JEB
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Joined: 2/4/2006
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With no hesitation, I would have to say Deep Purple 2/15/85. My jaw was on the floor...I couldn't believe they were blowing Made In Japan away with the quality of performance. This was the show that convinced me to start taping virtually every band I saw.
Runner ups:
Armored Saint, Metallica (MOP tour, with Cliff), Dokken, Ted Nugent, and Aerosmith 5/26/86. How can you argue with a bill like this for $16?
Black Flag 6/19/86. The second to last Black Flag show ever played. $6 for this one.
Judas Priest 11/25/90 (with Megadeth & Testament) & 7/19/91 (with Alice Cooper). These two shows are tied. Of all the times I've seen 'Priest between 1986 and 2005, these have to be the best two shows I've seen them play, not only in terms of setlist, but in performance quality as well. Megadeth was in their prime, having both Marty Freidman and Jason Becker in the band at the same time....easily the best tour they ever did. Alice Cooper was great, but didn't really do anything special, he was pretty much what you'd expect. 'Priest have proven themselves to be one of the greatest live acts of all time. My 11/25/90 ticket stub says $17.50, and my 7/20/91 (must have lost the one for 7/19) stub says $15.50.
Sonic Youth 10/10/87. This was never a band I was really into, but a lot of my friends liked.....I never got the whole "noise rock" thing. I went to this show just for the hell of it, because so many people made such a big deal about this band. Not expecting much out of the performance, I was completely blown away when they played virtually the entire Daydream Nation album before it came out....I really liked the change in musical direction to more melodic-based material. Horribly oversold, this has to be one of the most crowded shows I've ever been to....people were literally hanging from the rafters, and the floor was bouncing so much I thought that it would collapse. $8 for this one.
Motorhead - any of the many shows I've seen them play between 1988 and 2008, each one was always special for a unique reason. Lemmy is consistantly entertaining, the band is consistantly hot. Like 'Priest, this is one of the best live acts around.....you know what you're going to get, and the band always delivers.
Black Sabbath - same comments as given for Motorhead. Seen them with Dio, Tony Martin, and Ozzy on vocals between 1992 and 2008. No matter who is at the microphone, beautiful things ALWAYS happen whenever Tony and Geezer are onstage together.
Blue Oyster Cult - same comments as given for Motorhead and 'Sabbath. Always put on an amazing show every time I've seen them between 1989 and 2008. Buck is really an underrated guitarist. Alan is one of the best and most interesting keyboard players in all of rock music (I would give Pete Sears a close second).....I was really bummed to see him retire due to failing health. One of the best bands you'll ever see for a relatively low admission price.
Frank Zappa 3/4/88. What a wonderful show! This was everything expected and more. Very last tour before he died. All the political satire was the highlight of the show, along with Frank's guitar solos. $15, says the ticket stub.
Ok, I could go on with this for hours and hours....I'll quit here while I'm ahead....*smiles*....
But before I end this post, I'll also have to add a "worst concert" mention, one seemingly at odds with two postings above: The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty 6/26/86. Out of 20 Dead shows between 1986 and 1994, this was the only one I can say was bunk. An absolutely awful show, all the way around the board. The venue acoustics were horrible, so bad that it was a struggle to even tell what songs were being played. Dylan came out first, and literally mumbled and stumbled his way through the set....he was visibly drunk and tripping over cords on the stage....for as legendary as he was / is, I was horribly disappointed. Tom Petty was next, and was actually the best part of the show.....his performance was actually reasonable, if you like what he does - I don't, but will still give credit where credit is due. Then the Grateful Dead came out and sucked as bad as Dylan did....the band was totally lifeless and just going through the motions....Jerry looked and sounded like he was going to fall over and pass out at any time....sure enough, he ended up in that diabetic coma only a few months later. A HUGE disappointment, especially as this was my very first Dead show....every other time I've seen them, they've been fantastic. I would disagree with one of the above posts, in that the time to see this band was before 1989, not 1995.....1989 was when that whole scene was invaded by idiots who were had heard the new material on the radio, and really knew nothing about the band - they were only there to get fucked up in the parking lot and throw trash all over the place - you NEVER saw trash in the parking lot of a Dead show until 1989....this was also the time when they went from playing small and midsized arenas, to playing huge football stadiums - the band lost a lot of their connection with the longtime fans with this move.....this can all be summed up by someone coming back from seeing them in 1990 for the first time and telling me how great the show was because they had cartoon dancing turtles on a video screen - I went to the shows to see Jerry and the boys laying it down for a few hours, not dancing turtles!
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RE: Best Concerts - 
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