Best shows:
1. Joe Jackson, Big World tour, Bronco Bowl, Dallas, 1986. Incredible performance - the album was recorded live with no audience noise at all, and the crowd treated that show the same way. Absolutely brilliant.
2. Shemekia Copeland, Turn up the Heat tour, Luther's Blues, Madison, Nov 2000. Unbelievable performance by the 20 year old veteran - easily 3 1/2 hours, and included an unamplified accapello (sp) tribute to her father. I have never been so physically and emotionally spent at the end of a show.
3. Van Hagar, 5150/Texas Jam tour, Cotton Bowl, Dallas, July, 1986. Nothing quite like 80K people jammed into a stadium at 100 degrees +, with enough amps to power the entire metropolis. The roadies were spraying the crowd with hoses to cool them down, and Sammy was climbing the scaffolding 50 feet over the stage. Eddie's no Ronnie, but he did ok on Bad Motor Scooter and Rock Candy.
Worst:
1. Robert Plant, Dreamland tour, The Rave, Milwaukee, 2002. Sucked sucked sucked sucked sucked sucked. Poor mix, incoherent vocals, sad song selection, no energy at all.
2. D12, Devil's Night tour, The Rave, Milwaukee, Nov 2001. I like hardcore rap, but had no idea that the live performances were nothing more than karaoke. What a joke - sampling the lead vocals. Practically had to submit to a body cavity search at the door and had my deadly 3/4 inch blade pocket knife confiscated. Later in the mosh pit my glasses got knocked off and smashed into dust. I ended up having to wear my prescription sunglasses for three days, then had to buy new glasses less than six weeks before my scheduled lazer eye surgery. No, I do not want the scratch resistant covering!
Ugly:
1. Ozzy Ozbourne, Diary of a Madman Tour, Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Jan 23, 1982. Took place the night after he chomped the head off the bat, and OO was backstage for much of the show since he'd just been given a bunch of rabies shots. Randy Rhoads saved the day, ripping off the best guitar solos I've ever heard. Aside: after the show I found a banged-up 35 mm camera which I traded for an ounce of spleef, which my stepmom promptly found and got me booted out of the house, which strarted the progression of how Ian ended up on a submarine in the Pacific.
2. Krokus and Blackfoot, Fox Theater, San Diego, 1984ish. Krokus opened and did way too good a job - the crowd was in an absolute frenzy, and they even played a couple encores. Blackfoot came out and couldn't do anything right - they even milli-vannilied it for the harmonica at the beginning of Train, train. Probably played 40 minutes before being booed off the stage.
What the hell happened to the 90's?
