Another one I had forgotten about:
I was 17 years old. 1972. Berkeley Community Theater. Event name: Guitar Explosion. Lineup:

Les Paul and Mary Ford

T Bone Walker

Suggie Otis

Roy Buchanan

George Benson

Robben Ford

Joe Pass

Kenny Burrell

Other BCT shows:
1964 Louis Armstrong
1972 Leon Russell (with the Rev. Patrick Henderson);
1972 The Dead; and
1978 The Kinks

Metallica - 1985 - Day On The Green (I was 14 at the time)
U2, Public Enemy - 1992 - Day On The Green
Green Day, Rancid - 1993 - Berkeley Square

Jimi Hendrix - 1968, Shrine Auditorium/Los Angeles
Bob Dylan - 1974, Forum/Inglewood
Adele - 2016, Oracle Arena/Oakland

Jimmy Cliff and Los Lobos opening for the Dead in Ventura. I think it was a 3 day show. We had about 50 bucks between the 4 of us but were able to finagle our way into all three shows and slept in the back of a pickup there. Gross but fun. The Concerts at Boreal Ridge with the dead were a heap of fun as well - stayed on the Cal Lodge and hiked over the mountain to the show.

I feel like I saw the Band (sans Robbie Robinson) at Larry Blakes but that can't be - in around 85 or 86 (is it embarrassing that I can't remember the location?) I remember the music like it was last night. We were so close and it was amazing. Those guys are my all-time favourites. They were travelling around and a few weeks or a month or two later Richard Manual died. I may have cried. Anyway, he was amazing as well as Rick Danko and Levon Helm (who knew Elton John wrote Levon about Levon Helm?) I have to believe that Adam Durwitz was there as he wrote that song about Richard Manuel...

The first show I went to was the Stones at Candlestick (except for the free shows at Stern Grove and Polo Fields as a kid). George Thorogood opened. It was pretty cool. SF was still fun back then.

Yo Yo Ma at SF Symphony or Issac Stern.

bearister said:

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Mine:

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Every Grateful Dead and Dead & Company show I have ever been to. All tied for first...

oskidunker said:

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Yo Yo Ma at SF Symphony or Issac Stern.

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Reminds me of a wild night at the SF Symphony in 1972 or 3 when Seiji Ozawa conducted Three Pieces For Blues Band And Orchestra with the Seigel-Schwall Band. Unique experience and good music, especially if you like good blues harp.

pasadenaorbust said:

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I didn't really start going to live concerts until a bit older...but two of the best were...Sunday, September 25, 1983...Rick Springfield at the Concord Pavilion and The Stray Cats, Saturday, November 19, 1983, at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. The Stray Cats really rocked the house that night. I still remember their awesome version of The Munsters theme. And yes...I still have the tickets.

But...I sure wish my brother had taken me to that Jimi Hendrix concert he went to with his friends at the Oakland Coliseum Arena back 1969. He said the opening act was a group called Chicago.

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So long after Rick Springfield was in his prime he used to do the county fair circuit. I think that was even happening in the early 2000's (hell it may still be happening for all I know). Anyway the SF Chronicle reviewed one of the shows and from that point forward the music critic (Joel Selvin maybe?) would rate all county fair bands on a scale of one to four "Springfield's" because in his words "no one had ever rocked a county fair harder." Always made me laugh.

Oh and the scene where Craig Robinson plays Jesse's Girl in Hot Tub Time Machine is one of the all time greats. Loved that.

My wife has much better stories than I. She was a teenager in Dublin in the late '70s and early '80s.

She saw The Chieftans and The Dubliners more times than she can remember.

Her older sister dragged her to the Dandelion Market ("The Dando") - a sort of flea market in an old bottling plant, with stalls selling everything from household/kitchen items to clothes and jewelry to used books and LPs. There was also live music at times.

Her sister wanted to see a new local band "that was going places" - they saw a very young U2 for 50 p. My wife's opinion at the time? "They were shyte!" ( Yes - she pronounces it that way to this day).

The best concert I ever attended was in Las Vegas.

It was Frank Sinatra at the Sands in January 1966.

Sonofoski said:

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The best concert I ever attended was in Las Vegas.

It was Frank Sinatra at the Sands in January 1966.

