OT: I'm glad I saw them when I had the chance...

[dsampson55]

Figured I'd start a new topic. Out of all the shows you've seen, who were the most memorable or who are you glad you saw when you did.

For me:

Jethro Tull - Aqualung and Thick as a Brick tours

Guy Lombardo - He came to my Jr High and I worked on the stage crew

Frank Zappa - Saw him several times, twice with the live from NY band (Terri Bozzio, Adrian Belew, and Patrick O'hern). Fantastic band.

Edgar Winter's White Trash Band - Had a horn section. One of the best live acts I've seen at the time.

and finally,

Springsteen - At a small club in Atlanta (Richard's) in 1973. I paid $3 to get in, sat with my feet propped up on the stage. Incidentally, Springsteen wanted to be a Jazz musician back then. He wore a red blazer, black turtle neck, slacks and leather shoes back then. But still fantastic.

dave

[Paul Stutt]

LED ZEPPELIN
Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, UK. 11th August 1979. This turned out to be their last ever gig (with all the members) in the UK

Roxy Music:
Two days before Virginia Plain was released, it cost 50 pence (about $1) to get in.

Gary Moore:
Many many times and hopefully many moore ;) Even more of a treat for me as I know his whole family (his brother used to work for me in my music shop)

Jeff Beck:
Royal Albert Hall, London

[Pingu]

Kathleen Battle - I was in Berlin as a missionary, and some friends asked if I wanted to go to a concert of some Mozart orchestral music, played by the Berlin Youth Orchestra. Quite frankly the answer was no - I can't stand Mozart, and the idea of a very average orchestra plodding through it was excrutiating - but, for some reason I agreed. When we got there it turned out these friends hadn't actually got tickets, but were going to rely on buying them outside from people who wanted rid of theirs. So we did this, went inside and made our way to the orchestral hall. When we showed our tickets, though, I was told I was at the wrong entrance - in fact the wrong hall. It turned out I had just bought a ticket to hear Kathleen Battle with Roger Vignoles in the Chamber Hall. Best concert of my life (although a close call with some of the 'Sacres' I've been to). She was incredible - simply beyond belief, and the setting felt like being in a living room just hearing her perform impromptu for a few friends.

Placido Domingo, Back in Berlin, twelve years later, with a school band I had taken on tour. I'd organised to take them on a tour of the Philharmonic Hall. When we got there, though, the tour guide said he was very sorry, but these bookings are always subject to change, and a very important last minute rehearsal was going on. We teachers did our best to pretend our students would be heartbroken, mentioning how far they'd come, till the tour guide cracked, and said he would try sneaking us into the rehearsal, so long as we were silent. He didn't mention what was being rehearsed.

So we shuffled in, to find that we were yards from Placido Domingo and two other soloists, with a session accompanist, and Simon Rattle 'conducting' singing through Wagner. I was simply gobsmacked. Of course my students hadn't a clue what they had just seen. They were more concerned about whether we would still make it to McDonalds.

Phantom of the Opera - My first date with my now wife, I took her to Phantom. We were engaged two weeks later.

[dsampson55]

How could I forget this one:

The Who - 1970 or 71, just after the release of Live at Leeds. They did a show in Columbia, MD and it was a sellout with no advertising (just word of mouth). I went down there and the promoter just threw the gates open (it was an outdoor venue) and let everyone in free.

After a few numbers they were taking more and more time between songs. Finally, Daltry says "Oh F---- it, we're going to play Tommy". And Bam! right into it. Just the 4 of them and it was a great performance.

[SeanHannifin]

Peter Schickeles / PDQ Bach ... will probably never laugh so hard in a concert hall again

John Williams ... it's John Williams

Marriage of Figaro ... not the most lavish production of it, but it's the best opera yet written!

[Paul Stutt]

Nearly forgot

David Bowe:

On the Serious Moonlight tour at the Mlton Keynes Bowl in the UK. What a gig. I wasn't even a fan at the time. He completely blew me away. Excellent.

How could I forget that?? :wow:

[SeanHannifin]

Saw a taping of Hardball with Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro... they seem even less real in person! :D Okay, that wasn't really a music thing... :o (And I'm not really that glad...)

[Paul Stutt]

Saw a taping of Hardball with Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro... they seem even less real in person! :D Okay, that wasn't really a music thing... :o (And I'm not really that glad...)


)(~ hahahahaha )(~

[Thomas J]

Keith Jarrett - San Diego - 1980

Eric Clapton/Santana - San Diego - 1978

Weather Report - Bloomington, IN - 1974

[Jeff Turner]

I had the opportunity to work for Tony Bennett about 25 years ago. Three piece rhythm section and string quartet. It's the rehearsals that were special. Six hours a day for ten days. He didn't take it easy because these were rehearsals, worked harder than anyone else. No ego, respected everyone for their talents. A true pro.

Also worked with The Blues Brothers around the same time. Though the music wasn't the same caliber as Bennett's, the rehearsals were very, very entertaining.

