Your best ever music concert?

[Saluki]

Cliff and the Shadows, that almost makes my going to see Girls Aloud acceptable. 😂

They were very good. They certainly know how to work a crowd even if not their normal demographic.
Cliff had said, in the interview after, that he was more nervous than a little. Floyd fans are not generally his fans. They were also very funny, there was much good natured banter with each other.

 

[Candele]

Coldplay at Wembley a couple of years ago was hands down the best concert I’ve ever been to. The whole place lit up with those LED wristbands, and it felt like every single person was part of the show. It wasn’t just a concert—it was this massive, emotional shared experience.
The sound was crystal clear even from the upper tiers, and the visuals were just insane. I’ve seen other big acts live, but no one’s matched that kind of atmosphere.

 

[Donger]

Saw the Beautiful South at the NIA in Birmingham in, (I think), 1997. They were brilliant, but one of the support acts were even better. That was the first time we had even heard of Barenaked Ladies but they stole the show. We have been to watch them several times since then, but their line-up has changed and some of the music is more bland than it used to be. That night both groups were incredible.

 

[captain nemo1701]

Glasto 2000, David Bowie. Enough said, really. Would give my entire salary for a Tardis to go back & see Pink Floyd.

 

[richardfm]

Glasto 2000, David Bowie. Enough said, really. Would give my entire salary for a Tardis to go back & see Pink Floyd.

I saw Pink Floyd just after Animals was released. It was a big disappointment. I could have sat at home playing the album with the volume turned up to have the same experience.
There was no interaction with the audience, barely an acknowledgement that we were there. Everything was played exactly the same as on the album.
It has, however, stayed in my memory longer than ma years other gigs have.

 

[captain nemo1701]

I saw Pink Floyd just after Animals was released. It was a big disappointment. I could have sat at home playing the album with the volume turned up to have the same experience.
There was no interaction with the audience, barely an acknowledgement that we were there. Everything was played exactly the same as on the album.
It has, however, stayed in my memory longer than ma years other gigs have.

That's Floyd, just reproducing as best they can the albums. A mate who saw them once said it was like the biggest stereo he'd ever heard faithfully reproducing the album tracks rather than stage shenanigans like the Rolling Stones etc. In fact PF I think could be described as quite boring themselves on stage which is probably why their lightshow got so big over the years. Its not really about the bodies on stage but the music.

 

[accountantpete]

Early 70's headbanging to Strife at the local civic hall - fantastic power trio who generated a great live sound which sadly didn't transfer very well to vinyl.

 

[DRM]

Bryan Adams 2007 at Manchester's MEN Arena, utterly brilliant gig, & was gobsmacked by Keith Scott flinging his guitar round his neck, catching it and continuing to play,without it vanishing off into the distance, at the time I was unaware of the existence of strap locks!

 

[Candele]

Coldplay at Wembley a couple of years ago was hands down the best concert I’ve ever been to. The whole place lit up with those LED wristbands, and it felt like every single person was part of the show. It wasn’t just a concert—it was this massive, emotional shared experience.
The sound was crystal clear even from the upper tiers, and the visuals were just insane. I’ve seen other big acts live, but no one’s matched that kind of atmosphere.

If anyone’s thinking about seeing them live, I’d absolutely recommend checking out Coldplay Tickets early, because they sell out fast. It’s one of those shows that actually lives up to the hype.

 

[Dave7]

Purely out of interest, not trying to be clever but I have never been to a music festival/concert.
Over the years I have been to see very few BIG names and they were at maybe 500-750 seater venues.
Strange as I enjoy music and would often go to see groups at small, local venues.
My daughter and SiL often go to festivals.
I must be the odd one out.

 

[DaveReading]

Purely out of interest, not trying to be clever but I have never been to a music festival/concert.
Over the years I have been to see very few BIG names and they were at maybe 500-750 seater venues.
Strange as I enjoy music and would often go to see groups at small, local venues.
My daughter and SiL often go to festivals.
I must be the odd one out.

I've never been a fan of events where the performers are little dots in the distance, recognisable only via huge screens either side of the stage.

 

[Profpointy]

From the 80s and my student days

Joe Jackson doing his "Jumping Jive" tour of swing era music. I'm a big admirer of Jackson and each albums and tours are generally an exploration of a totally different style

Misty in Roots - live at the counter-vision tour. A London based roots reggae band. The album of the tour is still one of my favourites some 40+ years later. Sadly their current tour of the same material which I had tickets for has been postponed so hopefully will be re-arranged

Yessir - a rhythm and blues band (in the old bluesey meaning). Never heard of them before or since but they played their hearts out to a tiny audience which they almost outnumbered. They started off well so we cheered and applauded extra enthusiastically to make up for the low turn out, and they just got better and better. It was a real privilege to be there.

In more recent years

King Crimson in Cardiff a couple of years back with mostly the original line up back with the band. No light show, no "hello Cardiff!" shouting, just incredible playing of complex music with a polite bow at the end of each number, and bandleader Robert Fripp sitting quietly at the back playing his guitar. But what a gig!

And again in the last few years Black Sabbath in, I think, their last but one tour. Perhaps the only stadium sized gig I've been to and genuinely enjoyed. Ozzy was clearly far from in his prime by this time, but he clearly loved entertaining the crowd and his joy in performing his old hits once again really was rather special. He was still a superb showman and it was a great gig.

Recently, The Ruts, at a relatively small venue in Bristol. Three oldish chaps who sat down to play, and notably their drummer only had a base drum, snare drum and high hat, but it was one of the tightest bits of drum playing I've heard. Played all their old hits like Babylon is Burning, in an exceptionally good gig.

I'll maybe do another list of exceptional classic gigs over the years.

 

[Mo1959]

Purely out of interest, not trying to be clever but I have never been to a music festival/concert.
Over the years I have been to see very few BIG names and they were at maybe 500-750 seater venues.
Strange as I enjoy music and would often go to see groups at small, local venues.
My daughter and SiL often go to festivals.
I must be the odd one out.

Never been to anything other than a few classical concerts and light operas in the concert hall.

 

[Dave7]

I've never been a fan of events where the performers are little dots in the distance, recognisable only via huge screens either side of the stage.

Me neither but lots of people really enjoy them and go to numerous events each year.
Each to his own etc.

 

[Profpointy]

I've never been a fan of events where the performers are little dots in the distance, recognisable only via huge screens either side of the stage.

Me neither. Often the sound quality is terrible, and the general buggerment of queueing in and out makes it an all round unpleasant experience. Tend to be absurdly costly too