Prog Concert Memories
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49454
Printed Date: May 15 2025 at 04:29
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Topic: Prog Concert Memories
Posted By: Utah Man
Subject: Prog Concert Memories
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 12:02
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Saw some great bands back in the early 70's ... when i mention to folks that i saw the "Mighty Zep" i usually get their attention real quick. however, the best concert i ever witnessed - bar none - was Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick. interesting 'cause it leads the PA Top Prog albums list... actually, Led Zeppelin was dull in comparison to the Tull event. Plant was arrogant & Page should have hired a back-up rhythm guitarist for touring. |
Replies:
Posted By: fusionfreak
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 12:41
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My concert memories are various so I will give only a few: 30 june 1999,Magma playing outdoor near Brest,a stoned afternoon with friends.When we reached the place,it was raining,fortunately there was a dome over the musicians.But when Mr Vander began hitting his drums the sun rose and Music blew me up,smashing!Acid Mothers Temple,Paris 17 june 2006 during a festival:One hour of heavy psychedelic mayhem reminding me of Magma and Mahavishnu Orchestra.Faust,Brest 24 march 2007:wonderfully insane!Jethro Tull,Crozon 26 august 2007:Thick as a brick!Intricate musicianship!Ian Anderson!Martin Barre!That's all folks! ------------- I was born in the land of Mahavishnu,not so far from Kobaia.I'm looking for the world of searchers with the help from crimson king |
Posted By: Slartibartfast
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 13:13
The one that always comes to mind was seeing King Crimson at the Atlanta Agora (Discipline), I was too young to be there, friends and family gathered a few tables together on the balcony area. I got a concert shirt. One day I wore in to school and a substitute teacher in one of my classes thought it was satanic.  I don't remember much about my first prog concert, Kansas at the Georgia Tech amphitheater or something... ------------- Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Posted By: proggy
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 15:09
| Rush - 2008 at Philly....3 hours of magic and Natural Science |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 16:56
Pink Floyd, the Animals tour, February 1977. Very impressive indeed...  
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Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 18:14
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Yes- Kingston Poly 1971: according to one biog Queen was support - I have not recollection of them but considerable memories of Yes that night.
------------- The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS. CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php - http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php Host by PA's Dick Heath. |
Posted By: Hawkwise
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 18:28
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Floyd at Knebworth 75, Sound of Crying Baby at the start and all that Pink Smoke and the same year YES At Reading , there was huge storm before yes hit the stage so they came on over Hour Late and there was so Many people locked outside, the Police made the Festival open the Gates to let them in, to stop trouble, and i lost my Running Shoes in the Mud , Floyd The Animals Tour at Wembley Empire Pool simply Stunning , The Wall at Earls Court i went all 5 nights , and every time i saw Hawkwind lost count but must be over 300 times or more since 1975 , Oh yeah and Supertramp at Reading the same year as YES they played under huge Umbrellas ironic as it was Pissing down on us the Crowd , Still to this day I remember the haunting Piano to the Start of Crime of the Century echoing around the Site awwsome
------------- 
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Posted By: JROCHA
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 20:22
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Rush last week in Kansas City at the Starlight Theater. They are some of the greatest musicians ever hands down. And seeing the Mars Volta on the first tour for De-loused in the Commatorium was very memorable also.
------------- Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights... |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 20:58
I'll re-post my list from this thread: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47956 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=47956
------------- What? |
darqDean wrote:Posted By: Walker
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 21:39
| My number one prog show was Rush on the Hemispheres tour at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. By-Tor, 2112, Cygnus X1, Hemispheres, Xanadu, A Farewell To Kings, plus all the other usual concert favorites of the time. Still my most favorite concert ever. I also saw Yes in the round at Madison Square Garden in NYC on the Drama Tour. Also saw Rush on the Moving Pictures Tour and the Power Windows tour, but it wasn't the same by then. |
Posted By: ClassicRocker
Date Posted: June 15 2008 at 22:12
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I've seen (sadly only) 4 concerts in my life, and only one of them being "prog" (-related, some would argue). That actually happened to be this past Thursday (June 12) when I went to see Sigur Ros at the Uptown Theatre in Kansas City. There wasn't much in the way of stage antics beyond the lights and marching brass section, but the music absolutely blew me away. The emotion and sheer power of their music was the best it has ever been delivered to me. Not a single song was a "dud", or even the least big boring; the whole performance was moving. It is easily the greatest concert experience I've had (although to be fair it is arguable that at the tender age of 11 I was too young to fully enjoy/experience Elton John when I saw him with Billy Joel during the "Face To Face" tour). ------------- 
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Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 01:34
Please see my sig  Best night of my life!!! I also saw them last year but I had nosebleed tickets, still had a blast though. This year's concert was so awesome though! Second row floor! Me and my friend were screaming at the top of our lungs to every single lyric, headbanging until our necks were sore! I even started jumping during the "Permanent Waves" section of Natural Science and again on 2112 and YYZ! |
Posted By: Prof.
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:07
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As with By-Tor I would have to go with Rush last month. It was my first and best concert.
Needless to say being around 10' away from Mr. Lee was quite the amazing experience.
Last song was YYZ and I believe I gave myself a little whiplash from nonstop headbanging. And hey, I have the hair to get away with it, so I did.
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Posted By: Leningrad
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:10
I can confirm all of this, Vancouver Rush bud.
 My seating wasn't quite this amazing, but I had a fantastic time as well. Definitely my favorite concert. Also, I just noticed I'm wearing the shirt right now. Weird.
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Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:16
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Damn, I'm wearing the shirt I saw from the concert 3 days after . It's not prog-related in any way so don't ask. I bought the long sleeve Rush one, which kind of sucks because I'll have to wait through the summer to wear it. Didja see me by chance? I was the long haired guy headbanging in the second row on Geddy's side  (because there wasn't very many of those...)Where were you seated? |
Posted By: Leningrad
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:22
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Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:23
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Well, you got my seat perfect so I'm going to assume you saw me or something. Oh the rewards of tireless sitting up at the computer mashing the refresh button until the fanclub presales went on... ... *twitch* Looks like you still had decent seats though! |
Posted By: Leningrad
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:27
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We had some buggers behind us who told us to sit down! At a Rush concert! Heretics, the lot of them. They were good seats. I learned a valuable lesson with The Rolling Stones, though - if you're getting floor seats, get close to the front or don't get them at all. Peering over a big dude's head in a feeble attempt to see the screen = not exactly fun. I had good ones with Rush and The Who, though, so I'm happy.
