Mr. Self Destruct

So you've been to dozens of shows. What stands out as favorite moments to shows you've been to? I have a few..

During the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters tour, the Foo Fighters opened (and completely blew away the Chili Peppers), during the set--Dave jumped down and walking around the crowd. He stopped in front of me and saw the Chili Peppers T-shirt and gave me a frowned look. Then I showed him my old school Foo shirt and he gave me that sort of Mentos look and shook my hand. Yes, I was *that* guy. But worth it. Dave Grohl is amazing.

One of the only shows I ever bough scalped tickets for was Audioslave's debut tour, because the cd is one of my favorites in recent years. During the show, they went through several songs of the set and so the show ended before I knew it. I was dissappointed because my favorite song on the album "I Am The Highway" was not played. Well, fifteen minutes later. Chris Cornell walks back on stage with just an acoustic guitar and begins it. During the second chorus, the rest of the band came in. *Unbelievable*

While Everclear's popularity is way down, I'm still a fan. During a solo acoustic show, I sat not five feet from the stage. Nearing the end of the show, Art came up to me and asked what would I like to hear. And I rattled off a bunch of songs and he's like, "sure" and starts into one. I believe it was "Summerland" from SPARKLE and FADE.

Finally, while not concert related, I found out (thanks to these very boards) of a Trent Reznor signing for ALL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN. Several train rides and hours later, I got to see TRENT in the flesh and shake hands with him. I got to thank him for all the music that's he given me and so many others over the year. While I'm sure it's meaningless to him, as he probably hears it all the time, it felt good to say and witness him in such a way. On a side note, my friend (a small female) actually made him laugh and smile. She said something to the effect, "I drew this for you but they don't want me to show it to you" (security was super strict) and he said to show it to him anyway. And it was a crayon drawing of her and Trent that was extremely happy and positive, both with smiles on their face. It looked like a six year old drew it. And yeah, she made Trent smile.

So, what about you?

Hollowgen

I'm not much of a NIN fan these days, but my first concert experience in seeing them still holds a place as my favourite concert. The Fragility tour... they played at the Gorge Ampitheater here in WA, and it was amazing. Came on right before sundown, and ripped into the set. It's amazing they were able to fund those over-the-top sets.

I'm also not much of a Marilyn Manson fan, but those guys have always put on a great show. I've been able to tell people "even if you're not a fan of Manson's music, you'd likely be entertained by the stage show." Most theatrical performances ever.

And last but not least, seeing Radiohead in Vancouver, BC a year ago would probably take the cake. Here in the WA, bands rarely seem to play huge stadiums. Up there, it seemed like an endless sea of people between us and the stage. I didn't care that I was in the back, they sounded that good. The icing on the cake was when Michael Stipe made a surprise appearance at the end of the show and sang Karma Police with Thom. Best concert ever.

cdollaz

I thought it was pretty funny the last time I saw Rollins band, Rollins started talking about the current popular rock music and said "you wouldn't go to war with that P*s*y-Ass music, would you?"

nodeerforamonth

This doesn't involve me, but some friends of mine who were underage at the time and wanted to see Rollins play this 21+ club. They showed up at soundcheck and got to see them play a couple songs. They did a version of "On Fire" from Van Halen and when they were done, Rollins asked them "What did you kids think?"

The kids thought Rollins was being sarcastic, so they put their hands in the air shaking it like it was "so-so". Rollins then went off on them, screaming "I HATE YOU! GET OUT! I HATE YOU!". They ran out of there as fast as they could.

mljones99

U2 Elevation tour (post 9/11). The tribute they did for the the people that died was one of those moments that I don't think I will ever forget. Plus the rest of the show was simply amazing. It was my first time seeing U2.

