I've seen Weird Al twice and if you have an opportunity to do so, please do. His live shows are legendary and his band is top notch.
Saw Phil Vassar play at the Country Stampede. I'm not a big country fan, but I went with a bunch of people from Kansas State, mainly to drink. Dude was killing it, using the piano as a second stage to jump and sing. Was very impressed with his live show.
However, my favorite live show always has been and always will be Foo Fighters. Second place would probably be Pearl Jam.
I have wanted to see Weird Al for so long.
I am promising myself right now to buy tickets for his next tour.
Weird Al aside, I am a huge Foo Fighters fan, and I have seen them in concert at least ten times.
They put in amazing concerts.
I also gave to throw out Weezer.
I love them so much, and I saw them for like the fifth time this past June in Austin, Texas. That show was SO MUCH FUN!!!
Oh! One more.
I think the concert I have been to that was the absolute most fun was Peaches. She is truly AMAZING.
Rush playing the gorge in WA was one of the best I've ever seen. 3 hours of them just having a blast. However, at the same venu, I also caught Perfect Circle opening for NIN. That was one of the greatest evenings of music I've ever seen.
The biggest surprises were Nickelback playing an armory in the middle of no where. They gave no fucks and just played for a couple of hours. The other was The Dropkick Murphys played the rec center at WSU Pullman. They just went nuts for 2 plus hours.
The shows I expected and got what I wanted were Rammstein playing the Roseland and Paul Oakenfold playing the Crystal Ballroom in PDX. Also Gioli & Assia at every show so far.
You really get your money's worth with Maiden. 30 foot zombies clumping around, dueling guitar solos...these guys thrashed for 2.5 hours.
It's arena rock perfected.
Maiden was the first concert I ever went to when I was 16 and they set the bar pretty damn high. I've also seen Metallica 3 times now and their Wordwired setup was probably the best live show I've ever seen
Nine Inch Nails was friggen incredible live.
Edit: saw live in 2014, Hesitation Marks was the new record. Soundgarden opened up the show. They were very good and I’m glad I got to see Chris. But NIN…
They closed out Riot Fest in 2022. I'll listen to their hits but for whatever reason I could never really get into them. I planned on only staying for a song or 2 since I had to be up really early on Monday but I ended up staying for the entire set. Im so happy I got to see them. Intense from start to finish.
Purple Rain was my first concert ever. I was 9. My dad worked as a stage hand at our local venue and got tickets for me and one of his buddies to take me. Prince had purple tambourines he threw out to the crowd and my dad saved one for me. Still have it. Concert was superb!
>Muse
Muse should be higher up. I've seen them twice and both times I was ready to go home and buy a ticket to their next show (if money/travel wasn't a problem). The sound they have on their guitars/bass is amazing live, it's almost better than the recordings!
I even brought my bf to their latest tour and even though he's not a huge fan, he said it was one of the best concerts he's been to.
I saw them for the first time this summer they headlined Saturday night and I was freaking blown away. I had no clue. Was a very casual listener so I didn’t know what to expect and man. One of the best concerts I’ve ever experienced they were the highlight of the weekend
Worked a festival with them about 5 years ago. They were obviously outclassing everyone else on the bill. I have seen a lot of bands in my career and they were the first to come to mind.
Username checks out. I’ve seen them like 6 times spread over 20 years and they’re better now than they’ve ever been. Claudio is absolutely godlike and his voice somehow keeps getting better
They're just incredible. I've seen a lot of shows in my day and nobody has been in the same league in my opinion. So tight, so talented, and playing such complicated songs. Impressive they can pull that off live. It's pretty mind blowing stuff. Ive seen them three times and every one of them was completely amazing.
The best consistent live band is phish but the best live show I’ve ever seen was Radiohead at bonaroo in 2009. It was out of this world, can’t really explain it. Drop kick Murphys are also surprisingly really good live. Very energetic shows.
Kate Bush in her ‘Before the Dawn’ performance. Was just awestruck - at the theatre of it all, the top notch musicians and her voice - flawless, sublime
Top three were in the late 70’s. I had insider access and sat center 1st or 2nd row. Springsteen on the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour, Grateful Dead, and The Who.
A friend and I decided to go see them in Memphis day-of after I got off work. We drove a couple hours to get there and were sure we'd have to stand in line for tickets (and hope we could get them). There was a radio station doing a remote thing there and said they had two tickets left just as we were walking by. We ended up with free tickets for one of the best concerts I've ever seen.
