the top five best gigs you ever attended.

[Bosko Schwartz]

Off the top of my head ...

• Paul McCartney, c. 2003
• Flaming Lips/Beck, c. 2003
• Lollapalooza II (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, Lush, Porno for Pyros, Cypress Hill, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine), 1992
• Superdrag/Deathray Davies, c. 2005
• Live/Luscious Jackson, c. 1997

Aren't festivals cheating? That's lots of gigs in one.

Anyway, I rarely enjoyed festivals. Too big, too smelly (and that's just me...), bad sound, can't see the band. Perhaps I'm just getting too old.

Cheers,

Nigel

No, there were no rules, so it's not cheating.  By the way, I'm totally with you about festivals.  I absolutely hate 'em now.  But keep in mind, I was 17 at the time, so it was pretty damned good back then.

I do have to modify my list, because I cannot believe I left out The Zombies.  I wasn't born and couldn't have ever seen them back when they were initially together, but I did see Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent with a stellar band in about 2006.  They played A LOT of Odessey & Oracle, most of which was never played live even when it was released back in 1968.  Second best show ever for me ...

• Paul McCartney, c. 2003
• The Zombies, c. 2006
• Flaming Lips/Beck, c. 2003
• Lollapalooza II (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ministry, Ice Cube, Soundgarden, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Pearl Jam, Lush, Porno for Pyros, Cypress Hill, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine), 1992
• Superdrag/Deathray Davies, c. 2005

[Bro]

Um.. I rarely go too gigs but when i do, it's usually a quite big name.

Anyway here it is:
1. Eric Clapton 2007
2. B.B. King 2009
3. Pink Floyd project 2008
4. Mike Andersen Blues band 2009

And as i remember those are the only real gigs i liked that i have been to.

[64Guitars]

• Rush - I've seen them at least four times. Two shows really stand out. 1) When they played at my high school in 1971. 2) The "2112" tour at Massey Hall, Toronto on June 12, 1976 which was one of three consecutive shows recorded for their "All The World's A Stage" live album. "2112" is one of my favourite Rush albums and the show was fantastic.
• Mountain - 1970 - This was the first proper concert I ever went to and it was great. "Nantucket Sleighride" had just come out and they played most, if not all, of the songs from it, plus a few from "Climbing!" (including "Mississippi Queen, of course). I remember Felix Pappalardi explaining the term "Nantucket Sleighride". Apparently, whalers from Nantucket, Massachusetts would go off in their small boats to hunt whales. When they found one, they'd harpoon it and the whale would take off at high speed, dragging the boat behind. Until the whale was exhausted, all the whalers could do was sit back and enjoy the ride, which they called a "Nantucket Sleighride".  Leslie West mostly played a Gibson Flying V, but used a Les Paul junior for a few songs. He was pretty heavy then and looked really cool playing that Flying V. His performance was incredible, as was the rest of the band.
• Humble Pie - "Smokin'" tour - 1972. I'm so glad I got the chance to see Steve Marriott. He was incredible and they put on a really good show. Peter Frampton wasn't in the band then, but I saw him with his own band the following year. Also on the bill with Humble Pie were Edgar Winter and Groundhogs. Both bands gave very good performances too.
• Genesis - "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" tour - 1974. My favourite Genesis lineup which included Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Michael Rutherford. Of course, they played the entire "Lamb" album from start to finish, as well as some of my favourites such as "Watcher of the Skies", "The Musical Box", and "Return of the Giant Hogweed". Gabriel was still doing all the costume changes then and it was really something to see.
• Jeff Healey - About 1990. To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of his music. But as a guitarist, he was just amazing! His playing was so incredibly good, and the fact that he was blind, combined with his unconventional way of playing just blew me away. He started out seated with the guitar on his lap. But, after a few songs, he got up and played standing. This in itself was amazing because he didn't use a strap! He just sort of pressed the body of his Strat against his hip and danced about the stage, never missing a note. He even played behind his head and with his teeth (à la Hendrix). Now that he's no longer with us, I feel really lucky to have seen him. He's one of the few guitar legends that I ever had the opportunity to see (the others being Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, and Roy Buchanan).

Most of the concerts that I went to (over 30 of them, according to ticket stubs and newspaper clippings I've kept in a scrapbook) were in the 70s. I used to pay 6 or 7 dollars to see several top bands. Then ticket prices got ridiculous in the 80s so I stopped going to concerts. I remember seeing Peter Gabriel in the mid-80s and paying about $50 for tickets. The show wasn't even very good. It was outdoors (the sound sucked) and we were pretty far away so we couldn't see much. That was pretty much the end of my concert-going days. I think Jeff Healey was probably the last live band I saw, and that was around 1990. I won't pay today's ticket prices to see anyone (unless Jimi were to come back to life).

