What's the best live performance you've ever seen?

[SavaVIDude]

I'm glad you enjoyed that show. For me, that was probably my least favorite perfomance ever. I saw the show at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY. For one, we had to wait who knows how long for Axel to get on stage after Metallica's set (it must've been over an hour, easy). Then GnR seemed to just go through the motions. They played each and every one of their radio hits (not their best songs), and everything seemed clichè and pre-choreographed, from the acoustic "Patience" to Slash playing the guitar solo to "November Rain" while standing on the grand piano. My first and possibly last stadium show.

The leg of the tour I saw them on was NOT a stadium!! That was a really bad tour for Axl. I saw them before the Metallica tour in a 15,000 seat indoor venue with pretty good acoustics. Soundgarden opened and were pretty unimpressive, IMO. It was TWO HOURS after SG before Axl decided to come on. His stage fright/bi-polar manic depression/drug problems are well documented. After all that, it was still the best concert I ever saw. I guess the quality of each show was very volatile, like Axl himself. The same genius (again, IMO) that made the Gunners great was the thing that eventually brought them down. We, the fans, were probably lucky to get what we got from the Gunners.

Thanks for your insight.

Chris

 

[SavaVIDude]

I'm going to have to also add: Jackyl. I LOVED seeing those guys live. They put on one of the best shows I have ever seen hands down. Pure energy and laughter.
-Metal

I have seen Jackyl more times than any other signed band (13)!! I have NEVER seen them give a bad show!! I have seen them play to 200 people all the way to 8,000!! NEVER a bad show - and they tour THEIR ASSES OFF!! They did a live CD a few years back called "Night of the Living Dead", which I was at, and they fuckin' rocked!! They issued the CD WITH NO STUDIO ENHANCEMENTS!! That takes BALLS!! Jesse James Dupree is one of the most charismatic frontmen I've ever seen!! They ALWAYS do meet and greets after their shows and are always cool!! Just good old southern boyz havin' a good time!!

I am going to see them again on July 16 in Dallas, along with Ted Nugent, among others. They NEVER disappoint!!

Chris

 

[TheWhisper]

* Whisper: "Savatage at the Rock-It Club, in Tampa, performing 'Streets' in it's entirety." Wow. I would have given so much to see a show like this. That must have been incredible (Streets is my #1 album of all time).

Steve in Phlly

It was a moving experience, indeed.

I miss that club so much. In the late 80's & early 90's they brought in so many good bands. I saw King's X there about three times, Crimson Glory with masks and without, Mother's Finest, Badlands w/ Saraya and so many more.

 

[General Zod]

Damn, I was a Q-Ryche fan at that time..but too young to go to a concert, since 7yr olds aren't allowed at concerts alone..

Thanks for making me feel old.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

I have seen Jackyl more times than any other signed band (13)!! I have NEVER seen them give a bad show!! I have seen them play to 200 people all the way to 8,000!! NEVER a bad show - and they tour THEIR ASSES OFF!! They did a live CD a few years back called "Night of the Living Dead", which I was at, and they fuckin' rocked!! They issued the CD WITH NO STUDIO ENHANCEMENTS!! That takes BALLS!! Jesse James Dupree is one of the most charismatic frontmen I've ever seen!! They ALWAYS do meet and greets after their shows and are always cool!! Just good old southern boyz havin' a good time!!

I am going to see them again on July 16 in Dallas, along with Ted Nugent, among others. They NEVER disappoint!!

Chris

I seen Jackyl open for ZZ Top in Knoxville, Tennessee around 93 or 94, and they rocked! I agree, 100% pure redneck energy!!!!!

 

[13ShadesofGray]

Good lord, what a tough decision to make! Here's my stab, and in no particular order:


George Lynch playing Mr. Scary about 3" from my nose at Iguana's in Tijuana, Mexico. Lynch Mob show, and it kicked ASS. People we stage diving from the third level, mosh pit for Lynch Mob... egad. Show was stopped for a few moments and the Federalies were actually threatened to be called. Very, very cool show, and the performances were top notch.