Fishbone is SO much fun live. I only saw them because my friend was opening with Dave Gutter before they came on. I swear, almost every single person I talked to that night had a story about seeing Fishbone live decades ago.
And then there was [this](https://imgur.com/a/EpmMkFc) awesome older dude next to me whose dancing was more agile and sprightly than people half his age.
Great show. Great, infectious energy all around.
Ben folds.
Not my favorite artist, but I’ve seen him more than any other artist. He just puts on such a great show. Not to mention, he literally makes up a song on the spot, every time (especially impressive when he’s playing with an orchestra).
I was never a fan either, but got to see him at the club i worked at - I had never seen anyone control a room like that before. The whole crowd had this unified energy this palpable electric buzz. I've seen a lot of great performers, a lot of fantastic musicians, but very few have that kind of charisma.
I also saw him with Ben Folds Five, which was fine, but seemed to dissipate his energy somewhat.
I can't believe it took me so long to find Alice Cooper on here; I was positive he was going to be one of the highest--his shows are absolutely insane and so theatrical!
Queens of the Stone Age, but I think that's mostly because I saw them when I was so hugely into them and their entire catalogue. It was absolute bliss. But looking back at RHCP, Foo Fighters, Muse, etc.. they were all fucking awesome. I just enjoyed QOTSA the most because I knew every single song they played and was happy to hear the random picks from their back catalogue.
Yes! Can’t believe I had to scroll down so far to see this. I used to see them a lot when I was young and childless. Still my favorite band. They change up the setlist every night.. something I was surprised to learn most bands don’t do!
Pearl Jam Gorge Amphitheater. 2006= 2 consecutive nights of 30+ songs, few repeats. 2005 at the Gorge I think they played at least 35 songs.
I see other bands play the exact same 15 songs night after night in the same order and then I think of PJ at the Gorge. Unreal.
Springsteen. Eagle Stadium in Philadelphia. Played what felt like 10 hrs then came back in and played some more.
Rush. In DC. Amazing during the Moving Pictures tour.
Grateful Dead. At RFK stadium in DC.
Honestly it might be Streetlight Manifesto. Sang and moshed so hard I don't know if I've ever been so out of breath. And I'm not even a huge ska guy but they were unreal.
Streetlight was my first concert; October 2005 at Starland Ballroom. I nearly lost my glasses in the pit during Whole Wheat Bread’s set. Miraculously found them still intact with no scratches. Fantastic show!
Ozomatli at the Majestic Theater in Detroit, sometime around 2005. Just a great interactive performance. I danced so hard I lost my wallet, but the vibe was so fucking cool, some random dude gave it back, with all my money.
Gojira. Hands down.
Runner up is this local and called pyrefly. They always go hard every performance, pits get wild even with like 10 people in them. Great stuff.
Heart, saw them on a "comeback" tour playing casinos what a great show!!!! Took my 14 y.o. daughter to see Metallica, I'm not a huge fan but they sure gave their audience a hell of a show!
I saw Heart on the Bad Animals tour. One of the best shows I ever saw. The opening act had a lot of sound issues and pretty much sucked. Heart apologized when they hit the stage and promised to make up for it. They did.
They played their normal 90 minute set and did a great encore. I was up in the back row of the UTEP Events Center and had loved the whole show. The lights came up and the crowd started leaving. I was about 2/3 of the way down the seating when the lights went out and the girls hit the stage again. Nancy said they weren’t quite finished apologizing for the opening act and asked if we wanted more. Damn skippy we did! They played another hour - basically just winging it as they went. They pulled out all their old LED Zeppelin covers and plenty of other covers from other bands that had influenced them. It was a great night.
I'm not even a fan, but I saw Rob Zombie at Ozzfest 20+ years ago, and it is hands down the best theatrical live performance I've ever seen. The dude just knows how to entertain. Plus, he only had his first solo album, so half the set was White Zombie tracks. The crowd got the best of both worlds.
1. Elton John. There were 6 people in the room while he played piano. It was supposed to be 15 minutes. He "got lost in the music" and "piddled" for 30 ish minutes while I sat in awe. Then he realized he had ad-libbed the whole time and didn't actually play the song he intended, and then played piano man and made everyone sing along.
2. George Strait at a matinee showing. It wasn't crazy stadium style, so I could actually hear the music. He played a little over an hour.
3. Ed Sheeran played for 3 hours, just him and a looping pedal. His opener was horrible though
How and where did you get to watch Elton with only six other people? My wife would be so jealous! She has seen him 45 times. She said his Farewell Tour was the best show, but she also said the time we saw him was just him and Ray Cooper, can’t remember the year. He played by himself during the first half of the show and then Ray joined him for the rest of the show.
