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Your Most Surprisingly Good Concert?

#21
Jim11895 said:
Most surprisingly good concert??? For me it would have to be Hall & Oates back in the late 70's or thereabouts. I was never a big fan, but my sister was, and she had tickets and her friend bailed on her and she did not want to drive from the Jerz to Manhattan alone . I did not expect to enjoy it much, but it turned out to be a good show. The best part was when they left the stage to let their back-up band play while they took a break. I don't remember what the band played, but I remember being blown away by some great cooking.
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Same here, but a little later...like the early 80's. My friend's parents had a couple's date night thing planned, but the other couple came down with the flu. His parent's offered to take us both to dinner and then the concert. I wasn't thrilled about going to a concert with his parents and I wasn't a Hall & Oates fan, but what 14 year old can pass up a free dinner?
The concert was one of the best that I've seen to this day.
 
#23
Two stand out for me. The first was a multiple bill at an ornate theater in the 70s on the west side of New York. The Dead Kennedys were the headliners, but the rest of the bands leading up to them were great, too. Some were completely awful, but memorable anyway. The place was completely insane, and the disconnect between the stately and ornate theater itself and what was going on has to be one of the most amazing mental non-sequitors I have ever lived through.

The second was a World Saxophone Quartet show. If you want to clear a room, crank up an early World Saxophone Quartet record. That will do it. In person, they were spectacular. I had no idea that a bariton sax could shake a building like that. There may have been some amplification, but I'm not convinced it was very much. The audience was an amusing cross section, too.
 
#26
electracoyote said:
Gino Vanelli, circa 1977. Say what you will about the compositions, the complexity of musicianship and perfect sound reproduction and performances were pretty impressive. Big stage, around 15 people in his band.

Laugh your ass off...now.
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A friend of mine tours in his current band. They kick major league ass.
 
#27
Every year my wife and I each pick a concert to go to. I usually pick a rock band such as Aerosmith, KISS, etc. She usually picks bands that are more on the pop side. Sometimes we each pick bands that we both like.

For her birthday last year, I bought her tickets to Michael Buble at TD Garden in Boston. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the show. He was very funny and did a great job of interacting with the audience. His bass player was using and SWR combo and the mix was excellent.

Several years ago, she wanted to see Sarah McClachlan. It was by far the best sound I ever heard at a live concert. The mix was perfect, you could hear everything and the band was great.

She also wanted to see Faith Hill and Tim McGraw when they went on tour together. That was a great show as well. They played a lot of well known rock songs and ended the night with a medley of classic rock tunes.
 
#28
This is such a fascinating topic for a thread! And yet...

I have nothing to contribute. I don't think I've ever been to a concert where I expected greatness and didn't receive it, or expected suckage and didn't receive it in spades. Either I'm really jaded & nothing surprises me, or I have a really good sense of how to manage my expectations before I plunk down my money for a concert ticket. :)
 
#30
Jethro Tull - I was always a big fan and finally got to see them on the Stormwatch tour. It was the first time I ever heard a perfect live mix, I could hear every note that every instrument played, it was amazing.

Don Williams - Fantastic show and the band absolutely killed. Turned out it was Danny Flowers and Dave Pomeroy (don't know who the drummer was.).

There have been many others over the years, especially opening bands that blew away the headliner or at least made them work very, very hard.
 
#32
chuck norriss said:
Don't laugh but Reo speedwagon is good live.
& Anita Baker is incredible. I like all music.
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REO is a very underrated band and having met them, I can honestly say that they are very nice guys as well. When Brad Delp died in 2007, REO was getting ready to tour with Boston. I was actually the one who made the phone call to inform REO that Brad had died. It was a very difficult call to make.

REO puts on a great show. If you are a fan, you should pick up their new live album "Live at Moondance Jam". There are some new intros to some of their better known songs and a live version of "In Your Letter" which they do not play live very often.
 
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#36
Last summer, I was taking my daughter to visit college and was on my own in a hotel while she stayed in a dorm. Went into New Haven (this was Connecticut) and caught the Joy Formidable at Toad's. JF was great as I had expected they would be, but the surprise was some guys out of Nashville called Vinyl Thief who opened for them. Most opening bands I find pretty boring, but these guys nailed it. Hope they wind up going somewhere.
 
#37
The first time I saw Needtobreathe they were opening for Switchfoot, and didn't sound good. Low energy, vocals were a little out of tune, just amateurish.

However, the SECOND time I saw them was just a few months later, and they were incredible! Totally changed my mind about them and they became one of my favorite bands. If you're curious, they sound like Kings of Leon but less heavy and with more groove.
 
#38
Another one: My wife got comp suite tickets to Keith Urban here in Tulsa. I'm not a country fan at all, but I agreed to go. That guy played every instrument on the stage and played them well. Keith is a fantastic all-around entertainer, too. Great show!
 
#39
Mine has to be Lionel Richie!

My daughter dragged me along to see him at an enormodome and I was expecting 2 hours of schlocky love songs and to be bored rigid.

However he had amazing vocals live, one of those people who seems to sing completely effortlessly and had total control of his voice. The band were all top musicians and the live mix was, at that time, one of he best I'd ever heard in such a large venue.

The real clincher was his personality and obvious love of simply performing live. He appeared to be having a great time and his sense of humour was infectious.

I've been back to see him with her twice since, neither was quite as good but that may have been partly because on the following occasions I arrived with higher expectations :(
 

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