Fates Warning, same venue. Psychotic Waltz opened. My life was forever changed that night, let me tell you. Another very cool show with Fates was the tiny little gathering at The Rock Ranch during the DT/QR tour. The most intimate of shows... it was awesome

Dream Theater... First time ever seeing them was the Images and Words tour. This was Colleen for 2 hours:

Symphony X at the Galaxy Theater. Holy Hell.

Tori Amos, just her and her Bossendorfer at the Copley Symphony hall here in San Diego. I've NEVER heard an entire audience as silent as they were when she was performing. Hands down, the most intense performance I've ever seen in person.

There are too many killer shows to just pick one

 

[longshot9]

Wow, this is an extremely hard question to answer, been to a LOT of great shows. Anyways, in no particular order except for #1.

1. Kiss on the Animalize tour, 1984, San Diego Sports Arena with Queensryche opening (Warning tour!!). This was my first real show (saw Doobie Brothers a few years prior but had no idea who they were, I think I was 11). Maybe not the "best" show overall, but since it was the first it's a special show to me.

Other great shows

2. Brainstorm at PPV... one of the few shows i've been to that I left just in a total mindstate.

3. Tesla, I've seen them 7 times going back to them and Great White at the SDSU Amphitheatre on the GRC tour, and each time has been absolutely incredible, amazing live band.

4. Symphony X at PP1. First time seeing my favorite band, I was in heaven.

5. Motley Crue on the Girlls, Girls, Girls tour... watching Tommy in that rotating drum set was amazing.

6. Queensryche on the Empire tour doing O:M all the way through. I think I saw this at the amphitheatre at Balboa Park in San Diego. Amazing show.

7. Accept at the San Diego Sports Arena. One thing I especially love about some shows is hearing the crowd singing. Always gives me chills. Hearing 15,000 people doing the post-solo chant in this song is absolutely incredible.

8. Maiden on the Somewhere in Time tour.

9. Lynch Mob at a small club in San Jose. He comes out on stage and my cousin is playing bass for them, I had no idea. I'd seen him play live once before (Sean McNabb, played with Quiet Riot, House Of Lords, and longest with Great White), but this time it was totally unexpected so it was just really cool. My buddy and I got to go backstage and hang out with Lynch after the show, it was killer.

10. Dream Theater on the Awake tour in LA. First time seeing them. Amazing.

 

[Shadow_Angel]

Thanks for making me feel old.

Zod

sorry that was truly not my intention..

 

[Bryant]

From the PP events: Angel Dust, Tad Morose and Brainstorm. All were excellent. From other shows. Dio- The Last in Line tour Columbus Ga. They were simply amazing. Best light show I have ever witnessed. Yngwie Odyssee tour.

Honorable mentions:

Don't laugh, but Cinderella on the "Night Songs" tour was awesome. Wrathchild America, Overkill, and David Lee Roth (with Sheehan and Vai) were also outstanding.


Bryant

 

[mitthrawnuruodo]

Maybe I'll end up being the only one on this forum, but I saw Queensryche last week and they didn't put on a very good show at all. Mixing was terrible, very little movement on stage, very little interaction with the audience at all and they got the same back. It was all very uninvolved, which is sad considering how excellent this band is. It probably also didn't help that they were followed up by Judas Priest, a band renowned for putting on an excellent stage show.

 

[Bryant]

A couple mentioned Jackyl and I saw them at a freaking bar, right before they got big. I think "I Stand Alone" hadf just come out as a single and they were bad-ass !! Great live band !!
Another one I forgot to mention was Slaughter. In the late 90's I went to see Quiet Riot locally because I never caught them in the 80's and I thought it would be fun. Warrant and Slaughter opened. Warrant was intolerable and QR was ok, but Mark Slaughter absolutely peeled the paint off the walls of the auditorium. The guy hit EVERY note of all those super high vocal songs. The band also kept up with Mark, making their poppy songs heavier and more furious to keep up with Mark I suppose. They absolutely ripped.

