Your Top 5 Gigs Of All Time

Went to see Public Enemy on Monday and it was the best show I've ever been to. Got me thinking about classic concerts I have witnessed. So give us yer top 5, and to make it interesting New Order can't be on the list.

1. PUBLIC ENEMY - Glasgow Academy, April 03
2. FUGEES - Glasgow Barrowlands, October '96
3. THE STONE ROSES - Glasgow Green, June '90
4. GALLIANO - The Tunnel, Glasgow, Summer '92
5. THE SUGARCUBES - Glasgow Barrowlands, October '89

My top 5:

1. R.E.M. (Rock Werchter '99)
2. Prince (Sign Of The Times Utrecht '87)
3. Underworld (Pukkelpop '00)
4. George Clinton (Amsterdam '96)
5. Mercury Rev (Amsterdam April '02)

Some of the dates below maybe incorrect :-

1. IGGY POP - Birmingham Hummingbird '89

• awesome performance

2. KRAFTWERK - Rock City Nottingham '81

• fahn, fahn, fahn auf der autobahn (well the M1 back to Leicester anyway!!)

3. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - Wembley Arena '93

• Not great but historic - a last chance to the see the original lineup (since Stirling Morrison sadly passed away).

4. CABARET VOLTAIRE - Leicester Polytechnic '86

• Great combined use of dance beats and film.

5. ST.ETTIENE+PULP support - Empire Leicester Square '92

• Pulp before they were famous - turned to my mate and said that Jarvis Cocker will be famous one day (don't you just hate a smart arse).

Great to hear that PE can still put on a great live show. Gonna stick with gigs other than NO.

1. The Ramones, with D.O.A. 1983 Eugene @ University of Oregon EMU Ballroom. Ah, to have that much energy again :)

2. Violent Femmes Corvallis, OR 1983. Fierce and rowdy audience participation that amazed the Femmes, who still fondly remembered that amazing evening in interviews over a decade later. Nicely done, cornvalley!

3. The Replacements @ the I-Beam, San Francisco. 1984 They always played like crap in Portland (check the inner grooves of the vinyl copy of Don't Tell A Soul), but luckily a friend of mine and me will always attest to the fact that at their best, they were the best rock & roll band for awhile, and that they could do it live, despite the mediocre shows up here.

4. Beastie Boys and Fishbone, Portland, January 1987. Massively overcrowded show at a small club(Fight For Your Right was just starting to chart), I walk in just after Fishbone started, and noticed the trombone player throw his instrument into the audience, and then launched himself after it, to the roar of the crowd. Helluva way to start a gig, hell yeah!!!! Lots of beer, laughs, mayhem and sex.

5. Echo/Bunnymen, Portland 1988. Same venue as the Beasties (moved from the Civic, where NO played, cause there was no way Echo was gonna sell 5,000 tix in Portland). Freaking brilliant it was, and impressed the English gent who followed them on the tour and sold the In Bluer Skies zine outside with a simply amazing show (my words, but he just smiled in total agreement).

1 Happy Mondays Leeds Elland Road June 91, one of the best days out I've ever had.

2 Manic Street Preachers Wembley Arena Dec 02, despite getting robbed by the Huns, a greatest hits gig cheered us up a bit.

3 Charlatans Birmingham 95, just after their self titled album came out, mixed with a few old favourites.

4 James Birmingham 2000, another Greatest Hits tour - great, great live band.

5 Doves Manchester 02, great warm up for the Order, fabulous set.

1 REM - Portsmouth Guildhall 87

2 Doves - Portsmouth Pyramids 02

3 Placebo - Toulouse Bikini 98

4 Stereolab - Reading Festival 89

5 Heaven 17 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms 97

You may wanna check that typo above, OB.

Seems to say Heaven 17 in 97, surely it was 87? Don't tell me it was one of those "40-somethings squeeze into leather pants, gel straggly hair up and disturbingly bop around keyboards" type affairs? Eegat.

:\pimp3:

I owed you that one.

Off the top of my head and excluding New Order:

1. Chemical Brothers: Perth BDO, 2001

2. Underworld: London Astoria, 1999

3. The Stone Roses: Fremantle Metro, 1996(?)

4. Orbital: Brixton Academy, 1999

5. Radiohead: Perth Entertainment Centre, 1998

:\pimp3:

1. Bob Mould - Camden Dingwalls 11/07/02 - simply awesome solo set
2. Pixies - Hanley Victoria Hall 10/10/90 - played 30 songs in 90 minutes, real edge to the show
3. The Fall - Warwick University 26/11/86 - fantastic gig, great energy and a good set of mostly the new album with some old favourites
4. House of Love - Keele University 06/89 - short and sweet set with the band on top form pre-first break-up
5. Elvis Costello - Hammersmith Apollo 13/09/02 - on stage for 150 mins, played all the faves and the new album. Great show !

hmmm, let's see...

as i sit here thinking, i guess the ones i had the best time at were (excluding festivals):

1. prodigy--brixton academy, 1996

2. chemical brothers--brixton academy, 1996 (well, i always have a fantastic time at their shows, but if i had to choose one, i suppose this was the most fun)

3. oasis--roseland, NYC, 1995

4. blur--the academy, NYC, 1995

5. U2--mc nichols arena, denver, 1987 (i don't really listen to U2 anymore, but i was really into them at the time and this was my first ever concert. i was totally blown away!)

seems 95/96 were good concert years for me.