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:28
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Yes in the round was terrific but the ultimate (though not really prog) was the Ronnie Lane Appeal Tour with Beck, Page, Clapton, Cocker and a great cast of other players |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:32
My brother and Dad went to the Who last time they were here. I wanted to go with them but it would have meant taking my Dad's ticket and I really didn't want to do that since the last time he saw them was the 80s. That must have been a sweet show though. [edit] - the people who told you to sit down: are they still living? |
Posted By: Leningrad
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:36
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The Who was good. It was my first concert though, so as you can guess, it was a mess of headbanging and screamed lyrics. As for the people behind me... let's just say they had an unplanned 'birdwatching' encounter and leave it at that.
 |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:39
I remember my first concert (although I will never tell what it was  ) and it was the same way. I think the only difference over the years is that I know my neck will hurt after the show, not like the first one where I woke up the day after and was like - what the hell???I'll admit after Rush I couldn't talk properly for a few days after , never mind trying to look around. |
Posted By: Prof.
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:41
Hey I think I remeber your first concert.
Oh and I was right by you, did you manage to see me?
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:44
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my first show was Saxon in '82 ('Denim and Leather'), followed by Sabbath 'Mob Rules' tour |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:44
Ooooh, blackmail. Wait a sec, weren't you the guy in the seat to the direct left of me? I think you were... |
Posted By: Prof.
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:47
By Jove, I think I was. Fancy that eh?
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Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 02:48
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You'd better be thankful for my bleary eyes on that presale morning...
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Posted By: pero
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 03:10
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Most memorable concert was Shakti 1980. Me and best friend were sitting in second row in front of Mclaughlin, and in one moment because we were to loud John turned to us and put finger on his mouth. I saw John twice more with guitar trio 1978 (with Coryell and Paco de Lucia9 and with Mahavishnu orchestra
Also I will never forghet 1978 Weather Report gig with amazing Jaco playing Hendrix on bas.
Jethro tull - Minstrell in the gallery tour 1974 was fantastic.
Another prog concerts I remembered were: Zappa, Wishbone ash, Soft machine, Deep purple, Page & Plant, Bowie.......
But I never saw the greatest prog bands I liked at that time : Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, VDGG, Yes and Gentle Giant.
 |
Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 04:15
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An Embryo gig in Cologne. I don't remember the year exactly; may have been 1996 or 1997, more probably 1996, because I had not been with Jean for that long at the time of the concert. It was fun to see people dance to the very complicated rhythms of them, and of course we danced too. The reunion gig of VdGG in London in 2005. Simply a magical event. A Magma gig at the Leverkusener Jazztage in 1998. Mari Boine had played before them, and some were still in trance from her shamanistic music. Then Magma came with their shamanistic music and simply blew her off the stage. We heard a woman beside us say: "God, this is incredible and fantastic! I have never heard music like that before". They played the whole of "Köhntark" and "MKD", with "Kobah" and "Hhai" as encores. Another Magma gig at the Alter Wartesaal in Cologne a few years before I met Jean. Very memorable because Vander did a 45 minutes drum solo during the concert (yes, 45 minutes; I could see the clock on the wall from where I stood)! You might say "How boring!", but it was not boring for a second, and no-one in the audience felt it was. Another thing that was notable about the concert: Vander had only sung at the beginning of the concert, and someone else had been playing drums. When Vander finally replaced him the drums suddenly were double as loud; that man plays with an incredible power! Not prog, but a very memorable concert: Katia and Marielle Labeque , the famous classical piano duo (arguably the best piano duo in the world), with the WDR 3 Big Band doing Gershwin tunes in 1998, the year that Gerswhin would have had his 100th birthday. -------------  BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: fastandbulbous
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 17:10
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My very first concert was Yes on the Relayer tour in Lincoln Nebraska. It was, of course, amazing. Moraz was on keyboards, and he was quite good, although I still would like the Yes with Wakeman experience. The opened with "Sound Chaser" I remember, and did the full "Gates of Delirium" as well. Other highlights were "Close To The Edge", "Ritual" (truly amazing!) and a really great "America". For me, the highlight was Steve Howe, who was all over his many guitars. Yep, it was a dandy!
------------- IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST!!!! |
Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 04:07
I would have given my right arm to have seen Shakti play live
 . You lucky lucky person!!!For me...........
Yes - 1998 - Edinburgh- Mindblowing vibe and what a venue
Strawbs - Retford - 1997- Incredible show
Strawbs - Worcester - 1999 - Very intimate and fantastic to see Adam Wakeman and Dave Lambert in the band
Tangerine Dream - 1997- a Dry Ice ' Hypnotique'
Supertramp - 1997 - Manchester - Brilliant Rick Davies at his best
Supertramp - Leicester 2002- Slow Motion tour
Roger Waters - Manchester 2002 - As good as seeing the Floyd ( so I am told)
Genesis - Cardiff 1998 - Ray Wilson era, great live show though
Jethro Tull- Johannesburg 1995 - Great show
and a few more.... but those stood out the best, probably Yes and Roger Waters the best ------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: Christian
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 05:31
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Camel 1977
Supertramp 1977
Peter Gabriel 1977
Queen 1976
ELO 1978
Zappa 1978
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Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 05:45
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Rush - 'Hold Your Fire' tour in about 1988. It was my first Rush concert, and I remember being quite overwhelmed by the whole event. Rush were my obsession at the time. I'd discovered them about 4 years before, and seemed to play little else. I remember La Villa bringing tears to my eyes..
Hawkwind, 1986. Perhaps the scariest, certainly the loudest gig I've ever been to. Stage show was good, sound was awful, and there were people doing drugs in every nook and cranny of the club. I was about 16 and rather nervous. Good gig though, even if their fire breather did set light to the Christmas decorations in the club... 
Pink Floyd - Division Bell tour (94?) What can you say? Pink Floyd playing a three hour concert in an enormadome in London. Fantastic show, great music. Crap view from the back of Earls Court. It Bites - Big Lad in the Windmill tour, 1987 - Was dragged in kicking and screaming by a Eurythmics fan, against my will and came out a lifelong fan. Fantastic night. Pristine sound, front row in tiny club, charismatic performances all round. |
Posted By: arnoldlayne
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 13:21
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When I was 19 I went with my brother to see Yes on the Union tour 91. and they really were fantastic, Wakeman and Kaye, Rabin & Howe, Bruford & White, it was bloody brilliant!
I was a bit miffed when they failed to play Close To the Edge, but there was compensation - it was the first time in my life I'd ever heard Awaken. If you're gonna hear something that good for the first time, that is the way!
My other fave is the Roger waters tour in 02. The sound was predictably incredible, and of course, he brought out Nick Mason on set the controls & the place went CRAZY. Interestingly, the Amused To death stuff has such a different dynamic with an audience, makes it twice as powerful.
