Best Concerts Ever!

[flip]

As usual i hope this isn't fata but i peruse these boards often and don't remember anything like this.

In honor of the white stripes thread i would like to hear from everyone their top 5 or ten shows they've ever seen.

I've seen far too many shows to list but just FYI here are some of the acts ive seen.


Finger Eleven (about 6 or 7 times)
Metallica (both times couple years ago in Calgary, dome)
Korn (2000 can't remember at the dome)
Nine inch Nails (dome Nov 05)
Goldfinger (corral and mac i hall i think)
Roger waters (dome)
White stripes (Dome)
godsmack (mac hall)
eric clapton (Dome)
Tool (twice)
the who (dome)
the offspring (max bell i think)
the used (corral)
numerous warped tours 5 or 6 at least probably
system of a down (twice)
smashing pumpkins in edmonton at summersault
OLP (im in the live dvd!!!)
Green day (dome)
the foo fighters (dome)
Billy talent (dome)
Wolfmother (mac hall)
soon to be added are the deftones and queens of the stone age (as headliner anyway)

Ive also seen numerous other metal shows for no name bands and im sure im missing quite a few shows on that list. not to mention opening acts aren't mentioned neither are cover bands (zep, floyd, beatles)

anyway my top six is: (not necessarily in any particular order)

Nine Inch Nails -Nov 17/05 floor seats (standing room) right at the front 2 or 3 back of barrier great set, the longest set on the whole tour, almost 2 full hours, trent reznor is god.
Highlights: reptile, hurt, march of the pigs, something i can never have

Korn:July 27/00 one of the hardest rocking shows ive ever seen. so much energy. my ears rang for days. this was back when korn was good. sec 121 row 5.
Highlights: counting, 4 you, blind, clown

The white stripes:June 30/07 floor (standing room) on the left side maybe 20 people back. wow. what a talented duo, wish it was in mac hall though. best guitar performance i have ever seen.
Highlights: in the cold cold night, my doorbell, jolene, ball and biscuit, a maryr for my love for you, hell the whole show was a highlight.

System of a Down:June 26/06 (the second time) they played two ozzfest warmup shows 1 here one in edmonton. floor (standing) right in front of darren, was one of the people that caught him when he jumped into the stands, long set no encore just 26 straight songs. man can they rock. Highlights: old school holywood, lonely day, hypnotize, question, aerials, needles, suite pee, Mr Jack (from the sept 05 show)


Tool: either time Oct 02 or aug 06. better set list the first time, better visuals the first time, row 3 just off to the right on the floor (seated floor) the second time compared to private box in the first one. man is dany carey the greatest living drummer or what? Maynard is one weird guy who puts on a great show.
Highlights: Lateralus (1), 46&2 (2nd), right in two (2), Triad(1st, big long drum solo), sober (1)

Roger waters: June 23/07 Sec 108 row 4. nothing like seing the brain behind pink floyd. heard that some of the vocals padded and that while roger was singing he had hidden help in the form of taped parts, amazing visual show even though i was closer to the side of the stage than the dead on front, played all of dark side of the moon, amazing band with him. giant flying pig!!

Highlights: Sheep, set the controls for the heart of the sun, time, any colour you like, brain damage.

couple of honorable mentions:

Clapton March 07: floor seated row 18 middle aisle - not the greatest setlist in terms of radio hits but wow can he still play. up there in great guitar performances i have seen live

Finger Eleven at stampede a few years ago: this one gets a nod because finger eleven has a very faithful following in calgary. there were like 2000-4000 people there and they all showed up like 3 hours early so it was pretty wild when F11 finally came on. Scott walked on stage and said "wow we werent' expecting this", apperently they thought thered be like 200 people there and they'd all be cowboys or something silly.

any of the michael white and the white zeppelin cover shows at the whiskey: they did album by album and when they did houses of the holy they played an orgasmic version of no quarter.. and the guitarist was spectacular, even did the whole violin bow thing on how many more times and dazed and confused, and an amazing version of white summer. was right in front of the guitarist (no barrier) at all the shows, like 2 feet away from him.

Biggest dissapointment was in 99 at summersault first time i ever tried drugs (i was 14) just for the pumpkins who i thought were godlike because of melon collie, anyway they played a bunch of crappy new stuff so the crowd started chanting "zero" and Billy Corigan said something to the effect of "if you don't like what we're playing then f*** off". never did hear zero.

