Best live gig you've ever been to

[Lidge]

For mine, back in 1988. Got mega lucky.

Mick Jagger toured Australia in 1988 on a solo tour (coincided with his album, Primitive Cool). From memory he played 5-6 sold out shows at Rod Laver Arena - but did a warm up gig at the Corner Hotel before these concerts.

The show had a few of his new songs, but majority were the old Stones classics.

Beer at bar prices. Smoking bans in pubs hadn't been heard of. About 600 punters in the room.

Mick belting out classics like Little Red Rooster, Brown Sugar, Tumbling Dice etc in a dingy smoky local bar - all for a $10 cover charge.

Life doesn't get much better than that!

IIRC - Dave Gilmour also put on a similair show at The Corner in the same year.

Anyone else got any similiar experiences?

 

[Refried Noodle]

Contrary to your comment in the PJ thread! - Pearl Jam in Sydney in 2003.... Not the best they've delivered of all I've seen on DVD, but my fav band ever...can't go wrong.

I'm not much of a fan but The Living End play awesome gigs.

And Midnight Oil for the last time wsa pretty special too.

 

[Lidge]

And Midnight Oil for the last time wsa pretty special too.

That last time may have been a bit Farnham-esque. Have heard on the grapevine that The Oils are doing a 'Jake & Elwood' and putting the band back together for a show later in the year.

 

[moistie]

Fishbone on the 'Reality of my surroundings' tour.

Sen-bloody-sational. They all came onstage to a cheesy 70s sitcom music (Brady Bunch or something similar) and sung in five part harmony (theres seven members of the band) "F*** you" before the two lead singers went into the crowd. They went on to spend more time in the crowd than on the stage, without missing a beat in any of their singing.

One even managed to walk to the sound booth across the crowd at the Palace, then climb up onto the balcony, sing the chorus of a song while hanging off one handed before diving off into the crowd and being passed back to the stage. I also spent much of the night, centre stage on the barricade, holding onto one of the singers boots and flipping him over into the crowd when he stage dived (which was often).

And musically? They rocked like no other band I have seen live and were tighter than a nuns nasty. I lost six kilos through sweating that night, but it was just a sensational gig.


Others include Nirvana at the Palace in early 1992 and the TISM gig for the release of their best of album at the Hifi Bar.

 

[Bombers_Forever]

Oasis - 2002 and 2005

 

[Knowledge]

Common @ Prince of wales 06

 

[mansize rooster]

Finn Brothers - Belvoir Amphitheatre 20th November 2004

amazing gig from start to finish.ALL the classics plus gems of "eveyone is here" special intimate venue to - holds 5,000,a real singalong gig...here is a review taken from the frenzforum.com

NINE years ago, when the New Zealand-born, Australian-adopted Neil and Tim Finn last toured the country together, the shows had a messy majesty that offered an insight into how family jams might have been, but they also gave an uncomfortable sense that the siblings were still jostling for the unresolved position of top dog.
This time, any tension was played out purely for the audience's benefit. During a particularly manic I See Red, a playful spat broke out. A tuning problem with Neil's guitar led to a delay at the beginning of It's Only Natural.
While he was attending to that, Tim spotted a woman holding a cover of Split Enz's first album Mental Notes. Tim reached forward and grabbed the record jacket and signed it. By this time Neil had begun the Crowded House classic and was shaking his head as his brother stuck the near 30-year-old album under his nose. "I didn't play on it," he offered as an excuse for not stopping the song. Tim smiled at the woman and placed the album on the piano, indicating with a big brother's assuredness he would get Neil to sign it later.
Contentment could also be seen in the old gems that were dusted off for this show. Both brothers have walked away from and shut down highly successful bands Split Enz and Crowded House and over the years have shown some reluctance to go back and open the yellowing pages of their hit song books, preferring to be moving ahead rather than looking back.


