Best concerts you've ever gone to

I also saw U2 in the US for the Joshua Tree Tour. My friend and I just happen to be traveling in the UK and Ireland when U2 were touring there as well. We found an ad in some paper for U2 tickets in Leeds England -- thinking where the heck is Leeds. We called them number, met this guy at a train station in Leeds on our way to Scotland and bought them from him. We didn't know if they were any good or not, but figured what the h*ll.

They got us in and that is all we cared about. The Pretenders were a bonus - I love Chrissie Hynde too so it was an incredible surprise and bonus when we found they were playing there as well.

I've been to many concerts (including other U2 and other Stones - probably my favorite bands of all times) - some were great some were incredible - but those 3 I listed were probably the most memorable.

I love a variety of music so I've gone to country, rock, alternative, etc. Even went to see the Monkees as an adult. Loved them on TV as a kid -

I think the one band I would have loved to see, but for obvious reasons was never able to -- was The Doors. I would have loved to see Jim Morrisson perform and sing. I just think he has the best voice and a sexy scream.

Kudos to nono for this fascinating thread and going to a Yo La Tengo concert.
How esoteric is that?

And Glitter, you saw R&R history but then growing up in the Baltimore area you saw some great concerts as I did when I lived in Annapolis and DC

Ragman's list is the one I'm most jealous of as he and I have similar tastes.

My first best concert was on Sept 23 1964 where I saw my beloved Beach Boys.
The Beatles "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" had hit #1 but I saw them as a sissy band.
I was into hot rods and surfing and had no time for "girls" ; they had "cooties"

The venue was the hanger-like Alexandria Roller Rink near Washington DC

The opening act was Billy Ward and the Dominoes who had a monster R&B hit in the late 50's with 60 Minute Man. I don't remember their set at all, being a white suburban teenager I had no appreciation of R&B yet.

The second act was The Mugwumps, a band that included Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty, later of The Mamas And Papas.
On guitar was Zal Yanovsky, later a member of The Loving Spoonful.

But I was restless for the Beach boys and when they came on I thought I was dead and gone to heaven.
They were greeted by a barrage of jelly beans(go figure) and such screaming that all I could hear was a dull roar.

Me too.
There's a Doors concert being shown on our music channel that is fascinating.

If the Doors concert is the same one I saw televised, its great. Filmed at the Hollywood Bowl (I think) sometime in 1968. Much better than I thought, but I was worried about the sound. It is still a great performance.

One correction, I grew up in a County outside of Baltimore and Baltimore County. But back then it was easy to get to the Baltimore Clubs. If you were too young to get into the clubs, many shows were held in Armorys, High School gyms, and my big passion at that age was considered Soul Music.

I grew up in the DC area but it was Fairfax County, same thing.

That's the doors concert I saw.
Ray Manzarek on keyboards blew my mind with his left-hand bass technique.
They were truly a great accompaniment to Morrison.

In that long list, for some reason I omitted the 2012 Bruce Springsteen show, which was very special. It was one of the shows he did the day before the 2012 election. I got to see President Obama speak as well. I had a special pass that got me very close to the front, in front of thousands and thousands of people. It was surreal because you see the president speak on TV all the time, and then when you see him in person, he almost doesn't look or seem real or something.

In my personal opinion, Chrissie Hynde is the most badass rock chick of all time One day I've gotta go see her play!

I'm a HUGE Beach Boys fan!!! And to see them in the 1960's (before I was born), must have been AMAZING! Although my fav BB album (it's kind of a weird choice) 'Love You' was released in the late 1970's..

I know I saw the Beach Boys live somewhere, but again it must have been with a number of other musical acts at the time. I can't remember exactly who else was there, the most vivid memory was the colors of those signature striped shirts, and Mike Love seemed to really enjoy his time on stage. All of the originals were there, this was way before Brian Wilson sunk into near seclusion. They all looked so young and fresh. My guess is that back at that time many acts were very popular with top ten hits, maybe just not enough sure fire material to do 90 to 120 minutes solid. Also the young age of the fans limited how much tickets could go for so there was usually a line up of sure fire acts to keep the teens happy.

I've been trying to get into the archives of the early Baltimore Civic Center to see if I can find which groups performed. I'm not sure if the other posters here who grew up near D.C., had access to a show broadcast in Baltimore, but a ton
of us growing up would rush home from school to see the 'Buddy Dean Show'.
The program featured early rock & roll artists, played 45 rpms and featured a group of kids "committe members" who knew all the newest dances, because there really was a difference between the Watusi and the Popeye, Handjive, The Madison, mashed potatoes, the name game, cha cha, strolling, everything a young person could force their feet and arms to do in a somewhat graceful or graceless fashion. Buddy Dean was the working class version of Dick Clark's Band Stand, but was on every day, and there would be Buddy Dean events at local VFW's, Fire Houses or any place they could set up a sound system and play music so we could dance. I remember the first time I walked into the local armory, the bass was so deep you could feel it in your feet. I was 12, trying to pass as 14. But I was so hooked on the music, that's all I cared about.

There's a good dirty joke about handjiving out there somewhere; there's gotta be!

Yes, Run DMC collaborated with Aerosmith on the song Walk this Way. That song was originally done by Aerosmith without Run DMC. The collaboration was on Run DMC third album "Raising Hell"

While I was delighted with The Black Album back when it was current, in retrospect Metallica peaked when Cliff Burton was still alive. The other three never got over his death, and they always took it out on his replacement, which ultimately prevented the band from ever being as good as they used to be.