Rypro 525

pearl jam getting the stage to shake during "do the evolution" in new york (its on dvd)

Gdrlv

By far, the entire Phish show on 9/29/2000. I had just found out I passed the Nevada bar exam that day, and to celebrate, Phish played an absolute barn burner of a show. I've never been on as big of a natural high as I was during that show...

johnbook

The one moment i always think about as probaly my favorite at a concert is back in 1988 when i saw Anthrax open for Ozzy at the Joe here in Detroit and seeing Scott Ian walk out by himself at the beginning of Anthrax's show and he was jamming to the beginning riff of there song "Finale" if you are an anthrax fan at all and know this song you can probaly picture how cool that was, by the way it was Ozzy's "No Rest For The Wicked" tour and Anthrax's "State Of Euphoria" tour...

shaggy

Couldn't agree more, i saw u2 about 15 times before 9/11 and then saw them 5 times after, and their songs just took on new meanings. New York went from a cool tune to an emotional anthem. The Tribute during Walk on was amazing each time i saw it.

I will never forget at msg when they had the fire fighters walk around the heart it was just amazing.

Saxofonix

Numerous .. but off-hand I can think of one timeless moment during a concert by Faithless during their tour of the "Sunday 8pm" album.

During the song, God is a DJ, there is a moment where the music stops for a second, and in this moment, the singer, Maxi Jazz, spread his hands out wide, head back, and jumped from a higher part of the stage to a lower part .. gliding through the air .. and as his feet hit the ground again that lovely insistent rhythm of the song picked up again. Perfect timing. Magical.

I wasn't much of a fan of this band until this concert where they were supporting The Prodigy who I had actually come to see. The performance that Faithless put on during this concert turned me into a believer.

Mr. Self Destruct

I was at that show! I believe it was their final night in NY..? Anyway, yes, I think U2 is one of the few bands that put on a show that justifies the stress/cost of their ticket prices.

LivingINClip

Not been to many concerts..but....

A Perfect Circle - Lousiville, Kentucky.

Paz came out as a guest and played her violin durin' '3 Libra's...Before it happened, Maynard kept whispering "something special, something special..", next thing you know, she was crawling across the stage..rose up...Maynard said "Do you guy's remember her?" and she started the intro to '3 Libra's....Great moment.

whynotsmile

i saw travis at the wilter in LA.

during the first encore, fran came out alone with a guitar. he steped infront of teh mike and told the crowd to be quite. a huge lull fell over the theater. and all 1000 people + just didnt talk and we could hear Fran sing, without a mike. i was 3 feet from him. amazing.

and radiohead at teh hollywood bowl.

oppie1

Pearl Jam at the Santa Barbara Bowl

I remember out in the parking lot before they opened the gates.. listening to the soundcheck.. checking In My Tree 2 times, one the original and one time the reworked way.. not knowing it was Jack behind the kit...then hearing the first notes of Hunger Strike start, and hearing a voice that was not eds, but that of Mr Chris Cornell...i was jumping, shaking and overly excited, cuz i knew that there was gonna be a TOTD reunion that night.. at a show i flew out from Philadelphia to see...to make it even better, after Hunger Strike, i heard the first bar of Reach Down.. it took a few seconds to register what was happening.. (keep in mind this was all during the soundcheck..)

I coulda went home a happy man after just hearing the soundcheck...but what a treat it was being inside that venue with 4500 other pearl jam fans witnessing musical history...

Flashback

Although not really cool...

Deep Purple playing Smoke On The Water and seeing that people were setting seats and banners on fire.....bad deal because I was on the floor (G.A.) at Giants Stadium...but really that edgy feeling was great.

Dubya

October of last year I saw R.E.M. live for the first time and Bill Berry joined the band to play drums on Permanent Vacation.

Catching one of Ace Frehley's guitar picks when I saw Kiss on the "farewell" tour.

Seeing Nirvana in a small club in Chapel Hill the week Nevermind was released in 91.

