Band/artist you’re most proud for having seen live

[Kavus Torabi]

Shudder To Think: Pony Express Record line up in Camden Dingwalls '94
Black Sabbath: As in Osborne, Iommi, Butler, Ward playing a 'secret' club gig at the London Astoria '99
Don Caballero: Playing most of American Don at The Knitting Factory '99
The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead Tour, Cornwall Coliseum '86

All four spectacular shows, especially STT and Don Cab and events which now seem unrepeatable.

[Dave (in MA)]

ELP Works Tour.

Ditto, though the orchestra was dropped soon before they hit Boston. The only reason I'm proud is that we saw the show that night despite having been in a head-on collision with a bus that afternoon.

[NogbadTheBad]

Probably the bucket list bands I had to put the most effort to getting to:-

Once Upon A Time In Belgium (Univers Zero/Present/Aranis) at RIO '11
Knifeworld/Guapo/Spratleys Japs/Admirals Hard - London '17
North Sea Radio Orchestra - London '18
Univers Zero/Miriodor - Washington DC '10
Schnellertollermeier - Baltimore '17
Art Zoyd - RIO '15
Thinking Plague/Hamster Theatre/Zevious - Cuneifest Baltimore '11
Leonard Cohen - Birmingham '85

[proggy_jazzer]

Proud of, and probably the most interesting story for most folks I tell it to, was being at the April 9, 1977 Led Zeppelin show at Chicago Stadium. The third night of a four night stand, and the concert only lasted an hour, as Page was taken ill with "food poisoning". The show was rescheduled for the first week of August at the end of the tour, with 4/9 tickets being honored, but Plant's son died the week before and the rest of the tour was cancelled. They never performed in the US again.

Unlucky for me, but, even the shortened set list was pretty amazing: The Song Remains The Same, Sick Again, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, and Ten Years Gone (Page was playing seated by this point, and couldn't continue). I was 16, and am amazed to this day that my folks let me go with a group of friends and without adult supervision on what was a 5-hour round trip drive to the city. It was truly a different time.

[NogbadTheBad]

Deathprod - Jesus christ.

Outside the Dream Syndicate w/Faust, Tony Conrad Ensemble - Conrad himself couldn't be there due to his illness (he died a week later), but Laurie Anderson stepped up to take his place alongside Faust and Conrad's ensemble. It was powerful trancelike stuff, a thundering pulse that in some ways felt like the band serving notice to the cosmos that Mr. Conrad would be arriving soon (yes, that is a bit absurd and hyperbolic, but it was a surprisingly affecting and moving performance made all the more significant given Conrad's grave health situation).

These two are certainly up there, I'd add GYBE! and Jaga Jazzist from this year.

[proggy_jazzer]

ELP Works Tour.

I was at two shows within a week, Soldier Field and Des Moines - which was the last concert before they jettisoned the orchestra.

[moecurlythanu]

You hugged the Fifth Element?! Before Bruce Willis did? Nice. Had no idea Milla Jovavich had a singing career.

Juliette Lewis was another actress from more or less the same time frame who opted to front a rock band.

[battema]

These two are certainly up there, I'd add GYBE! and Jaga Jazzist from this year.

Jaga almost made my list too, they were beyond remarkable in Knoxville

[dgtlman]

Gee so many I guess... Maybe Rush 2112 tour & probably Zep on the Presence tour. The very first Texxas Jam in '78 was pretty special too, despite the heat.

[arabicadabra]

Frank Zappa on June 15th, 1973 in Honolulu at the Civic Arena.
Black Sabbath on the Masters Of Reality tour at the Honolulu International Center.
Beck Bogert & Appice at the same place, followed not too long after by Jeff Beck on the Blow By Blow tour.
ELP on the Brain Salad Surgery Tour at Roosevelt Stadium (flew to the East Coast summer of 74, the band was too big to play Hawaii, nowhere could support the drum kit)

[Fracktured]

I will abstain.

Thank you. We would all end up feeling inadequate.

Frank Zappa
Gentle Giant
ELP in their prime

When I was growing up in the 70’s my parents were very protective and wouldn’t allow me to go to concerts because of the drugs. I wanted to go to many but couldn’t. One show I’ve always wished I’d saw and almost got to was Rick Wakeman’s Journey tour.

Rick


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bill g]

Milla Jovavich - she opened for Crash Test Dummies supporting her one album The Divine Comedy, prior to her acting career going stratospheric. Very cool and I was lucky enough to meet her backstage for an autograph and a hug.

Nice!! I bought the album when it came out, it's a pretty nice one! For those unfamiliar, yes, kind of an acoustic Kate Bush, but more acoustic guitar based than piano. Will have to pull that one out for a spin again one of these days...

[JKL2000]

I'll add a few more - interesting to note all of these and John Cale (twice) were all at The Bottom Line in NYC:

Camel
Roy Harper (actually, also saw him at The Knitting Factory, both shows were great, and probably the only chances I'll ever have had to see him)
Peter Bardens
Gong (the show at NEARfest was also good, but the Bottom Line one was a bit earlier and better)


BTW, some people here must have some interesting stories about Daevid Allen at NEARfest. Did he drink the coffee? Was he wacky backstage? Of course, maybe he appeared and disappeared quickly...