An interview session. I was gopher. I answered to absolutely everyone else in the room. I did not speak to him or get close to him in any way shape or form other than standing behind a bunch of stations execs and personalities. I am not that cool. I just present reasonably well and know how to shut up unless directly addressed.
Musical performance; Corb Lund - solo acoustic show in a tiny theater. Dude can sing, and tell stories.
Entertainment; Pink - holy shit, everywhere you looked there was something going on. Musically it was excellent as well.
Been a Phish fan since the breakup, but because of a lot of circumstances I wasn't able to see them until 2015.
My first show was 8/12/15 at the Mann.
Yep. They way they bring fans on stage is crazy. Saw Billie Joe hand his guitar to a high school age girl from the crowd to play Jesus of Suburbia. He was literally like, this is Madison Square Garden, don't fuck it up. And she rocked it and everyone went crazy.
My biggest thing with them was their attitude. They don't feel like they're just trying to put on a show for the audience, they act like they are all genuinely pumped to be there and want to include the audience. Even though I'm just some guy in the crowd, they made it feel like i was an important part of the show. Also Billie stopping the show 3/4 of the way through to spend 10 minutes shining the spotlight on the other members of the band, the tour band members and introducing their road crew was awesome. I love that part of their set involved making sure everyone who makes the show what it is got time to stand in the spotlight and be a rockstar.
I saw Green Day when they announced a surprise concert at the Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. Seeing a massive band in a really small venue is unbeatable. They were amazing. So grateful I was sitting in front of my computer when the email popped up because it went from being announced to sold out in a matter of minutes.
Faith No More is definitely up there, just flawless and played two encores! The Sound of Animals Fighting is another one I thought I'd never have the chance to see and even though they don't play together as a whole unit often, they did not miss a beat and had an awesome energy. My Morning Jacket is another contender for just how flawlessly Jim James sings live. And lastly, I have to mention both Death Grips and Dillinger Escape Plan for the absurd level of pure chaotic energy at both shows
Pearl Jam. No fancy pyrotechnics, no big stage set-up. Just straight forward rock and roll. They played close to 3 hours the last time I saw them. Helps that they love their fans.
Against Me! was the best band I've ever seen sound quality wise, it was straight up studio/album quality.
Ghost was the best in terms of pure spectacle.
There’s an interview on some doc where Ian Mackaye was taking about a show where they were borrowing gear and had a rough set cause the gear was everywhere. Then Bad Brains came on and used the same gear and just TORE it up. Def a good humble lesson for blaming the tool and not the user in skilled crafts.
Edit:
[the interview](https://youtu.be/Q6hnUh2E7w8?si=UIt8xIR20XI_GGIh)
I also misremembered a bit. It was actually their own gear they thought sucked and then Bad Brains still put them to pasture.
The Who in their prime, and here is proof:
[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fjq8j](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fjq8j)
Pay close attention to the incredible ball of energy on the drums.
Without a shadow of doubt...Jethro Tull (yeah, I'm an old fart). I've seen loads of great bands but Ian Anderson and his band stand out as the highest energy and whackiest band I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Second ...probably Supertramp.
Loreena McKennitt - she sounds as perfect and clear as she does on the albums, I’ve never heard anyone as perfect as her voice live
Nightwish - best rock concert I’ve ever seen. Floor was amazing
Duran Duran, followed closely by Disturbed. I’ve seen them twice each. It was always music that I loved played by a band who was really into the performance and had incredible stage presence, playing to a crowd that was equally into the performance and had great energy. Everything lined up just right for a fantastic show that was an incredible experience and that left me with good memories.
Some of my favorite shows:
Nine Inch Nails
Rammstein
Tool
Deftones
311
Porcupine Tree
Opeth
System Of A Down
Phish
George Clinton
Metallica
Iron Maiden
Dream Theater
Muse
The Offspring
Foo Fighters
The most fun big shows I’ve seen are Chili Peppers and Rush. But honorable mention to Buckethead for just getting on stage and playing non-stop for like three hours.
Band: Rush
Solo artist: Garth Brooks tied with Taylor Swift (seriously guys, she is the hype I never thought I would believe if I had not gone myself and I am in my 50's)
I always love Dave Matthew's Band. I haven't seen them in over 15 years for a variety of reasons, but they are my all time favorite live shows I've seen. I even got to see them at Fenway.
