Best concert you've ever been to?

top and probably never change:
U2 - 360* tour
---------------
Kiss - all
Alice Cooper - all
Bon Jovi - all
Ozzy - all
... etc.

metalken wrote:

Metallica, Metal Church - 1986

I saw Metal Church in 1987, they were incredible! Completely blew Crimson Glory & Anthrax off stage  

Boris2008 wrote:

jettafiend wrote:

The Vandals/Flogging Molly 2007

Jealous!  

The Vandals absolutely blew Flogging Molly off the stage. It was one high-energy intense show.

Any Maiden show

Ozzy/Metallica '86, Cleveland, OH & Erie, PA

Wrathchild America/Annihilator/Testament '89(?) Charlotte, NC

Ice-T/Bodycount '92 Myrtle Beach, SC

Anthrax/Fight/Seducer '94 Charlotte, NC

Metal Alliance 2013, Charlotte, NC

For me "Best concert" is relative to who I went with, events in & around that concert, how much fun I had, etc. All factor into what makes one show better than others, rather than just individual bands/performances.

Unfortunately, since moving away from the inner city suburbs about 3 years ago I have not had the chance to go to any shows...

However, back in the day when I lived close to all the venues I would go to shows sometimes every weekend. There was a period in my life where I would spend pocket money on concert ticket and shirts... basically whatever band came in town that I liked I would go see. Australia has seen a massive influx of international metal bands' tours over the last decade or so.

The last shows I attended which I thought were downright awesome:

1. Iron Maiden (saw them twice once for the 'Live After Death' revisited tour and the other time on the Final Frontier tour where they played basically the exact same setlist as on the En Vivo live album);

2. Heaven and Hell (this was round 2007)

3. AC/DC (for the Black Ice tour - truly amazing)

4. Overkill

5. Anthrax with Joey Belladonna

6. WASP playing the entire Crimson Idol album

I've posted this memory many times here...one more time...

March 1979, Bloomington MN. UFO supported by Judas Priest.
It was basically "Unleashed In The East" followed by "Strangers In The Night", more or less. Two of the greatest live albums ever, played back to back onstage. The arena was only half full.

1.) Anthrax, Exodus, and Helloween Headbangers Ball Tour 1989 at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh.
2.) AC/DC and Queensryche in Tuscon, AZ in '86. I was 18 and in the Army at the time.

Been to some epic gigs over the years but the 3 that stand out the most would be:

1. Iron maiden - 1999 ed hunter tour. Bruce and Adrian returning to the fold and just prior to brave new world being released they went out on a short tour in support of the ed hunter game and greatest hits package. Unfortunately there were no uk dates so me and a mate went over to Paris to catch the tour with the iron maiden fan club. Absolutely epic night and with no new album yet to promote the set list was a fans wet dream of classics. Megadeth were supporting on the risk tour but still played plenty of classics to wipe away the memory of the turd known as risk.

Saw them in Rotterdam the very next night on the same tour and it was equally brilliant but didn't quite have the same magic as the previous night with anticipation at fever pitch for the return if the air raid siren

2: Metallica headline slot at download 2006. Started off well with some great classics then to everyone's surprise they went off stage quite early and all the lights went out. No one could work out what was going on then all of a sudden the sound of cannon fire came blasting from the stage and the big monitor above the main stage flickered into action with a voice over explaining that Metallica will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of master of puppets. Total surprise and before we could gather our thoughts the sound of battery came blasting out and they played the entire album. Awesome.

Never understood why Metallica managed to write crapfests like load, reload and st anger as they must not like the songs as all the times I've seen them live they never hardly play anything off these albums.

3: finally the big four at sonnisphere recently. All 4 bands were in good form and played brilliant sets. From start to finish total class and when they all jammed at the end I kinda felt sad that these great bands are closer to the end if their careers than the start. It felt like the end of an era.

Like someone mentioned earlier, for me it is the experience and everything that went with it that makes it "the best".

By far my favorite was Kix/Child's Play at the Leonardtown Ampitheater in the fall of 1989. Even at the time I realized it was the kind of show/night that 24 years later I would feel nostalgia for. The joys of youth. Kix at the time seemed on the verge of a huge breakthrough with "Don't Close Your Eyes" charting. Child's Play was signed and working on their album. Both were great, as always. What should've/could've been.

I agree with the experience making it the best. The Master of Metal definitely had the best bands as well as the best experience I've ever had at a show.