Bryant

 

[Pellaz]

A couple mentioned Jackyl and I saw them at a freaking bar, right before they got big. I think "I Stand Alone" hadf just come out as a single and they were bad-ass !! Great live band !!

Even though I went to high school with Jesse, I only saw Jackyl once, at a special New Year's Eve show at Bayfront Arena in Tampa/St. Pete back in 1994 or so. My friends' band Mutha's Day Out (from Arkansas, go figure) were the opening act, followed by a local band and then the Screaming Cheetah Wheelies. (MDO's bassist Jeff was only 17 at the time, and their guitarist and drummer were 18.)

THAT was a fun roadtrip and a hella fun show. It was MDO's first arena show ever and when their drum-tech went out to test the drums right before the show (thump-thump-YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH), the roar from the crowd surprised him so much he fell off the back of the drum-riser.

Jackyl were by FAR the loudest band I've ever seen, to this day. The house-sound was cranked up full-blast for an arena show, but the venue was maybe two-thirds full, so there was this intense slapback from all the exposed concrete. We watched for about five minutes before realizing our folly and taking refuge and watching from side-stage. Then we all went and raided the SCW's dressing-room for Catering leftovers.

After the show, Jesse only remembered me vaguely from high-school...of course, back then I was yer basic nerd and had short hair.

 

[Bryant]

After the show, Jesse only remembered me vaguely from high-school...of course, back then I was yer basic nerd and had short hair.

Cool story !! Of course I'm still a nerd, but I'm a long-haired, hard-drinkin' metal-head Alabama red-neck nerd, so I suppose I stand out in the nerd world.

Bryant

 

[Pellaz]

"Well, for that matter, so do I," said Paul, hastily hiding his sci-fi books and Dragon*Con badges.....

 

[Bryant]

"Well, for that matter, so do I," said Paul, hastily hiding his sci-fi books and Dragon*Con badges.....

Well I can't say that I have ever dressed as a Jedi, but I have given people the Vulcan sign and have built four computers. No more building computers anymore btw though. When this one becomes too old, I throw it in the garbage and buy a new E-machines and upgrade soundcard, etc.

Bryant

 

[longshot9]

Honorable mentions:

Don't laugh, but Cinderella on the "Night Songs" tour was awesome.
Bryant

I've seen Cinderella numerous times and they've always been exceptionally good. Very energetic, and extremely tight. Like Keifer's voice or not, the fact that he sounds exactly the same live says something to me at least. A very original singer in my book.

 

[TheWhisper]

Maybe I'll end up being the only one on this forum, but I saw Queensryche last week and they didn't put on a very good show at all. Mixing was terrible, very little movement on stage, very little interaction with the audience at all and they got the same back. It was all very uninvolved, which is sad considering how excellent this band is. It probably also didn't help that they were followed up by Judas Priest, a band renowned for putting on an excellent stage show.

I also saw them last week and thought they kicked ass. Great set list, lots of old stuff and sounded great. The crowd was very, very into them and heard no complaints. Maybe you just got them on an off night.

 

[lady_space]

Maybe I'll end up being the only one on this forum, but I saw Queensryche last week and they didn't put on a very good show at all. Mixing was terrible, very little movement on stage, very little interaction with the audience at all and they got the same back. It was all very uninvolved, which is sad considering how excellent this band is. It probably also didn't help that they were followed up by Judas Priest, a band renowned for putting on an excellent stage show.

Very interesting... where'd you see 'em & what night? Here in Atlanta I thought geoff putt on more of a 'show' than Halford for the most part, though I thoroughly enjoyed both bands.

Shaye

 

[Pellaz]

Very interesting... where'd you see 'em & what night? Here in Atlanta I thought geoff putt on more of a 'show' than Halford for the most part, though I thoroughly enjoyed both bands.

Shaye

In fairness to Rob, he had been injured slightly in a stage mishap earlier on the tour...which explains why he was moving a bit gingerly on stage.

 

[General Zod]

sorry that was truly not my intention..

I know. I'm just teasing you.

Zod