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Slade. (the original one, in 1981)
I've seen hundreds of bands since then, none match the energy and performance.
Some come close, The Stranglers have been excellent, Alison Moyet was sublime.
LCD, RATM, DFA1979 other abbreviations, plus weirdly i think James are brilliant live
Motorhead 1979.
I was asked by one of the young uns at work, what were they like?
Only way to describe the gig was........ Imagine being driven in a car at 150mph, and sticking your head out the sunroof for 2 hours, and your close
The boss took me to see Alabama 3 at the Ironworks in Inverness for my 60th and I was bouncing like a youngster for most of the evening.
Absolutely the best gig I've ever been to.
The Clash - Leeds Uni
Thin Lizzy - Bridlington Spa
Stiff Little Fingers - York
INXS - outdoor mini-festival in Cardiff Bay are. Support were The Brand New Heavies, Echobelly, and Stereophonics before they were famous
Massive Attack - Queen Square, Bristol circa 2005
Sigur Ros - Colston Hall, Bristol
James - various
Hothouse Flowers - Glastonbury 1993ish
Blue Aeroplanes - Ashton Court Festival Bristol / Glastonbury
The Comet is Coming last year were incredible. Early Stone Roses gig in a leisure centre was pretty special as a teenager.
Does Chemical Brothers count? Not a band as such but superb in a festival tent in 2000.
Finally, Roni Size with Reprazent, also in a festival tent at Reading circa 1998
Massive Attack – Queen Square, Bristol
I was there for that. Easily their best gig I have seen. Shame when I saw them in Leicester they were a bit dull.
Saw blondie two years ago , thought they would have been a bit tired and dull.They were raw and brilliant , what a great night
I went to see Being As An Ocean in Manchester in 2018, they were a support act for a different band (that I didn't even bother to stay and see as I wasn't a fan) and they were absolutely amazing. I think they had been on stage for all of 5 minutes before the lead singer launched himself into the crowd.
On valentines day I went to Star and Garter to see Chapter and Verse, Parting Gift and Dream State. Absolutely amazing gig. Dream State were amazing and got to have a good chat with Aled and CJ from the band. Only a few people there but the interaction between all the bands and the crowd was amazing, a really great intimate gig with some genuinely great, friendly musicians.
Saw Fred V and Grafix at the Deaf Institute and they were brilliant, the support acts were good too. Really great gig with a good atmosphere too.
Linked to my "shite bands" thread I went to see Biffy Clyro last summer and despite not being a fan I really enjoyed it and they put on a fantastic show. One of the support acts, Fatherson, were seriously good and put on a great set despite just playing in one corner of a very big stage, they really seemed to fill out the whole place and got the crowd really engaged.
James. Yes. Saw them in 1991 at GMex. Booth has so much energy. Brilliant
A couple of honourable mentions, both from the early 1990s at Harlow Square...
Snuff (several times) - so much energy and good vibes
The Egg - Amazing party band with an original take on indie-dance - why weren't they massive?
Trouble Funk.
You know when bands try to get people to join in? It doesn't always work that well in England, but Trouble Funk had every single person screaming and shouting "Freaky Deaky", of all things, at the top of their voices.
James Brown was excellent as well- total pro, complete command of the audience.
I've seen Lee Perry dozens of times. Every gig was either brilliant or terrible, he doesn't do anything in-between.
I saw Prodigy at Bridlington Spa in 2015. Absolutley blew me away, I was sober also which I must have been the only one.
The acoustics in that place were superb and it was amazing.
I was at that gig and while I think it was brilliant, I was definitely not sober, and I really can't remember it very well sadly!
Pantera on the Vulgar Display tour , supporting Megadeth.
Pantera on the Far Beyond Driven tour, headlining.
Wildhearts and Backyard Babies co-headline tour .
CJ Ramone in a shitty little club woth about 50 people tops.
Michale Graves doing the two Misfits albums he wrote back to back, before he commited career suicide .
Oooh, Elvana too. Fun bit of nonsense .
