Best and Worst Concerts You've Ever Gone To?

[Cosmo]

Okay, yesterday I went to one of the best concerts of my life and I was reflecting on this on the train back to my city. 

 

If you had to rank the 5 best concerts you have ever gone to and the 5 worst concerts as well, what would they be? And why? Here's my list, for example:

 

Best Concerts:

1- Black Sabbath (2016) - My favourite band, alongside Rush. Missed my chance to see Rush live but I'm thankful I got to see Tony, Ozzy and Geezer together before they retired from touring. Too bad Bill Ward wasn't with them. But it was magical.

2- Ghost (2023) - One of my favourite bands in activity. Never had the chance to see them live before. Had high expectations. They exceeded all of them. Amazing stage presence, perfect production, near perfect setlist (I was lucky enough to catch the live debut of one of my favourite tracks - Respite On The Spitalfields), would go again many times.

3- Iron Maiden (2013) - Maiden England tour. Filled with Seventh Son of a Seventh Son songs, Bruce in amazing shape.. it was magical.

4- Guns N' Roses (2010) - First time seeing GnR live, Axl was singing has ass off, there was still a mystery to the band, a hype about what their next move was gonna be. That was when I started reading this forum as a visitor, before joining, some time later.

5- KISS (2009) - Alive 35 tour. Near-perfect setlist. Unfortunately it rained and they had to skip Love Gun on the Encore. But fantastic energy all around.

 

Worst Concerts:

1- Radiohead (2009) - I remember I was really into In Rainbows at the time and I was really hyped to see Radiohead live but man... what a disappointing experience. Their fanbase is the most annoying fanbase I've ever seen, the opening bands were really sucky, they came on a bit late and I thought their songs didn't translate that well into a live setting. It's more headphone music, IMO.

2- Guns N'Roses (2014) - After 2010, I was so hyped when GnR toured again that I bought tickets for 4 consecutive concerts in the same tour. And fuck - they all had the same damn setlist - which was basically the same one from 2010, but with mickey mouse Axl. That sucked ass. I paid the backstage experience package in one of them and only got to meet Tommy, Dizzy and Bumblefoot, being that I had already met Bumblefoot before, Tommy was wasted and Dizzy's Dizzy so... bummer.

3- Santana (2006) - I used to be really into Santana, and it was my second concert ever, after Lenny Kravitz, if I'm not mistaken. But man, it was like. Song 1 (long ass 10-minute jam) song 2 (long ass improv solo) song 3 (drum solo) song 4... no patience. Sorry.

4- Graveyard (2019) - Don't get me wrong, I love Graveyard, and went to see them again after this but man... they need to ease up on their drinking habits. What Axl lacks in rasp, Joakim overdoes it. And he friggin threw up on stage lol

5- KISS (2012) - Only three years after my first KISS concert, which was amazing and, man... what a let down. Paul was singing very badly, setlist was short... sound was off. Pretty meh concert.

 

So.. what about you guys?

 

 

[ZoSoRose]

Love these kinds of topics. I’ll have to think it over

[Gordon Comstock]

Best:

GNR 2010 - Everything about this was perfect, from the overall experience to the show itself. It was my first time seeing them, and I was front row. The CD songs were the highlights, IRS, If The World, Shackler's, Better... Axl was really talkative and interactive, telling stories before/during WTTJ and KOHD, and he brought out Bubbles (plus a Bubbles impersonator) for Liquor & Whores. Baz was a great opener too.

Slipknot / Deftones 2009 - I was 16, and seeing Joey Jordison just a few meters in front of me blew my mind. The show was tons of fun, it was one of the first shows where they played Snuff (it was the 4th time they'd ever played it live) and it ended up being one of the last shows with the classic lineup. I'm not much of a Deftones fan but damn, they put on a hell of a show, we couldn't have asked for a better opener.

RHCP 2023 - For a band that changes their setlist every night, I feel lucky to have seen a near perfect show. I just wish they played longer than 1hr 45min. The band was definitely having a good night though, John was on fire, Chad is a beast and Flea of course has a history with Vancouver. So glad I got to hear Eddie, Carry Me Home, Otherside, Wet Sand, etc.

Foxy Shazam 2012 - This tour might have been their peak as a live band, they were incredible. They only played for an hour but still did a bunch of new songs, they ended with The Temple and turned it into a 10-minute jam/story with Eric eating cigarettes.