Jeff

[PaulR]

Pink Floyd at the UFO club in 1967 or 1968 - can't remember.

Pink Floyd at The Great Hall, Exeter in about 1971 or 72

Jimmy Hendrix at the Isle of Wight in 1970

The Nice at The Marquee Club in about 1967 or 68. Both probably.

Santana at The Bath Festival in about 1968.

Emerson Lake & Palmer at the ABC cinema in about 1971. And before that at The Isle of wight in 1970.

Bob Dylan at the Isle of Wight in 1969 (although the sound was not great).

Led Zep at Leeds in about 1971 or 72.

Chicken Shack at Torquay Town Hall - 1969

Cream - somewhere or other about 1967/68

The Electric Light Orchestra when they first started.

John Cooper Clarke :D

Canned Heat - Torquay Town Hall (good party afterwards)

[nikolas]

Radiohead 2001, Greece, Athens
dEUS 2001, Greece, Athens

Both are in my favourites folder. :) dEUS are no longer what they were, and Radiohead are playing in London in the summer and I will be there. ;)

[JonFairhurst]

Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, ELP and five opening bands - at the 1974 California Jam

Don't laugh, but... Peter Frampton - one week before his live album was released. He opened for the original Lynyrd Skynyrd (they were drunk and sucked), and put on a fantastic show - before the songs were played to death. I had never heard of the guy (though I knew Humble Pie) before we bought the tix.

Boston - 5th row in a small venue a few weeks after their first album was released. Again, before it got played to death. The band was innocent and seriously giddy about the fan reaction.

Pink Floyd - The Wall. Once in a lifetime.

Jethro Tull - War Child and a number of later shows

Bruford, Gong and the Dixie Dregs - at separate shows at The Roxie in Hollywood in a single summer. Stunning.

UK - original lineup.

Return to Forever - Reunion with Corea, Dimeola, Clarke and White. What virtuosos!

Peter Gabriel - After the release of the third album (Games Without Frontiers) and many times afterwards. Hypnotic.

[dsampson55]

[QUOTE=
Don't laugh, but... Peter Frampton - one week before his live album was released. He opened for the original Lynyrd Skynyrd (they were drunk and sucked), and put on a fantastic show - before the songs were played to death. I had never heard of the guy (though I knew Humble Pie) before we bought the tix.[/QUOTE]

He has a really good reputation as a guitar player too. Bowie used him on one of his tours in the 90s.

[squoze]

Todd Rungdren & Utopia - 1975
Yes - 1977
Paco De Lucia/Al DiMeola/John Mclaughlin 1981

[JonFairhurst]

Paco De Lucia/Al DiMeola/John Mclaughlin 1981Me too. (But I thought they got together later than that.) Great show!

My friend (who was with me) had just returned from Spain where he had seen them perform a week or so before. I thought about yelling to the musicians "how was Spain?" and the next thing you know... they played the song "Spain."

I guess they read my mind!

[klassical]

Wow, you made me take quite a trip down memory lane.

Alan Hovhaness - Concert of chamber music (he was there).

Once Festival (Ann arbor, Mi. Series of Experimental concerts featuring Cage, Lucier, Ashley, Behrman, Mumma, etc. I remember seeing Kagel and Feldman in the audience.)

Stravinsky - Rite of Spring (Boulez conducting, Cleveland Orch.)

Cage & Merce Cunningham Dance Co. (Cleveland Inst. of Music.)

Ursula Oppens (pianist, Icebreaker (Amsterdam)) I don't even remember what she played, but the hall was so intimate that I could read the music as she played.)

Xenakis - Herma (Yuji Takehashi, piano) Played this very difficult piece from memory.

Also,...

Mahavishnu Orchestra
Herbie Hancock
Chick Corea
Albert Ayler
Velvet Underground (I'll bet you weren't expecting that) :)

[snorlax]

Bill Evans...
Many times in NYC where I grew up, but for the last at Indiana University in 1975. Did the university sponsor him? NAH. He played in a small club called the Bluebird. Crappy piano, cramped quarters. Trio played their collective tails off. Eliot Zigmund was infatuated with his bell tree.
Had a brief discussion with Evans about G.I. Gurdjieff in 1968 or 69; ran into him at the Waffle House in Bloomington (IU) after the gig & briefly resumed the discussion, but didn't want to bother him...

Roland Kirk...
Played one night at the Memorial Union at IU; died later that night.

I wonder if there are any IU people here who were also at one/both??

Jim

[Leaf]

I was living in Oak Cliff, where i am from, the Southern third of Dallas. I was in Sunset High School district (switched to Adamson after a redraw of districts), and my girlfirend was in Kimbal High School district, which was nearby.

A friend came to my house on a friday night to tell me about a party at a house in the Kimbal district, people we didn't know, but anyone was invited.
We went there and saw the greatest garage band ever.