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Ella Fitzgerald at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962. The "sweetest" voice I have ever heard.

When I was a little kid of about 10, my parents took me to see Danny Kaye and his Variety Revue of entertainers at the Curran Theatre here in town. He was multi-talented, a comedian, an actor, a singer, and a dancer all in one. They were about 20 minutes into the show, when there was a rumbling, which I thought was vibration from a street car passing by outside. It turned out to be a pretty good-sized earthquake. There was a very large and heavy chandelier suspended from the ceiling, and it began to sway from side to side, 2-3 feet in each direction. Several women in the audience started to scream, and a panic ensued. The chandelier was about 10 rows in front of where we were sitting. People got up and tried to push to get out of their rows and head for the exits.

Danny Kaye had been in the middle of delivering a song, when he suddenly stopped singing, and realizing what was happening, he calmly walked over to the edge of the stage, sat down, and slowly pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He called the crowd back, and began to tell joke, after joke, after joke. The audience slowly made their way back to their seats, and began to laugh. Pretty soon, we were all laughing so hard, we were in stitches. I looked up at the chandelier, and it had stopped swaying. It was just an amazing performance, and Danny Kaye probably saved some people from getting trampled and hurt.

Oski87 said:

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...

The first show I went to was the Stones at Candlestick (except for the free shows at Stern Grove and Polo Fields as a kid). George Thorogood opened. It was pretty cool. SF was still fun back then.

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The Stones concert at the Stick in October 1981 not only had George Thorogood and the Destroyers opening, it had the J. Geils band as the middle act.

And it was in the days when "stampede seating" was in effect. We were young. We knew how to find the closer empty spots on the field before people stood up, and then move forward when the people on the field stood up, so while we were close enough to see the expressions on Mick's face without binoculars (and large video screens weren't a think yet, so that wasn't even an option).

Yeah, good times.

I went to see Texas bluesman Johnny Winter at Winterland in March (?) 1974. I usually disliked the warmup bands. They were often English. The stage announcer introed the warm up band, Frampton's Camel. Gee, that's a dumb name. After the band did it's set, I turned to my buddy and said, "I wonder how Johnny Winter feels about following THAT?" Two years later Peter Frampton sold out the Los Angeles Coliseum 3 days in a row.

In Oakland in '75

75bear said:

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Beastie Boys
Run DMC

at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 1987. It was my Elementary School graduation present, so I went with my Dad. It was also the first time I smelled pot - that's something you never forget.

Epic concert - I don't have too many vivid memories from my childhood, but this is definitely one.

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Damn, I asked for Raising Hell for xmas in 5th grade and my parents wouldn't buy it. They did buy my other request - the Top Gun OST

I posted earlier on bigger late 80's shows, but reading through thread, seeing Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and many others in late 80's when Yoshi's was across from Safeway at College/Claremont was incredible.
Walking home from Raleigh's and seeing John Lee Hooker's Caddy parked on Haste always meant a u-turn (many times) to Blake's Speaking of Blake's, Steve Miller playing with Norton Buffalo at Blake's...I could go on. Go Bears!

Best concert at a State Fair? MC Hammer in his day! I went to the fair in Paso Robles one summer while visiting my girlfriend who was attending Cal Poly in nearby SLO at the time. While walking around an older gent in a cowboy hat approached us and asked if we wanted tix. Apparently his two sons had waited in line for two days but were too sick to attend. Score! Hammer Time from the second row! I have no idea how that dude made any money, as he had at least 30-40 performers on stage.

Did anyone go to the Last Waltz concert at Winterland in 1976? I was too young and not in Bay Area for that, but have seen clips and there is a documentary by Martin Scorcese of it. That is one concert I would have loved to attend.

OneTopOneChickenApple said:

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Did anyone go to the Last Waltz concert at Winterland in 1976? I was too young and not in Bay Area for that, but have seen clips and there is a documentary by Martin Scorcese of it. That is one concert I would have loved to attend.

