Coolest "Who have you seen live" thread

No lies or whatever. Put together a list of your top 10 live music experiences.

George Jones
Ben Folds Five
Ray Charles
Johnny Cash - Alameda County Fair
Willie Nelson
U2 - Unforgettable Fire Tour
Billy Joel - Nylon Curtain tour
Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters on Broadway
Wicked - national tour, Megan Hilty played Glinda
Springsteen - Tunnel of Love Tour

 

I was 10 feet away from the stage for Queen and shook hands with Brian May. Very little will ever top that.

The other 9:
Hello! Dolly National Tour with Betty Buckley
Hamilton National Tour
Garth Brooks
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Beethoven's Last Night
Avenue Q (laughed until I had a stomach ache)
Tracy Byrd
Norah Jones
Bowling For Soup
The Zombies

 

I bought Buddy Guy a beer once.
While he was jamming on guitar.

So that's a lock for No. 1 on my list.

 

For me the coolest, "brag" list is not the same as the best list, so I'll split them...

Coolest:
David Bowie
Prince
The Kinks
The Clash (twice)
U2 (War tour)
Talking Heads (their last show before filming "Stop Making Sense")
Bruce Springsteen (Tunnel of Love tour - first real date with my wife)

Best:
Fishbone
Midnight Oil
Frank Turner
Butch Walker
U2 (the staging of the Innocence and Experience tour was flat-out amazing)
Crowded House
Elvis Costello
Red Hot Chili Peppers (including shows at a Huntington Beach bar and in the beer garden at my college)
Joe Jackson (including in a bar, when he reunited the original Joe Jackson Band)
Echo & the Bunnymen

 

In 1994, I saw a complete unknown named Tim McGraw make his first Nashville performance as part of the New Faces show at the Country Radio Seminar at a ballroom at the Opryland Hotel. He was first of the 10 performers and everyone was still chowing down on their rubber chicken when he came out, a scrawny kid not yet known as Tug’s son. About 15 seconds into “Don’t Take the Girl,” you could hear a pin drop. He was given a roaring standing ovation and he was instantly the talk of the event.
I got goose bumps just writing this.

 

Ray Charles -- I was in college and could only afford the cheap seats, which were in the choir loft around the stage, but had the best view in the house
Willie Nelson -- A friend in the radio business got me backstage, where Carl Cornelius -- who founded the small community of Carl's Corner, near Willie's hometown of Abbott, Texas -- bought me a beer.
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band -- Front row seats at Bass Hall in Fort Worth; one of the trumpet players kept smiling at my wife
Jimmy Buffett -- Stood about 6 feet away from the stage at Stubb's in Austin
Wynonna -- She knows how to put on a show; it way exceeded my expectations
Kris Kristofferson -- Saw him last year; he's past his prime, but it was still pretty cool to hear him play Bobby McGee and Sunday Morning Coming Down

 

* Oingo Boingo
* Phish
* Grateful Dead
* Rolling Stones (in Ames!)
* Viperhouse
* De La Soul (in Amsterdam)
* Gang Starr
* Common
* Dylan

 

Backstage for Jefferson Airplane
The Band at Symphony Hall on Halloween night.
Free Grateful Dead outdoor concert at my college.
Sun Ra
George Jones & Tammy Wynette
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Who
Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson & Ray Price together.
John McLaughlin's group at a distance of about 10 feet.
Joni Mitchell

I will save the last two for things I didn't see but Alice did. For us seniors, these are hard to top.
Beatles at Shea Stadium AND Beatles at Forest Hills tennis center on their previous tour.

PS: I was at Woodstock, but didn't list it because of the erratic nature of the bands I saw there. Some were unbelievably great, like Sly & the Family Stone, the Who and Creedence. Alas, some I love bombed dismally. The Dead had equipment issues, the Incredible String Band were not meant to play before crowds of more than 400, let alone 400,000, and well, the Airplane was never meant to be awake at breakfast time.

 

Beastie Boys and Fishbone - 1987

 

Best lineup I ever saw was The Judds and Merle Haggard opening for Alabama. And Clint Black opening for Alabama.
Skynyrd's reunion show in '97 when they put a spot on an empty mike stand and the crowd sang Freebird while the band played.
Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood on their first tours.

 

George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers, Mandan, N.D., on his 50 states in 50 days tour, 1980 or 81.
Elton John, Richmond, Va., 1973
Thunderbyrd and the David Bromberg Band, Denison University, 1977
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band/Doc Watson, Richmond, Va., 1974
Warren Zevon, Eugene, OR., 1990 or so
John Prine/Bonnie Raitt, Portland, OR, 1997 or so
The Band, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y., July 1973
Jesse Colin Young/Santana/CSNY, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y., July 1974
Dan Fogelberg/Seals &Croft/Eagles, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y., July 1975
Bruce Springsteen, Charlottesville, Va., Nov. 1974.

 

Billy Joel at Yankee Stadium
Bruce Springsteen in Tunnel of Love tour at Nassau Coliseum and twice at the Meadowlands in the Tunnel of Love tour.

Pro wrestling-wise: Kenny Omega in a match Dave Meltzer gave 4 3/4 stars.