I wasn't the only one there quickly convinced that the amazing guitarist would go on to become famous, after just a few songs it was unanimous.

Their parents came home and apparently they were not supposed to be having a party. The party ended abruptly and everyone was told to extinguish anything that was lit, to take the canned beverages with us, and to get the heck outta there. We left rather quickly as did everyone else.

I think we must have forgot where that house was, because we never returned to get to know those guys, Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan.

[fastlane]

The 1969 Seattle POP Festival had to be the best musical experience for me.

Here's a partial performer list for the three day event. The weather was beautiful and the tickets were $6 per day or $15 for a three day pass.

Chuck Berry,
Black Snake,
Tim Buckley,
The Byrds,
Chicago Transit Authority
Albert Collins
Crome Syrcus
Bo Diddley
the Doors
Floating Bridge
The Flock
The Flying Burrito Brothers
Guess Who
It's A Beautiful Day
Led Zeppelin
Charles Loyd
Lonnie Mack
Lee Michaels
Rockin Fu
Murray Roman
Santana
Spiri
The Steve Miller Band
Ten Years After
Ike & Tina Turner
Vanilla Fudge
The Youngbloods.

[Pingu]

I forgot:-

Derek Watkins - I'd never heard of him. Apparently a very, very respected jazz trumpeter. He came and played for free with our school big band, because he was friends with the parents of a student. He was utterly brilliant, but the most exciting thing for me was the number of film soundtracks where he was principal trumpet.

It turned out he was the man who nailed that top Bb in Star Wars. He was the man who goes Daah-dadada-Daah, Dah Dah Dah in Superman. He was the man who goes Boowap de doooo, de-doowah in the James Bond films. For me it was like meeting a legend.

Christian Lindberg - A trombonist whose technique is just frightening. Despite being world famous he came and did a concert in my little backwoods school, when I was a student. This was because Foden's brass band (at the time unquestionably the best band in the country) just happen to come from my little town, and used to rehearse in the school canteen. One day my music teacher intercepted me on the way home and steered me into Foden's rehearsal, telling me I'd be glad he did. And I was.

[robmanderson]

Pink Floyd in Melbourne, 1972, before Dark Side of the Moon.

Philip Glass and the Ensemble performing Einstein on the Beach, Melbourne 1992!

[JonFairhurst]

Leaf, I had a similar experience...

Van Halen played a local garage party in Southern California just two blocks from my parent's house, probably two years before they were signed. I was in high school at the time. They played mostly Zep covers. And they played them pretty well. Not exactly like Zep, but with tons of energy and style for a garage party band.

[rwayland]

Well, probably the most historic for me was the first appearance of The
Beattles on the Ed Sullivan Show. A bit strange, as I am not really much interested in them.

The most memorable was a performance by Collard, who woke up an otherwise sleep inducing all Mozart program. He really awakened the orchestra and made them play music.

Richard

[Pierre Laroche]

Scott Ross, playing Bach's Well Tempered Clavier on harpsichord.
John Lewis, playing piano solo at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

[Paul Stutt]

1973 Wembley Stadium UK ... I was 15 at the time

12 hour Rock & Roll show includng:
Chuck Berry
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard
Bo Diddley
Bill Haley
The Drifters
The Coasters
The Platters
Heinz
Screaming Lord Sutch
MC5
Wizard
amongst others

What a show!!

[Thomas J]

Bill Evans...
Many times in NYC where I grew up, but for the last at Indiana University in 1975. Did the university sponsor him? NAH. He played in a small club called the Bluebird. Crappy piano, cramped quarters. Trio played their collective tails off. Eliot Zigmund was infatuated with his bell tree.
Had a brief discussion with Evans about G.I. Gurdjieff in 1968 or 69; ran into him at the Waffle House in Bloomington (IU) after the gig & briefly resumed the discussion, but didn't want to bother him...

Roland Kirk...
Played one night at the Memorial Union at IU; died later that night.

I wonder if there are any IU people here who were also at one/both??

Jim


Jim,

I graduated from IU Bloomington in 1974. I remember the Bluebird well, but in my days there it was John Mellancamp (John Cougar then). Say some great concerts at the auditorium (Weather Report notably) and, of course, some really great music from their renowned School of Music.

Tom

[dsampson55]

1973 Wembley Stadium UK
MC5

Kick out the jams!


dave

[dsampson55]

Oh yes, in 1976 I saw:

John Hartford - One man show. Brought a sheet of plywood in his station wagon, set it on the stage floor, and tapped out his rhythms as he played guitar or fiddle and sang his tunes. An incredible loss to the music world.

David Bromberg - with his band. One of the finest pickers around.

Both at the Great Southeast Music Hall in Atlanta (not the same billing - different dates).

These two guys are/were the best individual musicians I've ever seen. I was also impressed the neither of them had ego problems. Just two humble guys that loved playing music. I read somewhere that David Bromberg is now a violin luthier in Delaware.

dave