Buckethead w/ Brain and Brewer 2017 - So glad I got to see Bucket and Brain perform together. Caught the ferry to Seattle the night before, spent the day checking out record stores and stuff, then saw them play at the Showbox which is a really cool venue. Hearing Nottingham Lace and Interworld And The New Innocence were definitely the highlights.

Honourable mentions to Aerosmith/Motley Crue in 2006, on the Route Of All Evil tour... I could list a bunch more but I'll stop there.

Worst:

Marilyn Manson 2009 - He was out of shape physically and vocally, and spent a lot of the show just walking around the stage spitting out Budweiser. (He'd take a swig, spit it out, and do it again... he went through plenty of bottles but probably only drank one of them). The sound in the arena was shit, too. At least the opening band, Die Mannequin, were good.

Puddle of Mudd 2010 - Had to sit through them at a festival. The singer was shitfaced and the band seemed like they couldn't wait for the show to be over.

Shinedown 2012 - I'd seen them a couple years earlier and thought they were good, but the 2nd time I saw them felt so flat and choreographed.

Buckcherry 2014 - This was the 3rd time I'd seen them, I saw them on Crue Fest and then headlining a small arena in 2009 and they were good, but the 2014 show was lackluster. I don't know if they were burnt out from touring, but at least my ticket was free...

Theory Of A Deadman 2009 - Another band I had to sit through at a festival, 'bland' would be a nice way to describe them.

[Cosmo]

14 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

Best:

Buckethead w/ Brain and Brewer 2017 - So glad I got to see Bucket and Brain perform together. Caught the ferry to Seattle the night before, spent the day checking out record stores and stuff, then saw them play at the Showbox which is a really cool venue. Hearing Nottingham Lace and Interworld And The New Innocence were definitely the highlights.

Wow man, what I'd give to see THIS 

[Amir]

Best:

 

GNR: L'ARC Paris 2010 - Dream to see Axl in such an intimate venue

GNR: London 2010 - Amazing energy, roof went off when Duff came on stage

GNR: Atlantic City 2012 - Another great intimate gig, this time with real fans as opposed to the L'ARC crowd

 

Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio 2013 - "SCREAM FOR ME, BRAZIL!"

 

Prince: Saw him three times in 2014. Once at an arena show in Birmingham, which was fantastic, but then I saw him do a 6pm and 9pm show on the same day at the Roundhouse in London and that was on another level. Not many artists I would not get tired of seeing do two shows back-to-back, and I'm not even that big a Prince fan.

 

Leonard Cohen: Manchester, 2013. Had so much energy for a guy who was almost 80 and whose songs are generally depressing.

 

Bruce Springsteen, London 2013 and 2014. It's Bruce, 'nuff said.

ELO, London 2014: Just a magical concert, so much love from the crowd seeing Jeff Lynne perform again, an uplifting show.

 

Portishead, EXIT Festival 2011: There was some kind of otherworldly connection with the audience. I was sober but felt like I was on something.

 

Duran Duran, EXIT Festival 2012: Man, I was not expecting these guys to rock this hard.

 

Pulp, EXIT Festival 2011: Jarvis Cocker is a hell of a frontman, and they brought on some of Arcade Fire for "Common People" in the encore.

 

Worst:

 

GNR: Guadalajara, 2019. Band was OK but the energy and vibes were bad due to the promoters fucking up the entry system. Also pissed that they didn't play Locomotive :/ 

 

New Order, EXIT Festival, 2012. I left after a few songs, not engaging at all.

 

Faith No More: London, 2014. Total opposite vibe of the awesome club show I'd seen them do two years prior. Just the wrong vibe for a sunny afternoon festival show, especially choosing to debut two new songs to a crowd of casuals.

[Cosmo]

57 minutes ago, Amir said:

Best: Iron Maiden: Rock in Rio 2013 - "SCREAM FOR ME, BRAZIL!"

Same here. What a show. Simply amazing.

[Gordon Comstock]

19 hours ago, Cosmo said:

Wow man, what I'd give to see THIS 

 

Not my video, but this channel has a few songs from that show in decent quality...

 

 

[MildlyArtistic]

Best concert I ever went to? Probably David Gilmour's last concert in 2016. Absolutely incredible show. 

