The TAC Top 25 Concert Countdown #1 Puttin' On The Ritz

[Samsara]

re: Tate's voice at the 5/24/95 show - bosk is right, Tate's voice was rough. He had a bad cold for the week surrounding that show, and that particular show was the worst of it. He got a lot better as the tour moved east (I saw it in July at Jones Beach).

re: Warrant/KISS - I'm not a KISS fan at all, but more power to those who enjoy them. how was Warrant? One of my biggest regrets was not seeing them on their first three albums. I couldn't. My parents wouldn't let me go to concerts until I was 18 (this was why I missed QR/Metallica, QR/Def Leppard, QR Building Empires). I think Jani Lane was a brilliant songwriter (Cherry Pie was bullshit and he should never had been forced to write it). Always wanted to see him and just never did. Love those first three Warrant records.

[TAC]

That Paul Stanley show is one of my greatest concert regrets.  I was at Uconn at the time and I can't remember why I didn't go, but I didn't go, and I rue that to this day.   That's a KILLER setlist (and to see "Goodbye" live would be a treat; it's one of my favorite songs).

He literally played 7 shows within driving distance of you over a three week period.

Stads, the funny thing is that, yes, I was a big Kiss fan during this time, but I actually recognized this as a potential huge concert regret later in life. Boston was sold out, and with no show in Providence, we drove to Hartford.


I would have also be going to Hartford for another show about a month later...more on that coming up...

[TAC]

re: Warrant/KISS - I'm not a KISS fan at all, but more power to those who enjoy them. how was Warrant? One of my biggest regrets was not seeing them on their first three albums. I couldn't. My parents wouldn't let me go to concerts until I was 18 (this was why I missed QR/Metallica, QR/Def Leppard, QR Building Empires). I think Jani Lane was a brilliant songwriter (Cherry Pie was bullshit and he should never had been forced to write it). Always wanted to see him and just never did. Love those first three Warrant records.

Brian, I totally get the parent thing. I think we ALL have a list of shows that we had just missed by a couple of years. I know I sure do.


I wasn't a Warrant fan per se. In 1989, I was full on metal. But they were great on stage. I loved their performances. Seeing them in a club (opening for Paul) and months later seeing them in an arena (opening for Motley Crue) showed their ability to command both settings. I thought they were fantastic.
Jani Lane was great. I just wished I liked their music more.

Not even getting very far in this countdown, and I think we are up to at least a dozen people that are no longer with us.

[Stadler]

That Paul Stanley show is one of my greatest concert regrets.  I was at Uconn at the time and I can't remember why I didn't go, but I didn't go, and I rue that to this day.   That's a KILLER setlist (and to see "Goodbye" live would be a treat; it's one of my favorite songs).

He literally played 7 shows within driving distance of you over a three week period.

Stads, the funny thing is that, yes, I was a big Kiss fan during this time, but I actually recognized this as a potential huge concert regret later in life. Boston was sold out, and with no show in Providence, we drove to Hartford.


I would have also be going to Hartford for another show about a month later...more on that coming up...

I know, I know.  And I was going to Hartford regularly, because I worked at the Civic Center!   It was a weird time though. This probably won't be the first show I say "I regret" in that time period. 

[TAC]

23. Black Sabbath
                      Prong



August 9, 1992
Orpheum, Boston


Setlist:
E5150 Intro
The Mob Rules
Computer God
Children of the Sea
Time Machine
War Pigs
I
Die Young/
Guitar Solo
Black Sabbath
Master of Insanity
After All (The Dead)/
Drum Solo
(Vinnie Appice)
Iron Man
Heaven and Hell
Neon Knights
Paranoid
Heaven And Hell Reprise







This show was broadcast on the radio..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRSDWmIWdUA


There's also a great video from this tour at The Beacon in NY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH890FGzBTs



After stupidly skipping the Tony Martin Era tours, but continuing to see Dio throughout his tours, him reuniting with Tony Iommi and Geezer was a no brainer. This is the only time I ever saw Tony live and he did not disappoint. He is so iconic, and he was fucking ON for this tour. Just listen or watch the shows I linked.

We were quite close to the stage right in front of Geezer. Watching him play bass was like watching Animal from the Muppets play drums.


