Best concert you ever saw ...

[DevilAlumna]

I've still got a couple hours to go at work tonight, and tomorrow's looking even drearier. hc5's comment on the wilco thread got me thinking about concerts at Duke -- please, entertain us all with your stories of your favorite concert experience (location doesn't matter)!

My Top Three:

1) DMB @ Few Quad, Octoberfest 1993. Right before their first album was released, so very few people except those with friends from UVA knew who they were. I was standing under Dave's microphone the whole show. Friends kept the bourbon coming. It was a fabulous fall freshman experience!

2) U2, Mysterious Ways Tour, RFK Stadium. Rainy night, awesome music, the bleachers were shaking the entire time.

3) Jimmy Buffett -- Nissan Pavilion, Walnut Creek, Nashville -- location didn't really matter; I've never been to a bad Buffett concert. You meet the nicest folks when tailgating (like the off-duty DEA agent who shared jello shots with us, then warned us that their friends' brownies were, um, tainted with green plant material) and the music, though a bit 'familiar' after awhile, still gets you singin and dancin and enjoying a great summer evening.

[hurleyfor3]

Would this be any different from the best concert I ever heard?

[AtlBluRew]

There's no concert like your first concert. For me, that would be 1977, at the Capital Center in Landover, MD ... AC/DC opening for Kiss. I was but 16 years old, and so we had to settle for what alcohol we could get, but the Boone's Farm was at least perfectly chilled. I think it was vintage "Tuesday."

[jimbonelson]

bruce springsteen in philly must have been a five hour show

when i was 14 i lived in germany there was a show over there called monsters of rock 1983 lineup
ac/dc
van halen
ozzy
ratt
motley crue
scorpions
bon jovi
gary moore
mountain

that was a show i wish i remember more

[wilson]

1. Prince, Atlanta, 8-9-2004. There isn't even a close second on my list, even though I've seen lots of other great shows.
2. The Rolling Stones, Wally Wade, Oct. 2005. Going in, I was saying to myself that there was no way they'd really be as good as everyone said; I was simply excited to be able to say I saw the Stones. They really are incredible.
3. Willie Nelson, several times. His music, and his versions of other people's music, are among the most earnest, heartfelt, compelling pieces you'll ever hear. He's as straightforward a musician as we've got anymore.

Special mention for my first concert, John Denver. If you don't appreciate his music, you wouldn't understand (and I also understand). But again, heartfelt music by a guy who clearly loved what he did.

[Channing]

(1) The Beach Boys at Chastain Amphitheatre. Those from Atlanta know this is just a fantastic venue, and it was rocking all night.

(2) U2 at Phillips arena

(3) Justin Timberlake at Phillips Arena. Laugh if you want, but he is an unbelievable performer, and now that he has gotten away from all of his boy band pop music, he makes some really good music too.

[hc5duke]

Does TV count? I've only been to one concert (Clutch) and it wasn't really that great... The Pink Floyd reunion concert was amazing even on tv/dvd, and I wish I could have afforded to go (Live 8 in London) at the time.

[captmojo]

The Gregg Allman Show in Cameron, 1974, or was it '75? Great music, atmosphere, libation, company and a streaker to boot!

The First Mate had an aunt working as a desk clerk at Howard Johnson's in Greensboro back in the day. Entam productions had a contract for lodging there and she would get tickets and pass on to me. I miss that woman.

Steppenwolf- Winston-Salem, '69
BB King- Greensboro, CRS
Humble Pie- Greensboro, CRS
Jethro Tull- Charlotte, CRS
Allman brothers/Grateful Dead- RFK, CRS
August Jam- Charlotte Motor Speedway. '74 _but I don't remember much about it

[accfanfrom1970]

All the Springsteen shows - Darkness Tour, Tunnel of Love Tour, Born in the USA Tour, Rising Tour (even though the show was in Kenan Stadium)...

Long ago I saw Harry Chapin perform in a High School gym in Vermont and do a benefit concert that had the audience doing background parts in half the songs...shaking your keys, stomping the bleachers, clapping, etc. It was so intimate and so much fun...

MeatLoaf in DC - he's had to shorten his live show for health reasons, but it's a great show....

[dukemomLA]

Of course, Woodstock

Rolling Stones and Dylan at the Mosque in Newark
Chicago at the NY World Fairgrounds
Beatles at Shea
Amnesty International, (M.Jackson, Sting. etc etc ) at the Coliseum in L.A.
U2 at Wembley in the UK
Bruce and the EStreet Band in NJ
Simon and Garfunkel at the Sheep's Meadow in Central Park

etc. etc. etc. etc.