Honorable mention:

Landberk at Progfest
Anekdoten at Progscape
Discipline. at Progscape

I guess "most proud" would be better replaced by "most personally fulfilling" or something like that. It's not a competition.

[Steve F.]

I guess "most proud" would be better replaced by "most personally fulfilling" or something like that. It's not a competition.

Ah.

most personally fufilling:
Albert Marcoeur
Univers Zero
Art Zoyd
Samlas Mammas Manna

[Lopez]

I'm not sure if "proud" applies, but more like real happy I went, and that was to see Rufus Harley, jazz sax and bagpipes player, in Philly in 1974 or so. It's just that he was so unique, and most are unfamiliar with him. Now that he's no longer with us, the experience is all the more special to me. It's too bad that those who do remember him think of him as a novelty or a lunatic as he was portrayed on the Arsenio Hall TV show dressed in a kilt. I truly felt sorry for the man when I saw that. If I remember correctly Arsenio had a kind of Gong Show skit that night when he pit Rufus against the "Rappin' Granny." I hope Rufus got paid well for that atrocity. He was an older man then, so he probably needed the money. Oh, and by the way, he lost to the granny.

[Steve F.]

I saw Rufus Harley in the late 70s and he was great.

[Gruno]

Milla Jovavich - she opened for Crash Test Dummies supporting her one album The Divine Comedy, prior to her acting career going stratospheric. Very cool and I was lucky enough to meet her backstage for an autograph and a hug.

I'd lick your left foot for the simple fact that I worship you for seeing a show on that tour!

[Man In The Mountain]

I've seen a LOT... I think though that most people can't say they have seen:

JELLYFISH (Spilt Milk Tour)

I also saw Sam Kinison before he died.

[malterb]

My first show still is one that stands out

Thin Lizzy with Phil,Lynott and AC/DC with Bon Scott at the Aragon Ballroom Chicago in 1978

Was also cool to see:

Foreigner in 1979 with the original band, they also did a 15 minute version of Starrider
the First Farm Aid
Dio in Rainbow, Sabbath and Dio (never saw Elf)
Queensryche in a bar on the Warning tour
Scorpions in 1979 on their first US tour
UK a few years ago

[Dave the Brave]

Proud is not a word I would use, but among the many shows I have seen I would say the Genesis doing Selling and a couple of years later The Lamb shows are among my most memorable.
DTB

[Buddhabreath]

I was gonna pass as I have no pride at all in being a spectator, but most personally fulfilling, there's a lot, but a few off the top of my head:

Gentle Giant
Happy the Man (70s)
Muffins (70s)
Pierre Ben Susan
Peter Hammill (esp. late 70s/early 80s)
Van Der Graaf Generator (reunion at RFH w/ Jaxon)
Art Bears Song Book
David Allen - his personal little one man shows and w/ Gilli & Tom the Poet
King Crimson
Micheal Hedges
Ahmad Jamal
Tommy Emmanuel

[ronmac]

Zappa (five times)
Johnny Winter (13 times)
Everybody else

Really, any show I remember, and I do remember every one of them.

[walt]

Oliver Lake is a sax/flute player who came to NYC from St.Louis in the early 70's.He played in the small performance spaces and bars associated with the so-called"loft jazz" scene.Lake led a working band with double bassist Fred Hopkins, guitarist Michael Gregory Jackson and drummer Paul Maddox(who later took the name Pherroan AkLaff).I saw this quartet a bunch of times,always a bracing, contemporary listening experiance.One Saturday i went into Soho to see the quartet,the concert was advertised in the Village Voice,taking place in some joint in Soho whose name escapes me(probably a condo or a Starbucks now).

When i got to the venue, a sign stated that Oliver Lake will be playing a solo set; no quartet.I was bummed.I thought about seeing other music or splitting but decided to stay and see Lake.

It turned out to be a fantastic display of musical art.Lake came out with his alto and flute and some percussion instruments;he had bells on his ankles.He played, he sang, he danced; he involved the audience(about 20-25 folks).We walked out of the club totally satisfied.It was a magic night.

Sometimes what you didn't expect and (at first) didn't want can turn out to be something memorable.

[Garden Dreamer]

I dunno about ‘proudest’, but the shows that impress folks the most seem to be:


Yes on the Relayer tour, with Gryphon opening

Yeah, I view this thread topic the same way. I've encountered younger Rush and Yes fans who were mightily impressed (and jealous) that I had seen the Hemispheres and Relayer tours. Others I'm glad that I caught were Elvis Costello on the "This Years Model" tour and Be Bop Deluxe on their final tour (Drastic Plastic). And then there's regrets; I've had more than a few...

[Top Cat]

Selling England by the Pound show at Eastern Michigan University(Ypsilanti, MI)
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway at Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, Mi

With my wife:
Marillion the Seasons End tour at the Ritz, Roseville, Mi 1990
Mariilion the Holidays in Eden tour at the Ritz(I think), Roseville, Mi 1991