Top Five Live Music Performances

AddicksAddict

It doesn't matter how big or small the act, it's the quality of the gig we're looking for.

Here's mine in rough order of best to last.

Stiff Little Fingers at Friars Aylesbury the day after Sid died. I saw SLF about ten times and this was the best of a great bunch.

Franz Ferdinand at Benicassim, 18-7-09, see it on YouTube. I'm not that fond of the heir music but this was a stonking night.

Siouxsie and The Banshees in Camden around 1991. I saw Siouxsie almost as many times as SLF and never had a bad experience, but at this gig everything seemed to be done better.

Tom Robinson Band Rock Against Racism at Victoria Park, 1976. Just disappointed we arrived as The Clash were finishing.

The Specials, Madness and Selecter at The Electric Ballroom, 21-7-79.

Tutt-Tutt

Pink Floyd - Earls Court 1980

Status Quo - Lewisham Odeon 1977

The Who - The Valley 1976

Genesis - Wembley Arena 1980

Squeeze - Town & Country Club 1989

AddicksAddict

I really regret missing The Who at The Valley; Lewisham Odeon without Keith wasn't in the same class.

Saga Lout

Not good with dates, but:

The Who at Charlton
The Who at Lewisham Odeon
Led Zep at Earl's Court
Led Zep at Knebworth
Thin Lizzy in The Greyhound, Croydon

Badger

Saga Lout said:

Not good with dates, but:

The Who at Charlton
The Who at Lewisham Odeon
Led Zep at Earl's Court
Led Zep at Knebworth
Thin Lizzy in The Greyhound, Croydon

That Thin Lizzy Gig at the Greyhound was Fantastic, What a good night.

Saga Lout

@Badger, you were there too? Brilliant gig - one of my all time favorite bands, along with the other two mentioned.

Badger

Yes I went to the gig, I used to go to the Greyhound a lot, Fairfield halls just over the road was an option as well if you couldn't get in the greyhound, think I paid £1.25 to see Lizzy and if I remember they introduced a new member on stage,was it Guitarist Scott Gorham? Had some Great nights at the greyhound.

red_murph

Squeeze - The Amersham Arms - 1991

Oasis/Cast/Shed Seven - The Venue - 1994

Kasabian - Somerset House - 2007

Richard Ashcroft - Latitude festival - 2013

The La's - Town & Country - 1992

All for completely different reasons in terms of memories but they all played their arses off.

Saga Lout

Badger said:

Yes I went to the gig, I used to go to the Greyhound a lot, Fairfield halls just over the road was an option as well if you couldn't get in the greyhound, think I paid £1.25 to see Lizzy and if I remember they introduced a new member on stage,was it Guitarist Scott Gorham? Had some Great nights at the greyhound.

Yeah - saw ELO, Sparks and Kradftwerk at the Fiarfield (amongst others). Saw a few at the Greyhound too, another memorable one was the Frankie Miller band - roadies spent more time setting up the booze than the equipment.

limeygent

Rolling Stones, Brighton 1963. Ike and Tina Turner, warm up band.
Elvis Presley, Madison Square Garden. 1974 (I think)
Patty Smith, Washington, DC. 1978 (?)
Fleetwood Mac, Maryland. 1980s
Michael Bolton, Maryland 1980s.

Don't go any more, eardrums are shot....

Jon2461

Can't remember all the years so all approximate
Stiff Little Fingers at The Rainbow
Splodgenessabounds The Tramshed Woolwich
Siousxie and the Banshees Woolwich Odeon one of many
The Exploited The Concourde Brighton
2009
Cock Sparra Morecambe Punk Festival
2008
Stiff Little Fingers The Forum bout five years ago?
Loved the Punk Skinhead scene if my Heart can take it will do the Punk Festival in Blackpool again.
Remember my Dad saying you won't be listening to that rubbish in ten years I am now 49 and still listening to it lol

