Current Events > What is the best live concert you have been to?

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Scottish Rite Temple of Freemasonry in Baltimore, 2003.

Bassnectar at Red Rocks or Childish Gambino at Bonnaroo.

This was, of course, before Bassnectar was outed as a predator.

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Furthur at Red Rocks x4 in 2012 (Furthur is two members of The Grateful Dead) - RR had been on my bucket list for a long time and with Grateful Dead being my favorite band, i jumped on these tickets the day they went on sale. lucky for me, my dad lived in Boulder, CO at the time so i had a free place to stay and access to a car. weed was recently legalized in the state, which was just icing on the cake. i swear there was a cloud of smoke just hovering over the crowd despite it being an outdoor show.

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Giant_Aspirin posted...

Furthur at Red Rocks x4 in 2012 (Furthur is two members of The Grateful Dead) - RR had been on my bucket list for a long time and with Grateful Dead being my favorite band, i jumped on these tickets the day they went on sale. lucky for me, my dad lived in Boulder, CO at the time so i had a free place to stay and access to a car. weed was recently legalized in the state, which was just icing on the cake. i swear there was a cloud of smoke just hovering over the crowd despite it being an outdoor show.

I've been to Red Rocks many a time. Greatest venue on earth, in my personal opinion. It's such a magical place.

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Dorfmann_ posted...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Scottish Rite Temple of Freemasonry in Baltimore, 2003.

Holy shit, I was at that show too. It didn't make #1 spot but it's top five for sure.

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Up In Smoke tour was pretty awesome.

Metallica always put on a good show. Manson puts on a hell of a show. Seen Slayer and Rob Zombie with Manson, amazing performances.

But Ive been to a decent amount of festival type concerts that have been pretty phenomenal.

The Cure, The Offspring, Jay-Z, P.O.D., New Found Glory, Violent Femmes, Cypress Hill, Papa Roach, Lostprophets, Yellowcard, O.A.R.

Panic at the disco, Interpol, smashing pumpkins, wu tang, velvet revolver, 311

Lil wayne, Kanye, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails.

And then OzzFest, Black Sabbath, Rob Zombie, Deftones, Slayer, Primus, System of a Down, Godsmack, Fear Factory, Slipknot.

Im sure Im still missing a bunch. Eminem puts on a crazy show and involves the crowd a lot.

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Buzz Killjoy posted...

Holy shit, I was at that show too. It didn't make #1 spot but it's top five for sure.

Damn, small world. Something about that particular show really left an impression on me. I saw them one other time after that and it was completely forgettable.

My top three are as follows:

Queens of the Stone Age (2011?): They reissued their first album and I caught only one of two shows they played in Canada. It was at Metropolis, a 4000 human venue.

The Refused (2012): Just an absolute banger of a show, and it was the first time they toured since the 90s.

Biffy Clyro (2017): They were fresh off of headlining Redding and did a NA tour. Saw 'em in Montreal at Cafe Campus, a venue of 600 people. It was fucking incredible!

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Dorfmann_ posted...

Damn, small world. Something about that particular show really left an impression on me. I saw them one other time after that and it was completely forgettable.

I agree, I have seen them two other times and A Silver Mt. Zion five or six times and while the early ASMZ shows were special, nothing really matches the energy of that temple show.

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Never been to one and I don't intend to go to one. That kind of event sounds like it would drive me crazy.

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2003 RHCP with opening by Queens of the Stone Age. The QotSA opener had audio problems so it kinda sucked but the RHCP were amazing. When they jam for like 10 min solos for their most popular songs

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Back to back sets (so about 4 hours) of Joe Russos Almost Dead and the Trey Anastasio Band. Joe was having a kid so they brought in two drummers to replace him which shows how good he is but yeah that was the best

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Tool live about two years ago. Got 2nd row tickets.

Interesting show as the singer hangs back and really puts the other guys out in front. Made me appreciate Adam Jones and Danny Carey a lot more.

Rush

Idk, ive been to a lot but Frank Turner opening for Social D will always stand out to me, as its the only time an opener has become a favorite (and indeed my favorite point blank) artist of mine

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Rammstein 2012
Queens of the Stone Age 2013
Mastodon 2017

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First time I saw PUP live back in 2016 was pretty amazing. Theyre a phenomenal live band. And they covered El Scorcho

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Iron Maiden 2008, 2012
Nine Inch Nails 2008
Pearl Jam 2011, 2016
Metallica 2017

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downisthenewup posted...