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Posted By: flaxton
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 13:49
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marillion at cardiff top rank. there was a tall guy at the bar. i said to my mate he looks strange. you guessed it, fish. i had not even bought the first album yet. a great show. peter hammill was the support. ------------- flaxton |
Posted By: michaelmorris
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 15:46
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I have great memories of so many prog concerts, the best ones are listed below in no particular order:
Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings tour Hammersmith Odean 1979
Genesis - Wind and Wuthering tour Hammersmith or Birmingham Odean (I can't remember which) 1977
Yes - Relayer tour - QPR ground (1975?)
ELP - Brain Salad Surgery tour -Wembley Empire Pool 1975
Rick Wakeman - Myths and Legends on Ice - Wembley Empire Pool 1975
The Enid - Numerous, especially the Rainbow 1978
Barclay James Harvest - Malvern Winter Gardens 1976 or 1977?
Man - Malvern Winter Gardens 1976 or 1977?
Caravan - some poly somewhere 1978 + Marrs Bar, Worcester 2005
Camel - some poly somewhere 1978/79 + Reading Festival
Peter Gabriel (various gigs 1977-1979?)
Utopia - Knebworth 1979
Led Zeppelin - Knebworth 1979
Frank Zappa - Knebworth 1976 and 1978
Curved Air - Cardiff Castle 1976
Fish - Old Northwick, Cinema, Worcester 1992?
Magenta - The Robin 2 - 2007
I've recently 'rediscovered' Prog so I'm going to try to see the Flower Kings, the Tangent and IQ. Recently seen Mostly Autumn and Spock's Beard but, whilst they were both quite good, I doubt I'd go out of my way to repeat the experience. I've seen Magenta 3 times in a year, brilliant.
------------- Prog Rock fan and Amateur Astronomer |
Posted By: Statutory-Mike
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 16:03
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1. Progressive Nation 2008 NYC - only my 2nd time seeing Dream Theater, but it was also the second of this tour. Opeth was amazing, BTBAM played great and so did 3. Take the Time probably took the show along with Erotomania. Oh, and of course DT's first time ever playing repentance...and Mikael comes on stage to sing it with them
 2. Dream Theater 2007 Jones Beach - My first DT concert, an unbelieveable performance, once again I loved Take the Time, also ITPOE in it's entirety. Into Eternity played great and I didn't really like Redemption.
3. Porcupine Tree 2007 NYC - My first PT concert, and it was great. They played a lot of FOABP, including my favorite : Anesthetize.
4. Arch Enemy + Machine Head 2007 NYC - other than progressive nation 08, the most high tempo and crazy concert I've been to, a lot of memories, especially Rob Flynn doing a Borat impression
5. Alice Cooper 2004 LI - Great show, probably the best stage show in all of music.
6. Deep Purple/Joe Satriani/Thin Lizzy Jones Beach 2004 - My first really great concert, everyone played great.
EDIT: I forgot to add Eric Johnson, one of my favorite guitarists, saw him in 2005 or 06 somewhere on LI with my uncle, such unbelieveable tone and playing capability.
DOUBLE EDIT: I also forgot to mention my first Rush show will be coming up July 14th, probably going to be very memorable ------------- 
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Posted By: BaldFriede
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 16:09
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I almost forgot several Peter Hammill concerts (I have been to around 20 gigs of him over the years). The best ever was a solo gig at "Die Zeche" in Bochum, shortly before I met Jean, so she was not with me (she is really envious about this ). He had already given five encores, and the roadies were already demounting the stage, but the audience still wanted more (a behaviour you won't find often in an audience; usually they know that when the roadies appear it is over). Then he finally reappeared, a towel around his neck, went to the front of the stage and sang a heartbreaking version of "Again", without any instrument or a microphone. He stood right in front of me; I could have touched him (which of course I didn't; I am not an "Energy Vampire"). The audience was absolutely silent, but after he had finished a roar of applause shook the hall. No-one asked for another encore; everyone knew this just had to be the end. An unforgettable moment! ------------- BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue. |
Posted By: TerryG
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 17:14
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Yeah, the SEVENTIES. How to start, well 1969 is a good start ! Blind Faith - Hyde Park, Led Zep at Bromley college in their early days and one memorable concert , better than the next time I saw them at the (best 'gig in the world') 1970 Bath festival of Blues and Proggresive music. (Byrds, Santana, Pink Floyd, John Mayall, Flock, Canned Heat, Johnny Winter, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Moodies ..........) Still I digress.
Anyone like Rory Gallagher? Taste early 1970 at the Marquee, London was one of the best gigs I've been to. Free 1970, Blodwyn Pig, King Crimson twice in 1971, once during the Weeley festival, along with Groundhogs, Vandergraff, BJH, Quo and TRex (!). Genesis with ELP, Wishbone Ash, Argent, and the wonderful introduction to Focus, whom I saw another 3 times even getting backstage pass at the Rainbow. Our band's drummer roadied with Phil Taylor who moved to Floyd soon after. Floyd again Wembley 1974 (Hi again Phil) oh and 1973 DSOTM era at Earls Court. Genesis 1975 at Wembley during the Lamb era. Jethro Tull Wembley 1974 ish. Probably the best concert was for 60p, Chick Corea's Return to Forever 1975 at Chatham, such an accomplished set and I'm going to see them at the 02 in July for a bit more than 60p. More Jazz Rock with Weather Report, Brand X and Billy Cobham/George Duke and John McLaughlin with Shakti - Regretably never got to see the original Mahavishnu. But I got to see Al DiMeola at Hammersmith Odeon. Lynyrd Skynyrd,Tomita at Hammersmith 1976. Plus The Who and Little Feat with the fabulous Outlaws at Charlton London.
A couple of bands missing, (and Hendrix of course) Prog bands. YES - no, they never turned up when I went to see them about 1972. Then I regret never seeing Gentle Giant - our band's manager knew them when he lived in Portsmouth. Are you out there Brian ??