1StevieG

Nirvana - Reading Festival 1992
Faith No More - Slough Festival
Aphex Twin - Lost
Jeff Mills - Everywhere I have seen him
Public Enemy - Brixton Academy

sasquatch

U2 - Horsens, Denmark
Stevie Wonder - Aalborg, Denmark
Carlos Santana - Lucca, Italy
Depeche Mode - Herning, Denmark
Fleetwood Mac - Herning, Denmark

TelMc32

The Icicle Works - any number of gigs, usually at T&C, Kentish Town

The Verve - Brixton Academy, Shelter gig Feb 98

Madness - Finsbury Park 92 (the original last gig) & The O2 last Christmas

Primal Scream - Hard Rock Café, September 13. Gig for Absolute Radio, 100 people, next to stage, free beer & food

Blur/Specials/New Order/Bombay Bicycle Club - Hyde Park Olympics Closing Night.

seth plum

This is ridiculous of course but:

Lou Reed, The Rainbow Finsbury Park (Rock and Roll Animal line up).
Led Zeppelin, you can have Ally Pally, or Earls Court, or Knebworth or the O2, I will plump for Ally Pally.
Pink Fairies support act for Amon Duul, again at the Rainbow.
Kate and Anna McGarrigle Shaw theatre
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon tour, Wembley Arena, with the circular film.
Little Feat at the Valley, were given a hard time by the crowd, but still class.

OMG that's six and I have only just started, Bob Dylan, The Stones, The Who, The original Faces line up, Nina Simone, Van Morrison how the hell are we supposed to choose, oh and Albert lee at the Warwick Castle, it is all too much to pare down.

Stig

Gino Washington - The Lyceum, London. Played to an audience of punks supporting either The Fall or Spear of Destiny (or perhaps both), came on to a really cool reception but blew everyone away with energy and enthusiasm.
Blancmange - The Gold Mine, Canvey Island. Really small gig, with Depeche Mode in the audience.
The Fall - Pink Toothbrush, Rayleigh. Absolutely mental.
The Pogues - Brixton Academy.
The Smiths - Brixton Academy - Penultimate gig.
The Three Johns - The Greyhound, Fulham.
Human League - The Rainbow, Islington.
Fad Gadget - The Lyceum.

StubleyAddick

The Stranglers-so many...but there was something about the Brighton Dome gig last March...just awesome.

Billy Idol (Guilfest 2006) - wasn't expecting much...but my god, he knew how to entertain a crowd.

Gary Numan-Indigo 02 2009. He did the whole of the pleasure principle album and was absolutely terrific. Never been to a bad Numan gig actually.

Adam Ant- Indigo 02-2011. First time I saw him live....surprised at how brilliant he was. Great performer, and had a great band with him too.

Buzzcocks- Mick jagger Centre (can't remember year...) gig itself was strange....as the sound was shocking, but their energy made it worthwhile. Sticks out for me as I got backstage after the gig and was invited into their party haha!

AddicksAddict

Jon2461 said:

Can't remember all the years so all approximate
Stiff Little Fingers at The Rainbow
Splodgenessabounds The Tramshed Woolwich
Siousxie and the Banshees Woolwich Odeon one of many
The Exploited The Concourde Brighton
2009
Cock Sparra Morecambe Punk Festival
2008
Stiff Little Fingers The Forum bout five years ago?
Loved the Punk Skinhead scene if my Heart can take it will do the Punk Festival in Blackpool again.
Remember my Dad saying you won't be listening to that rubbish in ten years I am now 49 and still listening to it lol

Me too. We seem to have similar tastes.

I never knew Siouxsie played Woolwich Odeon. That seems almost as surreal as The Who at Lewisham Odeon.

Viewfinder

I've always preferred smaller, intimate venues to vast stadiums and festivals:

1. Camel - Marquee Club, Wardour Street, 1974
2. Magma - Roundhouse, Camden, 1973
3. Caravan - Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, 2013
4. Alkatraz - Golden Lion, Fulham, 1980
5. Huang Chung - 101 Club, Clapham, 1981

Shrew

Heres a few gigs that come to mind, mostly because I had a brilliant time.
John Martyn - Leeds folk festival 1983
Roy Harper - LSE 1978
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Carling Acedamy - 2010
Genesis - Lyceum 1980
Micky Jupp - Dublin Castle 1980 ish

souladdick

The Specials - Rainbow Theatre 1981
The Jam - Brixton Fair Deal 1982
Bad Manners - Canterbury Odeon 1981
Madness - Dominion Theatre 1981
Edwin Starr - Flicks Dartford (Did about an hour acapella)

Jon2461

Me too. We seem to have similar tastes.

