Top Live Gigs

[matk]

Ah! My first fan!

Jeremy, saw Heaven & Hell in Manchester on the Fri. Superb gig, but one of the shortest I've been to. They were into the last song (Heaven & Hell) after 1 Hour! Have you checked out the youtube footage from Sheffield?

Also at Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" in Manchester! Do you remember after the intermission when they came back to Tequila Sunrise? Spine tingling.

[gwilhelm]

Most memorable: Pink Floyd @ the Cleveland stadium on their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in IIRC 1988..... Absolutely amazing stage show. The next was Steve Miller Band opening for Greatful Dead. Steve Miller Band just ROCKED out and just played with such enthusiasm I got chills. The Greatful Dead was BORING!!!! They just droned on and on I though they played the same song for 2 hours!

Metallica opening for Ozzy Osbourne in Cincinnati was pretty good as was Rush the 5 times I've seen them....

Edited November 13, 2007 by GregWO

[peter_england99]

I saw Chris Rea on the "Road to hell" tour at Wembley Arena. Sadly the sound was appalling.

Chris Rea should be known on this forum as he's a big petrol head. He was racing his Ferrari at Castle Coombe earlier this year.

Regards,

Peter.

Chris Rea was also excellent, but I doubt anyone remembers him!

[Mark Blanchard]

Whereabouts mate?

London Astoria. They sounded more like a rock / funk band than a grunge band. Lots of base guitar. Did you go to that gig too?

[Paul C]

London Astoria. They sounded more like a rock / funk band than a grunge band. Lots of base guitar. Did you go to that gig too?

Tuesday 5th november 1991. (i have an album full of gig tickets, so was easy to check!)

Saw them a few times but remember that one well, he jumped into the crowd at the end.

In a time when people are coughing up

[Laura]

Laura's favourite band the Foo Fighters who we saw last summer in Hyde Park where there was an 80,000 crowd which stretched back half a mile if not more! We had gold circle tickets and were 3/4 rows from the stage when Brian May and Roger Taylor jumped up to join Dave Grohl for 'Tie Your Mother Down' which was just ace!

What he said.

That was an amazing gig with Motorhead and Queens of the stone age as support acts too, Lemmy also came on & joined the Foo's for a song.

Just to be pedantic Brian May & Roger Taylor actually joined Taylor Hawkins, AKA Captain Beyond the Foo's drummer, for Tie Your Mother Down. At their gigs Taylor & Dave often swap places as Taylor Hawkins also sings, plays guitar and writes his own material and we all know Dave Grohl can bash the skins. On this occasion Dave was relegated to 2nd Guitar & Taylor sung.... but I'm sinking in to my own sad little Foo Fighters world now.

[Mark Blanchard]

Tuesday 5th november 1991.

Yea, that was it! They did an Album of that gig too: Clicky

[Paul C]

Yea, that was it! They did an Album of that gig too: Clicky

Yeah mate, look at the track listing, that was SO the time to see them.

I never got on with any of the stuff after nevermind, in fact i still rate

bleach as their best album. When they toured for bleach, they had this

punk guy dancing on stage interperating the lyrics. This was the bands

well known gimmick and very funny. I think he got sacked once teen

spirit charted second time round, which was sad as he was cool. Last

time i saw him onstage he danced the whole set with 'God is gay' in

big letters across his chest.

Ok Mark, being as you were london way,

here's a few selected rocky dates (most of my stubs are indie)

plucked from my collection that we might have shared:

Iron Maiden, Wembley 10th dec 1988

Ozzy Osbourne, Hammersmith 5th may 1989

Ozzy Osbourne, Wembley 20th jan 1991

Guns and Roses, Wembley 31st aug 1991

Red hot chilli peppers, brixton 14th march 1992

Ozzy Osbourne, Brixton, 20th march 1992

Jesus and mary chain, brixton, 6th april 1992

The Damned, town and country club 25th july 1992

Hawkwind, Brixton, 15th august 1992 (for 12 hours!)

Metallica, Wembley, 24th oct 1992

[Jukka]

Here is some goodies what I have seen,

Rolling Stones

Phill Collins

Stewie Wonder

The Shadows

The Beach Boys

ZZ Top

and lot of finnish bands like Hurriganes

[Jonathan]

Best single band was the Foo Fighters a few years ago in London when they released their 2nd to current album - totally the best performers around, esp when Dave was on one of his walk abouts.

Muse at the reading festival, the stage, back drop (lightning in the sky) and the performance was just amazing.

My Vitriol at Brixton when supporting Placebo - stunning support band, went and bought their album the next day which rocked !

The Hives, offspring etc all great entertainers - the worst was the Red hot Chilli peppers, they just jammed the whole session, no crowd interaction

[islandbloke]

Old rock hippie alert...

Saw Procul Harem at Manchester UMIST in the late 60's

Was a big Deep Purple fan in the 70's and saw them a number of times in Manchester

Couple of Rainbow gigs

Focus

Santana

Uriah Heep (shite)

Was at Queen's first ever headline gig - Palace Theatre Manchester in 1974 I think - and many gigs since

Phil Collins

Tina Turner

Elton John (great value) at the NEC

Bucks Fizz (great live show)

...and lots of smaller gigs, including (no kidding) Sugababes this year here on The Rock. So close I could smell them...oohhhhh...

Biggest regret - never saw Pink Floyd live (agree about the Aussie Floyds though - superb!).

