Some of the best live shows Ive seen were at frat parties, like Del Amo and another local band whose name is on the tip of my tongue.
Ive seen some incredible large venue concerts too, like Jon Mayer, O.A.R., etc.

and how many of the bands you've seen sound as good live as they do on CD?

The best live concert I've ever been to, without a doubt, was a triple bill by The Pogues, The Violent Femmes and Mojo Nixon, back in 1989.

Runners-up would include The Dead Milkmen (so much funnier live!), Lou Reed (I wasn't a huge fan before I won tickets, but I certainly was afterward), Guided by Voices (Bob Pollard sang for what must have been three hours, and he sounded even better live), REM (on the 'Green' tour. I don't know if I'd see them now, but Michael Stipe sang some beautiful a capella covers as well as lots of early REM stuff), the Rheostatics (circa 1994--an outdoor show, this is probably the second best concert I've ever attended. The guitar work was amazing. I saw them in 2001 in a small club, and was very disappointed), and The Watchmen (a bit of an obscure Canadian band who had a few hits. I'm not an enormous fan of this band, but the singer gave the best live vocal performance I've ever heard. I was blown away, as was everyone else in the club). I've seen many more concerts, but these ones come to mind as being stellar performances for one reason or another.

Bob Dylan, last September, at the GMU patriot center. Dylan is really hit or miss. Sometimes he's god awful. This one was great.

Rod Stewart was surprisingly good. James Taylor, Kansas, and The Little River Band.

If you ever get the chance, you should see O.A.R. live. They're one of the best live concert experiences I've ever had. They're very much like the Dave Matthews band, not just sound-wise, but also because the energy I feel at their concert is so vibrant and contageous. They have their first major label CD out called In Betwen Now and Then (http://www.ofarevolution.com). So if you never get to see one of their shows, you can always listen to the CD. I was relieved to find that their live energy translates in the studio - since it's their first major label deal, I wasn't sure if the CD would do the live show justice, but it does. But definitely go to one of their concerts if you can, it's incredible.

Has to be Donington Monsters of Rock in 1988. Iron Maiden and Guns n' Roses on the same bill (when they were both huge).

The first ever concert I went to in the 70's had Osi Bisa as a support band. They stole the show and I cannot remember who was topping the bill and I became a fan. It is a shame that they turned to afro pop in the 80's.
The best other than that would be Pink Floyd's The Wall and ELO's Out of the Blue concerts

I haven't been to many concerts but of the ones I have my favorite was (big surprise) Sara Evans. She sounds just as good (if not better) as her CDs. She wasn't the headliner though. No,that was Kenny Chesney. He gave a good performance,and I wasn't disappointed or anything but,man,you can tell that guy is cocky! Must be a Napolean complex or something...

have to say all jimmy buffet concerts, its not only the music , the parrotheads are a creative blast.

The Moody Blues concerts--backed up by an orchestra are incredible shows. Seen more than one, and would go see another in a heartbeat.

I saw the Smashing Pumpkins at Penn St. and that was decent,I saw the Violent Femmes with King Missile at Bucknell and that was a good show, especially the Femmes but weather moved the concert into the gym so the acoustics were bad and it was jammed with people.Saw Live at our local college,Bloomsburg Univ.,and that was really good,they sounded great.My favorite was probably Nine Inch Nails with David Bowie at Hershey,I only wish Bowie would have done a few of his older tunes,instead he did stuff from his ,at the present,album,but it was still Bowie.

Bob Dylan played in an outdoor amphi - theatre, way out in the woods, about 35 minutes up the road from where we lived. A once in a lifetime experience, for several reasons.

I also saw James Taylor here in town - fall, 1990. Though I have always loved James Taylor, this concert probably wasn't his best. That famous stage presence just didn't kick in, somehow - as though he was just waiting for it to be over. Still, grumpy or not, it was nice to see him.

Both Pink & Floyd fall '72, McFarland Auditorium (SMU, Dallas), seating 1K or less. We got the best of Umma Gumma + Meddle + a preview of their forthcoming album Dark Side Of the Moon. Four channels of sound, back two speakers at the back of the hall. Spoiled me forever on concerts. Trivia note - for those of you with the Umma Gumma album, all that gear on the back cover was stolen later that night when someone drove off with their semi-trailer...

Breathe, breathe in the air,
Don't be afraid to care,
Leave, but don't leave me,
Look around, choose your own ground...

Hiya! I'm a newbie to the Fun Trivia Community and glad to be here and hoping that everybody will let me join in the talk. I do have a tendency to be wordy, so don't feel badly if you don't read the entire post, ok?

I went to a lot of concerts in the early '70s. My boyfriend back then was a musician and also a trust fund baby so he was able to afford tickets to a lot of concerts, so I was lucky to see so many of the now "Classic Rock" bands.

But, the best concert ever?... was not a rock band. Me, my twin sister and a friend saw Manhattan Transfer. They were incredible! Their harmonies sounded just as good or better than their albums (and this was an outdoor concert and we were in the back in the cheap seats, lol). It was a great time and a great memory. They talked to (not at) the audience. The first 5 seconds that they sang was accapella. Everybody cheered!

Anybody a Manhattan Transfer fan?

Three spring to mind.

Before they became huge and started mixing with Popes and Presidents, I saw U2 at Newcastle City Hall. They had just released "War", I believe, and blasted out "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Years Day" etc. That was them at their finest.

I was right next to the speakers for a Cure gig , again up in Tyneside. They were awesome. I couldn't hear for best part of 2 days afterwards.

The Smiths - Middlesbrough Town Hall. Daffodils in the back pocket. Gel slapped on the hair. Yes, that was a good 'un.

obviously for me it's styx and foreiner at DTE Energy theater in Detroit. Foreigner even lost their lead singer and he still sounded great even on one of my personal favorites, "Jukebox Hero".

The best ever was a band called Slow Bongo Floyd who just hit the spot with a great big lump hammer with a perfect blend of decks & live instrumentation.Not far behind was G love & special sauce who played a tiny pub in Camden & just kept going & going for more encores (saw them a second time & they were rubbish).Some of my fave also rans - Living Color/Fishbone/Pink Floyd/Red hot chilli peppers (87)/Pfunk/Reverend Horton heat/Goats/Masters of reality/Iron Maiden/Public Enemy (most notable for the fact that I bumped into Flava Flav in the fried chicken joint just before the gig asking for "yo fries" - head hung low under the weight of a large clock).

I have enjoyed all the ones I have been to...... Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, INXS, Rod Stewart, Simply Red, to name a few.