Funniest moment: when the guy from billy talent tried to be all political and called Steven harper evil. i actually laughed. george bush maybe but harper? thats like calling fred penner evil.

also at the goldfinger concert when the lead singer jumped in the crowd and got punched in the balls by a guy in the crowd, so a bunch of people in the crowd start beating on this guy.

so security gets pissed and tells the guy from goldfinger he's inciting fighting by jumping into the crowd so he told the security to get out and they did!! played the rest of the show with no security (only like 2 more songs)

anyway sorry for the long post but hopefully some of you guys can share some experiences. ive missed quite a few good shows, bob dylan, the eagles, the rolling stones, ozzy, ac/dc (people on the floor got to keep their chairs!!), alice cooper (my cousin has his whip from the concert in edmonton).

[Shnabdabber]

Pantera in Calgary around 2000 was a fun show.
GWAR at the Mac hall around... 2002 I believe was a blast. Dying Fetus opened...
Strapping Young Lad in Vancouver was fun...
Unexpect from Quebec puts on a hell of a show..
Seen many good shows, good bands, but nothing "spectacular"
I'm hoping that Rush on July 18th provides one of those spectacular moments.
Also looking forward to King Diamond w/ Kreator next year.

[transplant99]

The Eagles on the "Hell Freezes Over" tour were unbelievable.

Ditto Pink Floyd at Commonwealth .....in 95?

Rush on numerous occasions.

Prince was stunningly good as well.

[gottabekd]

The Tool show last year might be my favourite. I'm not a HUGE Tool fan, and so there were a couple songs I didn't recongnize. That is unfortunate, because it would have really elevated the show if I did. I think the one thing that proves to me that it was a great show was I had Aenema stuck in my head for about 3 months afterwards.

The Roger Waters show last week, and The White Stripes show yesterday may be right up there in my top 5.

[Shnabdabber]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Prince was stunningly good as well.

I'm not a fan of Prince, but one cannot deny his talent. I would check him out; given the chance.

[Shnabdabber]

...still cannot figure out how the White Stripes qualify as music.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

Some of the shows I've been to and can remember are...


Tom Cochrane & Bryan Adams was my first concert ever. At the Dome.
Vans Warp Tour w/ Collective Soul, Green Day & others
Def Leppard Adrenalize tour at the Dome
Peter Gabriel Secret World Tour at the Dome
Offspring at Max Bell
Pink Floyd in Edmonton for the Pulse tour
Metallica for Pour Touring Me at the Dome
Rob Zombie w/ Fear Factory in Vancouver for Hellbilly Deluxe tour
Metallica outdoor show in Vancouver for Reload tour
Slipknot at Mac Hall for the Slipknot album tour
Mudmen at SAIT
Ozzy Osbourne at the Dome for the Ozzmosis tour
Ozzy Osbourne again at the Dome for the Down to Earth tour
Ozzfest in Vancouver w/ Rob Zombie, Fear Factory, Godsmack, Mighty Boss Tones, Slipknot & others
Original Black Sabbath line-up in Vancouver
Fear Factory at Mac Hall
Fear Factory in Vancouver
KoRn w/ Powerman 5000 and Papa Roach at the Dome for the Untouchables tour
Godsmack
Metallica at the Dome for the St. Anger tour
Meatllica's 2nd show at the Dome for the St. Anger tour
Sum 41 at Mac Hall
System of a Down at the Dome
Aerosmith at the Dome
Supertramp at the Dome
Symphony X w/ Nightwish
The Who at the Dome

I had tickets to Marilyn Manson until they banned him. Friggin' backwater redneck province. I guess they actually made some showband at the Stampede this year change their entire show because they were playing some Manson songs.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Best show I've seen was a 2 day/2 part show in Van @ thunderbird stadium with REM one night and Radiohead the next. Thom Yorke came out and sang with REM and the next night Michael Stipe joined Radiohead on stage.

It was awesome to see the 2 bands playing with each other and the rest of show was great in its own reguard.

[Shnabdabber]

*Symphony X w/ Nightwish*

When was this?!? Can't believe I missed it!