Well in recent years I don't get to many concerts but I have manged to see the classic YES after all in 2004 at Wembley, plus IQ the new Queen and soon the aforementioned RTF. ------------- Ayup |
Posted By: KeleCableII
Date Posted: June 18 2008 at 00:48
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I saw The Musical Box last December. Before I had heard of them, I was so sad that I would never be able to experience what people in the 70s experienced. When I heard about these guys, read some stuff and saw some video... I was floored! I had to see them! My friend and I made plans to see them in October of that year, when they would be in Milwaukee (we in St. Paul, MN), doing two shows: Foxtrot and Selling England. We were pumped. Eventually I realized that the concert dates on their site were for the year previous. The site was one of those which is rarely updated. I was heartbroken. Then they were scheduled to come back to Milwaukee! It was going to be hard... I was going to be in college. I bought the tickets anyway. It turned out that I had a chem test the day of the concert... there was no way I would be able to take a test at 9:15AM, drive to St. Paul in 3 hours, to take a bus to Milwaukee to see a show at 7PM. There was no way. Luckily, my prof let me take the test the day before. I was set to go. When Watcher of the Skies began, I started crying. I was seeing a Genesis show! It was beautiful. Other than a few audience members who I wanted to kill (hey, I was intense...), the concert was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. "Peter Gabriel's" voice was so close to the real thing, I just say I saw Genesis in concert. It seemed like everything was reproduced exactly to the most minute detail. When Supper's Ready ended with the scream, "Jerusalehhhhhhhhhhm!" I was so emotional. Then I realized there was going to be an encore! I couldn't believe it! The Knife! My first Genesis song, and more importantly, the song that got me into prog in the first place. This song has changed my life so dramatically and changed the way I view music... and I got to hear it live. Oh. My. God. When we left, my two friends and I were crying with tears streaming out of our eyes. When I tell this story, everyone laughs at us. But I think a few members here can appreciate how we felt. Teenagers just introduced to one of the greatest bands to ever exist, who put on one of the most amazing shows, but sad we would never be able to experience it. What we thought impossible became reality. |
Posted By: 33rpm
Date Posted: June 18 2008 at 02:35
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Like Utah Man, I saw many concerts in the late 60's and all through the 70's. I have seen Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Yes, King Crimson, ELP, The Allman Brothers, Blue Oyster Cult, PFM, IF,Uriah Heep, Procol Harum, Pink Floyd and many more. The best three concerts ever by a wide margin were the three times I saw Jethro Tull. They were absolutely amazing! The "Thick as a Brick" show was the best followed by "A Passion Play" and "the Aqualung' shows. Ian Anderson is the best front man I have ever seen and the rest of the band are premiere musicians. I also saw The Mahavishnu Orchestra twice and they were quite impressive as well.
When I saw ELP at Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina they were the headliners of an all day concert of 10 or 12 bands and were booed for the first 15 minutes because they followed The Allman Brothers. The crowd soon came around and ELP were great. Also Leo Kotke was booed by the crowd he opened for Procol Harum and he is an amazing guitarist, just a bad choice to open for the rowdy crowd.
Another little note is that I don't think I ever paid more than $10.00 for any concert except for the August Jam at Charlotte Speedway which was $12.00. ------------- Vinyl just sounds better!! |
Posted By: Utah Man
Date Posted: June 18 2008 at 12:19
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[QUOTE=33rpm]The best three concerts ever by a wide margin were the three times I saw Jethro Tull. They were absolutely amazing! [QUOTE]  [QUOTE=33rpm]The "Thick as a Brick" show was the best followed by "A Passion Play" and "the Aqualung' shows. [QUOTE] Never saw the Aqualung tour... BUT they played almost the entire Aqualung album after they finished the entire Thick as a Brick set ... all on the same night  Yea... I forgot to mention the Passion Play concert...that was as good as the Thick as a Brick show. Remember the "Hare..Spectacles" movie shown during the concert ? Brilliant...So Creative ! ! ! Yep...Anderson was the best front man I ever saw too...Lots of humor & surprises (barking like a dog into a mic'd echo device during a flute solo...) The two worst Front men I ever saw: Ozzie with Black Sabbath, and Robert Plant I mentioned. |
Posted By: 33rpm
Date Posted: June 18 2008 at 14:45
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[QUOTE=Utah Man]Remember the "Hare..Spectacles" movie shown during the concert ? Brilliant...So Creative ! ! ! Yep...Anderson was the best front man I ever saw too...Lots of humor & surprises (barking like a dog into a mic'd echo device during a flute solo...)[Quote] The movie was great. Tull was so theatrical.
Sitting in the crowd waiting before the Aqualung concert started there was a guy in coveralls wearing a hat sweeping the floor through the isles. Then when the concert started all the band members came on stage and started warming up except for Ian. This went on for a couple of minutes when that guy walked on stage sweeping. He then threw the broom off stage took of the coveralls and hat and began playing the flute with the band. The crowd went crazy.
Ian not only was a virtuoso on flute and had the best voice IMHO but was very good on acoustic guitar. I even saw him take over the organ as John Evans marched around on stage wielding Ian's flute imitating him.
The great thing about Tull was that even with all the theatrics the music never suffered. Truly accomplished musicians!
 ------------- Vinyl just sounds better!! |
Posted By: andYouandI45
Date Posted: June 18 2008 at 18:44
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I saw Jethro Tull, and The Mars Volta.
Friday I'm gonna see Return to Forever, and later this summer I'm going to Lollapalooza for Radiohead.
Oh yea, and King Crimson in late summer too!
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Posted By: FoxClass
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 00:36
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I'm very sad to say that the first and only concert I'll have gone to is Judas Priest :'( never seen any prog bands live! I'm hoping that Allan Holdsworth makes a trip out here though! :D I did meet a guy today who had seen the Beatles 4 times, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix... the list went on and on. His experiences at these shows were amazing, so it made me feel like it's time to go see something live. ------------- 
Who would believe me now that my hands are free, that my hands are free. |
Posted By: Drummerboy
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 02:32
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Last Tuesday??? Come on......
Tull in 1978, supporting Songs From the Wood
Genesis in 1973, San Francisco, just getting started and a real art-rock Band
King Crimson, San Francisco, 1974, in the Red/Lark's Tongue period (their peak imho) majestic power, perfect and tight and really heavy
Camel, London, 1975 and (really) Tokyo 1997 or 8 Absolutely awesome live band, they could be as soft and light as anything, then suddenly play up a storm
ELP San Francisco, 1973 or 4 supporting Brain Salad Surgery As musicians, they stand alone, but the opposite of Camel, their shows always had their excessive aspects under the equal time ego provisions, and the 20 min. drum solos and Keith jacking around detracted from their best aspects.
Anekdoten Tokyo 2008 Mainly because I didn't know what to expect and was so surprised by how good they were, playing in a tiny club
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Posted By: mystic fred
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 03:11
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My magic live moments (many of them) include (not all prog but hey...) -
Stray Oldfield Tavern Greenford 1971 - my first live gig, will never forget those exploding dustbins!
Queen Hammersmith Odeon 1975, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was at no.1 and most of the show revolved around the "Opera" album, many kids in the audience were made up as Freddie clones, a magical night.
Led Zeppelin Earl's Court 1975 - The band were at their peak with the "Graffiti" album riding high, a fabulous show , all the classic songs but "Kashmir" was fantastic.
Aerosmith Hammersmith 1976 - "Rocks" had been released earlier in the year and the band were a must see - they seemed like the Stones-meet-Queen at the time but put in a great show. A free "Dream On" EP was given out to fans.
Deep Purple Perfect Strangers 84-85 - seen the band several times but classic line up delivered the goods.