Tool live about two years ago. Got 2nd row tickets.

Interesting show as the singer hangs back and really puts the other guys out in front. Made me appreciate Adam Jones and Danny Carey a lot more.

Maynard wore a SWAT outfit when I went in 2017. It was badass.

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Demigod_Elessar posted...

Iron Maiden "Somewhere Back In Time", June 11 2008, in Chicago IL.

Absolutely phenomenal performance. I still get chills thinking about it to this day. I went into the arena that day having heard of the band and maybe a few of their songs, but not being too familiar with them. I walked out a changed man and huge Maiden fan. Especially after seeing the song "Powerslave" that night.

To this day, 13 years later, I haven't come across another live band that tops that night.

Saw them like 10 days later in Montreal. It was world changing at that age. First concert I ever went to with friends.

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Also, Anaal Nathrakh in 2016. It was in this small room, on a small stage. There were like 50 people at most. I stood right in front of the stage, basically 1 foot away from the band. Shared a beer with Mick Kenney, got on stage, had a great time.

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AssultTank posted...

Rolling Stones at Bobby Dodd in 2015.

I got paid to go, and it was a great performance.

Damn lucky. I paid $400 for my tickets, lol.

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Monolith 2009

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Stalolin posted...

Chili Peppers with an opening by George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic.

Ahh, jealous.

My favorite concert was The Cure in 2008. I was not a fan, but my wife loves them. I went because of her and they ended up absolutely winning me over with their over 2 hour set and 2 encores. The opening band was 65Daysofstatic whom I had never heard of but I sat there in complete awe as they played their set. Top to bottom it was a great show and both bands are now two of my favorites.

I haven't been to many concerts unfortunately. I decided recently that I want to change that but... COVID and all....

Some other good ones, Korn's Family Values tour in 98. Smashing Pumpkins in 2019. Panic at the Disco also in 2019, another band I'm not a huge fan of, but my daughter loves them so I took her. They put on a fantastic show though! I also saw The Cure again on their last US tour, which was 2017 IIRC. The only other music events I've been to were the old HFS festivals they used to have at DC. I saw quite a few musical acts through there.

I really want to see Metallica before they call it quits. Every single time they come through, something ends up happening to where I can't go. Last time they came through with Avenged Sevenfold as their opener and I'm still mad I had to miss that.

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Audioslave in 2005 in OKC

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Disturbed, mid 2000s
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1. John Vanderslice in some dude's living room.
2. The first time I saw Margot & The Nuclear So And Sos, totally hammered, at the Grog Shop.
3. Neutral Milk Hotel three nights in a row.
4. Coheed & Cambria with Dredg for the Star IV tour.
5. My first real concert, Opeth during the Blackwater Park tour.
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Hard to quantify best. Top would probably be the Desert Trip festival in Oct 2016 (only six acts: Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, The Who, Roger Waters) in the pit only feet from the rail, but lots of other choice sets.

Front rail for two Gorillaz shows in 2017 (arena in Halifax and FEQ in Qubec City). Bassist Seye handed me his pick after the first. Damon jumped down from the stage and straight to me at the second where I held his hand so he could lean into the crowd whole standing on the rail. Plus the camera guy stayed on me the whole second rap of Clint Eastwood and we were on the giant screens in front of 80k people.

Front row for two Jack White shows in 2018 (Boston Calling festival and arena in Halifax). Got his pick from the first.

Wandering around Osheaga 2016 (Busty and the Bass, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jeremy Loops, Post Malone on a side stage part way through the day).

We took our moms to see Paul Simon's farewell tour in 2018 (row 5 in Montral) and Elton John's Farewell tour TC mentioned in 2019 (Toronto).

First time attending a concert with friends back in 2001 at a small local festival (The Tea Party and Nelly Furtado headlining).

First concert trip with girlfriend in 2008 after she won a trip to Boston to see The Police. Fifth last show they ever played.

10th row for Rush in Vancouver in 2011 on their Time Machines tour where they played Moving Pictures in its entirety.

A local orchestra partnered with some rock singers to play Sgt. Pepper's front to back in 2017.

Front row at Boston Calling 2018 for Portugal. The Man and The Killers followed by a Questlove DJ set at a small club.

Floor seats at the Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour in Calgary 2018 with my brother.

Almost every show we attended of a new local festival. Super easy to get front row; got lots of picks/drum sticks/setlists.