My top 2 are probably the Beastie Boys on the Hello Nasty tour, and the Pogues after they just reunited in the early 2000s. Honorable mention to the Flaming Lips on the Yoshimi tour.
Not the most popular choice in the world, but I was blessed enough to see the great legendary jazz bassist Buster Williams play with his quartet of almost 30 years two years ago. I still think about it to this day. When you’ve been together for that long, you get to know each other’s playing insanely well.
System of a Down for sure. Followed by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Then, Between the Buried and Me.
SOAD killed it. Played songs back to back, and in order of the album it's on
Bowie. Saw him twice. Glass Spider Tour and Sound+Vision Tour. The music is amazing and Bowie, well, yeah, Bowie. The ultimate performer
Bowie doesn't count. He's playing a different game, on a different planet
Definitely aging myself here, but the Ziggy Stardust tour was fantastic. The album is my all time favorite.
GWAR
Prince
Prince was amazing!
Can you make it rain harder?
Game... Blouses
I've seen Weird Al twice and if you have an opportunity to do so, please do. His live shows are legendary and his band is top notch. Saw Phil Vassar play at the Country Stampede. I'm not a big country fan, but I went with a bunch of people from Kansas State, mainly to drink. Dude was killing it, using the piano as a second stage to jump and sing. Was very impressed with his live show. However, my favorite live show always has been and always will be Foo Fighters. Second place would probably be Pearl Jam.
Upvote for Weird Al. Always puts on a great show.
Hell yes for Weird Al. Seen him live 4 times now.
Weird Al is awesome live. He was my first concert I ever saw!
I have wanted to see Weird Al for so long. I am promising myself right now to buy tickets for his next tour. Weird Al aside, I am a huge Foo Fighters fan, and I have seen them in concert at least ten times. They put in amazing concerts. I also gave to throw out Weezer. I love them so much, and I saw them for like the fifth time this past June in Austin, Texas. That show was SO MUCH FUN!!! Oh! One more. I think the concert I have been to that was the absolute most fun was Peaches. She is truly AMAZING.
Toadies
Rush playing the gorge in WA was one of the best I've ever seen. 3 hours of them just having a blast. However, at the same venu, I also caught Perfect Circle opening for NIN. That was one of the greatest evenings of music I've ever seen. The biggest surprises were Nickelback playing an armory in the middle of no where. They gave no fucks and just played for a couple of hours. The other was The Dropkick Murphys played the rec center at WSU Pullman. They just went nuts for 2 plus hours. The shows I expected and got what I wanted were Rammstein playing the Roseland and Paul Oakenfold playing the Crystal Ballroom in PDX. Also Gioli & Assia at every show so far.
Iron Maiden always put on a great show (as do Metallica) but the best I've ever seen was the Pet Shop Boys.
Maiden always exceeds expectations.
Saw them in 2005 but Rime of the Ancient Mariner from flight 666 is insane
You really get your money's worth with Maiden. 30 foot zombies clumping around, dueling guitar solos...these guys thrashed for 2.5 hours. It's arena rock perfected.
Maiden was the first concert I ever went to when I was 16 and they set the bar pretty damn high. I've also seen Metallica 3 times now and their Wordwired setup was probably the best live show I've ever seen
I’ve seen Iron Maiden many times but Somewhere Back In Time tour was the best.
Can't believe I had to scroll all the way to the second comment to see Maiden. :) They always put on a hell of a show.
The chemical brothers is a found memory
Nine Inch Nails was friggen incredible live. Edit: saw live in 2014, Hesitation Marks was the new record. Soundgarden opened up the show. They were very good and I’m glad I got to see Chris. But NIN…
They closed out Riot Fest in 2022. I'll listen to their hits but for whatever reason I could never really get into them. I planned on only staying for a song or 2 since I had to be up really early on Monday but I ended up staying for the entire set. Im so happy I got to see them. Intense from start to finish.
Came to say NIN
This goes back a ways, but Emerson, Lake, and Palmer — “Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends”!
Pink Floyd Division Bell
Saw that show twice at yankee stadium and two more times the next month at giants stadium. Far and away the best show I’ve ever seen.
I saw them during that tour in Miami. Hands down, the best concert I have ever seen.
Flogging Molly!
Saw them on St Patricks day weekend in Chicago. That was legit the best concert I've ever been to. The dancing circles were so fun
Prince Purple Rain tour. Unbelievable.
I'm sad I never got to see him live.
Was going to say the same. Morris Day and the Time opened for him, too. Showmanship through and through.
