Favorite Legitimately Free Concert That You Attended

Stanley Jordan at Kunstplatz Stage at Musikfest in Bethlehem PA 1991. Close enough for part of show to watch his mesmerizing fretwork.

 

U2, Lee Fields, Cork - 1985
Rory Gallagher, College Green, Dublin - 1992.

 

Probably Simon & Garfunkel Central Park concert.

 

Richard Thompson at an amphitheatre in Toronto Aug 1994 (maybe 1995) Sublime. I think Molson or Labatts paid for the show.

 

Blue Öyster Cult with Outlaws at Weston Regional Park in South FL (2012)

 

I saw yes with eagles in 74 double act concert...was incredible...

 

One of hubby’s favorite groups...who also had an insane crush on Tina...I saw them in 82, extraordinary concert...

 

Sorry, I don't have a legitimately free story.
But I do have a fun "illegitimately free" story.

Tina Turner (with support act Lionel Richie) back in 2000.

My wife and I drove to our local arena at the last minute with the hope of scoring a pair of heavily discounted tickets from a scalper right before showtime.

But here's the thing.

Our arena has a very strict anti-resale policy. At the time, they wouldn't let anybody try to sell tickets in the parking lot, even for below cost.

Still, we found one scalper wandering around trying to unload a huge stack of tickets. And there wasn't many people looking to buy... so he was kinda desperate to get at least something back.

Face value was about $150 each. We didn't want to spend more than $50 each. He wouldn't budge for less than $75 each. Reluctantly, my wife and I said ok, we'll do it for $75, it was still half price.

But first my wife asked the scalper if we could just look at the tickets first, to make sure they seemed real. He handed a pair to her.

They looked legit.

I was just starting to pull money out of my wallet, when all of the sudden...

"How many times have we told you... You can't sell tickets here! Get the hell off the property!"

Police came and chased the scalper away...

Meanwhile my wife looks at me. I look at her. We look at the two tickets still in her hand. We look at each other one more time and nod. And ran like hell to the entrance.

Great show! Made all the better by our "free" tickets!

(We didn't mean for that to happen... And we figured, if we bumped into the scalper again, we'd pay the original agreed upon price. But alas, we never saw him. Oh well!)

 

The 1992 Jazz’SAlive festival in San Antonio. The main stage headliner was Dr. John, and the supporting acts were jazz guitarist Herb Ellis and local guitar duo Lara & Reyes.

I most especially remember the doctor and band doing smoking renditions of “I Walk on Gilded Splinters” and “Right Place, Wrong Time.” He did the guitar solo on the latter song.

 

Hmm, So many great free shows
1975 and 1976 - Jefferson Starship - Outlaws - Central Park - NYC
1979 - Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Cheech and Chong, REO - Califfornia Music Festival - Won free tix from KROQ
1985- LA Street Scene - James Brown, Minutemen, Fear, Red Hot Chili Peppers and about 100 more bands
1986 - Venice CA - Savage Republic, Abecedarians
1991 - Bill Graham Memorial - Golden Gate Park SF- John Fogerty, Grateful Dead, Airplane, CSNY, Santana,
1993 - WOMAD Festival- Golden Gate Park SF - Peter Gabriel, Crowded House, Ziggy Marley, James
1994 - Green Day - Sproul Plaza - UC Berkeley

This one's unfair because of the depth of talent
The (previously)yearly Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park - Robert Plant, John Prine, Bela Fleck, Jorma and Hot Tuna, Chris Isaak and so many others

 

Compay Segundo and Rubén González from Buena Vista Social Club played at the end of the 90s on the festivities for the patron saint of Barcelona, la Merce. They were fantastic.

 

Deftones in Sacramento in 2006. We drove up from Bakersfield that morning and it was in downtown Cesar Chavez park. Nice and sunny afternoon show and the weather was great. Their set was mainly their first two albums which was a nice surprise.

 

Various tapings of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert in the ‘70s at the Long Beach (CA) Auditorium. The standout to me was Bad Company.

 

Neil Young with the Gone With The Wind Orchestra

November 12,1977

Bicentennial Park Miami 1977

Setlist:

1. Are You Ready for the Country?
   Play Video
2. Dance Dance Dance
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3. Love Is a Rose
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4. Old Man
   Play Video
5. The Losing End
   (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)
   Play Video
6. Heart of Gold
   Play Video
7. The Needle and the Damage Done
   Play Video
8. Sugar Mountain
   Play Video
9. Already One
   Play Video
10. Lady Wingshot
    (live debut)
    Play Video
11. Four Strong Winds
    (Ian & Sylvia cover)
    Play Video
12. Down by the River
    (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)
    Play Video
13. Alabama
    Play Video
14. Sweet Home Alabama
    (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
    Play Video
15. Are You Ready for the Country?

 

Juliana Hatfield 3 at Penn's Landing Summer 1973.

 

Duran Duran, 2016, lawn seats in Camden NJ. Free tickets from Ticketmaster settlement.

Took my wife and then-9 year old twins. We all had a blast and have been listening to the band together ever since.

 

Cheap Trick in January, 1976, in a small lunchroom in the Lakeshore Dorms, University of Wisconsin.

The drinking age was 18 then and there was beer and popcorn served for very cheap there every Friday night, with rock records played over the sound system. Mostly freshmen who had not yet ventured into the Madison nightlife went to these lunchroom events. But when Chesp Trick played for free, standing a few feet away from the students on a small riser, I went to it.

 

The Manic Street Preachers at an Anti Nazi Rally in London - they only played a short set but they were really good

 

Paul Rogers with Randy Hansen in the parking lot of a local Casino

 

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. I didn't really know what to expect and got in free because I worked in a record shop that sold tickets. They started with Safe European Home and kept up the energy and standard, with the new stuff fitting in well next to Clash songs. It was a blinder. What an absolute tragedy it is that he wasn't around much longer.

Edit: My mind's playing tricks after 21 years! They started with London Calling, but I've just looked at the set list for the first time since and it really is something special.
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros Setlist at Newcastle University, Newcastle

 

When they've got the fire in them, Manic Street Preachers are an incredible band. I've never seen them though.

 

Catherine Wheel around the time Happy Days came out. Played downtown Houston as part of Party on the Plaza which normally was local or Texas acts

father John Misty a few years ago in Marfa after Pure Comedy came out. Played a small theater and took all requests for 75 minutes.

 

James Taylor - Central Park 1979...there were a lot of people there!
SUNY New Paltz spring weekend- 1980 Richard Manuel and Rick Danko; 1981 David Crosby, Dave Mason, David Bromberg

 

One in my late elementary or early middle school era …but can’t remember the band name. I and a set of girls sat in back and screamed like dumb teeny boppers….an embarrassing thing I did, lol.

 

Los Lobos - once in about ‘83; another in probably the mid-90s. Stevie Ray Vaughan - again in ‘83-ish (both he and Los Lobos were free Friday afternoon shows in the cafeteria). Marshall Crenshaw a couple of times back in the 80s.

Can’t really call them “favorites”, but I guess The Beach Boys with Ringo in ‘84 and with Jimmy Page in ‘85 on the Washington Mall.

Little Feat, Charlie Daniels...I’m sure there are others...