Rush Signals Wembley 82 - fabulous show with the band on top form, i was lucky enough to sit several yards from the stage.
Peter Gabriel Plays Live Hammersmith 83 - amazing show, included the aforementioned "crowd surf".
Yes 90125 Wembley 86-87 - not the classic line up, a now controversial album but a wonderful show.
AD/DC 87-88 Wembley - you have to see Angus' solo, climbing all over the stage, being carried triumphantly though the audience while playing, a must see!
Porcupine Tree Blank Planet Astoria 2006 - everything it was cracked up to be, brilliant show!
Rush Snakes and Arrows Wembley 2007 - the band back in great form, the back projections and Geddy's "roast chickens" nearly stole the show..
The Who Endless Wire Wembley 2007 - at last i got to see my "local" band play live, a truly wonderful show, even managed to get a DVD of it .
-------------  Prog Archives Tour Van 
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Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 03:39
I agree, my favorite tour, a great No Quarter with Jones tearing it up on piano
terrific show, they seemed rejuvenated, a bit better than Big Gen
saw them in '86 in L.A. ..top notch |
Posted By: Garion81
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 12:58
I saw Rory open for Rod Stewart and Faces in 1972 or 3 at the Anaheim Convention Center. One of the best shows period prog or otherwise.
Others:
ELP-1974- Anaheim Convention Center(BSS)
ELP/Deep Purple/Black Sabbath ( a lot of others)- Caljam Ontario Speedway
Gentle Giant/Renascence-1976 Shrine Auditorium
Jeff Beck/Mahavishnu Orchestra-1975 Shrine Auditorium
Jeff Beck/Stevie Ray Vaughn-1989 Sports Arena
Genesis-1976-Starlight Amphitheater
Kinks/Kansas-1975 UC Santa Barbara
Genesis-1977-Forum
Kansas-1976 Santa Monica Civic Center
Yes-1974-Long Beach Arena
Yes/Gentle Giant/Peter Framton/Gary Wright-1976-Anaheim Stadium
ZZ-Top/Blue Oyster Cult/Johnny and Edgar Winter-Anaheim Stadium 1976
Jefferson Starship/Fleetwood Mac/Triumvirate-1975 Shrine Auditorium
Peter Gabriel-1977 Roxy
Genesis-1980- Roxy
Jean Luc Ponty 1977-Roxy
Blood Sweat and Tears-Anaheim Convention Center 1969 (My First)
ELP-1977 San Diego Sports Arena
Brand X- 1977 The Golden Bear
Dixie Dregs-1978- The Golden Bear
Peter Hammill-1975 The Troubadour
Jethro Tull-1977 The Forum
ELP/Jethro Tull-1997 Irvine Meadows Amphitheater 1997 (first concert with my son)
PFM/Proto-Kaw- 2005 Nearfest Pre-show
Calprog-2005 (IZZ highlight)
Calprog 2006 (Nima and Merge(preshow) and Cryptic Vision Highlight)
Calprog 2007 (Frogg Cafe Rudess Morgenstein highlight)
All of those are among my favoirtes.
 ------------- 
"What are you going to do when that damn thing rusts?" |
Posted By: flaxton
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 13:31
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in 1971 i went to barry memorial hall to see a film. jimi plays berkley [jimi hendrix]. the support was gentle giant. i was 17 and never heard any of their albums. first time i saw a band playing various instruments. it was great but strange. there were about 100 people there. it cost about 50 pence. ------------- flaxton |
Posted By: TempusFugit
Date Posted: September 07 2008 at 13:27
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On December 12, 1975, at le Grand Théâtre de Québec, I have attended what has turned out to be the best show I've seen ever, other perhaps than a few operas, but that's a different story.
I was a teenager back then, and I had no idea what the band on stage that night was about, I had picked this show simply because I needed something to ask a young lady by the name of Paule to go see with me.
The girl turned out to be quite boring, but the show was everything but boring believe me. I fell in love with the band, and have never stopped following them eversince.
The line up of the band has changed a few times over the years, but in back in 1975 they had the best line up ever, and the 6 guys were absolutely on fire on stage that night. They played all their best songs and more, with a lot of impros.
There has been 7 encores..Yes, no less than 7. Obviously the band was highly pumped up by the almost hysterical reactions of the crowd, and it gave back generously. It was obvious these guys were having a lot of fun playing, and the last encore happened after most of the audience had left. We were in the stairs, and guess what, we heard these b*****ds back on stage. Hurry up back to our seats, everyone does. Hysterical, we all are again. It's hot like hell in there, the musicians have taken their shirts off, and they go like racing machines. Unf**kingbelievable. The only feeling I can remember at the end of all this was : ecstasy, pure ecstasy.
The band was Premiata Forneria Marconi.
Franco Mussida, Franz Di Cioccio, Flavio Premoli, Mauro Pagani, Patrick Djivas and Bernardo Lanzetti had given the audience that night the best they possibly could.
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Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: September 07 2008 at 14:07
Yeah, I'm madly jealous. I'm also lifting this post for the Italy Appreciation thread. Thanks for sharing it! ------------- If you love cats, please adopt an older cat. They've been in a cage far too long, and they long for a home. |
Posted By: Tapfret
Date Posted: September 07 2008 at 16:21
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May 1998, International Progressive Music Festival in San Francisco. 2 days, about 2 hours late due to setup problems. Day 1 Bondage Fruit - Should have headlined the first day, became an instant fan and have subsequently purchased all of their work. Par Lindh Project - Emerson style keyboard player with metal guitarist and female vocals, outstanding. Brand X - Very tight fusion, played the classics with some quality new tunes and a Mahavishnu cover. Gong - I was unfortunately dead tired by the time they hit the stage at 12:30am. Very theatrical performance. Day 2 Lana Lane and the Rocket Scientist - Really the only band that truly sucked. Their cover of Court of the Crimson King was hideous and blasphemous. Buckethead - Whether you like the whole shredder guitarist thing or not, Buckethead is extremely entertaining with his horror themes, nunchuck moves, and robot breakdancing. Plus he'd like 9 feet tall. PorcupineTree - Found their music to be pretty AOR, but they were tight and professional anyway. Magma - What more can I say, &#@%ING MAGMA...WOOOOOOO. They brought the house down. After watching all the other bands with tons of expensive gear Magma comes out with a Rhodes, CV's minimalist jazz set and a couple overhead mics, guitar, bass with no mammoth amps. Opened with Kohntarkosz, then Vander stands on his drunstool to belty out Hhai into one of the overhead mics, runs into MDK.... that performance literally made me cry, I'm tearing with joy just thinking about it. Other great shows: Jethro Tull 1993 San Francisco Yes Union Tour Oakland in the round, as bad as the album was, the concert was amazing, especially Awaken Allan Holdsworth 1994 Fresno, nightclub show, got to chat with AH and Chad Wackerman after the show, nice guys. ------------- https://www.last.fm/user/Tapfret" rel="nofollow">  https://bandcamp.com/tapfret" rel="nofollow - Bandcamp |
Posted By: Daniel1974nl
Date Posted: November 26 2008 at 10:28
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My most morable concert was the In The flesh Tour of Roger Waters in 2002. To see the master perform all those now classic songs is truly more than anyone can take. I thought several times I would die from extasy. Thank god I didn't. Unfortunatly, the Dark Side Of The Moon tour 3 years later in 2005 was much lesser interesting. Ofcourse all this old stuff, Shine one 1 and 2, Dog, Set The Controls, Welcome To The Machine.....totally amazing....but certainly not to forget are the songs he did of Amused To Death. Highly, highly underestimated. I saw Pink Floyd in 1994, performing a special Dark Side Of The Moon set, yes amazing too. But way too automatic Pilot....but the soloing Gilmour on Comfortably Numb was worth the ticket alone.