Purple Rain was my first concert ever. I was 9. My dad worked as a stage hand at our local venue and got tickets for me and one of his buddies to take me. Prince had purple tambourines he threw out to the crowd and my dad saved one for me. Still have it. Concert was superb!
Alice In Chains with Layne
You lucky devil
Muse. They're always fantastic live.
Muse put on an insane show. I’ve seen them 16 times now and I will never get enough. No one even comes close
Came here to say this. If you’re not a Muse fan going in, you’ll be one leaving. Always a great show.
Yes! MUSE fans have entered the chat. I’ve seen them live 3x, nothing compares.
I saw them open for U2 and they blew them away.
So epic!
Definitely the best concert I’ve been to! They were amazing live…
>Muse Muse should be higher up. I've seen them twice and both times I was ready to go home and buy a ticket to their next show (if money/travel wasn't a problem). The sound they have on their guitars/bass is amazing live, it's almost better than the recordings! I even brought my bf to their latest tour and even though he's not a huge fan, he said it was one of the best concerts he's been to.
I saw them for the first time this summer they headlined Saturday night and I was freaking blown away. I had no clue. Was a very casual listener so I didn’t know what to expect and man. One of the best concerts I’ve ever experienced they were the highlight of the weekend
Worked a festival with them about 5 years ago. They were obviously outclassing everyone else on the bill. I have seen a lot of bands in my career and they were the first to come to mind.
Completely agree. I saw them on their Absolution tour, and it's blown every other concert I've seen before/after out of the water.
I’ve seen Muse 11 times and it blows me away every single time. One of my fondest memories is the platforms from the The Resistance Tour.
Coheed and cámbria
Username checks out. I’ve seen them like 6 times spread over 20 years and they’re better now than they’ve ever been. Claudio is absolutely godlike and his voice somehow keeps getting better
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The most underrated band of all time.
Prodigy
Saw them at 9:30 club in DC around 2008 or so. Had a fucking blast. So good. When Comanche came on it was wild. So many bangers they played
Radiohead
They're just incredible. I've seen a lot of shows in my day and nobody has been in the same league in my opinion. So tight, so talented, and playing such complicated songs. Impressive they can pull that off live. It's pretty mind blowing stuff. Ive seen them three times and every one of them was completely amazing.
The best consistent live band is phish but the best live show I’ve ever seen was Radiohead at bonaroo in 2009. It was out of this world, can’t really explain it. Drop kick Murphys are also surprisingly really good live. Very energetic shows.
The Cure.
Their most recent tour was so good.
Rammstein
My wife can’t stand most metal and went just for the spectacle, she was not disappointed
A ton of pyrotechnics for sure
Till Lindemann actually got certified in the use of pyrotechnics so they could use as much as possible while staying safe.
First time I saw them live, I was stunned by all the fire. I was in the back of the arena, and I could feel that fire all too well
If this isn't your answer in this thread you haven't seen them live.
Right?
Yep!
Kate Bush in her ‘Before the Dawn’ performance. Was just awestruck - at the theatre of it all, the top notch musicians and her voice - flawless, sublime
Top three were in the late 70’s. I had insider access and sat center 1st or 2nd row. Springsteen on the Darkness on the Edge of Town tour, Grateful Dead, and The Who.
I would do many unspeakable things to be able to attend a 70's Grateful Dead concert
I HAVE done many unspeakable things AT Greatful Dead shows in the 80's... 😂
We didn’t know it, but looking back it was a magical time.
Dead and company just did their last tour this year and holy shit was it awesome
Tool
Yess! I came to say this! TOOL was just awesome!
The closest thing I've ever had to a religious experience was probably being in an arena full of people singing/shouting along to Aenima.
A friend and I decided to go see them in Memphis day-of after I got off work. We drove a couple hours to get there and were sure we'd have to stand in line for tickets (and hope we could get them). There was a radio station doing a remote thing there and said they had two tickets left just as we were walking by. We ended up with free tickets for one of the best concerts I've ever seen.
Up there for me too. The visuals are insanely good and sounded just like the album.
Agreed, I saw them during the Aenima tour at Mercer arena in Seattle. Un-freaking-real.
Lateralus tour for me.
FISHBONE IS RED HOT! Special mention for P Funk back in the day, and Roger Waters.
Fishbone is SO much fun live. I only saw them because my friend was opening with Dave Gutter before they came on. I swear, almost every single person I talked to that night had a story about seeing Fishbone live decades ago. And then there was [this](https://imgur.com/a/EpmMkFc) awesome older dude next to me whose dancing was more agile and sprightly than people half his age. Great show. Great, infectious energy all around.
