Rolling Stone, in the latest edition on news stands, has listed the best concerts/concert tours from the last 50 years.



Count 'em folks.... the decade of the 70's wins out..

List of the 50 Greatest Concerts from the Last 50 Years per Rolling Stone:

- 1967 | WORLDWIDE TOUR | THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE

- APRIL 5, 1968 | BOSTON GARDEN | JAMES BROWN

- 1968 | AMERICAN TOUR | BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY

- AIRED DECEMBER 3, 1968 | COMEBACK SPECIAL | ELVIS

- 1968 | FAREWELL TOUR | CREAM

- FEBRUARY 24, 1969 | SAN QUENTIN PRISON | JOHNNY CASH

- 1969 | AMERICAN TOUR | IKE &TINA TURNER

- 1969 | WORLD TOUR | LED ZEPPELIN

- 1970 | AMERICAN TOUR | BLACK SABBATH

- FEBRUARY 14, 1970 | UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS | THE WHO

- 1970 | WINTER AMERICAN TOUR | NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE

- AUGUST 25-30, 1970 | THE TROUBADOUR | ELTON JOHN

- MARCH 5-7, 1971 | FILLMORE WEST | ARETHA FRANKLIN

- SEPTEMBER 10, 1970 | COOK COUNTY JAIL | B.B. KING

- MARCH 11-13, 1971 | FILLMORE EAST | THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

- DECEMBER 28-31, 1971 | ACADEMY OF MUSIC | THE BAND

- 1972 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | THE ROLLING STONES

- 1972-73 | ZIGGY STARDUST WORLD TOUR | DAVID BOWIE

- 1973 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | VAN MORRISON

- 1975 | CBGB | PATTI SMITH GROUP AND TELEVISION

- JULY 17-18, 1975 | THE LYCEUM THEATRE, LONDON | BOB MARLEY

- 1975-76 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | BOB DYLAN

- 1977 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | GRATEFUL DEAD

- 1977 | EUROPEAN TOUR | THE RAMONES

- 1977-78 | U.S. TOUR | THE EAGLES

- 1978 | AMERICAN TOUR | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND

- 1979 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | THE CLASH

- 1980-81 | ‘THE WALL’ TOUR | PINK FLOYD

- 1983 | ‘SPEAKING IN TONGUES’ TOUR | TALKING HEADS

- JUNE 23, 1984 | GLASTONBURY | FELA KUTI

- 1984-85 | ‘PURPLE RAIN’ TOUR | PRINCE

- 1986 | ‘RAISING HELL’ TOUR | RUN-DMC

- 1988-89 | DAMAGED JUSTICE TOUR | METALLICA

- 1990 | BLOND AMBITION TOUR | MADONNA

- 1990 | SIZZLING SUMMER TOUR | PUBLIC ENEMY

- 1991 | EUROPEAN TOUR | SONIC YOUTH AND NIRVANA

- 1992-93 | ZOO TV TOUR | U2

- JUNE 28, 1997 | GLASTONBURY | RADIOHEAD

- 1997 | AMERICAN TOUR | SLEATER-KINNEY

- 1998 | AMERICAN TOUR | PEARL JAM

- DECEMBER 31, 1999 | BIG CYPRESS | PHISH

- FEBRUARY 20, 2004 | THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL | BRIAN WILSON

- 2006-07 | ALIVE TOUR | DAFT PUNK

- 2008-13 | WORLDWIDE TOUR | LEONARD COHEN

- OCTOBER 29-30, 2009 | 25TH-ANNIVERSARY CONCERT | ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

- APRIL 2, 2011 | MADISON SQUARE GARDEN | LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

- 2011-12 | ‘WATCH THE THRONE’ TOUR | JAY Z & KANYE WEST

- 2014-15 | ‘ON WITH THE SHOW’ TOUR | FLEETWOOD MAC

- 2015 | ‘1989’ TOUR | TAYLOR SWIFT

- 2016 | FORMATION TOUR | BEYONCÉ

Wow, so many great groups and I didn't see ANY of those listed. Although I did see (on TV) Elvis comeback special.

Tho not mentioned on list I DID see the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over Tour" twice. (94 I think). AND, I did see Cream but not the Farewell tour. I forgot what year.

So many I would have loved to see, like Rolling Stoness, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Bruce.



TIS

I saw the U2 Zoo TV tour. I did not notice history being made, though to be fair I saw it after I'd passed the point in my life where my ears ringing the next day became the most significant takeaway from a concert.