I was not a Prong fan, but I wanted to make sure we got in to see the last couple of songs just to see them. Plus, Troy Gregory from F&J was with them at the time.


A quick story..at the end of the show, when the band was throwing out picks and towels, Geezer threw a towel a few feet in front of me. This guy comes over my shoulder walking on the chair arms and kind of shoves me, so I gave him a little "leverage" back, and he turned around and punched me square across the jaw and ran off. WTF?? My jaw fucking killed, and there was some blood coming out of my mouth. We took the train back to my buddy's house in Cambridge and people on the train were looking at me funny. It took about a week and a half for me to no longer feel it.

[Stadler]

My buddy Jim saw that show in Hartford at the Bushnell Theater and says it was awesome.  He met Ronnie outside, who he said stood there for over an hour in sub-freezing weather signing everything that was put in front of him. 

I've seen Dio twice, and Iommi three times, but never saw the Dio-fronted Sabbath.  I don't know that I regret that. I never got into Dehumanizer much, though I think it was emtee that got me to listen to it again about a year or so ago and it was better than I remembered.     Dio Sabbath sort of devolved into being as heavy as they could be; I think they - Iommi - started to believe their own hype about being the "Riffmaster General".   

[TAC]

My buddy Jim saw that show in Hartford at the Bushnell Theater and says it was awesome.  He met Ronnie outside, who he said stood there for over an hour in sub-freezing weather signing everything that was put in front of him.   

I was going to say that the show was in August, but they did swing through the Northeast again in mid October.

[Samsara]

SO jealous. I only got to see Ronnie once - with Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell in 2007. I love Dehumanizer. Would love to have seen this tour. Great stuff, TAC!

[bosk1]

I would describe myself as a mostly casual "hits" fan of both Dio and Sabbath.  So needless to say, I didn't see this tour.  But I bet it would have been cool to see.  And it featuring my three favorite songs from my favorite Sabbath album doesn't hurt either. 

[lonestar]

Ahh Sabbath, excellent choice. Saw them at Ozzfest 99 with SLAYER and Judas Preist. We went to a bar to pregame, and got Chinese food. My fortune said "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing" so I got fucking hammered during the early bands. By the time Preist rolled around I was passed out on the upper lawn. Managed to wake up and find my buds in the pit in time for sabbath and with a renewed buzz (with chemical assistance) enjoyed the fucking hell out of it. Somewhere in the ether is a video of me rocking out to Paranoid.

[wolfking]

What an amazing tour to see.  Holy shit.

Fuck that guy that smacked you too though!

[TAC]

What an amazing tour to see.  Holy shit.

Check out the links. My show was broadcast on the radio and sounds awesome. The video from NY is also great.

Ahh Sabbath, excellent choice. Saw them at Ozzfest 99 with SLAYER and Judas Preist. We went to a bar to pregame, and got Chinese food. My fortune said "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing" so I got fucking hammered during the early bands. By the time Preist rolled around I was passed out on the upper lawn. Managed to wake up and find my buds in the pit in time for sabbath and with a renewed buzz (with chemical assistance) enjoyed the fucking hell out of it. Somewhere in the ether is a video of me rocking out to Paranoid.

 

Gotta find that video.









I'll be posting the next show later tonight..

[wolfking]

Man, that audio boot sounds amazing.  Computer God rips.  Geezer tearing shit up too! Will listen to more of that.

[TAC]

Man, that audio boot sounds amazing.  Computer God rips.  Geezer tearing shit up too! Will listen to more of that.

 

Has a ton of energy.



@ Lonestar....some J-metal coming your way tonight....

[lonestar]

Galneryus?

[TAC]

Galneryus?

Not exactly. 

[King Postwhore]

Loudness.

[lonestar]

Loudness.

They played with Nemophila a few months ago.

[TAC]

Loudness.

They played with Nemophila a few months ago.

They played with AC/DC in 1986. 

[TAC]

22. Guns n Roses
              EZO


October 26, 1987
The Living Room, Providence



Setlist:
It's So Easy
Move to the City
Out ta Get Me
Mr. Brownstone
My Michelle
Sweet Child o' Mine
Rocket Queen
Welcome to the Jungle
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
You're Crazy
Paradise City
Nightrain
Mama Kin

(This is the setlist on SetlistFM for the Boston show the following night..)


