I saw Weird Al at Riverband in 1985. You can't go wrong going to a Weird Al concert.

Stomp a Weasel Day!

For a truly unique concert perspective, my high school jazz band, Hughestation, opened for Buddy Rich when he came to our school and did a fund raiser for us. Buddy Rich was an ass and his musicians were a bunch of primadonnas, but it was still the experience of a lifetime.

What year was that he died in 87?

Yeah, he died in 87. Spring of 84 was when he played at our High School.

For a while I thought he might of droped in your school. ;-)

LOL! No, he was still alive and kicking and could still play a mean ass drum set.

This thread has turned out great! A lot of cool stories.

Anyone else into jazz or rap? I am lucky to live in a city with a great jazz festival, so I've had the chance to see guys like Brubeck, Hancock, Shorter, Jarrett, Roach, Sandoval, and Hargrove over the years.

As for rap, I find they are the hardest shows to pull off well. A lot of my favorite rappers, like Ghostface Killah and Young Jeezy, have been disappointing live. But some rappers are incredible in concert. If anyone has a chance to see the Roots, I really recommend you do so.

Anyone see an YES concert?

Sorry this old fart is not really not into rap. I Don't hate it, just not my thing.

Old people can like rap too!

In no particular order...

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Sep 22, 1991 - Into The Great Wide Open Tour
Springsteen - Jan 20, 1981 - The River Tour (just under FIVE HOURS)
Stones - Dec 3, 1989 - Steel Wheels Tour
Deep Purple - Apr 1st, 1985 - Perfect Strangers Tour
The Who - Oct 9, 1982 - It's Hard Tour
Steppenwolf (with a relatively unknown Stevie Ray Vaughan opening) - CNE Grandstand
Neil Young - Feb 18, 1983 - Solo Trans Tour
Lou Reed - Late '80s - New York Tour
Eric Clapton - June 21, 1985 - Behind The Sun Tour
John Cougar Mellencamp - Lonesome Jubilee Tour
U2 - The Oshawa Tree Tour
R.E.M. - The Green Tour
The Black Crowes - Free Concert - G. Ross Lord Park, Toronto
Gregg Allman - Nag's Head North Bar, Toronto(walking distance from my parent's house. As I left after the show, I saw Gregg by himself smoking a cigarette in the outdoor tunnel that connected the bar to the patio. I boldly staggered up to him and said,

mapleleaf : "Great show man."

Gregg : "Thanks man. I'm taking contributions for tokes."

mapleleaf : "Awww sorry man, I'm all out or I would for sure. Hey, would you mind autographing my cigarette pack for me?"

Gregg : " No problem man."

...then I said thanks and goodbye blah blah blah.

How cool was that? It would have been cooler if I actually had a doob for him, but whatever. Gregg Allman asked me for drugs.

Thats fair enough. You should give it a try, though. A lot of good rap samples great funk and soul instrumentals from the 1970s, for example. Its also hard to enter into the genre through the stuff they play on the radio. Starting with more socially conscious guys like Talib Kweli is a good idea before trying to listen to Curren$y or OFWGKTA.

@mapleleaf: "the oshawa tree"....durham region on your mind, bud? you know the 905 is soft...

Is that the same "Roots" on Jimmy Fallon's late night show? And the same ones that did a track on the soundtrack to "Collateral" with Tom Cruise?

)

One of the things I really want to do before I die is go to a Bun B concert.

leaf, that is a great story. If there is one lesson to take from it is to always have a doob on your person wherever you're going. Unless you're crossing borders or taking an airplane, I guess.

Yes. The song in Collateral (seed 2.0) is a pretty popular single of theirs. They are a good rap crew but what separates their live shows is that they are all awesome at their instruments and they improvise a ton.

Do you like them on Jimmy Fallon? I think they do a good job, though i guess its hard to stand out on a late night show. A lot of hip hop fans criticize them for 'selling out' by doing the show, but I think its kind of cool.

@lando: its jokes that we brought weed across the border when we were 15 but would never ever have the guts to do it now.

It certainly helps them find some interesting collaborators, if nothing else.

I like 'em well enough. They backed Kenny Rogers doing the Gambler the other evening. Talk about a wild ride. seed 2.0 was a bit... um... sexually graphic I guess would be a good description. It took time to grow on me.

@Lando How would an old guy rap? Very slowly.

I don't really have one favorite show. Somewhere between Squeeze (acoustic), Erasure (Phantasmagoric Tour), Depeche Mode w/ Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Green Day w/ Franz Ferdinand. Saw Pearl Jam open for the Rolling Stones, that was pretty cool too.

Hmmmm....

Grant Hart at the Horseshoe in 2010. Had a beer with him before the show. A really, really nice and down-to-earth guy.
Rush - "Time Machine" tour (also 2010) at the Molson Amiptheatre.
Sonic Youth (2009 or 10?) at Massey Hall - we had 2nd row seats in front of Thurston Moore.
Acid Mothers Temple at the El Mocambo - a nice small venue with BIG sound.
My Bloody Valentine (2008) - it blew my eardrums out.
Earthless w/ Witch and Quest For Fire. Fever Ray. Neko Case (Trinity). Richard Thompson (he had the audience eating out of his hand). And Shellac, esp. the question-and-answer format of the stage banter.

@ Ivo

Been to Sensation White in Amsterdam three times. It was great.The first time, the music was not that good, but the second, man it was sensational :)

Diorama-Athens-2010

Metallica is probably the best show I've seen, knowing that they are well past their prime and still put on an amazing show was cool
The trans Siberian Orchestra is amazing, and is couple with the best laser light show and pyrotechnics you will ever see.
Another is a band called Skindred, prolly no one here has heard of them but they engage the crowd like none other. I saw them open for Disturbed and after people were saying they like Skindred more than Disturbed!

U2 and DMB are high on my concert wishlist. Wish I could have caught Dream Theater before Portnoy left too.

@frank

love jazz and rap.

de la soul put on a great show here at sxsw in austin a week or two ago.

also i saw ornette coleman last semester, definitely enjoyed that too