Whitesnake/Anthrax, Castle Farms, July 28, 1987

Def Leppard/Tesla, Battle Creek, November 3, 1987

Dio/Megadeth/Savatage, Saginaw, February 12, 1988

Megadeth/Warlock/Sanctuary, Kalamazoo, April 30, 1988

Van Halen/Scorpions/Metallica, Pontiac Silverdome, June 17, 1988

Def Leppard/Europe, Castle Farms, August 3, 1988

Metallica/Queensrÿche, Cobo Arena (downtown Detroit), November 25, 1988

Metallica/Queensrÿche, Battle Creek, April 14, 1989

Cinderella/Winger, Grand Rapids, May 1989 (couldn't pin down the date; link is to a previous or subsequent tourdate)

Metallica/The Cult, Val Du Lakes, July 1, 1989

Ozzy Osbourne, Castle Farms, July 7, 1989

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Val Du Lakes, August 18, 1989

Mötley Crüe/Warrant, Joe Louis Arena (downtown Detroit), December 1, 1989

Mötley Crüe/Warrant, Saginaw, March 16, 1990

Mötley Crüe/Warrant, Augusta Georgia, March 25, 1990

KISS/Slaughter, Muskegon, June 13, 1990

Whitesnake/Faster Pussycat, Val Du Lakes, June 23, 1990

Aerosmith/Black Crowes, Castle Farms, July 6, 1990

Queensrÿche (full performance of Operation Mindcrime rock opera)/Suicidal Tendencies, Joe Louis Arena (downtown Detroit), June 1, 1991

Megadeth/Anthrax/Slayer, Pine Knob (Detroit suburbs), June 22, 1991

AC/DC - L.A. Guns, Palace (Detroit suburbs), July 2, 1991

Alice Cooper/Judas Priest/Metal Church/Motörhead, Pine Knob (Detroit suburbs), August 3, 1991

Metallica/Metal Church, Palace (Detroit suburbs), November 2, 1991

Metallica/Metal Church, Palace (Detroit suburbs), November 3, 1991

Ozzy Osbourne, Fox Theater (downtown Detroit), February 13, 1992

Van Halen, Palace (Detroit suburbs), February 21, 1992

Iron Maiden/Corrosion of Conformity/Testament, Pine Knob (Detroit suburbs), June 20, 1992

Metallica/Metal Church, Castle Farms, June 27, 1992

Ozzy Osbourne, Pine Knob (Detroit suburbs), July 9, 1992

Guns n Roses/Metallica, Pontiac Silverdome, July 21, 1992

Black Sabbath/Danzig, Pine Knob (Detroit suburbs), August 2, 1992

Guns n Roses, Palace (Detroit suburbs), April 13, 1993

ZZ Top/George Thorogood, Palace (Detroit suburbs), June 11, 1994

Metallica/Danzig/Suicidal Tendencies, Ionia County Fairgrounds, June 24, 1994

Pat Benatar Precious time tour summer 1983 at Milwaukee Arena

It was electric as they say, one of those nights where magic happened.

Next best was Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty headlining at the same place on her Bella Donna tour, but only because I love her so work so much

A lot of the stuff I saw I cant even remember now, so it must not have been that great.

Do theater and jazz now, though I occasionally think about going to see something. Then I look at the prices and change my mind usually.

I doubt it, don't think you were around at that time. It was a temporary fad, that relied on the hand jive song, but perhaps you should consult with hawkeye, he seems to know everything about every thing, and if you are into S&M hawkeye is the person to consult. Save your lol's for him.

WOW! You must have the ticket stubs in a velvet lined drawer.

how did i completely forget about seeing The Pretenders, maybe because they opened for her then husbands band Simple Minds

any way, Chrissie was a great performer and the show was fantastic

also saw Bowie on the Let's Dance tour, not a favourite album, but a great show none the less

I am so happy that one one mentioned seeing Tom Jones, you couldn't pay me to sit thru Tom Jones or a Rod Stewart concert. They both make my skin crawl.

I love Aerosmith and I know it's Tyler's song, I just wasn't sure if it was Run DMC or another group. I saw the two groups perform it on a TV show, can't remember if it was a Music Awards show, but watching it was great. Steven Tyler stood still in complete contrast to Run DMC, I thought it was great. Television isn't always the best place for music, but when it's good it's brilliant.

Yes and no. "Puppets" was/is their best album undoubtedly, but The Black Album is just as important (even though it is the inferior album of the two.) It's kind of like how Highway To Hell is undoubtedly AC/DC's best, but Back In Black is just as important.

Very cool you got to see the REAL GnR. They were the first band I ever got into as a kid. I was (and still am) a GnR fanatic. I bet seeing them with Metallica was awesome. Too bad Axl basically destroyed the band. And even worse yet, he's been crapping on their legacy for years now. The final straw for me was the 2012 rock n roll hall of fame fiasco. Now I just can't defend him as a fan anymore. There is NO reason in hell he couldn't have performed with everybody as the REAL GnR for one night as a "thank you" to all the fans. It still pisses me off, especially when there are bands who don't even have the opportunity to do that at all (for instance Nirvana's RNR hall of fame induction this year for obvious reasons.)