What Were the Three Best Concerts You Ever Saw?

1. Albert Collins (late 80's in small club in Knoxville, TN) - did not know much about him before I went to the concert but was completely blown away like never before or after by anyone else - off the charts all around performance and by far the most incredible guitar playing I have ever seen/heard (and I have seen BB King, SRV, Clapton, EVH, Knopfler, and many other greats)
2. Talking Heads (early 80's)
3. Dire Straits (early 80's)

 

Oh, I forgot to mention seeing R.E.M. at a seedy little club in Knoxville, TN called "The Place" in Feb 1982, along with 12 other friends and nobody else. Also my first psychedelic trip. Spent the whole time dancing with another girl while my soon-to-be ex-wife looked on. Great times!

 

1. Prince - House Of Blues Las Vegas, 2004
2. Prince - The Fillmore, 2004
3. The Eurythmics, acoustic set, Dave Stewart's living room, Encino, CA, 1989

 

I can't remember the exact dates but in the early 80s

Earth Wind and Fire at Wembley Arena
Stevie Wonder, also at Wembley Arena
Bob Marley open air at Crystal Palace, not long before he sadly succumbed to cancer.

Also
Led Zep 75 at Earls Court, Peter Gabriel there too c. 86 (when Kate Bush duetted on Don't Give Up), various Springsteen's inc Wembley 85, and 2007 Prince at the O2.

 

Bob Dylan & The Band at the Montreal Forum - January 12, 1974 (3rd row centre seats)
Procol Harum with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus at the Dominion, London, UK - November 24, 2014
Rockpile - Montreal 1978
OR
Bruce Springsteen at La Courneuve, Paris - June 30, 1985

(In contention: Delaney & Bonnie & Friends in Montreal - 1972)

 

J Geils Band - 1979
this one wins on pure fun

Thin Lizzy/B.O.C. - 1978
the overall winner

Supertramp - 1979
best sound

in contention: Pretenders '84, Gabriel '83

 

Bruce Springsteen, Nassau Coliseum--12/29/80
U2, Capitol Theater Passaic, NJ--5/12/83
REM, Capitol Theater Passaic, NJ--1984

Honorable mention
Elton John, Madison Square Garden--1976
(First concert I ever attended)

 

Queen - Leeds AFC, 29th May 1982
Queen - Birmingham NEC, 1st September 1984
Led Zeppelin - O2 London, December 10th 2007.

I chose the LZ O2 reunion because I really struggled to choose a 3rd out of many, many other great gigs. It was a spectacle and a very special night although I cannot class it as seeing the Led Zeppelin as many other forum members will have been lucky enough to have done.

 

Killing Joke...Pandemonium tour.
Pigface...don't know the name of the tour.
Peter Gabriel...Back to Front.

 

Long ago but I still remember these.

Otis Redding - Municipal Auditorium Birmingham AL 1967
Grateful Dead - Piedmont Park Atlanta 1969
The Allman Brothers Band - Atlanta Pop Festival Byron, GA 1970

 

Bowie- Orpheum Boston 1997
Paul McCartney- MSG 2002?
Transglobal Underground- Pearl Street 1996?

 

Just off the top of my head...

Stevie Ray Vaughan with The Fabulous Thunderbirds opening, Miami, 1986
Springsteen at the Orange Bowl, 1985
Royal Crescent Mob in NYC, probably 1989

 

Stones '75 ~ What you do not see in the film above is that the Stones were about 45 minutes late that night getting on stage. Needles to say, we natives were restless. Then finally the star petals started to open and there was Jagger and we got to hear one of the greatest songs ever.

At that time Mick and the boys were only about 2 inches tall and the sound was cavernous. What I now see on screen matches my memory except for the finger. All these years I had thought it was a dick and I thought Jagger rode on it for a bit. The sound may not be as live as when I was there but they still did a good job restoring this and bringing back to life my most cherished musical moment.

In the half year before this I had seen The Who and Led Zeppelin, but this concert had much more passion, better songs and no 20 minute drum and violin solos. It was just straight ahead hard rock and rolling. Maybe you had to have been there, but so far, this remains the greatest concert I have ever seen.

The next two would be
Uriah Heep '75
Yes '77