I’ve been going to live music since I was 13, but the gigs I’ve enjoyed the most have all been recent:
- Bad Religion and the Offspring in Birmingham in 2016. I was at the front and had an imprint of the metal barriers in my knees for a few hours afterwards.
- The Temperance Movement acoustic gig at the Manchester Deaf Institute 2016
- The Virginmarys at the Masonic Hall in Macclesfield a couple of years ago
Pantera on the Vulgar Display tour , supporting Megadeth.
Pantera on the Far Beyond Driven tour, headlining.
I had tickets for Pantera in London but 9/11 happened a few days before. I've really disliked extremist terrorism ever since.
David Bowie. My first ever gig, at Wembley on the Station to Station tour. 15 years old and as I remember it, the first song was the title track, a 10 minute intro building and building, before he strolls on stage, cigarette in hand. He looked so incredibly cool, totally commanding the stage. An amazing gig, which I can't imagine will ever be bettered by anyone.
Springsteen at Roundhay Park a four hour party.
Thin Lizzy at Wembley
Live Aid
Any Flaming Lips gig.
Modest Mouse for sheer musicianship
Smashing Pumpkins in a small venue in Brussels
The Proclaimers. Sister in law took us, wasn't expecting much but it was bouncing. Cracking night.
Bruce Springsteen. Wife was a fan, we went and I came away a fan too. Superb.
Muse. Sonically fantastic.
The Orb. Also sonically sublime.
Foo Fighters at Lancashire cricket ground was probably the best, well oiled gig I’ve been to. Honorable Mentions to the Verve at Haigh Hall Wigan for there homecoming gig (more for what it meant than the actual quality of the music) Royal Blood at the Empress Ballroom, Blackpool was also a great night.
Chuck Berry - (no I'm not that old, I was 12 and 13ish) - he did need reminding which song he was in having got lost in the solo
Iron Maiden - choreographed, technically fantastic, engaging, fun, just yeah
Pato Banton - yes, I know but I was 14 and playing the same bill (Derby Uni summer ball 1993)
They did their 'hits' of the time but it was feel good, jumping, tight, feel good fun and the band dance choreography was awesome
It's a toss up between The Cramps at Leicester Mr Kiesers in 84 or the Clash at De Montfort Hall in 82. Both great gigs.
Hmmm.. I've been to some great gigs..
Nirvana Reading festival 91
Beastie Boys, Run DMC 87 Brixton
Pixies 2009
All of these gigs immediately spring to mind for one reason or another.
I think the Pixies have it.. No er the Cramps... Oh I can't decide
mercuryrev. Full Member
er, have you forgotten someone..? 😉
Faith no More, doesn't matter what location loved every gig I've been to see them.
Most intense would be Machine Head came out of that one black and blue.
As for the ultimate gig experience Pink Floyd Pulse tour at Earls Court.
zzjabzz – Subhumans are ALWAYS great live as were the Instigators 🙂
Oh and Salvo normally knock the ball out of the park too.
Fuel Cafe gig with Sikkapillu was a memorable night... 🙂
Otway and Barratt, 1979, oughtons in Dumfries - my first gig and therefore brilliant.
Jeff Buckley in Nottingham ?rock city? Just after grace came out.
Hawkwind, Edinburgh liquid rooms in 1997
More recently seen the fat white family a few times, they do a good gig.
And a mention for the current version of the Chameleons who surprised me by delivering a fantastic script of the bridge gig a couple of years ago
Gigs are great!
Saw the Blockheads a few yrs ago, a lot better than I expected. Squeeze were really good at V in 2006 . (Amy Winehouse that year but she wasn't in a good state that day I'm sorry to say)
I saw daft punk at Global Gathering.
Lots of awesome bands mentioned already, tbh I could give a different answer tomorrow- it's pretty much always going to be Trail of Dead, F***ed Up, Muse Before They Were Shite, Hell Is For Heroes, Hundred Reasons, Biffy or the Hold Steady, though. Frank Turner might get a look in but he's so erratic, a good Frank show is pretty wonderful but an average Frank show is average.