Here's footage from The Ritz in NYC 3 nights earlier..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ4erUOGhBk


Some shots from the show..














...and EZO









I started reading about GnR in Kerrang in the summer of '87. They were being hailed as the next big thing. I heard Appetite and was blown away by it. What a great album. But there were a lot of bands just like them at that time. In fact, I had taken a chance and went to see Faster Pussycat a month earlier and holy shit did they blow. They were so bad, I almost passed on GnR. But GnR were just better, on record at least.

The Living Room, while not a big place at all, was freaking packed. People were on to them. Duff, in his book, even mentions the short East Coast club tour in his book. Considering they were on the precipice of being one of the biggest bands in the world in a couple of years, I really cherish this show.

I also saw them when they came back around the following summer opening for Aerosmith.


EZO was a weird band to pair with GnR. They were a weird band to pair with anyone, actually. Their set was really cool though. It was quite groovy and played well. I never really followed up on them though.
No live footage, but this is their video to Flashback Heart Attack..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL8k2jzlVDE
They were good live though.

[DragonAttack]

I know I'm not always the most knowledgeable at times, but at first I'm going "who the frick are 'Los Angeles' and 'Japan'?" 
(hey, Kansas and Asia could have played the same night somewhere, right? )

Forgot to mention:  jealous of the Page / Plant show.  I was going to get tickets for myself and my best female friend who lived about ten minutes from The Palace of Auburn Hills, but she didn't want to go.  The plan was drive over from Kalamazoo, go to the concert, spend the night, and then drive back the next morning.  Should have just gone myself and stayed at a hotel/motel, but I never did that sort of thing.

[TAC]

Dog, I wasn't getting laid either and I still went to the show. 

[Zoom E]

I didn’t catch Black Sabbath on the Dehumanizer tour. I also never saw Prong live, even though I really enjoyed a few of their albums. My favourite Sabbath shows are the Mob Rules tour, which I saw on April 26, 1982, and the Ozzfest 99 tour. I had chills down the back of my neck when they took the stage at Ozzfest. I was so in awe.

The first time I saw GnR was when they opened for Maiden in 1988. So awesome that you got to see them in a smaller venue.

I was a big fan of the self-titled EZO album. When I’ve listened to it in recent years, it still sounds great to my ears.

[TAC]

My favourite Sabbath shows are the Mob Rules tour, which I saw on April 26, 1982, 

I think you have a couple of years on me.

Who opened the show? I remember that tour coming here (I wasn't old enough, did I mention that?  ) and The Outlaws opened. A strange combination for sure.

[Zoom E]

My favourite Sabbath shows are the Mob Rules tour, which I saw on April 26, 1982, 

I think you have a couple of years on me.

Who opened the show? I remember that tour coming here (I wasn't old enough, did I mention that?  ) and The Outlaws opened. A strange combination for sure.

Yes, I think I do have a couple of years on you 

It was indeed The Outlaws who opened. I only knew their two radio hits, so they didn't make much of an impression on me.

[cramx3]

Oh wow seeing GnR in such a small venue so early on is pretty epic.

Any shenanigans from them that night or was this before Axl was unreliable to start a show?

[Kwyjibo]

I saw GnR on the Use Your Illusions tour in a big stadium with 50,000 other people. And as good as it was I would have liked to see them in a more intimate setting.

[Samsara]

I'm a massive Appetite-Lies era GnR fan. They were just real and gritty sleaze from the gutters of Los Angeles and I really dug their sound. I worked hard to identify all the songs from the Illusion era that had their start in the Appetite era (You Could Be Mine, November Rain and Don't Cry to name a few), and I tend to focus in on those. SO jealous that you got to see a gig on the Appetite tour. I finally got a chance to see GnR in 2016, in Seattle. A buddy bought me a ticket for my birthday and I flew up to see them. Alice in Chains opened. Phenomenal show. Axl sounded amazing that night (I was relieved). But I so wanted to see them on the Appetite tour.

[Stadler]

I saw Guns back in the day, in Hartford (with Brian May opening) and again on a club tour in Philly on the Chinese Democracy tour.   That club show was fucking AMAZING.  They went on at 11 sharp, and I left at ten after 2 and they were still playing, and Axl was on stage for all but about 10 minutes of that (Dizzy Reed's solo spot).   