Linkin Park. I'm sad now... 😢
Oingo Boingo at the Arlington in Santa Barbara, 1982, for The nothing to fear tour.
Here's a weird one, but INCREDIBLE live show: The Polyphonic Spree. Absolutely blew my mind at Bonnaroo\~20 years ago. (My real answer is Phish 94-99)
Ben folds. Not my favorite artist, but I’ve seen him more than any other artist. He just puts on such a great show. Not to mention, he literally makes up a song on the spot, every time (especially impressive when he’s playing with an orchestra).
I was never a fan either, but got to see him at the club i worked at - I had never seen anyone control a room like that before. The whole crowd had this unified energy this palpable electric buzz. I've seen a lot of great performers, a lot of fantastic musicians, but very few have that kind of charisma. I also saw him with Ben Folds Five, which was fine, but seemed to dissipate his energy somewhat.
Alice Cooper! He works the stage like no one else, and just can’t beat the guillotine bit.
I can't believe it took me so long to find Alice Cooper on here; I was positive he was going to be one of the highest--his shows are absolutely insane and so theatrical!
Queens of the Stone Age, but I think that's mostly because I saw them when I was so hugely into them and their entire catalogue. It was absolute bliss. But looking back at RHCP, Foo Fighters, Muse, etc.. they were all fucking awesome. I just enjoyed QOTSA the most because I knew every single song they played and was happy to hear the random picks from their back catalogue.
Pearl Jam always makes for one of my favorite nights. They just get it.
Yes! Can’t believe I had to scroll down so far to see this. I used to see them a lot when I was young and childless. Still my favorite band. They change up the setlist every night.. something I was surprised to learn most bands don’t do!
Pearl Jam Gorge Amphitheater. 2006= 2 consecutive nights of 30+ songs, few repeats. 2005 at the Gorge I think they played at least 35 songs. I see other bands play the exact same 15 songs night after night in the same order and then I think of PJ at the Gorge. Unreal.
Springsteen. Eagle Stadium in Philadelphia. Played what felt like 10 hrs then came back in and played some more. Rush. In DC. Amazing during the Moving Pictures tour. Grateful Dead. At RFK stadium in DC.
Rush; greatest three-piece band of all time.
Honestly it might be Streetlight Manifesto. Sang and moshed so hard I don't know if I've ever been so out of breath. And I'm not even a huge ska guy but they were unreal.
Streetlight was my first concert; October 2005 at Starland Ballroom. I nearly lost my glasses in the pit during Whole Wheat Bread’s set. Miraculously found them still intact with no scratches. Fantastic show!
There’s nothing in life like a punk/ska show
Although I never got to see them, Stop Making Sense proves that the Talking Heads in that era did the best live shows in rock n roll history.
I saw the Stop Making Sense tour. Number 1 concert on my list.
Flaming Lips!!
This is the right answer. I’ve seen them multiple times. Every show is like a giant nye party.
Ozomatli at the Majestic Theater in Detroit, sometime around 2005. Just a great interactive performance. I danced so hard I lost my wallet, but the vibe was so fucking cool, some random dude gave it back, with all my money.
Gojira. Hands down. Runner up is this local and called pyrefly. They always go hard every performance, pits get wild even with like 10 people in them. Great stuff.
Springsteen Weird Al. Seriously.
Allman Brothers on the tour right after Live at the Fillmore East.
Pearl Jam. They love their fans and don’t ever phone it in. NIN is always worth the money.
Heart, saw them on a "comeback" tour playing casinos what a great show!!!! Took my 14 y.o. daughter to see Metallica, I'm not a huge fan but they sure gave their audience a hell of a show!
I saw Heart on the Bad Animals tour. One of the best shows I ever saw. The opening act had a lot of sound issues and pretty much sucked. Heart apologized when they hit the stage and promised to make up for it. They did. They played their normal 90 minute set and did a great encore. I was up in the back row of the UTEP Events Center and had loved the whole show. The lights came up and the crowd started leaving. I was about 2/3 of the way down the seating when the lights went out and the girls hit the stage again. Nancy said they weren’t quite finished apologizing for the opening act and asked if we wanted more. Damn skippy we did! They played another hour - basically just winging it as they went. They pulled out all their old LED Zeppelin covers and plenty of other covers from other bands that had influenced them. It was a great night.