I'll give it to Biffy though, because yes all those bands can put on amazing shows but Biffy have absolute killed it everywhere from support slots at King Tuts, to headlining festivals, and casting my mind back to those early shows that just seems so god damn unlikely. I've never seen another band that could just get it perfectly right regardless of the venue size or crapness. Let's make Perth Ice House into a sweatbox. Let's make Fopp in Glasgow into a church. Let's turn T in the Park main stage into a sort of terrifying cult gathering. And let's make the crowd bounce up and down at the Barras so hard that the intro CD skips.
The Levellers of course
Vinegar Joe
Free
Focus
Family - many times
Wishbone Ash - in particular at Buxton Pop Festival and at the Kursaal Southend
Oh and the Muffin Men.
Mogwai
The Jesus Lizard
Pixies
Wolfgang Press
Penguins Cafe Orchestra
Townes Van Zandt
Tindersticks
Butthole Surfers
All amazing in their own different ways.
Ozomatli
And Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Both amazing.
Muse give a cracking show, but seen the chemical brothers last year and it left me stunned, in a what did I just see experience!
The Pogues. What a party that is.
Forgot Shellac and Papa M somehow.
That Petrol Emotion’s last gig in England was truly outstanding (and very sad), and Supergrass at the Ally Pally this year. Cannot believe how tight they sounded. Awesome.
Guns'n'Roses Wembley 1991 might have been the best gig i've ever been to.
Bruce Springsteen - saw him 5 times in the late 80s - played for the best part of 4 hours each time - a true rock legend.
Dinosaur Jr as part of the Rollercoaster Tour - J Mascus is an amazing Guitarist.
The Men They Couldn't Hang are pretty special on a good day - seen them 25+ times now.
Chris Stapleton at C2C in 2019.
Luke Combs/Ashley McBryde - Shepherds Bush in 2018
I saw Metallica a couple of times in the early 90s - pretty amazing.
Slayer/Megadeth double headliner at the 'Clash of the Titans' tour in London 1991 - i was a bit Deaf for about a week after that one.
ZZ Top.
Just fantastic.
The House of Love, Newcastle Riverside, 1987
Then again a year or two back at Camden Roundhouse. Different, older, but still stunning.
I always enjoy The Wedding Present, especially to see what they're going to do for an encore.
Levellers always pretty good too.
Yeah, the Clash of the Titans tour.
Slayer, Megadeth, Testament, Suicidal Tendencies.
On the night I went Jeff Hannemans guitars packed up so it was Just Kerry King for most of Slayers set. Never heard Slayer sound...weak before.
Got to meet all of Suicidal Tendencies in the car park later, they came out to say hello. Pretty awesome experience for a 14 year old.
Got my Tour Shirt signed then ome scumbag robbed it off me when I put it down for 5 seconds.
Saw Kings of Leon at Manchester academy in 2003. They walked through the crowd onto stage ! Unbelievable gig and feel very lucky now to have seen them early on.
I was also at that FNM gig in Manchester. Did myself a right mischief when I decided to do a backward stage dive without looking and seeing that there was a big gap in the crowd and I ended up smacking the ground on my shoulder!
For me it is either Swans at the Mermaid in Birmingham ( it was so loud and the room so small that I actually felt physically sick) or Cardiacs at Edwards No8 also in Brum ( with classic line up) or the Pixies at Burberry’s in Brum( also a small venue which was totally overfilled resulting in absolute madness).
Another vote for Alabama 3 - They were playing the other stage at one of the muddy Glastonburys in the middle of the day. Probably the best set I'd ever seen there, so much energy.
Sigour Ross - Can't remember where exactly but a church in London. Brilliant acoustics and the perfect setting.
Radiohead - Again at a muddy Glastonbury, with the fireworks. Absolutely perfect.
That Petrol Emotion’s last gig
Saw them supporting iggy pop in Camden god knows when maybe 30yrs ago, fabulous gig 👍
Back in the day the cramps, ramones both in Hammersmith in the 80s, Then the velvet underground in the early 90s, the sonics in the noughties, more recently the Limananas and the oh sees, all fantastic live.