I never knew Siouxsie played Woolwich Odeon. That seems almost as surreal as The Who at Lewisham Odeon.

Yes it was part of the Juju promotion tour John Cooper Clarke was the support.
Try to see Slf at least once a year if you have not seen Suggs life story that is well worth a look.

Oakster

Stone Roses - Warrington Legends 1988ish - blew us away that night, you could tell they had something special going on

Pixies - Manchester 1989ish - on their first UK tour - unlike anything else before
them - haven't paid much attention since

Arthur Lee -- Liverpool 1992 - one of his first gigs back after years in the wilderness, backed by Shack this was incredible - living music history

Goat - Austin Psych Fest 2013 - unbelievable, Swedish Afro psychedelic rock - an awesome live spectacle

Loop - about 2 weeks ago, Austin Psych Fest - one of my favourite 80s bands reforming & headlining the coolest music festival in the world - my ears are still ringing

Bedsaddick

.

Clem_Snide

Spiritualized - Royal Albert Hall
The Bellrays - The Bar Fly 7-8 years ago.
Teenage Fanclub - Glastonbury 1992
Nirvana - Astoria 1990 (3rd on the bill to L7 and Godflesh)
Mudhoney - The Venue around 1990.

Honarable mentions to:

Carter USM, Snuff, Hole, New Model Army and Crazyhead - all at The Venue in the early 1990s
Sensor - Fordham Park Free Festival circa 1990
Faith no More - Brixton Academy circa 1992
Oranger - The Betsy Trotwood in Farringdon
The Hives - The Astoria
Alien Sex Fiend - Camden Underworld (first gig I ever went to 1989ish)

Solidgone

Parsifal Royal Albert Hall 2013 Proms

dickplumb

The Who-first one at the Valley, Rory Gallagher- Fairfield Hall Croydon-mid seventies, Eric Clapton- RAH- 1990s, John Mayall-a number of times from mid 70s to seventies birthday concert. Rodrigo Y Gabriela at RAH last Wednesday.

scidbox

Top - Butthole surfers about 4 years ago. Thought I'd never get to see them. At the encore "here were 15 guitarists, 3 bass players, 2 drummers keyboards and a percussionist on stage playing. Total wall of noise.
2 - This year Spiritualised playing the whole of "ladies and gents we are floating in space," 16 piece string section, 7 piece brass, 15 gospel singers, 3 guitars, bass, 2 percussion and keys. Brought a tear to this old man's eye.
3 - Echo and the bunnymen 1982 at Leicester. First gig so will always be special.
4 - Pixies in front of 1,000 people in Vancouver in 89.
5 - Tom Waits in someone's front room in Kerry 18 years ago. We were all so close all 30 members of the audience could smell him.

Saw Rodrigo Y Gabriela in a pub playing to 6 people in Dublin about 10 years ago which was memorable because no one had heard of them and now they fill stadiums.

scidbox

And then I remembered so many more (age)
That petrol emotion farewell gig, awesome. Beastie boys in a 1500 venue just as sabotage was released. They played a stadium here 6 months later. I'll stop now. Love music more than film tv etc so could waffle for pages.

Greenie

Quo - 1981 Ode Hamnersmith
Clapton - RAH approximate 1988
Clapton - Ode Hamnersmith 1981
Splashback - Tramshed 1989
Jackie Lynton - Tunnel Club 1989

Oakster

Clem_Snide said:

Spiritualized - Royal Albert Hall

Was that the one they recorded as a live album - I was there too - can't remember if we all went together. Spiritualized are headlining the Sled Island Festival in Calgary in a few weeks time - I will be there & then some. Just a shame their set clashes with Earthless...