Going back to my gig years:

1. The Jam - Music Machine, Camden Town, Dec '80 - so much energy in such a small venue
2. New Order - RFH, London, May '84 - Decades
3. The Smiths - Kings College London, late '83 I think
4. The Clash - Brixton Academy, around '83/'84 - minus Mick and Topper but still dynamite
5. Big Country - Hammersmith Palais, '83'ish

Originally posted by depthcharge Don't tell me it was one of those "40-somethings squeeze into leather pants, gel straggly hair up and disturbingly bop around keyboards" type affairs?

Uncanny, were you there too?. For forty minutes I was fifteen again and it was fackin marvellous!

ok with no new order as first specified

pixies/throwing muses birmingham burberries 88 - pixies 1st tour of the uk, stage was not elevated & was in middle of the floor as it was a nightclub, you could go round the back of the band & run through past them to get to the front - marvellous. (birmingham hummingbird on debaser tour was also excellent but htis was more memorable)

julian cope bristol anson rooms - couple of years ago - played all the classics, couple of sting poems, one anti madonna rant & great banter, stopped a song part way through so could go for a piss!

stone roses - bristol bierkellar 89 - the tour as they were breaking into the big time, excellent buzz, stage invasion at the end

rorschach (became santa cruz) at the ashton court community festival/supporting flowered up at bristol bierkellar simply the worlds maddest frontman, great tunes, great vibe.

rem birmingham nec 89 first time had seen them, all id heard before then was a couple of tracks from document - was towards the end of the green world tour, majestic. king of the birds & erfect circle were two tracks hadnt heard before but that stood out for me. purchased lots of their stuff after that

worthy runners up - house of love in 89 at digbeth irish centre, sugarcubes, same year, same venue, sugar & magnapop at the thekla

OMD Liverpol Empire 1983? Happy Mondays, Liverpool University 1990? World Of Twist, Camden London 1992? New Order, Reading 1993 Dust Brothers, in Cream 1994?

Originally posted by Rocket Mick 1 Happy Mondays Leeds Elland Road June 91, one of the best days out I've ever had.2 Manic Street Preachers Wembley Arena Dec 02, despite getting robbed by the Huns, a greatest hits gig cheered us up a bit.3 Charlatans Birmingham 95, just after their self titled album came out, mixed with a few old favourites.4 James Birmingham 2000, another Greatest Hits tour - great, great live band.5 Doves Manchester 02, great warm up for the Order, fabulous set.

These are SHUGZV's choice...not mine!

1 - Massive Attack, 1999 (second Mezannine tour, with an incredible start with Horace Andy singing "Angel")

2 - Primal Scream, 2000 (awesome, specially with "Kill all hippies")

3 - Pj Harvey, 2001 ("Rid of me", possibly the best song i've seen live)

4 - Belle & Sebastian, 2001 (I know you like her, well i like her too....)

5 - Tindersticks, 1999 (incredible venue for an incredible gig, with tears in everone's eyes when they played "City sickness")

1. Depeche Mode - Cape Town 1994 I had waited 12 years for that moment to arrive and after meeting Martin, Dave, Andy and Alan earlier that week in my favourite club of all time (The Playground - RIP) and having Martin buy me a drink and then to see all those great songs live - doesn't get much better than that.

2. Rage against the Machine / Prodigy - Phoenix Festival 1996 This was the year that Glasto went missing and Phoenix was extended to 4 days, with everyone from David Bowie to the Sex Pistols making the trip. The higlight was seeing approx 60 000 people jumping up and down shouting "Fuck you I won't do what you told me", followed by the mega moshpit of Firestarter, Voodoo People etc.

3. Mazzy Star - Union Chapel, London 1995/96 Beautiful venue, Hope Sandoval and band in near darkness playing the most fragile, haunting songs - then William Reid from JAMC coming on and adding some awesome feedback.

4. PJ Harvey - Glasto 1995 Skintight pink catsuit and stomping blues for the devil, John Parish on keyboards, thousands of confused crusties stumbling out of their tents - a perfect Glasto moment.

5. Dandy Warhols - Corner Hotel, Melbourne 2002 Small venue, psychedelic guitar noise, Stones licks and great hair, then the whole band comes out afterwards to drink and chat with the remaining crowd - everything a good gig should be.