[Exiled_Devil]

BNL headlined, went with my buddies, met my wife while drunk in line for beer.

Second runner up, G105 mixfest, 1997 - BNL headlined again, it poured for 30 minutes during the middle of the day, leaving tshirts wet and the grass slippery. I was part of a party of slip-n-sliders who were diving on the grass and seeing how far down the hill we went. Yay! drunken ultimate frisbee skills!


Exiled

[Tommac]

The best concerts I have seen are disputable, but the first concerts I saw stand out in my memory. First was Iron Butterfly in Alumuni Gym at Elon College in Spring 1970. During 1971 and 1972 I saw Three Dog Night and Chicago at the Greensboro Coliseum, and of all places I saw Black Sabbath at Carmichael in Chapel Hell. The most entertaining concert I ever saw was probably the Beach Boys at Appalachian State in the Spring of 1973.

[EarlJam]

The best concerts I have seen are disputable, but the first concerts I saw stand out in my memory. First was Iron Butterfly in Alumuni Gym at Elon College in Spring 1970. During 1971 and 1972 I saw Three Dog Night and Chicago at the Greensboro Coliseum, and of all places I saw Black Sabbath at Carmichael in Chapel Hell. The most entertaining concert I ever saw was probably the Beach Boys at Appalachian State in the Spring of 1973.

Wow Tommac! You've hung around a lot of my old stomping grounds: Elon (where I graduated - have you seen the campus lately?); The Greensboro Coliseum; Chapel Hell; and Appalachian State (most of my high school friends went there).

If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?

My favorite concerts (hair metal warning):

All concerts at The Tabernacle in Atlanta (best place to ever see a concert):
-Fiona Apple - Saw her because I liked her music, think she's hot, and is a true talent. Was front row. She spit on me while singing. Awesome.

-Third Eye Blind - Dude (Stephen Jenkins?) really worked to entertain the crowd

-Duran Duran - Was dragged by wife to this concert at the "T" and they actually put on one h*ll of a show! Totally enjoyed it.

-JayHawks - LOVE their music - it's sort of the stuff I attempt to play on guitar.

Other concerts of note at other venues:

Van Halen at then Walnut Creek Ampitheatre (can't remember the year but it was during the Hagar years
Def Leopard at Dean Dome, 1988
Boston - Dean Dome for the Third Stage tour, 1987?

-EarlJam

[allenmurray]

Neil Young and Crazy Horse during the 1977 Rust Never Sleeps tour. I'm not even that big of a Neil Young fan, but that was an awesome show, with Crazy Horse at its straight-up rock and roll finest.

[Olympic Fan]

I don't remember the exact year, but I was a student at Duke, so it was either late 1960s or early 1970s when Simon and Garfunkel played Cameron.

The thing that blew me away was their encore song ... at the time, they refused to record "Bridge over Troubled Water" and saved it as a conclusion for their live shows. None of us had ever heard it ... or even knew it was coming. If you have an S&G Greatest Hits Album, put that song on and try and imagine hearing it for the first time -- live!

I still say that Paul Simon was second only to Dylan as the greatest poet-songwriter of my generation. And Art Garfunkel had a terrific voice.

One other concert stands out from my Duke days ... It was a visit by the Turtles and, no, they weren't anything special. But their opening act was a group of Julliard Students who formed a band called The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. They were so good they got called back for three encores ... we were screaming for a fourth when the Turtles finally came on (to boos!).

I passed up a chance to accompany my younger brother and some of our friends to Woodstock ... I've always kicked myself for that.

[Udaman]

Cool topic.

First - LAmom - you rock. Unbelievable to see those shows.

As for me - boy, tough to pick.

REM with 10,000 Maniacs in Cameron in 1987 was amazing.

Jimmy Buffett all 5 times I saw him - great (especially when Little Feat opened for them in 1988).

Tom Petty with the Georgia Sattelites in 1989 - great. Tom Petty in Atlanta in 1999 - best he's ever been that I've seen.

Bryan Adams and Night Ranger at Astroworld in 1987 - separate shows (embarrasing, but they both put on great shows, plus Night Ranger was the only show I've ever seen where I was on the front row - literally slapping the stage as they played)

INXS and Ziggy Marley in 1988 - super fun.

Paul McCartney at Carter Finley in 1991 - wow.

The Who at Carter Finley in 1989 - double wow.

Rush in 1986 and 1988 - amazing.

Paul Simon on the Graceland tour - super fun

Alison Kraus in Atlanta in 1999, and then Harry Connick Jr about 2 months later, both at the Fox Theater - wonderful, both of them.