I really want to go to some HUUUUGE metal festival somewhere in the world some day before I die. I'm only 19 so I have my whole life ahead of me to accomplish this dream

Not many concerts around here. I was very happy to watch Metallica live in oslo in 2007.

Best metal souvenir ever. Met some metalheads from Norway who were very nice.

Late non metal entry for both best gig and best frontman, I really didn't expect much when I saw these in 1995 (more than a decade after the hits had dried up) But they were brilliant, a real contender for most fun I have ever had at a concert!  

Overkill/Savatage in 1993!
  

Slayer w/ Gary Holt at Bang Your Head festival 2011

Slayer - Rock City Nottingham 1987 was pretty special, seeing Slayer at club gig level, definitely the most violent show I have ever been too as well. Meeting them all beforehand was great too  

Boris2008 wrote:

Slayer - Rock City Nottingham 1987 was pretty special, seeing Slayer at club gig level, definitely the most violent show I have ever been too as well. Meeting them all beforehand was great too  

See, I hear about this, and waves of depression just smack me in the gut. I was just born way to f*cking late... 

Im not a fan of live music.. I would prefer the bands to play their record over the PA System and just act like they are playing it ahahah!!!

But as far as best concert, I would say Alter Bridge. Lil venue with a huge sound.. Loudest concert Ive ever been to as well... Couldnt hear for days...

Halestorm also has a ton of energy and I rly enjoyed them live.. Seen soo many bands live at Ozzfest, Uproar, and Carnival of Madness..

Chevelle were probably the worst I seen cuz their sound was too loud and bassy and was just intolerable.

I'd say the worst concert I've ever been to was Megadeth and Slayer. It wasn't the performance at all, it was the venue. The Izod in New Jersey is a horrible place for a metal show. The sound quality was just horrible for the whole show.

RAIDwarden wrote:

I'd say the worst concert I've ever been to was Megadeth and Slayer. It wasn't the performance at all,  it was the venue. The Izod in New Jersey is a horrible place for a metal show. The sound quality was just horrible for the whole show.

I live in NJ and I dont travel too far for a concert so if it's not within like an hr or so away, Im not going.

Rolling Stones at Giants Stadium circa 1994; the Voodoo Lounge tour.

I never expected The Stones to have giant inflatable monsters that shot laser beams from their eyes but that's what we got.  I don't think that show will ever be topped.

RAIDwarden wrote:

I'd say the worst concert I've ever been to was Megadeth and Slayer. It wasn't the performance at all,  it was the venue. The Izod in New Jersey is a horrible place for a metal show. The sound quality was just horrible for the whole show.

I pretty much avoid the big bands now as they always play the NIA Arena (Birmingham), a big horrible shed with awful atmosphere, crappy acoustics and overbearing security. Not my idea of a good night out!

Boris2008 wrote:

RAIDwarden wrote:

I'd say the worst concert I've ever been to was Megadeth and Slayer. It wasn't the performance at all,  it was the venue. The Izod in New Jersey is a horrible place for a metal show. The sound quality was just horrible for the whole show.

I pretty much avoid the big bands now as they always play the NIA Arena, a big horrible shed with awful security, crappy acoustics and overbearing security. Not my idea of a good night out!

EXAAACTLY!! You nailed it. That's exactly how it was.

1. DREAM THEATER * They have no equal in Melodic Progressive Metal
2. RUSH - Snakes and Arrows Tour
3. JUDAS PRIEST- TURBO TOUR
4. JOE BONAMASSA- OH YEA! I said it!
5. GOTTHARD -LIPSERVICE TOUR in Germany

MetalRob331 wrote:

I would prefer the bands to play their record over the PA System and just act like they are playing it ahahah!!!  

and the Completely Clueless Post Of The Day goes to....

 

Worst concert I've been to, other than Spirit West Coast  is the first Gigantour run here in Fresno. Selland Arena is a horrible venue and everything sounded like ass, although for whatever reason Dream Theater pulled it off nicely. Nevermore looked great but I couldn't even make out what they were playing. Fear Factory was too loud and chaotic. Symphony X was turned too loud. Megadeth was strange because Dave didn't sing?! He later on said that he had a bad cold, but yeah they were basically all instrumentals. Add to that they had to shut down prematurely because curfew had approached...just a lame experience altogether. If I'm not mistaken it was the first concert of the tour, so perhaps that's why it was so glitchy.