I saw the Last Dire Straits concert in the Netherlands in 1992, what was my first concert. I never ever experienced such extasy and so many people that went out of their hear only by a band that was playing. Mark Knopfler got way to much respons on his trick to pretent the lines of Money For Nothing, with the result that 50.000 fans started to scream to hard that the band was simply not abble to continue to play untill it cooled down a bit. It runed the entire into of Brothers In Arms, but who was bothering...it was truly the biggest party I ever attended. I thought it would be repeated with U2's Zoo TV tour, but it was not even close. Not even in the farthest bits.
The 1996 opening Concert of the Wild Mood Swings tour....3 hours and 20 minutes long...truly amazing. 4 years before that....ending a 3 show with a 20 min. version of A Forest....another stunning experience I must say.
For the rest...I saw Perhaps one of the first concerts of Purcupine Tree in Netherlands (when they were still completely unknown), Quidam's first concert in NL where they recieved a response that was bigger than they ever had in their own country, Collages first concert right after the release of Moonshine....with a Robert Amerian that almost smashed his accoustic guitar out of pure extasy, but was stopped right on time by Mirek Gill.
The Planet Pul concert of IQ in 1994, where IQ played. The Enemy Smacks with a Peter Nichols playing the whole stage show with his pantom mask, the stroboscopic light effect...truly amazing....And so was the version of The Darkest Hour that they played with a much longer and more beautifull intro. On that same day.......the opener of the festival Egdon Heath. While we arrived Maurits Kalsbeek was doing a soundcheck and was singing 1000 Stories, alone without a band. Truly amazing. Later on they even were our special guests in our 100th broadcast of the Musical Box and let them made the playlist...great fun. Truly Netherlands greatest Prog Band.
Or another gig of IQ, in Uden on a sundayafternoon somewhere after the release of Suberranea, where they kept on coming back to play one more song.....and another and another untill Nichols came back and stated 'Please...go home now.......' Quite funny.
Earlier that year...the Vredenburg triple concert....with Everon, Jadis and Pendragon.....right after the Window Of Life.....
Anekdoten after the Gravety tour.........probably my greatest Chickenskin concert...mainly due the fact that it was the first time I saw a band playing life with a Mellotron....and then playing such amazing songs. Without doubt the best band and most skillfull artists Sweden has to offer. Although Landberk (so regretfull I never saw them live) is a close second, not to mention Morte Macabre (that only played together live for 2 times).
Camel on the Harbor Of Tears tour.......Truly truly amazing. What a player that Andrew Latimer and such a nice guy....Colin also for that matters...
Yes during the Symphonic Tour........so amazing.....especially because they played all this amazing songs.....like Gates of Delirium and Ritual.....especially that list was a pure show off of musical skill and craftmanship. Same as Yes during the Open Your Eyes tour.........I never was much fan of Howe but that all changed after I saw him play in real. The beginning of Siberian Kathru......the end of Starship Trooper......the greatest prog player after Hackett if you ask me.....And then we have not even discussed the double tripple line up of King Crimson in 1995. Talking about grandmasters of musicianship. Bruford.....packed it all out that night with gigantic drums and gongs on the stage...during I think the Sheltering Sky......unforgetable.
But the concert I waited for the longest was Genesis last year.......and despite all that singles and no songs from Calling All Stations...it was a really really delight to see them do finally some more old stuff again. I saw Genesis twice in 1998 with Calling All Stations. No Collins...but The Dividing Line..live....13/14 minutes was indeed a true highlight of the show.
And them Marillion....the best set was during the Anorak Tour.....when fans could vote their set....what a concert was that.....Just as the fanclub concert of 1997 in Utrecht....completely different setlist with the rest of the tour....so amazing.....where Hogarth forgot the lyrics of Garden Party and we had to sing it while he was sitting on the side of the stage. How much different was that with the first concert of that week where Hogarth was cheered out by the fans who were shouting 'Burn Mothertucker burn.' after he had a argument with a fan about Fish and he told the audience it was time that we should all forget this guy.
Oh, Supertramp......during the Some Things Never Change Tour I think in 1997 or so. One of the first shows of the tour (or the first).....165 min. No Hodgson.....but still an absolutely amazing concert. Another Man's Woman, with that pianosolo............and the end Crime Of The Century...real beauty. And interestingly alot of bandmembers were roulating.....so not all played the same instrument the entire gig.
I can go on........
