Bit of a thread bump to look back at where I ended up for the year. There are also some photos from the 11/18 show up on DT side.
2/7-11 Cruise to the Edge (epic/amazing experience)
2/26 Pain of Salvation- Webster Hall NYC (great set, though the set felt a little on the short side)
5/11 Mastodon- Hammerstein Ballroom NYC (very good show)
5/19 Metallica- Gillette Stadium, MA (Excellent show, some cool pics posted in the Metallica thread)
5/31 Iron Maiden- Prudential Center, NJ (Last minute decision to go with Millahh as some decent tix became available for cheap. Very glad I went, even if I get the same setlist exactly at Barclay's next month, because the band is just so on point)
6/4 Mr Big- BB Kings, NYC (Really enjoyed this, you could do a lot worse than getting to watch Billy and Paul shred for a couple hours and Eric Martin's voice still sounds pretty good)
7/22 Iron Maiden- Barclay's Center, NYC (Same setlist as NJ in May, another great show from the band)
8/22 Neal Morse Band- Gramercy Theater, NYC- Love TSOAD, so really enjoyed this sjow
9/1 Haken- Foundry @ Fillmore, Philly *VIP
9/2 Haken- Highline Ballroom, NYC
9/3 Haken Hard Rock Hotel, Washington DC- Haken weekend was beyond epic, need to upload some of my photos
9/11 Paul McCartney- Prudential Center, Newark NJ- Hey Jude singalong with Sir Paul >>> all other concert singalongs.
9/24 Mike Portnoy's Shattered Fortress- Irving Plaza, NYC- Probably my show of the year so far, the crowd was beyond electric and the band nailed it.
10/12 Guns N' Roses- Prudential Center, Newark NJ- Bucket list show for me and not too far behind TSF as one of my favorite shows of the year.
10/28- Thank You Scientist- Mexicali Live, Teaneck NJ- An absolute blast. It's criminal I haven't seen these guys at more of their local shows.
11/16- Dream Theater- Beacon Theater, New York NY- A pleasant surprise given some of the James stories I'd heard. Setlist was obviously epic.
11/18 Dream Theater- Paramount Theater, Asbury Park NJ- James was even a little better than NYC, the band was on point, and I had great seats.
Top 3 shows of the year:
#1 is definitely MP's Shattered Fortress show in NYC. Loved the setlist, loved the band he put together, and it was maybe the best/most electric crowd atmosphere I've ever experienced at a live show
#2 is Haken in NYC. Definitely buoyed by being part of a 3 day Haken extravaganza, but the sound was particularly good in New York even up on the rails. Didn't hurt that we went out for beers with Rich and Ray afterwards :cheers:
#3 is Metallica in Foxborough. They put on an amazing stadium show, and I was lucky enough to take it in from the pit in front of the stage. The biggest metal band in the world for a reason.
Honorable mentions: Dream Theater in Asbury Park and Guns N Roses in Newark.