I've seen a lot of good shows that were special in their own way. I'll mention some and why they were good:
-Kick Axe/Whitesnake/Quiet Riot - Oakland Collosseum: This was around 1983. Kick Axe was touring on Vices, WS was touring on Slide It In, and QR was touring on Condition Critical. It was a good show. But what made it special was that it was my first real concert ever. My friend and I had done a bunch of hard yard work for his dad (heavy meaning moving piles of dirt and busted up concrete), and he bought us tickets and sent us on our way.
Tesla and Def Leppard in 1987 - Oakland: Lep was touring in the round for Hysteria. It was a LONG set, and the in-the-round concept made for a really cool show.
-Y&T at the Omni in Oakland, around 1987 or 1988: Medium sized club that was PACKED! You could barely move. The openers were a couple of really good local Bay Area bands: Shea Roxy and Mad Anthony. Y&T played a solid set and played a bunch of new tracks they were considering for the next album and let the fans vote on which ones they liked, which was cool.
-Suicidal Tendencies and Queensryche - Raleigh, NC - 1991: Had just returned from the Gulf War and got to see Queensryche in their prime performing Mindcrime in its entirety. What's not to like?
-Queensryche - San Jose - 1994: There are a million bootlegs of this show in San Jose from the Promised Land tour. The show was broadcast, and I have always suspected it was supposed to have been a live release, except the accoustics were bad and Geoff's voice was rough. The sound guy messed up where you couldn't even hear Geoff in the mix in the beginning, and I think he strained his voice trying to sing loud enough to hear himself. But they still sounded decent and in terms of the visuals and the concept, this was one of the most amazing shows I have EVER seen.
-Queensryche in Seattle in 2001: The recording of the Live Evolution DVD. The show wasn't great, but was pretty good. What made it nice was that I had just finished taking the bar exam and had that behind me, and it was the start of a really fun and relaxing vacation with my wife in the Pacific Northwest where we spent time in Seattle, stayed in a multi-million dollar home right on the lake in Whistler for free, and then road-tripped across western Canada, staying at B&B's and camping out in the Canadian Rockies.
-Fates/Queensryche/DT in 2003: This was my dream lineup. QR was sort of "back" with the release of Tribe. Two shows in a row in the summer heat seeing a good opener and two bands I had only dreamed of seeing together.
-Journey Sacramento - 200...5?: Their 30th anniversary tour, and the last tour with Agueri. This was an extended evening with set. First set was mostly REALLY old, more obscure stuff, with some earlier hits thrown in toward the end. Second set was hits and new material from Generations. A friend who worked the venue got my wife and I really cool seats in the reserve section about 5 rows back. Great show.
-Y&T 2007: I got to take the stage and sing with a band I had been listening to for over 20 years. How could this not be on the list?
-Queensryche - Portland - 2008: I won a "sing with the band" finalist spot to sing in SF. Tour manager dropped the ball and forgot to contact us until 15 minutes before the show. No way I could have made it to SF in time. Susan Tate personally apologized and arranged for me to compete in Portland. The show itself was decent, but not great. And unfortunately, I got sick and lost my voice, so one of the other finalists beat me out for the opportunity to take the stage with the band during the encore. Still, it was a fun road trip with the wife and kids, and I got to basically do karaoke in front of 3,000 or so people on a great stage.
Lacuna Coil - Sparks, NV - 2009: Fun road trip and show with Samsara. I like this band, but am not in love with them. The openers were horrible. And yet, somehow, it was a GREAT show and a really good time.
Transatlantic - Downey - 2010: I've talked this show up a lot. It was great seeing the first ever performance of The Whirlwind, spending the day with really good people, meeting the band and Collin, sneakin' backstage, and roadtrippin'. I've told plenty of stories about this show on the forums, including coming to the brink of fisticuffs with Mike Portnoy and Neal Morse, so I won't repeat myself. All in all, some of the most fun I've ever had in connection with a concert.
Topic: Best concert you have ever been to? (Read 22342 times)
