What was your favorite Punk group that you saw Live?

X
Gang of Four
The Clash
Meat Puppets

 

can't narrow it down to 1 as I saw so many great "punk" bands in the early 80's including:

The Jam
The Clash
The Stranglers
Dead Kennedys
999
Public Image Ltd in 1981
Pete Shelley solo in 1981, then reformed Buzzcocks approx 1987

 

Flipper!

At the end of the 80's I travelled from Holland to San Francisco for visiting good friends. I arrived without much sleep at 4th of July at the airport and was being picked up by them. After a small meal they drove me straight to the weird gig of Flipper, a band I didn't know yet. The spectacle I saw was something I will never forget. Believe me, the jetleg was completely gone!

 

John cale had a pretty snarly element in the early 80s with Honi Soit and the older venomous mid 70s material

Forgot the Modern Lovers

 

Clash, Gang Of 4 and X. Saw all three many times.

 

Saw The Damned supported by The Adverts at Sheffield Poly in '77. A 90 mph ride of venom, anguish and anger. That's what Punk was all about. Mind you, the answer to this question could so easily have been The Clash/The Slits gig at the Top Rank - only I worked late, missed the bus and therefore missed The Slits' set....

 

Its too hard to pick one, so...I'll mention the first ones that come to mind. I'm sure I'll forget someone important.

Bad Brains. They left old(er) fogies and whiny suburban skate kids in the dust with hardcore, and they also played amazing dub reggae. And they scared neo-nazis. Godfathers of hardcore punk. HR's spontaneous back-flip on the last beat of the last song blew us away.

My friends and I considered Nirvana and Mudhoney garage-punk before the dreaded "grunge" buzzword. I had a friend with a subscription to Sub Pop record club and he convinced me to see them when they were still playing clubs. One of the best decisions ever made.

Fugazi, first tour. Speechless. Like Bad Brains, they made older punk bands look boring and had TIGHT musicianship. Buy "13 Songs" now!!! the opening song "Waiting Room" was like an awesome kick in the teeth.

On the psychedelic-punk side: Butthole Surfers w/Flaming Lips. yes, a VERY long time ago since the Lips were considered punk at the time. A total mind melting show. Light shows and lots of feedback.

In 1992 Green Day was VERY punk. Was glad to see them two years before they became MTV darlings. Amazing energy, like the Muppet Show gone wilder with bodies flying all over the place and diving off of tables. Billie Joe had long green dreadlocks. Tiny venue was a plus. Great cover of "My Generation".

Honorable mentions: Sonic Youth. Billy Childish & Holly Golightly (massive influence on White Stripes).
Bands I wish I had seen: Dead Milkmen, Television, The Germs, Death (not the death metal band), etc.

Worst shows: Sex Pistols in 1996. Circle Jerks reunion, terrible crowd. Bad Religion and The Business attracted too many skinhead nazis (at the time). GG Allen: what the hell was I thinking? Oh yeah, morbid curiosity. Glad I didn't get hit with poo. And not too long after, he was dead.

 

As well as The Clash mentioned earlier.
The Cure
Magazine
Teardrops Explode
The Stranglers
Siouxsie and the Banshees - with Robert Smith on guitar
All in their prime.

 

Siouxsie and the Banshees

 

X-Ray Spex
Cocteau Twins (Supporting Siouxsie & The Banshees)
The Meteors (Supporting Killing Joke)
The Punishment Of Luxury
Spizz Energi (Supporting The Cure and Siouxsie & The Banshees)
The Clash
The Undertones
Stiff Little Fingers
The Only Ones

 

The Clash
The Clash (post Mick)
Ramones

 

The Sex Pistols in Baton Rouge January 9, 1978.

 

SNFU, playing at a university daycare centre in Lethbridge, Alberta back in September 1986. If punk has anything to do with total energy and breaking down the barrier between the performer and audience, this show delivered in spades.

 

The Ramones in 1978, with the Runaways opening
Iggy, around 1982.
Dead Boys during their brief 1987 reunion
Professionals (Cook and Jones post-Pistols band) in 1981 (or 1982?)

There was something surreal about seeing the Dead Boys and the Professionals in the Milestone, a punk dive in Charlotte.

 

I've seen The Dictators numerous times, the first time was in September 1976 at CBGB's. I'm tempted to say, I've seen them close to 20 times. Back in the day, I was a big Dead Boys fan and saw them twice at CBGB's in 77. One time was opening up for The Damned, who were being touted as the first British punk to tour the US. I also saw another favorite, The Stranglers in 1978, but I guess it's debatable how punk they were.

 

The Boomtown Rats at The Corn Exchange in Cambridge, 1977.

The Stranglers at Leeds University

Sham 69 at Bradford

 

The Ramones, twice. Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Sex Pistols. Epoch making

 

I'm not a huge punk fan, but live music doesn't get much better than Nomeansno. I'd need both hand and my feet to count how many times I've seen them.

 

Clash in Times Square (Bonds?) w/ Grandmaster Flash and the cretinous racist audience that booed them

Original Ramones 1977
Black Flag 5 piece in Buffalo--show with stabbing death outside.
Wipers
Minutemen
Du
Bad Brains
Danzig era Misfits
Most in Maxwells-Hoboken

 

I didn't see many, but Bad Brains were pretty intense. Amazing concert.

 

The Clash
X
The Ramones
Hüsker Dü

 

The Clash

 

Favorite live punk show or favorite act you happened to see live?

Ramones
Clash*
Offspring*

* saw them in less than ideal venues

Even more favorite, if you count them (which I don't) - David Johansen, Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain each separately.

 

Fugazi, Dead Kennedys, DRI

 

The Clash at Bonds
Buzzcocks at My Father's Place in Long Island