[Greeny]

This is hard!

I'll change my mind afterwards probably, but here goes (in no particular order)...

1. Donovan - 3 or 4 years ago, at the Festival Hall, London. I never thought I'd see him live. He was fantastic. A rare treat, I think.

2. Echo and the Bunnymen - The Forum, Kentish Town. Can't remember what year, but I can remember the shiver of pleasure down my spine when they started playing 'The Cutter' (my best gig moment ever). Strangely, they weren't even half as good the next time I saw them in Brixton. They were on fire for this one though.

3. Buzzcocks - London Astoria. Just bloody noisy and awesome.

4. Knebworth (1988, 1989?!)... I don't normally like these big super-gigs, BUT when you get to see Macca, Pink Floyd, Clapton, Genesis, Led Zep, and a load of others on the same bill, it's hard to complain, lol

5. Chas and Dave - Some pub in Aldershot, lol. I've seen them three times - I love 'em! And I have Dave's bass plectrum!

Damn - there's plenty of others... oh well!

I too saw that bloody Bowie 'Glass Spider' tour... what a let down! I was also pretty disappointed with Oasis. But I don't think Wembley Stadium really suited them.

[Greeny]

p.s. I'm very jealous that 64guitars got to see Steve Marriott live - he's one person I really would have loved to see.

[cuthbert]

My top five are pretty much the last five shows I attended.

1. Robyn Hitchcock at the Somerville Theatre on the 'I Often Dream of Trains' tour last fall. Great show, and a really great album.

2. The Apples In Stereo at The Middle East Club in Cambridge during the 'Velocity of Sound' tour back in 2002. The venue is small and very hot, and the sound systems are way too loud, but they do get some great bands there. Great Lebanese cuisine, too!

3. Kristen Hersh, also at The Middle East Club  - she was her own opening band that night, 50 Foot Wave, followed by herself. So tiny, and yet she makes such a loud noise on her guitar!

4. Momus, again at The Middle East Club. He was doing interviews with audience members on-stage and then writing and performing a new song, right on the spot.

5. Guided By Voices, at The Paradise rock club in Boston, back in the mid-1990s. This was back when Mitch Mitchell was still in the line-up, if there are any fans of earlier GBV out there.

[Bosko Schwartz]

2. The Apples In Stereo at The Middle East Club in Cambridge during the 'Velocity of Sound' tour back in 2002. The venue is small and very hot, and the sound systems are way too loud, but they do get some great bands there. Great Lebanese cuisine, too!

Interesting.  The Apples in Stereo are one of my favorite bands, and I saw this tour as well (unfortunately, the only time I have gotten to see them live), and thought it wasn't that great.  Perhaps because Velocity of Sound is my least favorite Apples album.  Just curious -- how do you rate that album compared to the rest of their catalogue?

[cuthbert]

Interesting.  The Apples in Stereo are one of my favorite bands, and I saw this tour as well (unfortunately, the only time I have gotten to see them live), and thought it wasn't that great.  Perhaps because Velocity of Sound is my least favorite Apples album.  Just curious -- how do you rate that album compared to the rest of their catalogue?

I must have caught them on a good night. I thought it was a great show - Robert had tons of energy, Hilarie was still drumming with the group and sang a few, and there was a great encore set beginning with 'Heroes & Villains'.

'Velocity of Sound' is probably my second or third favorite by them. I like 'Her Wallpaper Reverie' best, and then it's either 'The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone', 'Velocity of Sound', or 'Fun Trick Noisemaker'.

Frankly, all their stuff is great! 

[Tony W]

I'm not a crowd kind of guy, so I don't do shows. I have been to 2 in my existence.

Cold Play - It was a good show

counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls - the group I was with managed to get caught with an illegal substance, consequently I missed the Goo Goo Dolls.

[SE]

Don,t do a lot gigs lately but used to go to Glasgow Apollo when I was a lot younger and best gigs I saw there where.
              
   1. Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous tour, still one of my fav albums
    
   2. Rory Gallagher Shadowplay tour, just fantastic live

   3. Bad Company, my fav singer of all time

  4. The Jam at the time of their Setting Sons album

  5. Black Sabbeth, when Ozzie was really menecing, not all show biz

Most recent was James Taylor at Glasgow,s Fruit Market he was really good too.