Originally posted by Push the little daisies and make em come up The higlight was seeing approx 60 000 people jumping up and down shouting "Fuck you I won't do what you told me

kind of a monty python "yes, we are all individuals" moment then?

saw polly jean & john parrish at the fleece in bristol a couple of years back - pretty good but not her material, it was the collaboration album so no sheila na gig etc

Hibster you seem to have been at many of my fave gigs:

Without NO:

1. Stone Roses - B'ham Irish Centre 1989
2. REM - B'ham NEC 1989
3. Pixies - B'ham Burberries 1988 and Hummingbird 1992?
4. Sugarcubes - Irish Centre 1988
5. Pop Will Eat Itself - Aston Villa LC 1993?

1: The Go-Betweens, 1989 2: Echo & The Bunnymen, 1984 3: JAMC, 1988 4: James, 1992 5: Iggy Pop, 1995

All here in Oporto...

LED ZEPPELIN KNEBWORTH 1978 ALICE COOPER BOURNEMOUTH.THE BRUTAL PLANET TOUR OMD 1981ISH AT KING GEORGES HALL BLACKBURN DAVID BOWIE MAINE ROAD THE GLASS SPIDER TOUR IAN HUNTER AT THE LONDON ASTORIA?2000/2001 all classics in their own way. But most concerts are great to attend.Support LIVE music!:D

Mainly, I think the best gigs are the ones where you see a band for the first time and you weren't expecting much and you are totally blown away with new genius.

In no particular order :-

1. Pixies supporting Throwing Muses at Burberries, Birmingham in 1988. Glad that gig's been mentioned already on here. It was so intense and a revelation. Pixies supported by My Bloody Valentine at Irish Centre a few months later was nearly as good too.

2. Jane's Addiction again at Burberries, Birmingham in 1988/9? That venue was superb. You could walk round the entire band and stand behind the drummer if you wanted. Shame it turned into a dire nightclub called Tramps. It's probably a Pret-A-Manger now.

3. Nirvana at Goldwyns, Birmingham in 1990/1?. Introduced their new drummer Dave Grohl. Played early versions of what turned out to be Nevermind songs. There was a constant queue of stagedivers either side of the stage for most of the set. Think someone brought the light rigging down too.

4. Jesus Lizard, Brixton Academy in 1992. Most underrated rock band of all time. Sadly missed, saw 6 times, always intense and Godlike. David Yow: now that is a front man.

5. Beastie Boys with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion supporting at Brixton Academy 1995. Are we having a party or what?

Plus an honorary mention for the first 'indie' Reading Festival in 1989. After my first Reading the year before and putting up with Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler it was 3 days of bliss and no bottles of piss. Oh, and New Order played too.

Originally posted by Grigori Rasputin 2. JAMC...again, at some Lollapalooza....only time I ever saw the kids...4. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult...I think this was in 1990 as well...maybe 1991...tripping my balls off...the dancers, the music....I almost went mad this night!!!

the JAMC lollapalooza was 1993 (i think--may have been 1994). i remember thinking how i wished it had been in a small venue instead of an outdoor amphitheatre (fiddler's green in denver), since it didn't really seem to fit, and i was pretty far from the stage anyway. plus, no one around me seemed to know who the hell they were--it was really amusing! same thing happened when front 242 played at the 1994 lollapalooza--all these kids staring blankly at the stage at these euro-industrials....

when you saw the thrill kill kult were they opening for siouxsie? i saw them open for siouxsie and the banshees around that time (1991/92) in boston and they put on a great show. everything was in black light with that techno-coloured paint, and the set was done up like a french cabaret or bar, with all these dancers (like you said), if i remember correctly. madness.

1. Inspiral Carpets-Oxford(Jehrico Taven) 89'

2. The Stone Roses- Blackpool(Empress Ballroom) 89'

3. Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band- Oxford (Dolly) 86'

4. Super Furry Animals- Cardiff (Festival) 96'

5. Madness- Oxford (Appollo) 81'

Originally posted by Mark Smith Hibster you seem to have been at many of my fave gigs:Without NO:1) Stone Roses - B'ham Irish Centre 19892) REM - B'ham NEC 19893) Pixies - B'ham Burberries 1988 and Hummingbird 1992?4) Sugarcubes - Irish Centre 19885) Pop Will Eat Itself - Aston Villa LC 1993?

student days in brum! sugarcubes in 88 - that was the one where einar was a bit loopy - had the toy bus on stage & he said that the band were all inside it, then tried to play it like it was a harmonica?

burberies was ace - did you go to the tuesday night students night too? manys the time i got banned from there....

reading in 89 was a corker too - the first day was house of love, sugarcubes, that petrol emotion, swans, tackhead & new order.

marvellous

Hi Hibster, yes I visited Burberries on many occassions, they did a couple of Smiths/New Order nights. The Sugarcubes were great live as were the Pixies. Saw the House of Love at the Irish Centre which was another corker. Reading 89 was great though, slept on the night at the station after moshing through the HOL/Sugarcubes and the Order.