Def Leppard in 1989 at the Dean Dome - loud and fun (though not as loud as Boston in 1989, the loudest concert I've ever heard)

Billy Joel in 1987 - superb

Blues Travelers on campus at Duke in 1990 at my fraternity - yes, playing for a fraternity party. Awesome.

John Melloncamp and John Foggerty just two years ago. Both can still bring it, big time.

But I guess my final vote would go to Elton John in 1993 at the Dean Dome. I had great seats (section right next to the stage, row 5 - close enough to slap hands with the band members as they walked on). He played for 3 hours and was unbelievable.

Incidentally, my first concert ever was Judas Priest in 1984 - talk about trial by fire. My worst concert is a three way tie - Sting in 1991 - played for like an hour, Bon Jovi in 2005 (can't hit the high notes anymore) and Def Leppard two years ago (old, can't hit the high notes and creepy).

Also, in 1984 some friends tried to talk me into going to see The Police in Austin, Tx on their Synchronicity Tour. I hadn't really heard of them and turned down $12 tickets. Still kicking myself, though on November 11th of this year I will make up for it by seeing them in Boston - 23 years later, at a slightly higher ticket price.

[Tommac]

Wow Tommac! You've hung around a lot of my old stomping grounds: Elon (where I graduated - have you seen the campus lately?); The Greensboro Coliseum; Chapel Hell; and Appalachian State (most of my high school friends went there).

If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?



-EarlJam

EarlJam,

I grew up in Burlington, went to Appalachian State for my freshman year, then transferred to Elon (too cold in Boone) and graduated in 1976. I have lived in Elon off Wesbrook Ave since 1991 and pass through the campus almost everyday.

By the way, what do you think of the nickname Phoenix? What is the plural of Phoenix? I really didn't mind Elon changing the nickname, but I could easily have come up with something better than Phoenix.

[mr. synellinden]

bruce springsteen in philly must have been a five hour show

1985 - Springsteen at the Meadowlands - 80,000 people - he played for four + hours. What a show that was - Springsteen in his home state.

[tecumseh]

You rock some unbelievable shows. Woodstock really?

How about the Monkees not the best concert but hey it was my first. The one that got away...my wife, girlfriend at the time, tried to get me to see some Irish group at this some theater and I passed. She went of course with her sister to see U2 on their War tour.

Dire Straits in Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh is probably the best concert I ever saw coming in behind that is Springsteen in Red Rocks, the Dead the night I heard them play the entire American Beauty album, Dylan and the Band, a side note the Monkees my first "rock" concert unfortunately I did not get to see Jimi Hendrix who toured with the Monkees on part of this tour.

[dkbaseball]

What comes to mind is the one I just missed seeing, to my chagrin. I visit family in the New Orleans area regularly, and have a pretty good sense of what people have gone through there the last two years. One of these visits was during the second week of JazzFest, 2006, the first one after Katrina. Unfortunately Bruce had played there with his folk band the first week.

It took only one call from Wynton Marsalis, reminding him of New Orleans' contributions to American music, for Bruce to change his schedule and get the whole 15-piece ensemble en route to NOLA. By all accounts, the concert was just a remarkable confluence of time, place and performer, an absolutely magical moment for people in need of a little magic. Bruce brought along his editorialist persona (excoriated Bush and the federal (non)response), his abundant powers of empathy, and his music evangelist. Not a dry eye in the place when they did "We Shall Overcome." It was the first real upbeat moment in the area after eight months of slogging tedium and depression.


O.F. brings back some interesting memories from Duke circa 1968-72. I recall seeing the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble in '69, but by themselves. Apparently they got another encore, this time without the Turtles. They were phenomenal, and I can't believe that's the last I ever heard of them.

I rank Paul Simon (who also came to the first post-Katrina JazzFest) over Dylan as a musical-poet of our generation. Unlike Dylan, who moved beyond social criticism and didactics ("the mongrel dogs who teach"), Simon stayed engaged with the culture, at least through the '60s.

Maybe someone here remembers freshman orientation week, 1968. At one point, all the freshmen were sitting on the grass in the Gardens, and the consciousness-raising session began with the MC getting out a guitar and singing Simon's composition "We've All Gone to Look for America" (yes, those were different times). I can recall seeing a member of the class, who would later become a Master of the Universe on Wall Street, standing off to the side on a hill looking down rather scornfully on the proceedings. I sometimes imagine that his thought processes went something like this: "You hippie-dippies can moon and ponder all you want, but America is to be owned, not understood." Obviously, that viewpoint carried the day.