Oh yes, can't forget last year's Gigantour stop in Calgary. Awesome show, only crappy part was Nevermore was the opening band, before *cough* Boboflex? Boo-urns

[czure32]

heres a few of mine

Nine Inch Nails 2005 - Denver, Colorado - nothing like piling into a car with some friends and driving 19 hrs (all in one day) to Denver, thinking NIN is never going to come to calgary, only to get back and 1 month later have a calgary show announced

Nine Inch Nails 2005 - Calgary - NIN premium fan club tickets got us in to the sound check, and meet the band, spent the whole concert crsuhed up against the barrier, center stage (shoulda brought a camera)

Tool 2003(?) and 2006 - Calgary - First show was okay but being waaaaay up in section 2-something was bleh, second show thrid row floor, but who's farking idea was it to make it a completely seated conert?!?!!

The Offspring - Max Bell Arena - seen them 3 times, dont remember the years, but the show with the Vandals was the best

Matthew Good - Stampede, the Whiskey - seen Matt good something like 7 times, been front row for all of them too. Got hit in the back of the head by someones stray shoe at one of them...who throws a shoe?
Got into the after party at one of the whiskey shows, unfortunately matt went back to the hotel, but did sit down and have drinks with the rest of the band

Collective Soul - 2005 (maybe 06 cant remember) - Cowboys - finally got to "see" CS live, "heard" them at the stampede a few years prior, but was so far back in the mass of humanity that it wasnt even funny

Holly McNarland - Stampede, The back Alley, The Whiskey - I love Holly, theres nothing special to her live shows, but hte energy she brings to her live performances is amazing

Some good ones coming up
Finger Eleven - July 6 Stampede
Incubus - The Corral
Godsmack - debating if I want to see godmack at the Jube and terrace seating is meh

[Displaced Flames fan]

I have been to comparatively few shows to the rest of you, but there are two that really stand out for me.

Toad The Wet Sprocket @ The University of Redlands amphitheatre in Redlands, CA circa 1993. They were just starting to receive radio play for their hit 'Walk on the Ocean' and the show was outside at a tiny little college in a beautiful little stone amphitheatre under the stars. The sound was unbelievable and they are one of the most underrated bands of the '90's. As is the case with most of my favorite music, their radio hits were mediocre compared to the rest of their work. Still buying their music today as well as offshoots of it. Glenn Phillips for example. Great music, great show.

Alice In Chains with special guests, Gruntruck and The Screaming Trees December 22, 1992 @ the Paladium in Hollywood. Incredible show and watched Alice's entire set 3 feet from the stage. Nothing will ever compare.

[metallicat]

The last Tool show here was absolutely my favorite concert of all time. Such an incredible band they are.

Metallica in '03 was extremely special as I had waited so long see them play live.

The most surprising performance however, was The Tea Party, who I think opened up for Ozzy (terrible) a number of years ago. Amazing opening act to say the least. Saw them again in a smaller venue, but they didn't put on quite the same show.

[liamenator]

I never thought a concert experience would ever top seeing The Darkness live at Wembley Arena in London in 2004 (complete with Justin Hawkins riding a gigantic fake white tiger suspended above the crowd whilst shredding) but I have to say that the Roger Waters show last week did.

Off the top of my head, I would rank my top shows as:

1) Roger Waters @ the Dome June 2007

2) The Darkness @ Wembley Arena, London December 2004

3) Wolfmother @ Richards on Richards, Vancouver May 2006

4) David Lee Roth @ Outlaws July 2003

5) Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ the Dome, October 1996 (my first real concert experience, age 13)

[Drunk Skunk]

The best show I've ever seen was the Foo Fighters, with Weezer, in Chicago. It was all around a great show. I'd never been much of a Weezer fan, but after they started playing, I said, to myself, "Oh, I didn't know Weezer sang this," over and over. The Foo Fighters played for almost two hours, it was a fantastic show.

Second place would have to go to Dry Kill Logic and, shockingly, Skindred. Nonpoint also played the show, but I don't really care for them so the ex and I left before they finished their set. It was at a small, intimate club in Chicago. Skindred had excellent energy, and their music just, for lack of a better term, fun. Dry Kill was great, as they have been each time I've seen them.

The best festival type deal that I've been to was the Jager Music Tour a few years ago. There was some great bands there, Hatebreed was the highlight of the show, for me. They were the best live band that I've seen. Slayer played, as well as some of my favorites, such as Dimmu Borgir, Otep, Mastodon, Shadows Fall, and DevilDriver. While I'm not a huge DevilDriver fan, I was very happy that they played some old school Coal Chamber songs.

