[SHOW THREAD] Greatest/Worst Concert Experiences, Biggest Concert Regret

[RemnantFarm]

Hi Frank, We did a lot of concerts in Seattle in the late 70s/ early 80s. First concert - Van Halen was a blast.
Strangest was Fleetwood Mac. My friend and I were on the floor hanging out with everyone before the show and these two guys passed us a joint that was going around. We both took a hit and that was when strange began. It must have been laced with ‘dust’ because we spent the whole concert sitting on the floor staring at concert-goer’s feet. Every now and then we would look at each other and just laugh our asses off then go back into a trance. I vaguely remember the song Rumors and actually getting up and watching the show for a minute. What a waste.

BEST CONCERT - QUEEN

Most memorable was AC/DC. we (three 18 year old girls) spent the night at the Seattle Center Coliseum before and got line tickets to get inside 1st! We were front and center at the stage and thinking we were the luckiest people alive. Angus Young was right in front of us. Brian Johnson fell off the stage into the crowd and I touched his head lol. Then the pushing started. The waves of the crowd crushing us got so bad we finally had to get pulled out by the bouncers.

i have to add 1 more. My boyfriend put me on his shoulders at the Scorpions concert in Tacoma and right next to me on her boyfriends shoulders was my doppelgänger!!! She knew it and I knew it. We could have been twins. What a trip!

[Compulsive Crocheter]

Wow, that's quite the collection. I'm impressed! Those are all concerts I would've gladly attended - and I hate crowds.

[RoadTrip]

The origins of the Jonesboro Storytelling Festival

In the early 80's in Jonesboro Tennessee, the oldest town in the state, there was a ghost story telling in a small cemetery that grew to the largest story telling festival in the U.S.

Several of the most famous storytellers from around the region of the southeastern US got together to tell ghost stories in a cemetery. There were maybe 30 to 50 people there in total just outside the gravestones. We had a nice little campfire and I listened to the likes of Jacke Torrence, Doc McConnell and other legend storytellers tell the first official Jonesboro ghost story telling. I would give anything if I had taken my tape recorder and got it all on audio. We also went the following year and the crowd had doubled, maybe 60 to 100 people to come listen. Pre plandemic the numbers were insane (thousands), people still come from all over the globe to the Jonesboro storytelling festival. My dad, Leon Overbay, had a huge role in not only getting this started but he helped create and was very active in the Jonesboro Storytelling Guild.

I will never forget the chills and the hair standing up when Jackie Torrence told her old southern ghost stories, especially the one about Highpoint, North Carolina. Probably the most scared I had ever been as a kid!

I realize its not a true concert, but it was better than anything I've been to before or since and I took it for granted at the time.

I added a pic of my dad. Anyone who has gone to Jonesboro in the past couple decades may recognize him. He passed about 6 years ago.

[Amore]

Best concert was the first: Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Worst: Led Zeppelin--they were unable to remember words and chords Biggest regret: Drinking too much Capt. Morgan's at Grateful Dead

[Compulsive Crocheter]

Biggest regret: Being a mere 8th-grader when Heart came to my little town, when they still had to tour smallish venues. I. of course, was not allowed to go. Thus began my lifelong angst....

[AnotherOne]

Around 17 in the early 90’s we went to a Pennywise concert in a smaller Orlando club. I brought my too young to get in brother(15) for some reason, probably to try and get him in. Me and a friend had already gotten stamps or stubs, whatever and went outside real quick. When we tried to get back in they said “No re-entry”. I guess we decided to run through the door and just get lost in the crowd and she did. I wasn’t so lucky. On my way through the door a bouncer grabbed my hair and yoked my 5,3” 105lb body back, the back of my head hitting a wall. It was so loud I heard the crowd gasp. He through me out. I sat outside on the curb crying from the brain bash. When out from a big bus some pretty girls, a little older then I asked me what was wrong. After telling them what happened they went to tell their boyfriends. Out of the bus comes a group of guys who seemed like giants to me. It was the the band Pennywise. The singer Jim was so kind to me. Cursing about the ass who did that to me. They invited me to go backstage and when I told them my little bro was waiting in the car, he let him come back as well. We got to stand just off the side of the stage and watch the show. I would see friends stage diving from a entirely different angle. It was pretty great. Memorable for sure.