Good gig; I was married at the time but going through troubles; I was standing right next to this really cute girl, and her husband was sitting right on the other side and was literally on his phone the ENTIRE show.  Didn't look up once.  The girl and I sort of danced the entire show.  There was nothing said, but she knew I knew and it was clear she just wanted to have a good time at a show.  Good clean fun at the end of the day.

I remember the first show, though; I remember thinking "these guys are at another level; this isn't an arena stage show, this is something dangerous.  Anything can happen."  It was a weird feeling that I've literally never once ever had with any other band. 

[TAC]

Any shenanigans from them that night or was this before Axl was unreliable to start a show?

No shenanigans. I saw them 4 more times on the USI tour, including the first two nights of the second leg. (The first leg was in the summer of '91 before the USI albums were released. Anyway, Soundgarden came on at the regular time and then GnR didn't come on until about 11. It was fucked up. And for the couple hours in between bands, all they did was show girls in the crowd on the big screen.

Saw the tour with Metallica, and no issues there, but like Stadler, I also saw them on that last leg in March of '93 at the Garden with Brian May opening, and Axel did stop the show for what seemed about 10 or 15 minutes because I think someone threw something on stage.

Good gig; I was married at the time but going through troubles; I was standing right next to this really cute girl, and her husband was sitting right on the other side and was literally on his phone the ENTIRE show.  Didn't look up once.  The girl and I sort of danced the entire show.  There was nothing said, but she knew I knew and it was clear she just wanted to have a good time at a show.

You've been listening to too many Paul Stanley introductions to Love Gun.

[TAC]

21. Armored Saint


November 3, 1988
The Living Room, Providence


Setlist:
March Of the Saint
Nervous Man
Reign Of Fire
Raising Fear
Chemical Euphoria
Long Before I Die
Book Of Blood
Can U Deliver
Spineless
Madhouse

There is no setlist available for this show, but I put this together based on what they were playing at this time, plus my memory.

Believe it or not, Armored Saint was the opener. They were opening for King Diamond, who I simply was not into at the time. I didn't even care enough to stick around for a couple of songs, which is exactly how I fell in love with Armored Saint to begin with. King Diamond came around two months earlier, but with Flotsam & Jetsam, and I left after F&J too.

But I wanted to get Armored Saint into the countdown and I chose this show as it was special for a couple of reasons.

First, Jeff Duncan had by now joined the band and they were now a 5 piece. They were also playing new songs that would end up on their amazing Symbol Of Salvation album. We got Reign Of Fire and Spineless. They were also playing Dropping Like Flies around this time as well.

Secondly, and more importantly, it was the last time I saw Dave Prichard live. They only had 7 shows left in 1988, and played just a handful in 1989. He only had about 15 shows left. Sadly on February 28, 1990 he passed away from Leukemia at the age of 26. Fucking 26.
I remember we were standing outside of the club before the show, and he walked by us and said something like "Get sick in there!".


A few pics of the show..







And I got a pic too!

[Zoom E]

Great photos. I didn't realize Dave Pritchard was so young when he passed away 

The only time I saw Armored Saint live was in 1985 when they opened for Metallica on the Ride the Lightning tour. I had the March of the Saint album and quite liked it, so it was a great double bill for me. That show would be in my top 25 for sure.

[TAC]

Great photos. I didn't realize Dave Pritchard was so young when he passed away 

The only time I saw Armored Saint live was in 1985 when they opened for Metallica on the Ride the Lightning tour. I had the March of the Saint album and quite liked it, so it was a great double bill for me. That show would be in my top 25 for sure.

You need to do a list.

[Samsara]

I was waiting for the Saint entry. Bad ass. Great pics. Crazy enough, John Bush is a better singer now. Saint still killing it, 30+ years later. Can't wait for the show with WASP in December. Funny enough, we'll be leaving after Saint (no interest in WASP).

[TAC]

Funny enough, we'll be leaving after Saint (no interest in WASP).

 

Yeah, John is amazing. Those old Armored Saint shows were great. Gonzo was the heaviest drummer I have ever seen. His bass drums vibrated through the floor.