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Did not attend. They say some nights a musician is ON. That described Van the Man that evening. He was a bantam rooster with chest puffed out and full of hostility (he is to this day considered a major a@sshole). If someone had thrown something at him he would have jumped off stage to ruckus. This is a man who knows his voice is an instrument and he played it hard up there:

Cool and not so cool experience at a rock concert? At a Rush concert in the '70's in Fredericton, New Brunswick, one of the floodlights above the stage caught fire, so Geddy Lee came out and played Blackbird on an acoustic guitar while crews tended to the light. Sweet! At the same concert, I got my clock cleaned by a highschool senior for macking on his girlfriend at a ninth-grade dance. Fredericton is not a very big town and I had been dodging the dude for months. I didn't know Mick, honest!

bearister said:

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OneTopOneChickenApple said:

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Did anyone go to the Last Waltz concert at Winterland in 1976? I was too young and not in Bay Area for that, but have seen clips and there is a documentary by Martin Scorcese of it. That is one concert I would have loved to attend.

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Did not attend. They say some nights a musician is ON. That described Van the Man that evening. He was a bantam rooster with chest puffed out and full of hostility (he is to this day considered a major a@sshole). If someone had thrown something at him he would have jumped off stage to ruckus. This is a man who knows his voice is an instrument and he played it hard up there:

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That video is what interested me in that concert. Magical.

Yes, I've seen Van in concert twice, once at the Greek. Both times, he had some snarky comments to say to his stage crew, on mike, in front of the audience.

Clapton shredded it at The Last Waltz as well:

Are you kidding? Too many to mention - some of you were at the same shows. But, most memorable? Rolling Stones 1972 at Winterland - opening was Stevie Wonder. I almost didn't make it - The Ticketmaster outlet at Cal was in a small office in the Student Union and the line up started the afternoon before the sale on the sidewalk on Telegraph. By evening time, there were hundreds hunkered down and I was told I would need a sleeping bag. A friend brought me one. By late evening there was plenty to smoke and drink being freely passed around - and someone had an 8mm projector and somehow projected a movie on the office wall. No one slept, but in mid-morning someone came by with numbered scraps of paper and warned, "Keep this or you will lose your place when the office opens." Unbelievable to think the line stayed orderly all the way through. I got the last two tickets. The show was all about Exile on Mainstreet - Mick in Red-White-Blue and started off with ***** and lots of Sticky Fingers stuff as well. Sorry I can't recall the song list . I do recall a sweaty, frenzied crowd and there is some You Tube film you can see that chronicled the US Tour. I think it was their first return to the Bay Area after Altamont. 'P.S. Also saw The Who, Big Brother, Dead, Jefferson Airplane etc at the Fillmore. Who went to class back then??

Biggest regret of my concert going life that I didn't see the Stones at Winterland in '72. Mick Taylor in his prime.



The Rolling Stones Concert Setlist at Winterland Arena, San Francisco on June 6, 1972 | setlist.fm


https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-rolling-stones/1972/winterland-arena-san-francisco-ca-1bd6f178.html

OneTopOneChickenApple said:

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Did anyone go to the Last Waltz concert at Winterland in 1976? I was too young and not in Bay Area for that, but have seen clips and there is a documentary by Martin Scorcese of it. That is one concert I would have loved to attend.

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I have seen that many times. Best songs on that - non-band songs - are Helpless with Neil Young (best version ever) and the Van the Man songs - Tura Lura Lura and Caravan. And of course the Bob songs culminating in I Shall Be Released. So good.

I was at the Lair a decade ago and was coming into dump my tray at the washing station - they had the Last Waltz blasting back there. We had a good few minutes screaming out Up on Cripple Creek while the staffers all banged on the stainless steel counters with their scrub brushes and my kids were so embarrassed.

My dad went to the show with some friends. I think it was the only show he ever went to besides the Symphony, Opera, and Ballet. But he loved The Band.

" In Band drummer Levon Helm's autobiography, he wrote, "Neil Young had delivered a good version of 'Helpless,' but performed with a good-size rock of cocaine stuck in his nostril. Neil's manager saw this and said no way is Neil gonna be in the film like this. They had to go to special effects people, who developed what they called a 'travelling booger matte' that sanitized Neil's nostril and put 'Helpless' into the movie." As a result, that crumb of cocaine is surely one of the most expensive ever snorted." Phicklephilly

Oddest post show I didn't go to celebrity sighting while at Cal.

