The Police reunion tour in 2007
The Police reunion tour in 2007
Brian wrote: Either Great Big Sea or Badfish(sublime tribute).
And I'll bet you met someone you knew at the GBS concert. Happens every time. I've seen them a few times, always excellent.
Best? Probably the Shuffle Demons in 1991 for a bar show. I saw the Tragically Hip a few days earlier but it was the Demons that stood out.
Big show, Sting in Switzerland in 1990. That guy has a deep back catalog and is not afraid to hire good musicians and cut them loose. Ether that or Peter Gabriel during the Amnesty tour in 1988. Had to leave right when Sting was coming on the stage, dangnabit.
Haven't seen any killer shows in a while. Obviously.
Best show: The Cure, the Prayer Tour (for Disintegration), in Mountain View, CA 1989.
Most intimate show: Erasure at a teeny tiny club in San Francisco for the Cowboy album, in 1997.
Loudest show: Lords of Acid in Palo Alto, somewhere around 1999. Second loudest place I've ever been -- the first was last June when the Sharks won a home game in the Stanley Cup finals (alas, one of only 2 games they won that series)
Summer of 99 I was working an internship in Texas. A friend and I got tickets to the Warp Tour. Hanging out in the absurd Texas sun, watching hot Texan girls eat smoked turkey legs (which was fascinating, those weren't a festival food in the Midwest at the time) and Rancid played. I had low expectations because punk bands live aren't usually a good thing, but they absolutely nailed it.
Many to name, but even more I need to see.
Off the top of my head Tool in 2001 for the lateralus tour in Augusta civic center was mind blowing.
Foo fighters 20th anniversary at RFK was my first ever real festival and was my first foo concert and was a perfect end to an amazing day, was so worried dave was going to cancel because of the broken leg but he still pulled it off and further sealed the place of most bad ass motherberkeleyer in music.
Best big show(s) The Who in Buccaneer Stadium in 88 or so, or Drivin N Cryin opening for The Who at the Tampa Ice Palace a few years later.
Best club show: Train opening for The Connells; or Less Than Jake opening for Blink 182.
Best intimate concert: Kevn Kinney playing an acoustic set at Jackrabbit's during God's own thunderstorm after the power went out. It was like summer camp; he sat in the middle of the room and had everyone pull up chairs and hang out.
Best indie revelation: Bernard (sadly now defunct) and their amazing 45-minute video production perfectly timed to the set, which was played like an album side.
Best audience interaction in a club show: Robert Pollard had an ice chest full of can beer onstage with Guided By Voices. He shared it with the fans. I bet the club hated that. Best audience interaction in a stadium show: Green Day plucked a fan from the mosh pit and let him play a song with the band after confirming he knew his way around a guitar.
No question. Primus/Anthrax/Public Enemy on the last date of their tour at the Paramount. OMFG the energy level was beyond insane. The crowd coulda trashed the place but didn't cuz we were all just... blown away I reckon. During one of the shows the other 2 bands snuck onsage with supersoakers and it turned into a battle royale but they didn't stop playing, and all 3 acts came out and did "bring the noise" during Anthrax' set. Best show I've ever seen and I don't expect that'll change...
KMFDM. or Moby/Red Hot Chili Peppers mid 90s if I remember correctly. or Bo Diddley/Van Morrison/James Brown again mid 90s I think. 
It's probably easier for me to list the worst. I've seen too many things that have been awesome in their own right that picking a best or favorite just can't be done.
Some of the standouts, but by no means an exhaustive list have been Bob Dylan, tool, acdc, ramstien, the mountain goats, paper scissors, nick cave, wolf and cub, yeah yeah yeah, future of the left, evil Eddie...... I could easily keep listing, but you get the picture. It's rare I don't really enjoy a show for what it is, if I've gone to the effort to see someone perform, it's because I like what they do and as such the experience of seeing them do their thing makes it all worth it to me.
I've only ever left one gig early because it was a total and utter let down, it was just plain bad. I won't slag the artist off, we all have bad days, but I couldn't find a saving grace in that one no matter how much I would have liked to
Its hard to pick just one, some of my favorites have been Wolf Alice and Chvrches, Marian Hill, Honeyhoney, and Meg Myers among others. I like smaller venues much better, I'm not really a fan of paying $80 for a seat in an amphitheater so far away you can barely see the stage.
