Mr. Reid, and I anticipate some "watchatalkin'about?" type of reaction. But most of those who even once shared the room air with him know what I'm talking about. This is beyond voice and appearance, and I wouldn't even call it "charm." I heard accounts of his gigs where he was in the worst shape, ill, drunk and out of tune and still hit the nerve... why?

There's something maddeningly mysterious about this eccentric aging rock star that seems to draw people, powerfully, the way a siren would... though not quite so sinister. You can't get that from youtube videos, and despite being a fan for a while I've been secretly wondering WTF was all that buzz about the live shows... now it kind of makes sense. I doubt he's aware of it. I wonder if all those musicians were, who wanted him in their bands or in collaborations of some sort. I don't pretend to understand this odd biomagnetic quality, I can only testify that it's certainly there.

Edited November 23, 2008 by Gegenschein

[bigstickbonzo]

1. Backstage at the Rolling Stones 04 Tour in Philly. Ripped several RS World Tour stickers off their equipment boxes. Got within ten feet of Mick and Keith along the side of the stage while playing Brown Sugar. We were booted by security soon after. Smoked a fatty in the nosebleeds during Sympathy For the Devil..the lights went dark..then red..bongo intro..YOWWW!

2. Seeing Robert Plant w/ Strange Sensation in 2001 at the Electric Factory. Absolutely floored my father and I. Best moment: After hitting every note in Whole Lotta Love like it was Zep pre-73, the crowd went wild with applause. We were about 10 people from the stage and I gave him a strong thumbs up in approval. Robert looked my way, smiled and gave me a "mini" thumbs up.

3. Pearl Jam in 06. Eddie, after the 3rd jug of wine. Plantations smantations. Ed's got it when he's bombed. And the music ain't half bad either.

[tophat]

1. Backstage at the Rolling Stones 04 Tour in Philly. Ripped several RS World Tour stickers off their equipment boxes. Got within ten feet of Mick and Keith along the side of the stage while playing Brown Sugar. We were booted by security soon after. Smoked a fatty in the nosebleeds during Sympathy For the Devil..the lights went dark..then red..bongo intro..YOWWW!

There was no Stones tour 04.

[bigstickbonzo]

There was no Stones tour 04.

Then, it was 02. Geeze. It was the tour where they filmed them at MSG..appeared on an HBO special.

Edited November 24, 2008 by bigstickbonzo

[~tangerine~]

Thanks! It's gotta be forever #1... can't top that!

Here's #2:

The Church - July 2006 At Marquee in Tempe, AZ. An amazing concert. This band has class, I don't care that they're not that huge. Fabulous Aussies. The way they come across is a perfect balance of the dignity and glory of some serious rock veterans, and at the same time none of the arrogance and being full of themselves, quite the opposite - very warm and friendly. The venue wasn't exactly empty, but not filled to the brim either. We had great seats, very close. They had some technical difficulties with sound/equipment, so there were some gaps, which Steve tried to fill with talk and some improvised singing. Even those problems could not spoil the show, they're just too good. Mostly acoustic (surprise!), only bass was electric. I kept trying to figure out how the two acoustic guitars' sound was amplified, I could not see any pick-ups, only what looked like regular guitar signal cables ends taped to the guitar body at the bottom, just below the bridge. They could have been mics, so the two acoustics were probably just miked. Looked like they enjoyed playing, too. And two encores - sweeet - I'm glad the audience did that, they deserve it. Now we have about 6 or 7 CDs, a DVD and a T-shirt....

I love The Church. Especially "Starfish", "Priest = Aura" and "Sometime Anywhere" ...they are not popular in the states. I think they are too "mellow" for most rockers anyway

[~tangerine~]

I have been to so many shows, and most have memories that live in my heart. To narrow it down to some of my very favorites:

Robert Plant at the Spectrum (first solo tour in 1984) while the entire show was pure magic to me, when he held the "my love" note for what seemed an eternity in "Big Log" was unbelievable.

U2 1992 "Zoo TV" is the best show i have ever seen. The music, the atmosphere, the way Bono performs, the lucky bitch who was pulled out of the crowd to drink champagne with Bono...amazing. The show was at Veteran's Stadium (held approx. 90,000 people).

