Top 10 Concerts

I went back 10 pages into the archives and didn't see one, so I thought I'd throw this one out there... would love to read about the great concerts you've seen.

1. King Crimson '96
1. Miriodor/Van der Graaf Generator '09
1. Peter Gabriel (Up tour rehearsal) '02
2. Octobre '96
3. Marillion weekend '15

No particular order:

Fire! Orchestra - Copenhagen Jazzhouse (2015?)
Porcupine Tree - Vega (2008)
Fantomâs - Roskilde Festival (2001?)
Burning Red Ivanhoe - Forgot the name of the venue but it was this cool wooden amphitheatre (2009?)
Dungen - Loppen (2010)
Santana - Parken (2007?)
Our Solar System - Christiania (2016)
Øresund Space Collective - Ungdomshuset (2009)
A Silver Mount Zion - Lille Vega (2006?)
Wolves In The Throneroom - Loppen (2008)

The Comsat Angels 2009
Kraan 1982
Camel 1983
Fred Frith & Keep The Dog 1991
Holger Czukay 2009
Eloy 1983
Tarentel 2000
Blumfeld 1995
Jaki Liebezeit, Damo Suzuki and friends 1985
Swans 2017

Very tough, there were at least 15-20 that deserve a top spot.

Yes Albany NY 2002
Yes Jones Beach 2002
Yes Essex Junction Vt. 2004
Yes MSG NYC 2004
Yes Saratoga NY 2000
Genesis Albany NY 1975
Gentle Giant Albany NY 1976 (opened for Renaissance)
Allan Holdsworth Albany 1987(club called QE2, 2nd of two shows he did that night. Best bar show I'll ever see. There were about 40 people there.)
Robert Fripp and The League Of Crafty Guitarists Albany NY 2007
Peter Gabriel Berkeley Ca. 1983

The last few were very hard. Had to omit Yes/ Tales MSG 1974, Gentle Giant again in 1976, headlining in front of opener Dr. Feelgood - loudest show I've ever been to. Others as well, Steve Howe in 2008...difficult. Yes Union 1991 or 2...

I will allow this bit of a boast. By the time I was 17 I had seen Yes on tour with Tales and Genesis with The Lamb.


Edited by Frankh - September 21 2017 at 18:47

Not sure I could list my top ten, but I can definitely name the top two:

1) Peter Hammill solo at the Zeche in Bochum in the late 80s. He had already given 5 encores, and the roadies had already cleared the stage, yet the audience still wanted more. Finally he came back on stage, a towel around his neck, went to the very front and sang a beautiful rendition of "Again", without instrument or microphone. The audience was absolutely silent while he sang, but when he was finished there was a roar of applause. No-one wanted another encore; this was a magical moment that could not be topped.

The second one is not on my top list because of the concert itself but because of what happened before. Again it was a Peter Hammill concert, this time at the Krebelshof, a small venue in Worringen, a suburb of Cologne, in the late 80s or early 90s, most probably 1989 (I still had my hair back then; it started falling out in 1993). The concert was originally scheduled for the afternoon but was postponed a few hours. I did not know about the postponement and was hours too early. Since I was there by public transport and the bus went only once an hour on weekends I decided to stay and have a beer.

While I sat there sipping my beer Peter Hammill came out, sat at a table next to me and had a beer too. I decided to talk to him, but not like a fan talks to his star, just like any person to another person. We talked a while, and then he suggested we should go for a walk. We slowly walked the Alte Neusser Landstraße, which stretches from Southwest to Northeast in a straight line for a few kilometers, and talked about all kinds of things - math, physics, literature, Zen-Buddhism, art, classical music and lots of other stuff. After some kilometers we reached a bridge, where we decided to cross the road and walk back. The walk was over an hour long, maybe even close to two, and it was a most interesting talk. The concert was good (with band), but the memorable thing about it was this long walk and talk.


Edited by BaldFriede - September 24 2017 at 15:30

Too lazy to make a top 10 but Hammill would probably be on my list. Saw him 3 or 4 times live and one of the most intense moment i've experienced during a concert was his performance of 'Four Pails'. Took me by surprise as I never thought he would play that song and the whole audience (150-200) was totally captivated. One voice, one piano...no idea how he does it. Montreal 06 or 07.

Edited by Barbu - September 24 2017 at 09:06

I  stopped going to rock concerts in 1989 due to permanent tinnitus, but here are my fave concerts from years ago

Queen with Thin Lizzy Jan. 1977
Rose fall 1977
Styx with Prism March 1977
Rush with Max Webster-April 1977
Moxy spring 1978
Pat Travers with The Outlaws Dec. 1978
April Wine with Loverboy April 1980
Triumph with Harlequin Jan. 1981
Iron Butterfly March 1982
ELP Jan. 1993

kenethlevine wrote: Loreena McKennitt (can't remember when, I'm still transfixed)

The aunts next to us were sobbing quite loudly and exquisitely each time the Lady was hitting the high notes...priceless, man.

One of those 'now I can die in peace' concert. Magnifique!

An Ancient Muse tour.