Best Free Concert You've Been To

[JKL2000]

Another in my famed "Concerts You've Been To" threads!

I'd have to say the best free one I've been to was Steve Hackett at Rockefeller Park in far west TriBeCa about six years ago or so. I think Renaissance might have also performed but I wasn't able to be there for it. I worked just a block or two away at the time. I never really made it to any of the big free concerts in Central Park except for several classical ones.

Mods, feel free to move this to the non prog music page - I should have put it there.

[progeezer]

1. WOODSTOCK
2. Jefferson Airplane at the bandshell in Central Park
3. Country Joe & The Fish, Richie Havens, The Blues Project and Phil Ochs all in Tompkins Sq, Pk. in the East Village on 4 different days

[Steve F.]

There are a lot of free concerts in DC.

man. toss up between the following, which were all really wonderfull in different ways:

Bobby Parker & band
Danny Gatton Band
Chick Corea's Touchstone Quintet
Allen Tousaint
Vijay Iyer Quartet
Guillermo Klein Sextet
Flat Earth Society
Van Dyke Parks
Richard Leo Johnson

[walt]

One that stands out for me was a free concert at South Street Seaport,NYC, circa mid 80's.The headliner was Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society with Vernon Reid,Melvin Gibbs,Zane Massey....perhaps his best lineup.Opening the show was a performance of Afro-Cuban music.Rhythm was the order of the day.Acoustic and electric rhythmic bliss was what i remember.

[Mascodagama]

One that stands out for me was a free concert at South Street Seaport,NYC, circa mid 80's.The headliner was Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society with Vernon Reid,Melvin Gibbs,Zane Massey....perhaps his best lineup.Opening the show was a performance of Afro-Cuban music.Rhythm was the order of the day.Acoustic and electric rhythmic bliss was what i remember.

I would love to have seen RSJ & The Decoding Society live.

[Scott Bails]

I saw The Hooters a few years ago in the parking lot of Philly's Wells Fargo Center.

Very underrated band.

[walt]

Plenty of memorable shows at Central Park Summerstage over the years: to wit--Sun Ra,Toots And The Maytals,Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers,Seun Kuti,Femi Kuti,Dizzy Gillespie..so many others

Free shows at Downtown Music Gallery,Standouts were Zinc Nine Psychedelic(Nick Didkovsky/Kevin Norton/Dave Ballou);Earlier this year Henry Kaiser-solo guitar,Peter Evans Trio,Susan Alcorn-solo pedal steel guitar,Daniel Carter-Pascal Niggenkemper(sax-double bass).......

[JKL2000]

Plenty of memorable shows at Central Park Summerstage over the years: to wit--Sun Ra,Toots And The Maytals,Art Blakey/Jazz Messengers,Seun Kuti,Femi Kuti,Dizzy Gillespie..so many others

Free shows at Downtown Music Gallery,Standouts were Zinc Nine Psychedelic(Nick Didkovsky/Kevin Norton/Dave Ballou);Earlier this year Henry Kaiser-solo guitar,Peter Evans Trio,Susan Alcorn-solo pedal stell guitar,Daniel Carter-Pascal Niggenkemper(sax-double bass).......

Were the Summerstage shows free? I never actually made it to one, but ones I WOULD have liked to have seen are Funkadelic and The Decemberists.

[Facelift]

James Brown - Battery Park (2003)
Battles - South Street Seaport (2010)

Haven't seen a good free concert in awhile.

[Facelift]

Were the Summerstage shows free?

Some are, some aren't.

[calyx]

I was at the Hackett/Renaissance NYC show cited by Jed abive but can't say it really stood out - saw better shows by both.

[Lou]

During the 4th of July holiday, Cincinnati has had a lot of good classic rock bands free concerts.
Included are Kansas,Ambrosia,Asia (original lineup) Heart, Yes, and Styx

[Steve F.]

I would love to have seen RSJ & The Decoding Society live.

Saw them at least 6 times in the 80s; all but one time they were major fabulous. And Vernon was always there and always a monster!!!

[walt]

Were the Summerstage shows free? I never actually made it to one, but ones I WOULD have liked to have seen are Funkadelic and The Decemberists.

Some Summerstage shows charged admission.The ones i went to were free.I'm cheap.

[JKL2000]

I was at the Hackett/Renaissance NYC show cited by Jed abive but can't say it really stood ont - saw better shows by both.

Yeah, it was more just that it was a free Hackett show two blocks from work, and I brought my son. Funny that you were there Aymeric!

[mx20]

Bruford's Earthworks in Raleigh, NC about 15 years ago? Can't remember, exactly. Good show!

[calyx]

Funny that you were there Aymeric!

It was in the days following NEARfest 2010, where I'd missed Hackett (to have pizza with Steve F & others). It was a nice day - I spent an hour chatting with Derek Shulman at his and Leonardo's MoonJune office, then saw this gig & ended the day catching the Ed Palermo Big Band at the Iridium.

[rickawakeman]

Tony Levin band at the Food Court in Tower Square, Springfield MA

[bigjohnwayne]

Never seen a prog band for free.

I used to get fed free tickets to shows when I worked at WBRU (the venerable and now defunct alternative rock station in Providence).

Best show I saw was The Hold Steady around the time they released "Boys and Girls in America"; back when they were still drunk as skunks. That must of been around 2006 or 2007.

[AstroProg]

Van Der Graaf Generator on their last US tour (although it wasn't free for everyone).

I showed up at the Ram's Head in Annapolis on the night of the show and asked for a single ticket. The guy at the ticket counter handed me a ticket and said, "No charge, the lady across the table from you left this ticket because a friend canceled on her." I went inside to find I was in the second row of tables, about 10 feet from the stage. I thanked the lady who left the ticket and offered to buy her a drink only to find she was drinking water!

Definitely the best "free" concert for me.

[mozo-pg]

Another good concert thread topic from the Jedmeister.

Yes Late 90s - Free concert on the Island in Montreal! Wicked show and Alan Parsons Project was the back-up.

[Rand Kelly]

Grateful Dead and Jefferson Starship @ Golden Gate Park in SF,1975.

[Casey]

Taking a deep breath... Paul Revere and The Raiders.

Not a particularly good or memorable show. I was dating the daughter of a woman who was working for the NY State Fair. I got to stand just off-stage while they played. Thought they were great in my pre-teen days. In my 40s, not so much...

[arturs]

Bands you would have heard of? Only one...
Annie Haslam at Bethlehem PA's Musikfest. 1990 or so.

[the winter tree]

YES and Alan Parsons in Quebec City in the late 90s. There were about 40,000 people there.
Steve put on his oversized sombrero during one song :-)