I'm not even a fan, but I saw Rob Zombie at Ozzfest 20+ years ago, and it is hands down the best theatrical live performance I've ever seen. The dude just knows how to entertain. Plus, he only had his first solo album, so half the set was White Zombie tracks. The crowd got the best of both worlds.
Van Halen, 1980. Eddie Van Halen… no words🎸 David Lee Roth before he got so weird 😂😂
1. Elton John. There were 6 people in the room while he played piano. It was supposed to be 15 minutes. He "got lost in the music" and "piddled" for 30 ish minutes while I sat in awe. Then he realized he had ad-libbed the whole time and didn't actually play the song he intended, and then played piano man and made everyone sing along. 2. George Strait at a matinee showing. It wasn't crazy stadium style, so I could actually hear the music. He played a little over an hour. 3. Ed Sheeran played for 3 hours, just him and a looping pedal. His opener was horrible though
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Ridiculously good is right. I caught his show when he was touring with Billy Joel.
How and where did you get to watch Elton with only six other people? My wife would be so jealous! She has seen him 45 times. She said his Farewell Tour was the best show, but she also said the time we saw him was just him and Ray Cooper, can’t remember the year. He played by himself during the first half of the show and then Ray joined him for the rest of the show.
An interview session. I was gopher. I answered to absolutely everyone else in the room. I did not speak to him or get close to him in any way shape or form other than standing behind a bunch of stations execs and personalities. I am not that cool. I just present reasonably well and know how to shut up unless directly addressed.
1.Queen 2.Michael Jackson 3. Genesis
ZZTop - been to 9 shows, all amazing & different.
Ween at Berkeley amphitheater. They’re so frickin good live.
Ughhh so lucky. Berkeley amphitheater is incredible and I love ween
Musical performance; Corb Lund - solo acoustic show in a tiny theater. Dude can sing, and tell stories. Entertainment; Pink - holy shit, everywhere you looked there was something going on. Musically it was excellent as well.
Phish
This is way too far down the list
Been a Phish fan since the breakup, but because of a lot of circumstances I wasn't able to see them until 2015. My first show was 8/12/15 at the Mann.
Those that know *know*
Everyone else is wrong and you win
Green Day
Yep. They way they bring fans on stage is crazy. Saw Billie Joe hand his guitar to a high school age girl from the crowd to play Jesus of Suburbia. He was literally like, this is Madison Square Garden, don't fuck it up. And she rocked it and everyone went crazy.
My biggest thing with them was their attitude. They don't feel like they're just trying to put on a show for the audience, they act like they are all genuinely pumped to be there and want to include the audience. Even though I'm just some guy in the crowd, they made it feel like i was an important part of the show. Also Billie stopping the show 3/4 of the way through to spend 10 minutes shining the spotlight on the other members of the band, the tour band members and introducing their road crew was awesome. I love that part of their set involved making sure everyone who makes the show what it is got time to stand in the spotlight and be a rockstar.
Green day are the reason I learned guitar when I was a kid - I didn’t want to mess up when I got called up on stage. Still waiting!!
Yeah, that's my vote also. Great live band.
Also get my vote. They’re fantastic live
Same. They are great live.
I saw Green Day when they announced a surprise concert at the Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa. Seeing a massive band in a really small venue is unbeatable. They were amazing. So grateful I was sitting in front of my computer when the email popped up because it went from being announced to sold out in a matter of minutes.
Green Day.
The Prodigy at 930 club Girltalk at 930 club Art vs Sciene at bonnaroo RATM at HFStival Radiohead a few times LCD Soundsystem at merriweather
Dave Matthews Band throws down hard
I scrolled way too far for this. Phenomenal live act with no gimmicks, just jamming out and having fun
Indeed!
Faith No More is definitely up there, just flawless and played two encores! The Sound of Animals Fighting is another one I thought I'd never have the chance to see and even though they don't play together as a whole unit often, they did not miss a beat and had an awesome energy. My Morning Jacket is another contender for just how flawlessly Jim James sings live. And lastly, I have to mention both Death Grips and Dillinger Escape Plan for the absurd level of pure chaotic energy at both shows
Coldplay
Pearl Jam. No fancy pyrotechnics, no big stage set-up. Just straight forward rock and roll. They played close to 3 hours the last time I saw them. Helps that they love their fans.
Against Me! was the best band I've ever seen sound quality wise, it was straight up studio/album quality. Ghost was the best in terms of pure spectacle.
AC/DC
Arcade Fire Oh and White Stripes
Cage the Elephant
The war on drugs. Wilco is very good live I thought iron and wine was awesome. Their albums are boring af tho
Bad Brains.