Beginning with a double punch of Weather With You and Six Months In A Leaky Boat, they not only showed off their new gold album Everyone Is Here, but also shared their history. More than half of the songs on the new album were given an airing and they were interspersed with favourites like Dirty Creature, Four Seasons In One Day, Distant Sun, an impromptu snatch of World Where You Live, I Got You and Better Be Home Soon.
With the Stacey twins � Jeremy on drums and Paul on guitar and keys � and Tim Smith on bass, the five players delivered each song with fully fleshed-out precision, each being instantly recognisable, yet more than a mere slavish tracing of its studio original. Neil, particularly, appeared to relish his role as co-lead guitarist, beaming as he tore into the break on I Got You and laughing as I See Red descended into the aforementioned brotherly barney.
Together and separately the Finns have more great songs than they could ever hope to squeeze into a 90-minute set and, in a show that resisted nostalgia for the sake of it, they delivered the perfect balance between past and present.

Weather With You
Six Months
Won't Give In
Part of Me Part of You
Edible Flowers
Dirty Creature
A Life Between Us
Part of Me Part of You
Distant Sun
Suffer Never
Four Seasons in A Day
Anything Can Happen
Nothing Wrong With You
Its Only Natural


I Got You
(Can't remember other 2 in first encore...could be in the opening set list...its a blur...up in smoke)


I See Red
Gentle hum
Better Be Home Soon


ahhhh it was a special night

..other favs. muse - BDO 2004 Living end - BDO 2006,rockit 2005
ben folds + waso - 2005

 

[Politik_Pie]

1. Radiohead Sydney Entertainment Centre 2004

2. REM Brisbane Entertainment Centre 2005

3. Muse Brisbane Riverstage 2004

 

[mansize rooster]

arrgh you were lucky to see a muse solo show.when they played freo in 2004 i was 17 so i couldnt go

 

[Monkster]

Weird Al - Brisbane Convention Centre 2003

 

[Contra Mundum]

I was in year nine in 1979 and my brother took me to three incredible gigs all at the Perth Concert Hall:

The Police, they were incredible I wore out my hammies pogoing and everyone had blue hair - before they released there fat albums. The energy emitted from those three blokes was incredible - still remember the feeling when they came out and did "So lonely" as an encore [it was at the time Roxanne was first released here]

Blondie: they would have been the tightest band in the world! Clem Bourke blew my mind with his drumming

Clash: how was it they were in Perth at the height of their powers - we had to leave our doc martens outside the gig!!

All three left a profound impact on me

 

[Captain Sensible]

Best live show I have seen was Henry Rollins at The Old Greek Theatre in '88(?) Un-trucking-believibly intense live show.


The others;

Mark Of Cain
Iggy Pop
The Stooges
The Ramones
Violent Femmes
Sticky Filth
Painters and Dockers
Trilobites
Bad Seeds
Cosmic Psychos

 

[utility]

Cathedral - second Australian tour in 1997 at Joey's Ministry of Sound. The band rocked up in a white limo and put on an amazing set... Lee Dorrian during Night of the Seagulls strangled himself enough during one song so that his face turned purple! I've since seen them many times.

Entombed - first Australian tour at the Hi Fi. I knew very little about them before the show and felt a little tired. The show was just a haze of headbagging, moshing and stagediving... or a combination. It was probably the most fun I've had at a gig.

Misfits - first Australian tour at the Hi Fi. A very small crowd but an awesome set with a little theatrics. Such a waste of a band since Michale Graves and Dr Chud left.

Cro-Mags NYC - first Australian tour, saw both shows at the Arthouse. Both were great but especially the second as it was also the first and last time I saw Within Blood. Just a great fun gig of guys (and some gals) jumping on top of each other to some great music... also the first I saw Rocky George play.

Death by Stereo - saw them twice in the one day a few years ago. The second show was at a pub and it was the first time punk bands had played there. It wasn't long before part of the stage was actually demolished!

Clutch - saw them for the first time in Japan... also got to hang out with the guys in the band!

