I thought this might be a good topic. This just popped into my head as I was listening to Pink Floyd “Wish you Were Here”
Back in 1968 I had the opportunity to see them at Bill Grahams “Fillmore East” . Oh, so much rich history there".
It was right after Sid Barrett left the band and David Gilmore replaced him.
They did “Atom Heart Mother” that night. Complete with 15 person horn section and 25 people choir.
Imagine that seeing and hearing them in a 2000 seat auditorium. Now you’re lucky to be among a half of million people to be there.
This was such a great night to remember, compleate with all the cuisine you could feed your head. Obviously since it’s been 50 years since that.
Oh those were the days listening to huge name bands in Capitol theaters and high school auditoriums . Lovely to be one of the 2–300 people there.
Funny you say that. I got the urge to look and see if it had been videoed and it had not. Although Allman Brothers were. I read they once played for 7 hrs there and when they were done, there was dead silence from the audience. Then the doors of the theater were opened and the sunlight came through the theater. Who knows maybe some guy on LSD saying that. However I did read it.
Ok I am pretty young so I havent been to a ton of concerts but my favorite by far was by a band called NEEDTOBREATHE, it was in a somewhat intimate location which gave them the opportunity to “experiment” with a bunch of different thing like switching to a ribbon mic. They also were super crowd active and constantly made things more interesting. They even had the lead sing in the crowd wearing a suit with mirrors which was actually super cool. Oh yeah and there music is incredible lol.
Great! Doesn’t much more intimate than that. 
Mine was not really a concert but a musical. It was Phantom of the Opera. The singing was absolutely phenomenal as was the musical score. All the musicians involved were wonderful too. There’s nothing like the live experience. My Wife and Son and Daughter are going to see Bastille in a week or so.
-Paul-
Oddly enough, mine would also be a Pink Floyd concert. Specifically the October 22nd performance of “The Division Bell” tour at London’s Earl’s Court (now demolished).
There was something especially powerful about having ~20,000 people, in an indoor venue, all singing along to "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt 2). Similarly powerful, was the proximity-high to all the pot smoking going on.
I think that tour was the first use of copper-vapor lasers in a stage show, which was also quite cool.
I don’t know the whole story but I read some where that Syd Barrett was one of the forerunners of lighting effects, which as we know now as light shows.
“Sounds” like a great concert.
It was actually a thousand or two people and they told the entire audience to be quiet because the mic would get all screwy. It was awesome
Mine was a Billy Joel concert, which was also my first big stadium concert on his River of Dreams tour. My dad’s company had a luxury box in the arena and my dad got a couple of seats and took me with him. I didn’t actually know much about Billy Joel at the time, but the experience of the loudness, the lights and just hanging with my dad was great. As he played, I found myself surprised by how many songs I knew and liked from listening to the radio were actually his, and so I realized that I was actually kind of a Billy Joel fan! Most of his new River of Dreams stuff wasn’t really my cup of tea, but he played a ton of his older stuff too.
Being a piano player myself, I enjoyed seeing another piano player taking center stage and leading the band. He must have played for nearly 4 hours and I remember thinking that I was starting to feel exhausted from dancing and singing along and wondered how he could possibly still be going.
Sound wise, I think the most impressive part was the sound of a simulated helicopter landing that led into Goodnight Saigon. If I closed my eyes, I could have believed there was actually a helicopter landing in the arena (save for the fact that it was fully roofed)!
I have to say, I miss going to concerts with my dad. Our last one together was Tom Petty, which was pretty special too.
I had the good fortune to see Bill Joel as well at the Worcester Centrum in Ma. Are you ready for this, it was a 2 show night. It was Elton John. They toured together for awhile. As I recall it was the early 80s. 
Yes, they’ve actually done that a few times, most recently 2009 I think. That must have been an incredible show!
It’s funny that you saw Billy Joel in the Worcester Centrum. I saw him in the Kiel Center in Saint Louis, home of the Saint Louis Blues. The Worcester Centrum was the home of the Blues’ AHL affiliate IceCats, so there’s a weird kind of parallel there.
It’s been quite a journey for me in the live concert experience, I have been lucky enough to enjoy artists at there very best, and that is when they are performing live for us, the fans. It is then when they connect with us in a much more influential and intimate level .Classic bands like , Led Zepplin, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and even the later bands,like Metalica , System of the down, Pantera, Nirvana, but the concert that really swayed me towards the Love and Passion! I have for music, was when I was about 6 years old my class at school took a field trip to Pasadena ,Ca to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The impact of watching a band of that scale performing live at that age could only be described as a Godly experience!Lol. And from that day forward I have been transformed into a real music lover(aka- audiophiliac) 
Growing up my Step-mom was a sought after bass player, so my Dad would take me to all her gigs, which ranged from symphonies/orchestras, jazz bands, rock bands, blues, blue grass, you name it… got to see a lot of interesting things sitting in the backs of bars watching my step-mom play, pretty sure they wouldn’t allow kids into a lot of the places I went now a days. But still my favorites were always the symphonies/orchestras.
Either the Philadelphia Rock Festival in 69, Al Kooper, Buddy Guy, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin and Johnny Winter
(saturday afternoon show?), or Bruce Springsteen Born to Run tour last night at the Bottom Line in NY.
Springsteen used to put on the most energetic, involving concerts.
I spent the better part of my misspent youth attending concerts. Another one that stands out was The Mothers of Invention with opening act Blue Cheer at the Filmore East, ca. 1967?
WoW, I wish that I had that kind of musical upbringing. Although I had a great childhood it was totally devoid of music regarding my parents. The only music I ever heard my dad listen to (and this was very infrequently) were a few Johnny Cash records and a Blondie one too. Though I am partial to a bit of Johnny Cash myself.
-Paul-
P.s How your Crack going on.
Buddy Guy is awesome live! One of my regrets is that I didn’t discover him until after I left Chicago.
I couldn’t help myself after talking about Fillmore East. Here’s a few pictures of an era never to be repeated. Hopefully an era never to be forgotten.
This is great stuff. Thanks for sharing.
-Paul-
When I was an Univ. of Miami they had a blues festival. Saw Buddy Guy (again), Albert King, Albert Collins, and Hound dog Taylor (and a few others I can’t remember) think there must have been 50 people in the audience, blues were just not popular back then (1972).
Awesome . 50 People. It’s almost like one of those Middle East Prince’s private concerts