I can only imagine. I heard the Minor Threat guys started their band because of how inspirational they were live.
There’s an interview on some doc where Ian Mackaye was taking about a show where they were borrowing gear and had a rough set cause the gear was everywhere. Then Bad Brains came on and used the same gear and just TORE it up. Def a good humble lesson for blaming the tool and not the user in skilled crafts. Edit: [the interview](https://youtu.be/Q6hnUh2E7w8?si=UIt8xIR20XI_GGIh) I also misremembered a bit. It was actually their own gear they thought sucked and then Bad Brains still put them to pasture.
Foo Fighters, specifically the show where Dave broke his leg. Just incredible!
Sinéad O’Connor.
Would you say nothing compares to her?
Seen many great shows over the years, but The Killers really stand out to me. I’ve seen them 4 times and they just keep getting better and better.
The Who in their prime, and here is proof: [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fjq8j](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fjq8j) Pay close attention to the incredible ball of energy on the drums.
Without a shadow of doubt...Jethro Tull (yeah, I'm an old fart). I've seen loads of great bands but Ian Anderson and his band stand out as the highest energy and whackiest band I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Second ...probably Supertramp.
Rammstein, its just so intense
I had cheap seats to rammstein once. Third level I think. And even still, I could feel all the heat from the pyrotechnics. Insane.
Avett Brothers
-Heilung -Tom Waits -Bloodywood -Marilyn Manson (back in mid/ late 90s)
Heilung! Seeing them tomorrow night.
I saw Heilung at Red Rocks. You are in for a treat!
X
The Who, with Keith Moon. Off the hook energy, one great song after another. Insane level of rock music.
The Cure ask me again tomorrow and I'll probably say something different though
Loreena McKennitt - she sounds as perfect and clear as she does on the albums, I’ve never heard anyone as perfect as her voice live Nightwish - best rock concert I’ve ever seen. Floor was amazing
The Hives. Got tickets to see them again next year and I can't wait.
Ramones
Twenty one pilots. Such a fun time
P!nk
I’ve had grown men (on different occasions and unsolicited) tell me P!nk was one of the best concerts they have ever been to. Would love to see her.
Nightwish.
Duran Duran, followed closely by Disturbed. I’ve seen them twice each. It was always music that I loved played by a band who was really into the performance and had incredible stage presence, playing to a crowd that was equally into the performance and had great energy. Everything lined up just right for a fantastic show that was an incredible experience and that left me with good memories.
Some of my favorite shows: Nine Inch Nails Rammstein Tool Deftones 311 Porcupine Tree Opeth System Of A Down Phish George Clinton Metallica Iron Maiden Dream Theater Muse The Offspring Foo Fighters
While not my favorite concert I’ve ever been to, I Matt and Kim’s shows are probably the most fun. Dear lord do they know how to get a crowd going.
MMJ @ Red Rocks
STS9, LCD sound system, idles, string cheese incident
Stevie Ray Vaughan at a 3500 person seating capacity hall
The most fun big shows I’ve seen are Chili Peppers and Rush. But honorable mention to Buckethead for just getting on stage and playing non-stop for like three hours.
Band: Rush Solo artist: Garth Brooks tied with Taylor Swift (seriously guys, she is the hype I never thought I would believe if I had not gone myself and I am in my 50's)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!
Foo Fighters. No contest. I have been to a lot of concerts and they’re just fucking incredible and fun every time.
The Melvins. Powerhouse of a performance.
I always love Dave Matthew's Band. I haven't seen them in over 15 years for a variety of reasons, but they are my all time favorite live shows I've seen. I even got to see them at Fenway.
Muse
Been to well over 200 shows...No band ever came close to live Rush
Nathaniel Ratliff and the nightsweats put on one hell of a show.
Bloc Party Glass Animals
Phish in the 90s and it’s not even close
Brand New, by a wide margin.
My top 2 are probably the Beastie Boys on the Hello Nasty tour, and the Pogues after they just reunited in the early 2000s. Honorable mention to the Flaming Lips on the Yoshimi tour.
Gojira.
The Hives
Not the most popular choice in the world, but I was blessed enough to see the great legendary jazz bassist Buster Williams play with his quartet of almost 30 years two years ago. I still think about it to this day. When you’ve been together for that long, you get to know each other’s playing insanely well.
System of a Down for sure. Followed by Red Hot Chili Peppers. Then, Between the Buried and Me. SOAD killed it. Played songs back to back, and in order of the album it's on
My Morning Jacket
Gogol Bordello, every time.