Either that or the 6-hour madness that was the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London. 

 

Worst? Lauryn Hill at Glastonbury 2019. Came on late (as is normal for her) and played through all her songs at double speed 

[MillionsOfSpiders]

Best - I can’t choose between Oasis in the 90s and a Jack White show I went to.

Worst - Hands down Marilyn Manson 2003 and then again in 2009 after I gave him a second chance - each time he was shit and a total diva cunt. 

[MildlyArtistic]

10 hours ago, MillionsOfSpiders said:

Best - I can’t choose between Oasis in the 90s and a Jack White show I went to.

Worst - Hands down Marilyn Manson 2003 and then again in 2009 after I gave him a second chance - each time he was shit and a total diva cunt. 

As somebody who used to be a massive Marilyn Manson fan (have found it pretty hard to listen to his music since the allegations a few years back), it really seems like the 'Guns, God, and Government' tour was the last tour where he put on a good performance live. 

Check out the Toronto 2000 concert where he's genuinely fantastic:

Every tour after that, he became a doped-up clown, as Trent Reznor famously called him. 

(I'd also like to add Nine Inch Nails in 2022 as one of the best shows I've ever seen) 

[F*ck Fear]

Best:

Guns N Roses 2010 - Axl was on fire, and they played 'There Was A Time'.

Slayer, Pantera 2001

Velvet Revolver 2004

Pantera 2023

Worst:

Metallica 2009 - Lamb of God played first and were tight. Metallica came on and the sound was atrocious. I left after a few songs that were unrecognizable.

Slash 2011? - I don't remember it.

[Powderfinger]

Best: GnR 92, Nirvana 92, Alice in Chains 93, Oasis 95 & 96, The Pogues 2001, Radiohead 97, The Prodigy 96 & 97, Neil Young 93 & 96, 2019, Sepultura 93, Sex Pistols 96, The Libertines 02, The Jesus Lizard 96, White Stripes 01, Therapy? 93, Jesus & Mary Chain 98, The Stooges 04, The Doors with Ian Astbury 04, Buddy Guy 2019, The Stones 02 & 03, Sabbath 97 & 99, Tom Petty 2010, Pearl Jam 93 & 2013, ACDC 1991, 2009. 
Way too many great gigs to remember them all…. Some nights the bands were a blur they were that good. 

Worst: too many to mention… Usually bands I suffered through at festivals or as support bands, the odd guy like Dylan who was incredible and terrible all at once, I don’t think I’ve ever walked out of a band in my life. Maybe as far as the bar. 
 

Seeing a band at its peak or better yet just before is unlike seeing any other band there’s a magic in the air at those shows. The 90s were full of those gigs. 
 

Some bands or artists like Neil Young, The Stones, AcDC, Pearl Jam, Sabbath, Maiden, Primal Scream…. I’ve never seen a bad gig by those guys, the album they’re touring might be a bit shit and the odd concession to age made, but live they always deliver. It’s hard pick 1 or 2 gigs by those guys, they’re great everytime I’ve seen them. I’ve seen Uncle Neil 12 times (possibly more) and every gig was different, he was a different version of Neil at each one. 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Powderfinger

[Gunner Gilby]

Worst was RHCP on their By The Way tour. Played for less than 90 minutes. Nothing of the first three albums with Sherman and Slovak. And nothing off One Hot Minute. 

Best - wow so many. Guns N Roses 93, 07, 17 and 22. Rockstar Supernova 07. Faith No More on their King For A Day tour. Pearl Jam on their Vitalogy tour with Neil and Tim Finn guesting. The Cult and Rage Against The Machine at the Big Day Outs in the mid 90s. Every Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Finn Brothers, Crowded House and Split Enz show I've seen between 93 and now. Particularly Neil Finn And Friends (Tim Finn, Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder and Phil Selway and Ed O Brien from Radiohead). Jimmy Barnes 93 I think.

Some great kiwi bands I've seen - The Exponents, Dave Dobbyn, Head Like A Hole, Supergroove, Dead Flowers, Headless Chickens. 

Next gig I'm going to is Tim Finn next week. Dude is 71 and he's released four new studio albums in the last coupla years. He could teach Axl a few things about motivation 🤣.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Gunner Gilby
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