95-96? bombing down Allston Way on my way home from a shift that ended late at night, there was a small crowd still milling about int he middle of the road outside Berkeley High's theater. Saw Bruce Springsteen talking to Ed Bradley as I zipped by thinking, "hey those guys look familiar"...

Lowest key celebrity nonsighting - I was working at Rasputins and saw Henry Rollins shopping and buying a bunch of albums by Blowfly early in the evening when he had a spoken word coming up on campus. I didn't want to bother him.

bearister said:

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" In Band drummer Levon Helm's autobiography, he wrote, "Neil Young had delivered a good version of 'Helpless,' but performed with a good-size rock of cocaine stuck in his nostril. Neil's manager saw this and said no way is Neil gonna be in the film like this. They had to go to special effects people, who developed what they called a 'travelling booger matte' that sanitized Neil's nostril and put 'Helpless' into the movie." As a result, that crumb of cocaine is surely one of the most expensive ever snorted." Phicklephilly

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Another one from Last Waltz. The Band and Staples Singers. This was my introduction to Mavis Staples. I'm a fan now.

Les Paul got a mention.
Which reminds me I saw him at the Iridium in midtown Manhattan 10-12 years ago. He did weekly Monday or Tuesday night shows - as in the second show, the one I saw, starting well after midnight.
So here is this legendary artistic/industry 92-93 year old playing electric guitar, bantering with the audience, at 1:00 in the morning to a standing room club that was transfixed.
Not a bad way to ease into retirement.

Mavis & The Staples are the bomb!

rkt88edmo said:

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75bear said:

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Beastie Boys
Run DMC

at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles 1987. It was my Elementary School graduation present, so I went with my Dad. It was also the first time I smelled pot - that's something you never forget.

Epic concert - I don't have too many vivid memories from my childhood, but this is definitely one.

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Damn, I asked for Raising Hell for xmas in 5th grade and my parents wouldn't buy it. They did buy my other request - the Top Gun OST

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Funny. I actually remember having 2 Raising Hell cassettes - for what reason I have no idea. But I do recall they had the same photo but different cover art colors - one was purple and the other cassette I had was like a Miami Vice type color scheme.

Incredible songs on that album that still hold up today. It's Tricky is timeless.

1993 Acoustic Christmas Sunday the lineup included:

Blind Mellon, Porno for Pyros, Henry Rollins, Rage Against The Machine, and Smashing Pumpkins. I got backstage passes, knew a few of the staff, had free access to all areas of the venue, craft services were good, and the alcohol was free. I also got to meet Perry Farrell and his manager, Henry Rollins, and Zack De La Rocha who was surprisingly just a chill person. It was the greatest concert I have ever been to and I used to get tickets from promotors all over L.A. My first concert was Queen singing A Night At The Opera at the Forum in 1977.

Saw the Beastie Boys at the Forum great concert

I would be remiss if I didn't add that every time Neil Young played Winterland in the early 70's was a joy to behold. A little buzz going, Neil strapped on the Gibson Flying V, and blasted Cinnamon Girl full tilt as his opener. It would have been ok to die after that.

Oski87 said:

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Jimmy Cliff and Los Lobos opening for the Dead in Ventura. I think it was a 3 day show. We had about 50 bucks between the 4 of us but were able to finagle our way into all three shows and slept in the back of a pickup there. Gross but fun. The Concerts at Boreal Ridge with the dead were a heap of fun as well - stayed on the Cal Lodge and hiked over the mountain to the show.

I feel like I saw the Band (sans Robbie Robinson) at Larry Blakes but that can't be - in around 85 or 86 (is it embarrassing that I can't remember the location?) I remember the music like it was last night. We were so close and it was amazing. Those guys are my all-time favourites. They were travelling around and a few weeks or a month or two later Richard Manual died. I may have cried. Anyway, he was amazing as well as Rick Danko and Levon Helm (who knew Elton John wrote Levon about Levon Helm?) I have to believe that Adam Durwitz was there as he wrote that song about Richard Manuel...

The first show I went to was the Stones at Candlestick (except for the free shows at Stern Grove and Polo Fields as a kid). George Thorogood opened. It was pretty cool. SF was still fun back then.

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RIP Cal Lodge (I had no idea Boreal hosted concerts.)