A friend in a former local band asked me to be part of a theatrical show for the release of their second concept album. I was a doctor checking up on the lead singer.

Yeah, I miss live music. Really hoping it's safe for large festivals in 2022.

I saw Paramore before they started getting big, and New Found Glory were supporting. That's about it really.

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I saw The Frogs in Iowa City 20 years ago, they were this crazy band that sang about all this homoeroticism and worse crazy costumes. They ended the show by having a drunk dude get up and sing Brown Sugar and he couldnt remember the words.

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Jeff Buckleys last concert at a club in Austin.

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either santana in vegas, anderson paak or kendrick lamar / kanye just for the bonkers-ness of it

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CHM_Punk posted...

Lucky bastard.

Front row about 12 feet away from him.

The opening band; Soul Coughing for Ruby Vroom.

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This thread really confirms what I've known about CE for a long time now: almost everyone here only listens to band type of stuff and does not like listening or going to live electronic music at all, and just a select few have interest in hip-hop (especially compared to the overwhelming interest in band music).

DavidZ2844 posted...

This thread really confirms what I've known about CE for a long time now: almost everyone here only listens to band type of stuff and does not like listening or going to live electronic music at all, and just a select few have interest in hip-hop (especially compared to the overwhelming interest in band music).

I just don't like going to concerts, I've only been to maybe 4 total in my life.

I love electronic music as well lol, I just prefer my music through headphones from the comfort of my own home.

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@DavidZ2844 posted...

This thread really confirms what I've known about CE for a long time now: almost everyone here only listens to band type of stuff and does not like listening or going to live electronic music at all, and just a select few have interest in hip-hop (especially compared to the overwhelming interest in band music).

Or maybe electronica music just doesn't hold a candle to other genres if you're not gazzacked on drugs.

I've seen Ratatat (Metropolis), Animal Collective (Metropolis), and a shit ton of others at the floating floor stage at Osheaga and none of them compare.

Get outta here with your holier than thou attitude.

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Tie between Rush, Metallica, and Foxy Shazam + The Darkness.

Converge, about 10 years ago in Auckland. Jane Doe live is still surreal to look back on.

Camo & Krooked played in an abandoned mall as all the other venues were closed from a big earthquake, incredible vibes and this was when they were at the top of their game (probably 9 years ago now).

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Slipknot back in like 2012, Motorhead was also playing but Slipknot had so much energy.

trappedunderice posted...

Slipknot back in like 2012, Motorhead was also playing but Slipknot had so much energy.

Saw then at Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines right after Iowa came out, real high energy

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I'm not sure what I would classify as the best, but my favorite was getting to see Sunny Day Real Estate on their 2009 reunion tour.

They were my favorite band when I was in high school but they never came within 500 miles of where I live and I was really bummed when they broke up.

Incubus concert , they are still great live , also helps that they are one of my favorite bands.

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I also gotta give a shout out to the Smashing Pumpkins in 2018. It was a 3+ hour show and it was phenomenal if you like their classic material and old album cuts.

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Eat More Beef posted...

@

Or maybe electronica music just doesn't hold a candle to other genres if you're not gazzacked on drugs.

I've seen Ratatat (Metropolis), Animal Collective (Metropolis), and a shit ton of others at the floating floor stage at Osheaga and none of them compare.

Get outta here with your holier than thou attitude.

Jesus fucking Christ bud, you're telling me I have the holier than thou attitude? You're being extremely judgmental and making these ridiculous assumptions that electronic music is really bad compared to everything else and only worth seeing live on drugs. Such an elitist and closed off way to look at things. I've also seen a large variety of live shows, but never did I say in my post that electronic music is superior to everything else or some other gate keeping judgmental kind of shit like what you said. Just making an observation here, it would be nice to discuss the awesome live electronic shows others have seen but it just doesn't seem like others do that here.

@JACKBUTTMOMMY [LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I don't really see how my post can be interpreted as "having an attitude about it", that wasn't my intention. Notice how I'm not criticizing other music genres (as I love them just as much as electronic, I like to listen to everything too), so I don't think I'm trying to be a music elitist here like @Eat_More_Beef was in his other post. I love music discussion of all kinds too, I can relate to what you mean by artists blowing up and getting more discussion out of it, that's awesome when that happens. Just stating an observation of CE's music taste and some slight disappointment that I'm not able to connect with others here about their experiences with electronic music, but it's not a huge deal.