Concert/Theatre/Performance

[Earlybird]

What are the best live performances you've ever seen, and why were they so wonderful? Can be anything - rock concert, ballet, theatre, etc. Only stipulation is that you must have been there in person - not just seen it on telly!

No one's seen anything wonderful?

I'll start by listing a few of my most memorable shows:

Bruce Springsteen at Wembley Stadium
Oasis at Earl's Court
Metallica at the football stadium in Budapest

I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Novello theatre about a week ago. It was absolutely fantastic. I laughed so hard I almost wet myself.

It was fun, it was a total blast.

Fantastic acting, excellent interpretation of Shakespeare, and Oberon (the lead male character) was bloody gorgeous!

ihavent beek to the theatre in years and miss it so mcuh, bit farfor us, but am booked to see ralph fiennes so looking forward to that

I love the theatre. Saturday Night Fever was the first thing I watched and since then I've seen it another eight times and going again later this year. The most recent thing I've watched is Footloose and that was fantastic. So much energy and I came out of there buzzing.

Miss Saigon was good but very much a roller coaster of emotions. Oh What a Night was another brilliant show. Rocky Horror show was a real high and I did that in fancy dress along with everyone else in the theatre. You really felt a part of things. Grease was another good one.

Fame was total crap and I walked out half way through.

Oh so many to see!!!!!!

Mel Torme at a little jazz club in New York City was magical - "the velvet fog"!

Bon Jovi gig at Maine Road in Moss Side. Very exciting just finding somewhere to park

It was a long day but worth the wait and want to see them again soon.

Dh surprised me with two tickets for Westlife the other day. Very handy having him working so close to the box office at the Palace theatre in Manchester.

Flip - I saw Bon Jovi at Wembley around 1990. Great show, and probably even better now as they've had so many more hits!

Queen at Lewisham Odeon in 1975 - my first ever gig
Brooooce at Wembley for The River tour
Andy Sheppard at Blackheath Concert Halls
Madness at Malvern Winter Gardens
REM in Huddersfield on a baking hot summer's evening
Pet Shop Boys in the Savoy Theatre, the polar opposite of the REM gig but wonderful (and no queue for the ladies either)

Memorable theatre:
Derek Jacobi in Hamlet at the Old Vic
Adrian Lester and co in Company at the Donmar
Follies at the Festival Hall
The Normal Heart at the Royal Court, with Martin Sheen
Roger Allam and Susan Fleetwood in Much Ado at Stratford
Kenneth Branagh as Henry V, ditto
Alex Jennings in Ghetto at the Royal National Theatre

All just...memorable. Edge of seat or ears ringing stuff really

I was really too young to appreciate it properly, but I did see Patti Lupone in "Piaf", and was speechless afterward. It was the first serious theatre experience for this country girl.

Paul Weller at a very strange place that I haven't been to since in Manchester. It had a sloping floor and no chairs. Good gig apart from the fact that I was six months pregnant and almost suffered severe crush injuries. Got a place right at the front on the barrier but everyone surged forward and my dh spent the entire night stood behind me with his arms locked against the rail so I wouldn't be crushed.

Ghetto at the National Theatre (yonks ago)
Billy Elliott
wild duck (recently at donmar)

ds2 in his panto tonight

I saw Pink Floyd at the Dome in Brighton in 1970 (I think - maybe 71) - Dark Side of the Moon - fantastic!

Ray Charles at Royal Festival Hall
Robert Plant at sunset at Glastonbury

Cecilia Bartoli at the Wigmore Hall (also we looked after her beforehand when she did her signing at HMV, she was lovely)
King LEar at the RSC when I was in the sixth form.
LSO playing Shostakovich 10 and some Arvo Part

that's all I can think of at the moment....remember my brother and sister going to see Bruce at Wembley on the Born in the USA tour - I was so jealous but they didn't want their kid sister hanging aroun

Oh, and Derek Jacobi and Robert Lindsay in Becket - that was pretty impressive too.

chippendales

Sooty Live at Southport Little Theatre.

Duran Duran at the Edinburgh Playhouse when I was fifteen.

Carmina Burana (sp) in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on a boiling hot night in the 1990s.

Theatre: Stars in the Morning Sky - by the Mali Theatre of Leningrad, when I was a student in Glasgow in the 1990's. I didn't understand a word and was too skint to afford audio translation but it was fantastic.

What a lovely question - it's made me feel all nostalgic and that I should get out more!

Benjamin Zephaniah and Billy Bragg (free) in Jubilee Gardens, London in about 1983

Jonzi D about 8/10 years ago at the Peacock theatre (I think). During his performance Jonzi D produced a fake gun and pointed it towards the audience - collective intake of breath. It was clever, brave and funny all at the same time (you had to be there)

Blind Faith in Hyde Park 1968

Theatre

The Libertine / The Man of Mode - Royal Court Theatre
Cloud Nine at the Embassy Theatre
Mojo at the Royal Court Theatre
Felicity Kendall in Arcadia at the Haymarket
Hobson's Choice (Birmingham Royal Ballet)
The Tempest - Orchard Theatre
soo any more plays - ohh I miss the west end and free tickets!

Ben Folds at the Brixton Academy
The Pixies at Crystal Palace Bowl

Simon & Garfunkel reunion at Madison Square Garden. The rendition of "America" was breathtaking.

Earlybird, may I ask how old you are? You've seen some really interesting people.

And Janh- don't like Pink Floyd myself but still V cool

blimey how could I forget? - Kirsty MacColl at a festival in Ireland, 1992 (also saw the Pogues, Wonder Stuff and loads of other great people at the same festival)