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Posted By: GlassPrison68
Date Posted: November 26 2008 at 19:31
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The first show I saw was G3. I had never heard of Paul Gilbert, I pretty much went for John Petrucci. Paul Gilbert came out first and played "Get Out Of My Yard". I was Blown away, speechless, and I wanted more. Well they gave me more,,,, and more,,,,, and more,,,,,, and after about 3 hours of shredding and Joe Satriani's super high notes, and the bass literally shaking the floor, my head was pounding, and I was about through with it. But, I'd still go see it again cause it was truly amazing. And I saw Liquid Tension Experiment this year. One of the best nights of my life. I got there right on time, and the band had to walk through the foyer area to get back stage, so I walk in the door and two feet away from me is the whole band, so that was pretty cool. Then the show starts and it's going along great, then the keyboard starts sounding a little weird. Jordan was using a Roland Fantom G-8 (like the brand new 3000$ ones) and it got messed up so that every fourth note was playing sharp. So the rest of the band starts jamming while him and the tech is trying to fix it. The band jammed for about an hour, then Jordan comes out, takes the guitar, and starts shredding(Incredibly). The whole crowd shifted forward like ten feet and everyone with a picture phone had one out. Then everyone started shifting around, the drummer from anthrax took over drumming, Mike took the bass, Tony got the tap stick, then John took the bass, and all this while the music is still going. It was nuts, extremely awesome. ------------- Let the progsters find you and beat you in 7/8 time! -Jordan Rudess |
Posted By: GlassPrison68
Date Posted: November 26 2008 at 19:34
Dude!! You saw Porcupine Tree??!!! I'm feakin super jealous. ------------- Let the progsters find you and beat you in 7/8 time! -Jordan Rudess |
Posted By: Daniel1974nl
Date Posted: November 27 2008 at 03:57
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Yes.....I saw them three times. From one right after the Yellow Dreamscape Hedgerow release down in 1994. When...only a few even heard of them..including myself. So much more spacey....experimental and dreamy back then, but quite good. However I can apreciate them since The Sky Moves Sideways much better. Its the only band that never suffers from getting a bit more commercial. Practically all the albums are masterpieces. |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: November 27 2008 at 07:49
A month ago, the Mars Volta. They only played for about an hour because it was a festival, but were awesome. What I remember the most (hell, it wasnt that long ago either) was Cedric´s dancing and how he chewed off a type of plastic lamp that was hunging for the ceiling That dude is crazy Probably the weirdest concert I´ve ever saw was Trey Gunn for 90 min his Warr guitar while he recited a story. It was very interesting, but what I remember the most are the two or so seconds of silence when he finished followed by the most enthusiastic and manic applause I´ve ever heard. Never again have I heard such applause ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: Foolsdrummer
Date Posted: November 27 2008 at 15:35
| I was born in 1990 so, I couldn't see any seventies prog concerts, unfortunately. I did saw Sigur Ros at 'Lowlands' in the Netherlands this year. That was really a beautiful concert! |
Posted By: OzzProg
Date Posted: November 27 2008 at 21:44
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Well, since I'm 16, I haven't had much Live experience with PROG bands (I've gone to see other shows though...). The only Prog I've seen up to date is Jethro Tull, which was a wonderful, but very tame concert. I also saw Return To Forever last summer, which was an AMAZING outdoor Jazz Festival show in Ottawa. $30 to see RTF any day... However, my two parents have both had some of the most wonderful Prog experiences possible My dad, witnessed the major psychotic melt down of Syd Barrett, which I believe was here in Montreal (he never told me). He was in the third row, and a bunch of punks in the first and second row, started throwing firecrackers onto the stage. This is where Syd Barrett freaked out, left the stage, and for the first time saw himself unequal to his crowd, so he left "The Pink Floyd". This is where Roger Waters came up for the idea of "The Wall", from how Syd created a wall between himself and the crowd. My mother, went to see a Steve Hackett concert with her boyfriend. And it was in a theater that pretty much resembled a movie theater. She says there was roughly 100 people at the show. There was a dance floor set up right in front of where he was playing. Since no one was dancing to Steve's music, my mum and her friends went out and sat two feet in front of Steve on the dance floor for the rest of the show (which was brilliant). She said it was the best concert of her life. Appart from seeing Yes many times, my mother also had a similar experience going to see King Crimson (On their Discipline tour). It was a small theatre, and she was front row with her boyfriend. She always tells me how she can remember Fripp's every facial expression and so on. I'm jealous. -------------  |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 27 2008 at 22:59
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I've listed some before can't remember specific dates. Have most of the stubs though.
Grobschnitt, King Crimson 7 times incl. both shows recorded for absent Lovers album at the Spectrum in Montreal. Also saw the Marillion show at the same venue part of which appears on the Real To Reel album, Fish got mad at the audience and started to pelt us with acorns. The Spectrum was just demolished last month to make way for something dumb. Saw Jethro Tull at the old Montreal Forum. Can't remember which tour it was but some fans got angry and used one of the park benches from Cabot Park as a battering ram and there was a mini riot. I was already inside but saw the damage afterwards. I think it could have been the B&TB tour because I think I remember the Viking Boat through my narcotic daze. Saw Rush too many times. Very boring. Went with friend who thought they were the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. Jean Luc Ponty with Larry Coryell. Black Sabbath with Gillian. Ozzy twice. FM three times. Met Nash The Slash after one of the shows. Journey. Boston. Aerosmith. Supertramp. with Jean Luc Ponty. The Mahavishnu Project In NYC ( first incarnation ) . The Musical Box. Over The Garden Wall another Genesis cover band that predated The Musical Box. They were better and had a female keyboard player and the singer did the Gabriel thing. Nina Hagen at Metropolis in Montreal. Got backstage and never saw so many illegal drugs in one place in my whole life. Pink Floyd Pulse, Edmonton AB commonwealth Stadium. They switched the airplane crashing with a locomotive. Kiss. ELP, Calgary Saddledome. The promoter had to comp a lot of tickets and almost lost his shirt. Concert was a disaster. Crap sound and they played new songs no one knew. Really bad. Almost saw Yes in Calgary but the same promoter cancelled the show when he saw that he was really going to lose his shirt due to bad ticket sales. And this was the classic lineup. Calgary is a cultural wasteland. people likeTerri Clark, Garth Brooks and Celine Dion routinely sell out instantly in this lonely Canadian outpost. Saw the Bay City Rollers reunion in Banff AB. About 40 people in the audience. Got an autograph from one of them out of a dare. Chiliwack, Red Rider, Chalk Circle, The Spoons, Gary Numan, Nazareth ( loud loud show ) ACDC ( another Loud Show ) Judas Priest ( screaming For Vengeance ), Lee Aaron ( talked to her and got her autograph ), Jonny Winter & April Wine, Mahogany Rush, Ted Nugent ( Intensities in Ten cities tour ), Krokus, Motley Crue, Styx ( pieces of Eight ), Cars ( Candy O tour ), Rita McNeil, Alanah Myles, Van Halen ( Diver Down ? ), Anne Clark, Motorhead ( had to leave because it was too f**** loud for our girlfriends ), Dred Zeppelin, Joan Jett
plus many more jazz concerts at the once great Montreal international Jazz fest incl. John McLaughlin, Pat Metheney, UZEB, saw Carl Palmer Band at the Medley with two kids on guitar & bass. Dissappointing show. Girlschool. Peter Gabriel Place Des Nations open air concert Freakin' amazing. Plus more. Unfortunately I haven't see a ton of bands that don't play this side of the Atlantic often or not at all such as Hawkwind, Guru Guru. I'm thinking of splurging next year and going to see Amon Duul II in Europe. ------------- |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 02:50
So many years, so many gigs, how to highlight a few? 