Rivero

There are so many memorable concert moments I've had over the years, but right now I'm thinking of the U2 show I saw shortly after 9/11, at the Molson Centre in Montreal. The tribute that they did for the people who died was short, simple, direct, and just about the most powerful thing I've seen at a concert ever.

nazz

Back in the late 90's I got to know David Crosby through E-Mail exchanges and then met him several times at some shows. I felt
like he must have hundreds of similar encounters and wouldn't know me at all in a crowd. I was at a show and had great seats down front one time and they were in the middle of a song when he looked at me and got a big grin on his face. He took his hands off of his guitar and reached out and wriggled his fingers as if typing an E-Mail. It was the coolest feeling having him react that way to recognizing me.

Ky-Fi

For me it was the Pogues at the Orpheum in Boston in '90 or '91. About 2 days before the show it was announced that Shane Macgowen was "under the weather" and wouldn't be able to make it. Replacing him was Joe Strummer of the Clash (who had just produced their recent album)! Joe sang all the Pogues hits, plus they did Pogues-ish versions of I Fought the Law and London Calling. Totally random, and once-in-a-lifetime.

Goat3001

Every minute of the Andrew WK show.

blinkin_winkin

When I saw Nickel Creek last year it was general admission. The stage was built in this weird design were it extended into the audience at the sides in sort of a "C" design. They had seats on the edges of the "C". My group decided to sit there. During the show, the band looked over at us and was said "Woah! There are people on the stage!". Then they talked to us during the show for about a minute about how long we had to wait to get those seats.

During the encore, the band invited my group to sit next to them ON THE STAGE while they played. They then started a totally unplugged set. No amps. No microphones. We were sitting next to one of the most impressive bands out there today (in my mind, of course) as they jammed. Hearing their voices without a microphone. Hearing their untouched instruments. I get shivers just thinking about it.

When I saw N.E.R.D. on the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour a few years ago I really didn't know anything about them. I knew they were composed of members of The Neptunes and that was about it. Well... I didn't know they kicked ass in concert. They hit the stage and put on an awesome show with funky pop numbers that stuck in my head immediately. They asked fans to fill the aisles of the pavillion. I'd never seen this happen at a show before. People were body-surfing IN THE AISLES. Everyone was cool. There was no pushing or shoving. If a person needed to get out, they could get out. It was bliss.

tofu

Garbage at the Palladium in LA.

They were in the middle of a song, Stupid Girl, (I think) when some guy in the crowd threw something at Shirley Manson. She stopped the music and had them point the spotlight at the guy and she basically said that if he didn't behave, she would have the bouncers take him and kick the crap out of him and then throw him out.

After that, they resumed playing like nothing at all (at the same place in the song that they had stopped at)

Kaiser Soze

3 words. The Jesus Lizard.

I saw them 8 times before they called it quits. By far the most impressive live band I've ever seen. Just pure energy. They went crazy each and every night.

The first time I saw them was in Champagin, IL at a bar called Mabel's. I was right up front, against the stage. David Yow was just crazy! The whole show is kind of a blur, but one of the funniest moments I can recall, is a friend of mine shouting at him between songs, something to the extent of..."We pay your bills man!". Yow replied, "Thank you very much, why don't you get me a beer." My friend went and got it for him, the crowd just kind of parted and let him through, he came back at the end of the next song....gave it to Yow, he chugged it, the drummer (Mac), counted out the next song, and Yow threw the bottle all the way across the bar and it crashed against the wall right as the first big chord of the song hit.

I'm sure I have a ton of other stories regarding them, just can't seem to remember them all right now.

saoirse

Yep I've got some good memories of The Jesus Lizard too.

One includes a buddy of mine who was saying before the show, "These guys better be good" and whining and the like. So a few minutes into the show we are at the front and loving it. I look over at my buddy and he's having a great time. But, POW, from out of nowhere Yow pulls out his sweaty nutt sack, starts carressing it and groaning, then slaps my buddy across the face with a hand full of ball sweat. Man I laugh every time I think of it. Damn that was funny.

Also on another occasion when I had way too much to drink etc (a long time ago) I was vomiting on myself after I passed out and fell down the stairs, well Yow picked me up said "I've been there myself man" and brought me to the bathroom to get cleaned up. 6 vomits later I was ready to enjoy the show.

edstein

I will remember the rotating drum set forever.