Bruce Springsteen both at the Spectrum in Sept, 1999 (first show of the many dates he did) the setlist was my favorite of the Bruce concerts i have seen, and Bruce Springsteen in Giant Stadium (or whatever they were calling the stadium that year), 2002 tour "The Rising"...another amazing show, with so much dedication to our tragic 9/11.

I also had the best times at The Round-up (JFK Stadium) outdoor event 1981, featured Allman Brothers Band, The Outlaws, Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels Band... The Rolling Stones with George Thorogood, 1981, JFK...and The Kinks with Foreginer, 1981 JFK Stadium... and Live Aid 1985, JFK Stadium...

Peter Gabriel, "So" tour, 1988, Spectrum...Peter is "mesmirizing"... and fantastic setlist that night.

My first concert, Black Sabbath 1979 at the Spectrum...very dark, great music, was so cool to be at a concert!

My second concert, YES in the round, 1979...great band, great music, great performers!

and while i never saw The Beatles or John Lennon live, i did see Julian Lennon Tower Theater, 1985...

Edited November 24, 2008 by ~tangerine~

[Gegenschein]

I love The Church. Especially "Starfish", "Priest = Aura" and "Sometime Anywhere" ...they are not popular in the states. I think they are too "mellow" for most rockers anyway

I love Remote Luxury and After Everything Now This - agree with your "too mellow" comment but that's precisely the draw for me. The atmosphere.

[Swede]

It's difficult to choose which are the three biggest concert moments for me.. Therefore I will mention FIVE great moments.

I've seen Tift Merritt three times, but I think the last show she did was extra ordinary (spring 2008). She was by herself, she had no band with her. The venue was perfect, the audience was great and she was just magic. She brought the audience out in the hallway were she had spotted an old piano that she said she wanted to try out. Imagine 500+ people in a small hallway were she sang a couple of tunes, without microphones. It was total silence, only her voice and that old piano.

The Hellacopters, 26th of October, the very last Hellacopters concert. It'll be in my memory forever. One of my all time favorite bands. No rock'n'roll band comes close to these guys live performance.

Kiss, first reunion tour 1996. That was a dream come true, I finally got to see the original line up with the show they used to do back in the 70's. It was like being a kid again. LOL

I really have to mention Downliners Sect, old English farts that has been touring since the early 60's. Unlike other bands, these guys play with the kind of equipment they used back in 1965 to get the real authentic 60's sound. I saw them play in a bar, nothing fancy, but they sure knew their Bo Diddley chops and played like their life's depended on it (which it probably did, as they do it for a living). I take this concert over a Rolling Stones gig with a 25000 crowd anyday!

Jazz organist Jimmy Smith a couple of years ago. Great musician with a fantastic backing band. Unfortunatly he passed away 6 months after I saw him, but I'm really happy I got to see this legend.

[Bong-Man]

Led Zeppelin, April 30th, 1977, Pontiac Silverdome - 80,000 kids screaming their lungs out when Jimmy begins TSRTS on a dark stage.....the stage lights come in perfect synch to Robert skipping across the Silverdome stage from left to right, tossing his mane along the way. The frustrations of a 6 hour wait and an hour and a half delay, wiped away in mere seconds. When I first got the DVD, I must have watched that Pittsburgh intro on a loop at least 20 times.

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, September 19th, 1978, Pine Knob Music Theatre http://www.angelfire.com/rock2/traces/page...ingyounger.html

There was something special in the air this night. Maybe it was sitting 9th row, maybe it was being 19 when you can't be 20 on Sugar Mountain. Watching Neil come out of that box, the road-eyes, the Woodstock stuff.....all made me a Neil Young fan for life. Arguably the best concert I ever saw. The movie doesn't do the atmosphere justice.

The Rolling Stones, February 22nd, 1999, The Palace Watched the Stones do their set on the small stage as I leaned on it. They did "Route 66", "Respectable", and "Midnight Rambler". At one point, Mick was closer to me than the screen you are currently looking at. He bent down and made the prune face at me. Keith was nervous as hell, and ready to conk someone on the head if they dared step on the stage. I called to Charlie, he turned, smiled, and nodded. This was my 6th Stones show, and never needed to see them again after that.

[Lee]

Hmmm, top three moments...