Floyd's The Wall - 1st night performed in London at Earls Court - I was 16, the ticket was only £7.00, David Gilmour stole the show completely playing CN from the top of the wall... I'd seen nothing like a show like that before, and haven't done so since. Marillion (one of many times I saw them) at the Reading Festival 1983; opening with Grendel, playing their hearts out & taking the day completely (also annoying Black Sabbath who had to put up with the crowd still calling for Marillion when they came on) The Enid - many times, many venues from 1979 to I think 1986; always good value, beautifully played music (especially if you were lucky enough for them to play 'Fand'), humour always abundant. Mostly Autumn at the Cropredy Festival in 2004(?) - came on mid afternoon to complete apathy from the folkie crowd, 60 mimutes later, after finishing with 'Heroes Never Die' left to a 20,000 person standing ovation. King Crimson - Albert Hall London mid 1990s; a cracking gig (twin trio days )but memorable for me as I had a KC fan with me who was only familiar with the early 1970s material & when they were in the middle of a particularly frenetic passage, with Belew playing guitar with an electric drill, my friend turned to me & shouted "what the f+++'s going on down there"?
The Many Frank Zappa gigs I went to in the 70s & 80s - always quality, you never quite knew what to expect; example 1988 - the recent album was Jazz From Hell, so we half expected to see just a synclavier on stage, but walked in to a stage set up for a 15 piece band & were treated to a 2 1/2 hour show of classics (later released as part of Broadway The Hard Way/best Band You Never Saw... etc) & finishing with Stairway To Heaven - the best time I ever saw the man... and the last time he played London... So many others I could describe, so many I've seen, but so many I missed - never saw Genesis  , never saw Led Zeppelin , never saw Weather Report , never saw Miles Davis etc etc etc
------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 03:40
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Genesis:-
Empire Pool Wembley - Lamb Tour Gabriel dressed in leather jacket enters stage right and stage left simultaneously. First use of a hologram in rock music I believe. Hammersmith Odeon - ATOTT Tour. Lamb Stew - Fly on a Windshield. A white speck becomes a skull and nearly makes me jump out out of my seat with fright. They play White Mountain and an amazing Suppers Ready.Bill Bruford almost steals the show on Dance on a Volcano/Los Endos Finsbury Park Rainbow - W&W Tour. Very early in January and it's freezing cold. Banks's Mellotron sounds ill.It turned out to be Steve Hackett's last tour.Amazing version of One for the Vine Knebworth - ATTWT Tour Cold and wet start,Genesis put on an amazing show,playing a track from every album that had been released upto that date.Well,almost every album.A section of Stagnation is played at some point. -------------- Peter Gabriel:- Battersea Park - PG1 Tour Fantastic show.Gabriel using a battery mic,walks right past me singing Here Comes the Flood.The show is probably remembered for the headliner's act.The Stranglers infamous strippers caper.The police stop the show. Hammersmith Odeon - PG2 Tour. ''And will you please welcome,on lead guitar...Mr Robert Fripp''. Mr Fripp waves,sort of, from the wings and that's all we see of him. Fortunately ,it's not all that we hear of him.Awesome versions of Mother of Violence,White Shadow,Humdrum and Indigo. ------------------------ Van der Graaf Generator:- Imperial College,London - Godbluff Tour I am left speechless.I had only heard a few bits and pieces by them at this point and this gig turned me into a fanboy Victoria Apollo - World Record Tour They play an absolutely breathtaking version of Pioneers over c. Hammill is on good form.His banter with the audience convinces me that he could have an acting carrer up his sleeve. Royal Festival Hall - Present Tour They're back! And then some... ------------- Van der Graaf:- The Chalk Farm Roundhouse - Quiet Zone...Tour First ever London gig without Jaxon and Banton.Bassist,Nic Potter returns and in comes Graeme Smith on electric violin from label mates,String Driven Thing. Wow! VdGG/Hammill goes punk...well almost.A blistering set.Very few VdGG songs played.Hammill inserts a few of his solo songs. The Marquee - Recorded live for Vital. Charles Dickie is added to the band.He plays electric 'cello and synth. Jaxon returns to play on a few songs .Amazing atmosphere.I was practically sitting on the stage at a couple of the gigs.I loved The Marquee when it was in Wardour Street. That'll do for now... ------------- 
Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb. |
Posted By: DamoXt7942
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 05:48
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Ah...I was surprised...and am surprised even now... Over 10 years ago, we family watched EL&P's "Black Moon" concert. But, believe me, the most surprising matter for us was, a childish man near us was dancin' and rollin'  ------------- http://www.facebook.com/damoxt7942" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 06:31
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When you go to prog concerts it's a dead serious intellectual process. No fun is allowed. Total undivided concentration is required. After the recital audience members divide up into factional discussion groups and retire to chambers. Certain strict rules of ettiquette must be observed. Any member displaying such juevenile tendencies such as laughing, satire or sarcasm will be ejected by force. How dare anyone dance and roll at an ELP concert. I hope that the proper authorities were called in and this on this instigator of such an offensive act and was accorded appropriate punishment. ------------- |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 07:47
Indeed - I always find taking copious notes for later reference can assist greatly in post concert analysis; it's for this reason that a balcony seat is an advantage, due to the elevated viewpoint giving visual access to exactly which pedal/footswitch/keyboard is being used as any particular time. -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 07:58
Several years ago I tried to sum-up what made Enid gigs so special (and slightly confirming Ian's post above about prog-gig etiquette)
...on returning from the concert in a Bedford night-club (1977) where those photo's were taken, I painted this amateurish oil-painting of Francis in full flight:
 ------------- What? |
I think I've seen the Enid slightly more times than I've seen the Cure, but it's close. The Enid where one of those enigmas of the music industry... that have a huge and very loyal following, but never achieve success as measured by record sales. On CD and vinyl, the Enid were superb, but they could never never capture the pure essence of their live performances.
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 11:32
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I don't think any late 70s early 80s Reading Festival would have been quite the same without Robert John Godfrey jumping around in dungarees, singing Wild Thing ("Wild thing - you've been a naughty naughty boy...") - this the same man who could insist on a packed Hammersmith Odeon being completely silent for gentle musical passages... and 3,300 longhairs complied without complaint - such days, such days...
Never ever got to one of their little private parties/mini-festivals at the farm though (a couple of my friends did though - swines). The Enid - completely, utterly & uniquely English. -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: November 28 2008 at 11:45
"Excuse me, would you mind awfully if I took my jacket off" ... class and classic  ------------- What? |
Posted By: Vibrationbaby
Date Posted: November 29 2008 at 22:02
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I was at a Peter Frampton concert and all the girls took their tops off including my girlfriend. ------------- |
Posted By: DamoXt7942
Date Posted: November 30 2008 at 22:55
Whoa...you have exactly serious opinion.
To tell the truth, we couldn't see which we had to watch...the excellent play by Keith, or the eccentric sway by the BOY.
Sure...must concentrate upon the brilliant songs and play...on the hot stuff.
Thanks for your comment. ------------- http://www.facebook.com/damoxt7942" rel="nofollow">
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