(edits to cover memory lapses)

Edited November 14, 2007 by islandbloke

[GordonMasson]

Just back from seeing Deacon Blue tonight ... still excelent.

20 years ago now since i first saw them live and seen them a good 7 or 8 times in between.

I certainly wouldnt say it was the best live show ever but still great

I love to watch live bands when they are actually LIVE and the people in the band are singing and playing the instruments and not some set of session musicians hidden at the back.

Best live

Rolling Stones

Thin Lizzy

Worked for them both as stage crew

The Who

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton & Phil Colins

Oasis

Stereophonics

Bruce Springsteen

[cly_mitchell]

The best show would be Ozzy and Motley Crue. The best band Iron Maiden, No shit. I have seen a bunch of them. From Micheal Bubble to The Pet Shop Boys to Van Halen to W.A.S.P. To Depeche Mode to .....you get the picture. I even had the good fortune to see MJ do the Thriller tour. Lots of good acts. I wish I would have seen Rush.

Cheers

Clay

[simonf]

Roger Waters (pink floyd for the ignorant!) live at wembly arena!

Pink Floyd not so much a band....more like a religion!

Edited December 5, 2007 by simonf

[sandwer]

My faves -

The Tragically Hip - Shepherd's Bush 2006

Aussie Floyd - Ipswich 2004

Talking Heads Hammersmith December 1980

(and as a young teenager - supervised by a responsible adult <cough>)

Zep - Earl's Court 1975

The Who - Charlton 1974 (ouch)

And my biggest regret is not seeing the Faces

[MPx]

Well since we're going back some way ... probably the best live gig I saw was Jean Michel Jarre do his stuff in the Docklands - best fireworks ever IMO (incl against all the millenium and olympic stuff since).

Have also really enjoyed

Ian Dury (Brum New Street)

Dr Feelgood (Hemel Heampstead)

ELO (NEC)

10CC (NEC)

Joan Armatrading (Hammersmith)

and dare I say Chris de Burgh - Wembley Arena

but sadly did NOT enjoy

Michael Wacko Jacko at Wembley (poor sound and too far away to see properly)

Cliff Richard in Brum New Street (I was told someone had to go - and I was the only 19 yo male present!)

Crosby Still Nash & Young - Open air concert Oxford (boring)

Steve Harley - Aylesbury (only one good song)

Forgotton the rest!

....er.... and how about the Coull Quartet Wigmore Hall or do the classics not count?

[esprit350]

we have done this before but here are a few of mine

David Bowie 3 times 1972/73 manchester hardrock, blackburn and manchester free trade hall

Leonard Cohen Manchester free trade hall < best gig I ever went to

Level 42 lancaster uni

Lou Reed sheffield city hall

The Tubes Manchester free trade hall

Mick Ronson preston guildhall, sheffield city hall

Mary Hopkin with my parents Blackpool odeon circa 1969

[Mark Blanchard]

We should have a thread for the worst gigs we've been to too. I can real of a few!

Janet Jackson, supported by All Saints (for Prince Hakim's Birthday in Brunei).

Bon Jovi Wembley 1989 (Got dragged along to it).

James Taylor Quartet

Pixies (V Festival)

[matk]

That's extremely easy, The Spice Girls! Before anyone laughs too loud my son wanted to go!

[Paul C]

Worst gig was Primal scream touring for screamadelica

at the Hummingbird in birmingham. Just under an hour

of being piss poor. Bobby gillespie looked more unhappy

to be there than i was, so at least i had that.

Strangely, i saw Janes Addiction do a one hour set at the

same venue, and it was so bloody good i did not care!

[sandwer]

On a similar vein as Paul, the worst gig I ever went to was the Darkness at Nottingham Arena a few years ago. They were a chaotic shambles. But, I was there only to see the support band.

Ash - the support band - on the other hand, walked on like they owned the place and then proceeded to blow everyone away. <hmmm Charolotte Hatherley's boots...>

[GordonMasson]

That's extremely easy, The Spice Girls! Before anyone laughs too loud my son wanted to go!

Fraser had a Girls Aloud calendar on his wall last year...... he wasn

Edited December 4, 2007 by GordonMasson

[matk]

Hi Gordon

Yes very aware, seen this incarnation of Lizzy twice, most recently as support for Deep Purple earlier this year.

Drummer is Tommy Aldridge who first came to prominence as Ozzy Osbournes drummer back in the Randy Rhoads days. He's also worked with Whitesnake and a host of other hard rock bands.

I think the weird bits he has on his bass drums are some kind of digital booster equipment but I'm guessing. I'm sure Punky might know more.

For me he's one of those drummers who's technically amazing, puts on a great show, but a little mechanical with not enough soul. I'd personally rather watch someone like Simon Kirke out of Free and Bad Company, who plays relatively simple grooves, but with tons of swing and feeling. Just my 2p of course before I offend someone!

[GordonMasson]

Well yes i must admit that i did feel he was overplaying it a bit ...clearly very talented at what he does but Lizzy are primarily a guitar band but the guitars were being lost in the mix because of the overpowering bass and drums.

Scott Gorham has also changed to a Strat these days rather than the Les Paul he used to play.

Strat is much more mellow and doesn

[punky]

I think the weird bits he has on his bass drums are some kind of digital booster equipment but I'm guessing. I'm sure Punky might know more.

From the picture it looks like one of these.SUB KICK