- 1979 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | THE CLASH

- JUNE 23, 1984 | GLASTONBURY | FELA KUTI

- 1984-85 | ‘PURPLE RAIN’ TOUR | PRINCE

- 1988-89 | DAMAGED JUSTICE TOUR | METALLICA

- 1992-93 | ZOO TV TOUR | U2

- 2011-12 | ‘WATCH THE THRONE’ TOUR | JAY Z & KANYE WEST


I saw these. I would have loved to be at some of the earlier ones on the list, especially Marley at the Lyceum

Concerts I saw from the Rolling Stone list:

Only two:

1975-76 | NORTH AMERICAN TOUR | BOB DYLAN

1984-85 | ‘PURPLE RAIN’ TOUR | PRINCE


Sorry to see that no ELP tour or concert had room to be on that list.

I would have put Alice Cooper ~ 1972 Killer Tour on there bumping Beyonce, of course!

Some of you were SO lucky to get to see those concerts. How cool!

I saw Metallica right before they made it big and went on that tour. Not a big fan of theirs though.

My guy friend and his co-worker took my friend and I to the Madonna concert in 1990 at the Sports Arena. Bunch of homosexual men at that concert. (Edit: I found out years later that my guy friend was gay and his co-worker was not really his co-worker but his date. )

Fleetwood Mac but I think it was in 2006 not the concert listed.

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd three times and David Gilmour last year. Never got to see them together

The Eagles back in January 2014

Van Morrison in January 2016

Eric Clapton but not Cream. Wow, TIS! You are lucky you were able to see Cream. I love their songs. Clapton rescheduled his concert in March. So, now my best friend and I get to see him in September of this year. Yayyyy!

I've seen these highlights:
1989 Stones "Steel Wheels" tour
1988 Robert Plant with Stevie Ray Vaughn as the opening act
1989 Jimmy Page
1994 The Eagles
1994 Concert for Opening of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
1999 Bruce Springsteen reuniting with the E Street Band
2009 Traveled to NJ Meadowlands for Springsteen show
2017 Billy Joel (July)
2017 U2 (July)

I've seen a couple of goodies over the years but the two most outstanding ones were The Doors in Asbury Park (the summer of 1968) and Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park (around 1982).

SC,

I would have loved to seen both the Doors and S&G. The S&G concert in Central Park has been shown on tv, even recently. Excellent concert.

Not on the list, but I saw The Animals (probably one of my first concerts ever)in 65 or 66 maybe, and loved it!

Saw Elvis in concert on New Years' Eve, 1975 at Pontiac Stadium in Michigan. What a thrill.


TIS

I don't see The Michael Jackson Dangerous World Tour from 92-93.

OMG, I noticed my last post, the concerts were over 50 yrs ago. OMG!!! I'm freekin' old!!

Sorry, I went too far into the archives. Ha ha ha




TIS

Don't feel alone TIS. My first was Lou Rawls in '68.

Pink floyd twice,u2 in 1985,Michael Jackson in Aintree Liverpool,and meatloaf..Also phill Collins with Genisis.

SC was the Doors show at the Convention Center? I've heard some NJ artists talk about seeing the Doors. It's amazing how brief the Doors' career was ('67-'71), but how their influence continues generationally. I learned about them in the late 80s when I was in high school. This was before the Oliver Stone movie and most of my information came from the excellent book No One Here Gets Out Alive.

I have seen:

Papa Roach
Rancid
Lagwagon

Bruce Springsteen
Don Henley

The first three were as a teenager. My taste in music has improved slightly.

I remember you telling me that, and that's the ONE performer I would loved to have seen. I've seen many others, including The Four Seasons, Billy Joel, Jefferson Airplane and Luciano Pavarotti and I enjoyed all of them but Elvis would have been tops.

Yeah, it was at the Convention Center in Asbury Park. A wild time for me and two buddies! Oddly enough, one of my friends from junior high and high school, Elayne Boosler, ended up marrying the manager of The Doors (Bill Siddons). She went on to her own fame as a comedienne.

My concert highlights start with 1964.... I wanted to go and see The Beatles so baaaad. But, my parents were unwilling to take me, and they were not going to let an 8 year old go alone.

FF to 1970, and my parents do let me go to a concert, my first concert, age 14, to see Led Zeppelin. That was wonderful. Lots of second hand smoke at that event.

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS:

LED ZEPPELIN 1970, 1975, 1977

CHICAGO - 1972

ALICE COOPER - KILLER TOUR 1972

JETHRO TULL - THICK AS A BRICK TOUR 1972

ZZ TOP 1974, 1976, 1978

ELP BSS TOUR 1974

THE WHO 1975

BOB DYLAN & THE ROLLING THUNDER REVIEW - HOUSTON ASTRODOME 1976

CHEAP TRICK 1978

TEXXAS JAM - DALLAS COTTON BOWL 1978

VAN HALEN 1978 1979 1981 1984

AC/DC 1982

ARMS Concert 1983

Wow! That's some list of concerts you got there!!! Very cool!

