It's tough to try and narrow the shows down, but I'll give it a go. This is probably going to be long. You've been warned....
311, back around the summer of 2010? It was a Wednesday show and the venue probably wasn't even a third full. The pavilion had almost no one and the lawn had the bulk of the crowd. A thunderstorm rolled in and everyone made a b-line for the pavilion. Security didn't care and just let everyone go. Lightning started striking behind the stage in the distance and Nick the singer looked over at P-Nut the bass player and said something to the effect of; 'God of thunder, give 'em something!' and he busted out with a bass solo that sounded so good! My jaw about hit the floor.
Roger Waters, Us and Them tour. Roger brought kids down from Flint(this was around the Flint water crisis) to sing the chorus to Another Brick in the Wall. And the visuals/effects were nothing like I'd ever seen before or since. It was truly an experience.
Lamb of God, probably 2010 or so. Went with my brother and his rule for metal shows is "floor or nothing". I'd never seen Lamb of God. That was my first experience with the 'wall of death'. The whole floor was a pit. I stayed at the back of the pit so I could push out but I was still getting pushed into the railing behind me. My brother went by the stage. About 3/4 thru the set, my brother finds me and says he has to get out of the pit because he's getting hit so bad and went a tier or two up. So now he's stands by the back of the pit with me lol.
Fear Factory, don't remember the year. It was a weekday show and there were maybe 50 people in a venue meant for 500-800. And the band was like, "Well, this isn't the smallest show we've played but it's close. But those of you who came out to see us still deserve a great show!" And the crowd gave the love right back. Everyone was headbanging or in the one lone pit for every song.
Beach Boys 50th Anniversary tour(yeah, that's what I said lol). My brothers and I were probably the youngest people there, but what a great show! It was like a marathon where the band just played one song right after another without stopping to take a break until halfway thru the show. At their age, I was really impressed that they did that.
Black Sabbath, The End tour. The band just gave it their all and sounded so good. But I remember Ozzy at one point saying, "Oooo, I smell that sweet leaf! I'd take a rip but Sharon would kick my ass!" And everyone either laughed or booed Sharon. The band got a kick out of it as well.
Weird Al, probably 2017. I really enjoyed the stage show they put on. The same attire they wore in their music videos was pretty much what they'd wear on stage. For the opening of the show, he played his song Tacky. The band is playing on stage and you could hear him singing, but everyone is like, 'where the hell is he?'. Then the screen on stage goes on and it's Weird Al facing a camera and he starts walking. He came from the trailers behind the stage, walked thru the vendor area, up a pathway, thru the middle of the seats, then down to the stage. And you can see the smiles and slight look of confusion on people's faces as he's walking right by them.
Slipknot, October 2021. It was quite the stage show with fire, smoke, and lights and the band sounded really good. Their percussionist Shawn was having a problem with his mic that was for a keg he hits with a bat. I didn't know he did that as this was my first time seeing them. But he hit that keg so hard, I could hear it with earplugs in sitting in the back of the pavilion on the far opposite end of where he was.
Slightly Stoopid and Cypress Hill, maybe 2009? Cypress Hill had a huge bong on stage that looked like it could've been for King Kong. Someone from the group actually took a rip off it and blew out a huge cloud. If that were real weed, I think he could give Snoop Dogg a run for his money.
Slightly Stoopid did a nice mix of punk, reggae, and ska for their set. At least twice during the show, their guitar player and bass player stopped mid song and switched instruments and continued playing. I'd never seen anything like that.
Black Label Society, 2018. Show was pretty solid and nothing super out of the ordinary. So the band is playing but at one point, Zakk Wylde came off the stage, walked up to the one pit that was going, stood next to it, and played like a snake charmer. People in the pit started matching the rhythm he and the band were putting down. I thought that was cool.
Warp Tour, 2004. Just graduated high school and went with some people from school. We didn't stay for the whole day which I kinda regret. I digress...I remember us getting there and none of us had ever been to a show with so many bands and stages. So we saw the schedule, discussed who we wanted to see, wrote it down on the back of a Slim Jim sticker they were giving out(which I still have somewhere), and proceeded on. I remember seeing the Vandals and their guitar player at one point busted out this little guitar, about the size of a ukulele, and starts shredding on it. Everyone got a kick out of it but he wasn't done. He then climbed a stack of speakers and continued playing. Security wasn't thrilled but he climbed up there before they could stop him.
We then go to the stage New Found Glory is playing at. The band starts playing and people rush towards the stage just about trampling and crushing some people. The band stopped and told everyone hold up, pick up anyone who has fallen, and to take it easy. They appreciated the enthusiasm but didn't want anyone getting hurt. Once everyone calmed down, they started again.
Finally, I don't remember what band it was, but I'm standing there and I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see this 16-17 year old girl and she's like, 'Hi! Could you pick me up so I can crowd surf?'. I'm like 6' 2" and 300 lbs at this time and I say sure. So I pick her up, my buddy helps me keep my balance, I yell at everyone "Heads up!", throw her into the crowd, and as she's getting carried away, she yells back, "Thank you!". She made it all the way to the stage.
This has been fun! If I can recall anymore stories, I'll be sure to post them. Great thread @LBS-bass!
Level 42 in 2018 was pretty special because I'd wanted to see the band for thirty years and there I was (even if it wasn't the original line up). Another one that comes to mind was Johnny Clegg in 2017. He was slowly dying of cancer and, while he stood on stage telling stories all I could think was how much would be lost when he was gone. It was a great show, but also extremely sad.
