The best gig you've ever been to?

You win this thread.

I'll admit - I feel lucky to have my formative music years occur in the late 70's through the 80's, and even the very beginnings of the 90's, in those formative years for heavier music in general. I saw quite a few of the bands, now legendary, before all the scenes developed around certain genres, it was all just heavy metal.

Couple of other shows with fond memories for me - some metal, some rock.

Rush - Permanent Waves Tour 1980 (the first rock arena rock concert I ever went to - my older brother took me along. He was a huge Rush fan, and I had recently shown interest in them - I was 12 years old).

Rainbow/Scorpions and Riot - New Haven Coliseum 1982 (the first concert I was not with my brother at - just me and a friend).

Judas Priest - World Vengeance Tour 1982 (Iron Maiden opening on The Beast on the road Tour) Maiden supporting Number of the Beast and Priest Screaming for Vengeance. If not for later Maiden shows, this would probably be up at the top simply for the two giants of metal together when both were really breaking in the US.

Black Sabbath - Mob Rules Tour at the New Haven Coliseum 1983 (another great early metal memory).

Sometime back in the late 70's early 80's I also saw Aerosmith with (Leslie West's) Mountain at an outdoor concert up in New Hampshire while on family vacation. This was probably the first concert my older brother took me to with him. Not sure I've ever mentioned the debt of gratitude I owe him for exposing me to so much great music when I was young. some other shows he took me to over the years before I could drive are Peter Gabriel (early 80's), Kansas, Styx (both early 80's) - he was cool with taking his younger brother to shows with him despite being 9 years older than me. I can't thank him enough.

Another great show my brother took me to was a new years eve show at the Agora Ballroom in West Hartford (same place I saw Metallica) with Lita Ford and Ratt opening for headliners Twisted Sister (saw them twice at the Agora) the new years eve show was in support of You Can't Stop Rock n Roll so it must have been in 83.

The Agora Ballroom was the scene of the majority of the non-arena metal shows I went to. I saw Accept on the Balls to the Wall tour there, Yngwie Malmsteen supporting Marching Out, Queensryche on The Warning tour Slayer in 86 and 88, King Diamond in 87 if memory serves correctly, Fates Warning also in 87.

I forgot to mention in my Metallica 86 post that Metal Church was the opening band which made that show all the better.

Anthrax and Megadeth multiple times including Megadeth on the Wake Up Dead tour.

I saw Queensryche July 31,1991 on the Empire tour where they played Operation Mindcrime completely as the second half of the set. My girl friend bought me the tickets for my birthday.

These were my musically formative years and the live music I witnessed was extremely memorable. I probably went to more concerts in the 80's than I have in any other decade of my life, but I still love going to shows, just fewer of them these days.

Anthra
 
You win this thread.

Rush - Permanent Waves Tour 1980 (the first rock arena rock concert I ever went to - my older brother took me along. He was a huge Rush fan, and I had recently shown interest in them - I was 12 years old).



Judas Priest - World Vengeance Tour 1982 (Iron Maiden opening on The Beast on the road Tour) Maiden supporting Number of the Beast and Priest Screaming for Vengeance. If not for later Maiden shows, this would probably be up at the top simply for the two giants of metal together when both were really breaking in the US.



I forgot to mention in my Metallica 86 post that Metal Church was the opening band which made that show all the better.


I saw Queensryche July 31,1991 on the Empire tour where they played Operation Mindcrime completely as the second half of the set. My girl friend bought me the tickets for my birthday.




Now you win the internet.
 
Iron Maiden on the Somewhere Back In Time tour at Heavy MTL was amazing.

Great show but even better was the original Somewhere in Time show - Toronto, Maple Leaf Gardens, 1987. We had floors way in the back, paid the bouncer $5 each to let us go to the front. Finally managed to make it to 1st row floors in front of my idol Davey right before they started playing Heaven Can Wait. Was fucking amazing!!! :headbang:

The Gardens was great for hockey and rock concerts... saw Metallica there on Master of Puppets tour and ACDC Fly on the Wall with Yngwie opening... oh and Triumph and man I can't even remember them all... :)
 
Two of those artists listed are pretty much bald and have been for a while now. I can see possibly mistaking Collins for Frampton from afar, but Clapton? Really? :loco: :)

Summer Sanitarium 2003 was a great show - saw it at the second show of the tour up in Foxborough Mass at the old stadium, but I still count seeing them in a small venue crammed full of crazed thrash fans in 86 as high Metallica high point.

To be "fair", I wasn't a fan of either/any at the time and we were too far back (plus drunk/stoned) to notice any hair characteristics haha

But I agree with AD Chaos, you win the thread hands down!
 