Well, pretty hard to tie down, but these come to mind:

Led Zeppelin Knebworth August 4th 1979

The moment they kicked off TSRTS was the biggest rush I've ever had from a gig. This was my first ever Zep concert, for which I had been waiting over three years...quite a long time when you're 16 years old! I'm quite sure there were plenty of better LZ gigs, but this was the best gig I've ever attended.

Led Zeppelin O2 arena December 10th 2007

Yes, I know, Zeppelin again...but this was quite a special night, as I'm sure most people reading this will appreciate! The 'magic moment' for me was Black Dog...the first couple of numbers were great, but this was the song that proved (to me) they could still blow away everybody else, 30+ years after their peak. For me, a special gig is about so much more than the performance...and Robert's remark that night about 'thousands of emotions' certainly applied to me. As unforgettable experiences go, this one's right up there.

Rolling Stones O2 arena August 23rd 2007

Meanwhile, earlier that year, in the same venue...the thing that makes this stand out was not much to do with the performance, but that my wife's sister flew halfway across the planet for their three nights in London, and we had great seats every night. The Thursday night we had seats in the second row in front of the central stage. When they played that stage, rather than the main stage, they were almost close enough to touch, and the look of sheer joy on my sister-in-law's face was worth every penny I shelled out to get so close!

I've had plenty of other great moments over the years, but they are the ones that have stuck!

[~tangerine~]

I love Remote Luxury and After Everything Now This - agree with your "too mellow" comment but that's precisely the draw for me. The atmosphere.

Many people equate mellow with boring I used to drive almost 200 miles every month to visit my sister when she lived out of state. I would organize my CD player so i had my driving music. The Church always made it into the CD player. Alot of people would fall asleep listening to them (just like older Genesis and many Pink Floyd songs), but i love that kind of music as much as i love loud rock.

[Dzldoc]

Many people equate mellow with boring I used to drive almost 200 miles every month to visit my sister when she lived out of state. I would organize my CD player so i had my driving music. The Church always made it into the CD player. Alot of people would fall asleep listening to them (just like older Genesis and many Pink Floyd songs), but i love that kind of music as much as i love loud rock.

I don't see how anyone that knows "YOU" could make that mistake

I would have to have the entire Pink Floyd catalog handy for that! loooong drive

[Gegenschein]

Many people equate mellow with boring I used to drive almost 200 miles every month to visit my sister when she lived out of state. I would organize my CD player so i had my driving music.

LOL our car is so old it only plays tapes! Remember those?

We have stacks of driving tapes, and though our most comprehensive Church collection is on CDs we have 2-3 tapes just for the drives...

The Church always made it into the CD player. Alot of people would fall asleep listening to them (just like older Genesis and many Pink Floyd songs), but i love that kind of music as much as i love loud rock.

I don't know who can even handle only listening to loud rock, all the time. I need both for balance.

[Gegenschein]

# 4 (which should have been #2): Giant Sand @ Rhythm Room 1994

Yes I know this is top 3 but it happened so that I can't quite write a proper review for the moment which I'd rank #2 (after the R.L. Burnside gig) because I don't remember enough factual information - the exact date, setlist, support acts etc. yet the intensity of the moment justifies the inclusion hands down.

It was 1994, probably fall cause it was still plenty warm (non-desert dwellers: read "effin' hot") - we went to see Giant Sand but unfortunately had to sit (or stand, I don't remember) through about 3 openers, all equally forgettable. I also don't remember if I've heard the band before and knew what to expect.

They got onstage, tuned, and...

I'm really struggling with the proper description here. In very basic words, the very first guitar cord they played wiped clean the slightest memory of who was onstage before. It was a slide guitar cord, lingering and possibly even lazy, but it had the impact of a cannonball. In the audience, we might have looked nervously at each other - there was an unspoken acknowledgement that the real music was finally unfolding.

I have not a slightest idea what was the 1st song they played, or any songs thereafter. I never became a big GS fan and never went to any more of their gigs (I would have if I knew of any more in my area) but this moment is one of the most unforgettable. Sure I've seen some world-class acts and they usually blew away the support bands. But never before and never since have I seen and heard anyone erase a whole evening worth of performers so casually yet so completely with the very first stinking cord. It was WOW squared and then cubed.