I'm really looking forward to Ozzfest in August. I've wanted to see Static X live for years, and finally have the chance. Not to mention Behemoth, Nile, Lamb Of God, 3 Inches of Blood(On the vein of old school Judas Priest, out of BC), and Hatebreed. The only disappointing thing is that there will be no BLS on this Ozzfest. I'm not going to complain though, tickets were free.

Honorable mentions go out to Tool, NIN, Sevendust, old school Korn, Powerman 5000, and Damageplan.

[octothorp]

Best of my experiences would have to be Sigur Ros in the Boston Opera House (which is an amazing venue, with guilded gold everywhere, intended as a replica of the Paris opera house). Just a fantastic performance, absolutely breathtaking in every way.

[habernac]

wow, so many shows. The ones that stand out:

1. AC/DC - 1986, Who Made Who tour. And every tour since then. I've seen them 5 times and they're incredible every single time. You can tell they're having an absolute blast up there.

2. Paul McCartney - Seattle Key Arena, November 2005. I finally got to see a Beatle, and wow, was it worth the wait. Almost 3 hours on stage, boundless energy, his voice was still there. Awesome show.

3. Metallica - Load tour, I can't remember the year right now (the Justice tour was also great). I had 1st row on the boards at the Dome. Sang Master of Puppets word for word with Hetfield looking right at me.

4. Billy Idol - Hardrock Cafe, Las Vegas, 2005. What a pleasant surprise this was. I had no expectations going into this one. I figured it'd be a washed up guy just trying to make a few bucks. He played a great set, heard almost the entire new album (Devil's Playground, if you're an Idol fan, you should pick it up, it's good) Steve Stevens was awesome, Billy's vocals were fantastic.

5. Testament/Megadeth/Judas Priest - 1990 ish, Edmonton. 10th row floor seats, an amazing lineup and all of them were on their game that night. Mustaine was still a mean and Rob Halford was still at his best. Great, great show.

So many others. Pearl Jam, Robert Plant, Foo Fighters, the Hip at least 4 or 5 times, Elton John at Caesar's Palace in Vegas, Motley Crue in the late 80's, KISS in makeup in Calgary, Motorhead either of the times I've seen them here in Calgary, Heart back in the 80s, Def Leppard about 17 years ago, Alice in Chains opening for Van Halen (who sucked royally) David Lee Roth in Virginia,Slayer at the Corral.......I could go on for hours.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Hey Habby, what did Sir Elton play when you saw him. I'd love to drop the $300 or whatever it is to see him these days but I'm worried his set would be filled with radio hits and new stuff.

I want to hear Funeral For a Friend, Indian Sunset, Madman Across the Water and All The Young Girls Love Alice!! The REALLY good stuff.

[Inferno]

So far I've only been to two. The best out of the two would be Metallica in Winnipeg on 04. First concert ever, favorite band, and I got to meet them before the show. I found out that the Flames had won game 1 against the Sharks straight from James Hetfield who had just finished watching the game before coming out to meet us.

The other concert was Billy Idol when he went to Winnipeg a couple years ago. I'm not really a fan anymore besides a few songs on Devil's Playground but I had the chance to say I saw him live since I liked him when I was younger so I took it. For a guy in his 50s he still can rock.

[Flames in 07]

The most unique in Calgary I've been to was Ice-T at the Big4 in about 1990. I think Metallica was at the dome the same night. There were a dozen fights in the parking lot afterwards.

[oly74]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

I have been to comparatively few shows to the rest of you, but there are two that really stand out for me.

Toad The Wet Sprocket @ The University of Redlands amphitheatre in Redlands, CA circa 1993. They were just starting to receive radio play for their hit 'Walk on the Ocean' and the show was outside at a tiny little college in a beautiful little stone amphitheatre under the stars. The sound was unbelievable and they are one of the most underrated bands of the '90's. As is the case with most of my favorite music, their radio hits were mediocre compared to the rest of their work. Still buying their music today as well as offshoots of it. Glenn Phillips for example. Great music, great show.

Great call! Hard to find Toad fans these days, I've been a fan of theirs since the early 90s too, and I finally got to see them live last August in Spokane. That was a great show too. Glen Phillips has also turned into one of the best singer songwriters out there, and is very underrated.