Great show but even better was the original Somewhere in Time show - Toronto, Maple Leaf Gardens, 1987. We had floors way in the back, paid the bouncer $5 each to let us go to the front. Finally managed to make it to 1st row floors in front of my idol Davey right before they started playing Heaven Can Wait. Was fucking amazing!!! :headbang:

The Gardens was great for hockey and rock concerts... saw Metallica there on Master of Puppets tour and ACDC Fly on the Wall with Yngwie opening... oh and Triumph and man I can't even remember them all... :)

I'm sure it was better, but in 1987 I was too busy being born so I'm extremely grateful for that back in time tour as I'm sure most not so old Maiden fans are. And Phil (the guy you're quoting) wasn't even thinking about existing at that time hahaha
 
Stryper - 1987, Festival Hall, Brisbane.

My first ever gig and still my favorite memory. Opened a whole new world with the power and excitement of the playing.
If I remember correctly a long gone band called BlackWidow opened - good times.
 
Hmmm...... hard to think back to the 90's. Ones that stand out:

Morbid Angel (Formulas tour)
Nile (Black Seeds tour)
Type O Negative (October Rust tour)
Paradise Lost (Draconian Times tour)

My absolute favorite gigs though were Obituary last december (old-school set, first 3 albums, just amazing) & Atheist in 2011, In-fucking-credible. Can't beat old school florida death metal.+
 
Rage against the machine at Wembley Arena on the battle of la tour.

or
Sigur Rós at somerset House in London. The sun was setting as they played and the set got more intense and louder as the night went on... in fkn credible.
 
I'm sure it was better, but in 1987 I was too busy being born so I'm extremely grateful for that back in time tour as I'm sure most not so old Maiden fans are. And Phil (the guy you're quoting) wasn't even thinking about existing at that time hahaha

LOL... yeah it was fucking amazing man... they were really rolling at that point. Powerslave tour was amazing too but I didn't get 10 feet from the stage like I did with SIT... it was surreal to see them in action that close - incredible pro musicians they are!!!
 
Hard to come up with one definitive show that was the best. Performance wise it was hands down Meshuggah at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto in 2009. Some of that show is on the Alive dvd. Experience wise, probably being in front row for Lamb of God/Behemoth/Hatebreed at the Kool-haus, also in Toronto. It felt like it was raining inside from the condensation coming down from the ceiling. I had a bruise on my ribs from the gate for like a week. I'll never forget that one.
 
tough call

1st big one was metallica/korn/SOAD at the stick in frisco in 00...only stadium show i've seen, so still stands out for sure

but RATM @ coachella a few years back was ridiculous as well

also QOTSA @ a small club in santa cruz while touring for SFTD was ridiculous, as was seeing DEP in an even smaller place. after going to so many over the years, it seems bunches of them can be considered "best" in their own ways!
 
tough call

1st big one was metallica/korn/SOAD at the stick in frisco in 00...only stadium show i've seen, so still stands out for sure

but RATM @ coachella a few years back was ridiculous as well

also QOTSA @ a small club in santa cruz while touring for SFTD was ridiculous, as was seeing DEP in an even smaller place. after going to so many over the years, it seems bunches of them can be considered "best" in their own ways!

Acronyms for Christ's sake, not everyone knows what OIWEHFNWKOPNVPWKNDKQ stands for.
 
Another gig that sticks out now that I saw them mentioned in this thread was Dillinger Escape Plan on the IIADS (Irony is a dead scene :wink:) tour run. Absolute lunatics on stage (without Patton though which would have been insane if he was there). Crazy loud too. I much prefer club gigs to arena-type gigs or festivals. More energy/
 
Probably Exodus in Manchester, 2004. I'd been drinking for 12hours before the gig too. Got a black eye and a beach ball signed by Zetro afterwards. Awesome night!
Faith No More in 98 and Carcass in 94 are also up there.
 
Probably Exodus in Manchester, 2004. I'd been drinking for 12hours before the gig too. Got a black eye and a beach ball signed. Awesome night!

Exodus are fucking killer live. I saw them in a tiny pub in Cork on the Shovel Headed tour when Bostaph was drumming. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was on over the PA before they played and after the second song, Paul Bostaph was signalling down to the FOH guy about his monitor. Seventh Son was still coming through his monitor :lol::lol: They were so fucking tight and brutal live. Way better than any of the Big 4 bands live. Gods!
 
Sweet! :)
I feel so lucky. Seen them with all 3 singers. Saw them with Baloff at Dynamo festival '97 (and met the guys backstage). Always brilliant live. They kicked ass last time I saw them at Bloodstock (2011), even though their set got cut short.