Hi, I don't think I have ever chatted with you on here. Nice to meet you. While I was at The Eagles concert in LA, my friend and I were talking to these nice ladies. Both of these nice ladies were very young at the time like you when The Beatles played here in concert. One of them said she got to go see them because her father worked at the venue and was able to get tickets. She said that there was SO MUCH SCREAMING from all the young female fans that she could hardly hear them singing. Of course, she was screaming too. So, maybe you did yourself a favor by not going, saved your hearing lol. That lady is thee ONLY PERSON I ever met who actually saw The Beatles.


When you say ELP, is that Emerson, Lake & Palmer?

Nice to meet you Alfanosgirl!

Oh, I would have loved to have just been "in the room" with The Beatles. They were the very first Rock'n'Roll group I ever got into. What a way to start, right!!

The Beatles never came back through on their later tours to Dallas. They were pretty bad when it came to touring. They said one of the reasons they stopped touring was because of all the screaming. But I know that, if they had wanted to have more sound amplification at their shows, that that was available, by 1967-68. So, The Beatles really had no good reason not to tour, only selfish reasons. But, for me, I had to have a band I could see and experience live, to remain loyal to.

So, it wasn't until my Freshman year in HS,in 1969, that I came across the band that would replace my love for The Beatles -- Led Zeppelin. And, boy, did they tour !!!

Yes, ELP is Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Their 1974 BSS Tour had speaker arrays at the back of the auditorium for a true Quad sound. It was awesome!

BTY, I saw the Eagles in 1972... they were the warm-up band for Jethro Tull. There was nothing flashy in their presentation. Very workmanlike.

I just remembered another great concert I attended, the 1983 ARMS Tour. Eric Clapton was supreme at that event !

That's a great story. I know who both are. Siddons had a really tough job managing Jim Morrison and all of his troubles.



Love it. That is too funny TIS!

Can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin, one of my favorite bands. And you got to see them in concert three times. Very cool.

It's hard to believe that you weren't too impressed with The Eagles Jethro Tull is good. I had a cassette of his years ago.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer are great. I'm pretty sure they use steel strings on their guitars which captures that crisp clean sound they have. I can only imagine how wonderful they must have sounded in concert.

Clapton is still good to this day. I can't wait to see him in September.

Do you like Thin Lizzy?

Actually, not bragging... well No, I am bragging, I got see Zeppelin -8- times... those were just the "Highlights" I mentioned before.

1970 1971 1973 1975(2) 1977(3)

Never followed Thin Lizzy --- Just heard the 2 or 3 songs of theirs that Rock radio chose to air all of the time...

Ian Anderson --- he's the founder of Jethro Tull. Lots of different styles from that band over the years. The albums up through Thick As A Brick are my favorites. And Rock Island.

Mr. U Talkin da me Man, Eight times you got to see Zeppelin!!!

That's right. Ian Anderson is the founder. (I promise I didn't think Jethro was his real name ) He played here a few years ago, my friends saw him, small venue in Anaheim. The only cassette I had of Jethro Tull was Aqualung.

Nice talking to you.

Aqualung was one of their best. I have that on CD, the 2-CD 40th Anniversary Special Edition.

The Elvis 68 Comeback would have been some concert to attend..

1rst concert :Van Halen opening 4Black Sabbath1978(nobody knew this V.H.) but boy did they remember,Ozzy was so fucked up ,it was his last concert w/them b4 they fired him..Other highlights ,Aerosmith'bout 3times,, Stones,,81' Ian Anderson &Heart,,The Firm(Jimmy Page)..w/Bo Diddly...George Thourogood,,Ted Nugent,,LIVE AID here in Philly..Steely Dan,,the list goes on..

My dad went to see Sabbath at the garden in August of 78 and VAN HALEN opened and the rest was history. Growing up I always wanted to see them and never thought it would happen. I finally caught the third roth reunion. What a disappointment. At the little amphitheatre front row tickets were a grand. Get the fuck out of here. Then a couple years later gnr reunited. I heard they had a killer show, but I can't see spending that kind of money. I stick to live blues bands at bars and restaurants. But to see those bands in original raw form I'd pay the price. I want to see Jeff Beck before he passes.

Ac/dc opened for ted nugent i think in 78 or 79 at the garden and blew him away. I wasnt there, i was still young but knew someone who went... it was when ac/dc were at their best with Bon Scott.
I saw Judas Priest and Iron Maidn at the Palladium in 1981 on the point of entry tour. This was iron maidens first ever U.S. tour witj the original singer Paul D’Anno on the Killers tour. Killers is maiden’s best album in my opinion. Great show.
Before the Pallaudium turned into a disco, it was a 2500 seat theater. Many great bands played there. I saw so many bands in their prime in the early 80’ including van halen in 82 and acdc in 82.. i wish i saw acdc with bon scott. I saw ozzy on the diary of a madman tour just after randy rhoades died. I really wish i saw him, randy rhoades was one of the best rock guitarists ever.
Dio was great with sabbath.