[Geno]

Best and Worst Concert: 1985 Heart ( Spring Break free concert on the beach at Wayside Park, Fort Walton Beach). Expected crowd -- 10,000; actual crowd -- over 40,000 people. The county had blocked off a segment of the beach in preparation for the concert which was free after all. We had a keg party on the blocked-off boundary of the beach the night before so we could get great seating. Staggered to consciousness around 8 AM and I noticed one of the beach-raking tractors that passed during the night had missed my head by about a foot (lucky me!). Walked down and got a spot of beach right in front of the stage. Looked around for some chemical entertainment and found one, rather pricy for the day, for $20. Popped it under my tongue and had another beer. First song was Barracuda, which was amazing -- I don't remember any other song until the last (which I cannot remember today because 'fuzzy memory'). My friends tell me I stood for the entire concert and all they did was hand me beers. Somehow I lost track of my friends once the concert had ended. Unfortunately for me, I could not find my sandals or shirt through the massive crowd of people so I started walking home (about four miles) in my bare feet (I was still pretty wrecked). Because the county had planned so poorly, there was traffic gridlock so I thought my friends would find me before having to walk too long because I was walking faster than the cars were moving. My friends finally caught up with me when I was around a half-mile from home. They laughed at my bloody feet and scorched-from-the-sun body but were kind enough to have collected my shoes and shirt. Good times!!

[GodMachine]

Been to so many shows over the years but the one that sticks out the most was Puscifer at the Club Nokia in LA. While waiting in line a random couple in front of my ex-wife and myself over heard us talking about the show and gave us free VIP tickets with access to a VIO Lounge. After enjoying an amazing show we found ourselves in an area with quite a few well known people. From Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle fame to actress Milla Jovovich. The one person I was most excited about seeing back there was Danny Carey drummer of Tool. After grabbing a drink we started hanging with the couple that gave us the passes and just bullshitting. Next thing I knew we found ourselves hanging out with Danny Carey. No idea how long we all hung out and bullshitted but next thing I knew everyone was gone except us and Danny. I even got mistaken for Danny by his manager at the bar because I also had long hair at the time. Very random crazy night.

[zCrazyGerman]

One of my worst concert experiences was around 2006 at an Iron Maiden concert. Me and my friends were so excited, the hall was packed with people. It was great to see that the audience was consisting of all ages. A lot of older fans brought their children with them, had them sitting on their shoulders and everybody was smiling, expecting a great night to come. The band started with the first track from their new album at this time "A matter of life and death", which is a good album, but it does not hold up to the old bangers everybody was looking forward to hear. Unfortunately, the band played the whole new album, track by track. As soon as the audience realized this, the mood shifted. Nobody was moving a lot or singing along. It was painful. After finishing their set, the band came out again and played 3 fan-favorites: “Fear of the dark”, “The number of the beast” and “Run to the hills”. The hall immediately exploded in excitement, after hearing the first notes of “Fear of the dark”. Suddenly it was everything we wanted, but compacted into just 10 amazing minutes. So it was quite disappointing in the end. Of course I understand it must be frustrating as a musician, to be locked into playing all the same songs over and over again for years. But you have to give the fans what they ask for, right?

The best concert experience was an Arcade Fire concert in 2017. I went there together with my brother and they were playing “in the round” with the stage in the middle. The sound and performance was absolutely outstanding. We were drinking beer, dancing and singing along happily arm in arm for the whole night. People around us looked at us like: “these crazy dudes know the lyrics of every song- word by word”. It was a very relaxed and fun mood in the hall. There was enough space to dance and enjoy themselves for everybody. The most amazing thing happened after the last song: “Wake up”. The band finished, but the audience just kept on singing the chorus. I can not tell for sure how long this was going, but I guess it was at least for ten minutes. We all felt so connected. The band was also visibly touched by this moment, waved goodbye and took several bows to the audience. It was truly amazing and I will never forget this night.