What's the best gig you've ever been to?

In no particular order.......

Nirvana - Newcastle Mayfair
Metallica - Newcastle City Hall
Faith No More - Newcastle Riverside
Queen - St James Park
SFA/Air/New Order - Finsbury Park

Probably a lot more I can't remember going to ...🤔🤔
 
I’m not a massive fan of the band even today, and only went along at the time for the social, but I’d vote for the Stones at Roundhay Park in, I think (actually I pretty much know based on the lass I was with but I am defiantly refusing to google) 1982.

You’re going back to a time when gigs were either a few hundred at the town hall or the bowl or tens of thousands. No middle sized arenas (except at Wembley). This was my first tens of thousands gig and I’ve never forgotten it.
 
Oasis at the ethihad in 2005 were great. Richard Ashcroft at Birmingham academy in about 1999 was brilliant. Liam gallagher at Finsbury Park in 2018 was special but knebworth last year was also good. A special shout to shed 7 in a tent at Leeds Festival in 2000 which was intimate and brilliant. Saw Primal Scream at Gloucester Guildhall about 2008 and they were very good.
 
Wow that’s a hard one

Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers/Siouxsie & The Banshees in the Crypt in 1977 is right up there. Along with The Clash at The Hammersmith Palais (16 Tons Tour)

Leonard Cohen and David Bowie in the mix too.
 
Status Quo at Knebworth they were support to Queen ,
Boomtown Rats at Redcar Bowl it was before do they know it's Xmas
Bruce Springsteen at Wembley in the Amnesty International tour in either 88 or 89.
And the Prodigy in 98 in a Stadium in south of Auckland somewhere.I was tripping my b***ks off so that might have helped my overall impression.
+ An Icelandic female band called Bellatrix at the Exeter Cavern about 2003.
 
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When I was living and working in Southampton I spent a lot of time at 'The Joiners'. A grass roots music venue. Rough as ar$$holes but it had that magical something about it. Anyway, I saw Avec Sans there and it was probably the loudest gig I've ever been to. That stands out for me. It was epic.
Other than that, James at the O2 in Newcastle was on another level. Can't remember what year it was as I've seen them many times.

Best performance I've ever seen was Metallica at Leeds festival. I wasn't a fan before the gig. I certainly was after it. Unreal experience.
 
Couldn't possibly pick out a single gig as the absolute best, but thinking about some favourites there's an awful lot of double headers there, so will stick with those.

Pixies/Throwing Muses - somewhere in Leeds around 87/88
Sonic Youth/Mudhoney - Newcastle Riverside 1989
Happy Mondays/King of the Slums - Newcastle Poly 1989 in front of about 100 people
Bongwater/Dogbowl - Newcastle Riverside 1991

But there's literally hundreds of others...
 
Pendulum at Middlesbrough Empire in 2008. I'd been a fan since 2005 but this was the summer they absolutely blew up and started playing arenas and all the major festivals.

Their stage rig only *just* managed to fit onto the Empire's tiny stage.
 
So many; SO many!

Brian Wilson - the Smile premiere at the Festival Hall 2004. Nothing short of miraculous to see him at all after all he’d been through, but it was SUBLIME. I bawled like a baby. I was sat near to Paul McCartney and George Martin, who also got an emotional ovation!

Richard Hawley - Whitley Bay Playhouse 2012. Spine-tinglingly great.

Robin Trower - Reading 1973, at his absolute peak. SO good; the energy levels in the crowd were like nothing I’ve ever experienced - he generated absolute mania, mainly with people who didn’t even know his music that well. Lots of spontaneous craziness.

Radiohead - Lisbon (2003-ish) Scintilatingly good (I’ve seen them MANY times) but the audience were insane - the energy just took everything to another level

Simone Felice - Tea, Toast and Post, Robin Hood’s Bay. Tiny venue - approx 20 people. What a place to see one of my favourite people. So intense and beautiful.

But the winner, The Blue Nile - London Palladium 1996. Perfection from start to finish, and ridiculously moving. After seemingly disappearing for years, they re-emerged, released ‘Peace At Last’ and played a few amazing gigs, this being the best of them. ‘Downtown Lights’ was like the 2nd coming, only even more uplifting, and ‘Family Life’ was interspersed with audible sobbing, pin-drop silence for about 5 seconds at the end, and then the most raucous and cathartic roar you’ve ever heard in your life. And they were so charming, humble and modest. The most life-affirming couple of hours imaginable.
 
Juninhoburger said:
Pendulum at Middlesbrough Empire in 2008. I'd been a fan since 2005 but this was the summer they absolutely blew up and started playing arenas and all the major festivals.

Their stage rig only *just* managed to fit onto the Empire's tiny stage.
Click to expand...

I was at that gig, awesome night. Absolute sweatbox
 
joeydiaz said:
I was at that gig, awesome night. Absolute sweatbox
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Ha, I was at the back with my mates, all of us off our boxes, and my friend who only liked death metal turned to me during Hold Your Colour and just gave me a massive grin.

It was the last gig we went to as he took his life a year later.

So yeah for me, best gig i've ever been to.
 
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