Best Concert

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Re: Best Concert

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:13 pm

ilookedup wrote:P J Harvey - Cambridge 2004. Absolutely amazing.

A couple of close runners up:

Pink Floyd - Strathclyde U 1971, no 1972, might have been '71. whatever. :?

Beth Hart - Shepherds Bush Empire last year.



May 1971.
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby hungryjoe » Fri Mar 22, 2013 12:29 am

RDR wrote:Hmmm.
A straight choice between Free at the Green's in 74 (I think) or Thin Lizzy at the City Halls 75/76 (I think).
Bad Co. were formed in '74 so it would have been earlier than that.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Fri Mar 22, 2013 8:09 am

He must be ancient if he saw a concert in 1971. Did they have amps?
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby Bridie » Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:57 pm

Free played Feb '72 at the Green's - with amps.
Yes HH,I know
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Re: Best Concert

Postby Twizzle » Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:18 am

My first big concert was to see Bowie when he first brought Ziggy Stardust to the Green’s Playhouse in 1972. Either he still wasn’t well known in Glasgow, or I was quick off the mark in buying my ticket, but I ended up with a front row seat. I went on my own as I hadn’t admitted to any of my friends that I liked him or his music, but at the concert half my school was there.

On stage there was a moog synthesiser, and the amp stacks seemed to reach up to the ceiling. They played the theme to “A Clockwork Orange” as the band came onstage. The lights distorted the colours on his jumpsuit, but there was no mistaking his spiky red hair. Bowie started messing about with the moog for a few moments then they romped into “Hang on to yourself”.

In the first break between songs he looked over the front row. “Are any of you at school?” We all roared back. He swanked like an early version of Kenny Everett’s Cupid Stunt “Do you believe in education? - Then educate me!” At one stage during a song he climbed right up to the top of one of the amp stacks. They wobbled menacingly, towering above us. The familiar songs played live by the band sounded raw but somehow more vital than on the album. Bowie moved like a confident reptile, stalking us all. In the front, he sought us out with piercing eye contact and aimed his lyrics directly at our souls. It was like a religious experience. A rock version of Billy Graham. He used all his Lyndsay Kemp mime routines and melted the hardest Glasgow heart.

The lighting was clever for its time – during the long guitar break during “The Width of a Circle” they strobed the stage from either side alternatively. As Ronson and Boulder strutted and posed, taking great strides, they were caught in exaggerated three dimensions, their costumes glittering wildly. On hearing my excited account of the experience, a cynical friend suggested that as it had been my first rock concert, I was bound to have been impressed. In truth, of the subsequent concerts I have been to, this one made the most profound and lasting memories.

In 1973 Bowie came back to what was now called the Apollo with his Alladin Sane tour. I sauntered down to Cutherbertsons on the corner of Cambridge Street and Sauchiehall Street to buy my ticket. To my annoyance, his fame had caused what looked like a queue for tickets out the door, which I joined. Shortly afterwards, I heard a commotion on the other side of Cambridge Street behind me. To my horror I saw that the queue continued there and stretched right up Sauchiehall Street as far as the eye could see. Someone had tried to jump the queue and was being pulled out with police with dogs. How I managed to also jump this queue without the same happening to me is a mystery. Maybe because I was on my own, they thought I was joining a group of friends.

There couldn’t have been that many in front of me, as I got a seat in the second row this time. The Alladin Sane production was much bigger, with a themed set, more musicians and dancers. Although the music, costumes and performance were more polished and stage-managed, for me they lacked the vitality of the Ziggy gig.
If I am allowed a “runner up”, I would choose a Hollies concert in the unlikely setting of the Pavilion Theatre in the 1980s. They played solidly for over two hours and every song had been a hit. Some of the original records had seemed a bit thin and tinny, perhaps due to the sound recording facilities of the day not being as good as some of the bigger groups, but live they sounded vibrant and as good as they could be. They were all still in good voice, and their harmonies soared. I hadn’t realised Tony Hicks was such an accomplished guitarist. A memorable concert.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby moonbeam » Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:31 pm

I was at that Hollies gig! Agreed it was good as they played all the hits and proved they all could really play well. Saw Duane Eddy at the Pavilion. Played all his hits and the Glasgow crowd loved it. They had to tell him to stop as I think it was getting near midnight and he must have been on stage at least two and half hours. The Apollo! Saw Neil Sedaka-was in the third front row and could just see the "wee" mans head at the piano as it bobbed up and down! I recall an Eagles concert in which they played their "new" album. The crowd were not impressed.So often big acts seemed to play every track of their "new" album to time fill before a few bars of a hit single. Then a rushed encore of another hit. You sometimes come out thinking are they "just going through the motions" or "are they miming to a backing track"or "are they really interested or just along for the money then go as quick as possible".
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Re: Best Concert

Postby Vinegar Tom » Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:05 pm

I had a load of good times at this guy's gigs. RIP George Watt, and ignore the end of the clip.

Glasgow ya bas!
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Re: Best Concert

Postby Canuck » Sun Dec 15, 2013 11:10 pm

One of the best I ever attended was supposed to be a Van der Graf Generator concert supported by Genesis and someone else (Bell & Arc maybe?). But Genesis blew everyone else away and VDGG were a bit of a letdown after them. The next year Genesis were the headliners with the Foxtrot tour. Fabulous.
Around about then I saw Lindisfarne - fun time too.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby PaulK » Thu Dec 26, 2013 2:15 am

Might be the night Tom Petty opened for Nils Lofgren at the Apollo, first album just released. They were shit hot that night. But have to admit to the Who extravaganza at Parkhead being up there/
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Re: Best Concert

Postby RDR » Fri Dec 27, 2013 6:52 pm

PaulK wrote:Might be the night Tom Petty opened for Nils Lofgren at the Apollo, first album just released. They were shit hot that night. But have to admit to the Who extravaganza at Parkhead being up there/


I've seen/heard Tom Petty a few times. He can be excellent but can also be very inconsistent.
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Re: Best Concert

Postby mjw » Sun Feb 02, 2014 9:23 pm

I was gonna propose Peter Gabriel's gig at the hydro but on reflection and thanks to youtube tapers he seemed to be going through the motions, I guess to get a really good performance the act has to still to be wanting to prove themselves and give more than they could get away with.

Got to give a mention to the Flaming Lips at the Academy in 2009, that was great if a little short, really loud, and I got to punch away some of the inflatable balloons too.
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