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Best concert you have attended


WestCoastRunner

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I'm not sure if this type of thread has been initiated (maybe by me), but my best concert ever attended was a very long time ago. It was Supertramp in London, Ontario, circa 1976 or 77. It was at an old roller skating arena which has long since been torn down. Cheech and Chong performed at the very same arena The absolute best concert I have ever attended and I have attended a lot. Supertramp was just on their way up and they completely blew my young mind away.

Edited by WestCoastRunner
I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass. - Maya Angelou

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Never got around to seeing Supertramp in their heyday, though I had most of their albums. I saw Roger Hodgson a few years ago when my wife and I saw a solo show he was doing at Casino Niagara a few years ago. Before he took the stage, their were so many instruments and equipment on stage, I expected a full band coming out to back him up....even after he and one and only one sideman came out to do the first two or three songs. But, Roger with the help of one other multi-instrumentalist were able to perform all of the songs he did with Supertramp....even Fool's Overture!

Seems that 'best concert' is seriously skewed by how old we were, how high we were at the time that I'm not sure if it can be any kind of yardstick to judge how good the band was that was performing.

I think I'll go with Paul Simon as my pick....not because it was the best concert I ever saw...likely not, but it was one that I did not want to be at (my fiancee at the time sort of armtwisted me into this one), and it was a Toronto concert staged not long after the Graceland album was released. Graceland was taking a long time to win fans over at first, and wasn't really getting a lot of radio airplay until more than a year after release. It seemed to get unflattering comparison with other white musicians discovering African music like Talking Heads and Peter Gabriel, and after turning out a few solo clunkers, there was a feeling that Paul Simon was just looking for some Third World cred to restart his career. Nevertheless, it was much better than I expected, and I was glad to be there:

Anybody who believers exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.

-- Kenneth Boulding,

1973

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Every concert, festival, show, bar, house, garage and dingy basement me and my friends ever played in. Nothing beats it. Sure miss those days.

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
― Bruce Lee

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Every concert, festival, show, bar, house, garage and dingy basement me and my friends ever played in. Nothing beats it. Sure miss those days.

For sure. The ultimate is finding a neighbourhood pub that plays good bands.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass. - Maya Angelou

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Every concert, festival, show, bar, house, garage and dingy basement me and my friends ever played in. Nothing beats it. Sure miss those days.

You guys played in a band?

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass. - Maya Angelou

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You guys played in a band?

We did. For about 11 years. Released 2 EP's and 3 Full Length albums in that time. And played all over North America. There is nothing better than playing music in front of thousands of people. But then reality strikes and eventually people go to school and get married and have kids and get jobs that demand more of their time. I'm just thankful I got to live it during the prime of my life, can't ask for much more.

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
― Bruce Lee

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Garth Brooks was really fun but hands down best concert was Pink Floyd in 94. I saw two shows and will never forget it.

“Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.”
Winston S. Churchill

There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. –Robert Heinlein

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I was too new to progressive rock in July 1970 to fully appreciate it but I attended a concert that opened with It's a Beautiful Day, then Jethro Tull, and then the Who, performing all of Tommy.

The best one(s) I can remember well are: 1) Carly Simon opening for Livingston Taylor in October 1971 (should have been the other way around); 2) James Taylor in Carnegie Hall (December 1971); 3) Don Williams in Elizabeth, New Jersey in December 1984; 4) Blue Rodeo in New York City in June 2003; and 5) Ian Tyson in New York City in July 2015.

I don't count numerous classical concerts, or excellent multi-musician events as a bluegrass festival in Hartford, Connecticut in June 1981 or a country music jamboree in Meadowlands, New Jersey on July 4, 1983. For the latter my girlfriend (who set me up with my wife eventually) asked why we took seat in the shaded eves of the stadium. It didn't take her long to figure out when when the temperature hit 35 or 36 in the shade and people were being carried off the field.

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We did. For about 11 years. Released 2 EP's and 3 Full Length albums in that time. And played all over North America. There is nothing better than playing music in front of thousands of people. But then reality strikes and eventually people go to school and get married and have kids and get jobs that demand more of their time. I'm just thankful I got to live it during the prime of my life, can't ask for much more.

And probably a good idea to exit that lifestyle early. Rock musicians seem to have premature deaths.

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass. - Maya Angelou

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And probably a good idea to exit that lifestyle early. Rock musicians seem to have premature deaths.

haha no need to worry about that only the really good ones have premature deaths. I suppose it's the curse of the 27 club. Trade your soul for rock and roll and all that jazz.

The lifestyle isn't nearly as bad these days as it was in the 60's and 70's though.

Edited by PrimeNumber

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
― Bruce Lee

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I've seen a lot of concerts. The best one I've ever seen by far was the Kiss 1996 reunion tour.

I've seen Kiss a few times, including on that tour. In terms of a rock spectacle, their live shows are hard to beat.

"Our lives begin to end the day we stay silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire

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I've seen Kiss a few times, including on that tour. In terms of a rock spectacle, their live shows are hard to beat.

Who would have thought a band could be so successful by appealing to people who have no interest in music.

"I think it's fun watching the waldick get all excited/knickers in a knot over something." -scribblet
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Who would have thought a band could be so successful by appealing to people who have no interest in music.

lol nice. Their music was catchy enough, but the focus was more on entertainment and merchandising. As a young kid growing up in the 80's Kiss collectibles were the big draw, along with their comic-book-like personas. Paul was very solid singer, even doing some stints on Broadway as the Phantom, and they had a few reasonably talented guitarists over the years, but they weren't a musicians band. I still have a soft spot for them, despite Gene Simmons being a major a-hole.

I did manage to meet and talk with the band in the mid-90's. They did an unplugged warm up show, prior to doing an MTV Unplugged session. It included a collectibles convention and each band member put on a clinic for their instrument, then they did an all request acoustic show. Afterwards, they signed autographs but the lines were so long I wasn't going to my album signed before the cutoff time. With nothing to lose I just hopped up on stage, walked across to the back and waited for the band to finish. I fully expected to be tackled and beaten by the no-necks guarding the stage, but nobody seemed to notice. So once they finished they all signed my album and talked with me for 5 to 10 minutes. I still have that signed album in a dusty box somewhere under my basement stairs.

My dad had an old vinyl copy of Zeppelin I, that I found in a box and thought it was the coolest thing ever. My son will one day find my Kiss albums and ask why I couldn't have met a better band. :)

"Our lives begin to end the day we stay silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire

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