Anthrax - Toronto in 2003. Led by John Bush and also at the time featuring Frank Bello this was just an awesome show. It was nice to get caught in a mosh while they played Caught in a Mosh. Unfortunately the idiots seem to have fired Bush.

 

[Lidge]

Best live show I have seen was Henry Rollins at The Old Greek Theatre in '88(?) Un-trucking-believibly intense live show.


The others;

Mark Of Cain
Iggy Pop
The Stooges
The Ramones
Violent Femmes
Sticky Filth
Painters and Dockers
Trilobites
Bad Seeds
Cosmic Psychos

Saw the Violent Femmes, Painters & Dockers & Cosmic Psychos on a triple bill - circa 1987 at The Venue (RIP) in St Kilda. Did you get to that one?

That's night rates as my 2nd best ever gig, behind my Jagger night at The Corner.

 

[billybrownless16]

Hilltop Hoods at the Launceston Saloon Bar in 2004

 

[CarterS]

Mars Volta - wow.

 

[Vandal]

Death by Stereo - saw them twice in the one day a few years ago. The second show was at a pub and it was the first time punk bands had played there. It wasn't long before part of the stage was actually demolished!

They are coming back in a few months, playing a sideshow at the Arthouse, will be awesome.

Best show ive been to was Rise Against at the Hifi in Feb 2005.

 

[Bombers_Forever]

Agree with mansize rooster- they were on stage in Sydney, last peformance of the 2004 tour. Same setlist (plus a few more), 2 encoures......went 2.5 hours. Bloody mindblowing and I was right in the front- just wished they would play Homesick

 

[nicolbolas]

Metallica - .... And Justice for All Tour - Festival Hall May 1989

 

[Flag Man]

Best live show I have seen was Henry Rollins at The Old Greek Theatre in '88(?) Un-trucking-believibly intense live show.


The others;

Mark Of Cain
Iggy Pop
The Stooges
The Ramones
Violent Femmes
Sticky Filth
Painters and Dockers
Trilobites
Bad Seeds
Cosmic Psychos

Mr Yokal, you have a superb taste in music.


The Rollins Band at the palace in November 1995, nothing comes close.

Powder Monkeys played first, then Hank took the stage.

Pure, crushing, intensity.

The paint was peeling off the walls.

Rollins even makes reference to this gig himself, and I consider it a privilege to have been there.

I have a videotape of Rollins in 88 at the Eureka Hotel in Geelong.

Only copy in existence of that gig.

PM if you want a copy.

 

[FrediKanoute]

1. U2 - Dublin 2005.....probably because it was at Croak Park in Dublin, in the middle of Summer, with the sun setting as a backdrop and U2 playing songs from October and Boy as well as HTDanAB.

2. INXS - 1992 Melbourne Uni Small BUff - 1200 people in a room with Michael Hutchence and the boys....awesome

3. Muse - 2004 Brisbane Riverstage - they were amazing

 

[Milkman]

Pink Floyd.

 

[raticus_usm]

the best fun i ever had at a gig was at the Sex Pistols reunion gig in Adelaide.

the pistols was great and rotton was funny as hell.
they were backed up by Goldfinger - made me a fan and am still after all these years

other great gigs -
Jesus and mary chain
billy bragg (always a laff)
bob geldof

 

[coxon]

beck at the enmore theatre, sydney... around '97...

 

[w00dy]

Shihad as Pacifier on the Everything Tour... October 2003

they had just been touring the states for like 9 months solid, so they were in fine form... crowd surfing to the sound desk, standing on the crowd, putting the drum kit into the crowd... the best performer i've ever seen is jon toogood... i've seen them about 15 times now, and they've all been great, but this show was definately the best...

other honourable mentions...

Foo Fighters '03 & '05
Queens of the Stoneage '04
Bodyjar 10th Anniversary Gig - they really stepped up that night
The Beastie Boys @ Festival Hall - meant to be better than any other show on the tour, including new york...
Michael Franti @ Falls '03 - Had the crowd in the palm of his hand...