Rush 2112. Chicago International Amphitheater
Rush R40 tour. They opened in Tulsa after having rented the BOK Center for the previous week.
Talked about DIALED IN and still fresh from not having been on the road.
Others would include: QOTSA, Gojira, Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains (with Layne Staley)
Emerson, Lake and Palmer was great. Sadly 2/3 of them are no longer with us...
ELO was cool too (waaaaay back when lasers were "a thing").
Sam the Sham at the Whipping Post 1975 (I was not drinking)
Joe Satriani at the Warfield 2000 (how many fingers does that guy have?)
Joe Bonamassa at the Aladin 2009 (before the suit)
Indigenous at the Blues Festival Portland 2016 (rocked out)
I am not a huge concert goer by any stretch so of the maybe 30 I've been to in the last 34 years or so... the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour, August of '89 in Philly was probably the best. Although we had been tailgating since 10am for an evening show so it's possible that it was just a fantastic party with the wrong sort of girls. My friend did need stitches from falling down a flight of concrete steps at the Vet with a glass bottle of Jim Beam hidden in his pants. He needed them... but he bled badly and kept drinking. 
I saw Triumph's Sport of Kings tour at the Broome County arena in Binghampton NY in 1986 and they were awesome. Yngwie Malmsteen opened for them and got boo'd off stage for a 45 minute instrumental that was so over modulated you couldn't hear the drums or bass. Just that asshat playing scales as fast as he could and whipping his hair around in circles. People started throwing things at him.
Bob Marley, in Toronto, Maple Leaf Gardens, around 1981.
Sawyer Brown was awesome at Country Conert, probably 2001. I dont know if the singer was still early enough in the career that he appreciated doing big shows, or he absolutely loved playing live, or if he was on strong uppers, but that guy had his energy level cranked up to 11 the whole set.
Saw nine inch nails several years ago. Amazing concert. So much so in fact that has ruined all concerts since as they pale in comparison.
I'm a big Van Halen fan (both variants), and I never had more fun than watching them at Pine Knob several times in the 90s. But the topper was probably the "Sam and Dave" tour in 2002 with Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth doing a joint-headliner tour. That particular show happened to be during game 7 of the NHL Western Conference finals, Red Wings vs. Avalanche, and they let people bring those little portable TVs in so we could keep tabs on the game during the show. The Wings won 7-0, and every time they scored, a guy a few rows in front of us would hold up his fingers to show how many goals they had. DLR opened, and Sammy closed, and he came out in a Wings jersey.
Boy, in no particular order...
Smashing Pumpkins at Wings Stadium, googles says it was 1994. That was the Siamese Dream tour. The bass player was from South Haven, so it was kind of a homecoming show. I couldn't hear right for a week after that and had lost my voice for a few days.
Then opening acts for Depeche Commode- The The and Nitzer Ebb. 90s of course, one was at Pine Knob and one was at the World Music Theater in Chicago. I had heard neither act and was floored by both. Especially The The.
Wings Stadium again, 91 or something, Rollins Band opened for Janes Addiction. Holy E36 M3- Rollins band was jaw dropping. So much so we didn't stay for the whole JA show- they did not impress.
Lollapalooza 1 at Alpine Valley, Wi. Nine Inch Nails was trying to use a smoke machine during the day, it was pretty hilarious.
And then also Faith No More & Helmet inside some gym at Western Illinois University was awesome too.
.38 special and stepenwolf at Val-du-lakes
Big venue-Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and BB King at Pine Knob. Great show from all performers though Bonamassa blew me away!
Small venue-Rodrigo y Gabriella at Royal Oak Music Theatre. Incredibly tight and powerful for two people on acoustic guitars. Went with my wife when she was 7 months pregnant. My boy loves the band to this day!
RUSH, probably about 1993 (Counterparts).
Was just amazing watching Peart destroy a 360 degree drum set live. That guy is berkeleying awesome.
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