Quoted from pezpunk:

i've been to over a thousand concerts. i've seen tons of huge acts in big arenas -- Metallica, Guns n Roses, AC/DC, you name it. i've been to a half dozen lollapaloozas, countless HFStivals and other big fests. Seen everyone from Megadeth to Phil Collins. honestly, though, arena shows and huge festivals are boring and annoying. give me a medium-size club or better yet a dive bar 100 times out of 100.
the only act i've seen in a huge place that actually made it worthwhile was -- yes, i'm dead serious -- Weird Al Yankovic. his live show absolutely blows away anything else i've seen done at a large venue. he plays 5 or 6 songs with a common theme (say, new wave/80s stuff) while he and his band wear Devo costumes or whatever, then he runs back stage to change while huge screens show rapid-fire clips from UHF and Al TV and other random insane things he's done over the years, and then less than 60 seconds later he comes charging out again in, say, the fat suit costume from his "Fat" video, and does another set of songs about food. he keeps going with themed costume changes all night long. the man must be in fantastic physical condition, because he spazzes out for like 2 hours and doesn't slow down. dancing around for 15 minutes in that fat suit alone would ruin me. his band is excellent: they can ape any music of the last 40 years, and it's the same 4 guys he's had since the very beginning. Al Yankovic gets absolute top respect from me as an entertainer. i highly recommend checking out his show if he swings by your town. no joke, it's worth every penny.
other than that, all of the shows i would consider at the top of my list were at much smaller venues. i'll list a handful of my absolute favorites. there's just no way i could pick one.
- Joan Jett fronting a punk band called Evil Stig at the original 930 club (DC) in the early 90s. there were only a handful of people there. the old 930's stage was only about 2 feet off the ground, with no barrier in front of it. i stood basically eye to eye with Joan and she basically sweated and spit all over me during her set. absolutely one of the best shows i've seen. they played a bunch of classics like Crimson and Clover and I Love Rock n Roll, as well as the punk stuff from Evil Stig's repertoire.
- The Dead Milkmen, again at the old 930. it was 1990. i was starting high school, not yet old enough to drive. My future drummer was at this show, too. i hadn't met him at this point, but he was going berserk and bounding around the pit like a lunatic. i watched him break his arm against a support beam, a really nasty break, and he seemed kind of excited about it. i remember thinking he was a psycho. years later, after getting to know him and playing in a band with him, i can say my initial impression was entirely accurate. The Dead Milkmen were one of the most interesting bands ever. they had such a weird vibe, all rooted in this kind of dark surrealist humor.
- The Buzzcocks at the Black Cat in DC, early 90s. These guys were one of the first bands i was ever into, one of the giants in forming my musical tastes. they were like living legends to me, and seeing them play live was just an incredible experience. it was not close to a sold out show, there was plenty of room for dancing on the floor, and Pete Shelley was conversing with us and giving props to the dance moves of some of us between songs. those of us who were there had an absolute blast, it felt like we were just hanging out with them while they happened to be playing a concert. and to my delight, their live show was off the charts in terms of energy. the fact that the place was half full mattered not one bit, they gave everything they had that night.
- Fugazi at Fort Reno, late 90s. everyone in DC has a story about the time they got yelled at by Ian Mackaye, and this is mine. i wasn't even moshing or anything. i wasn't even standing near the front of the audience. Fugazi was between songs and i said something to a friend, i have no idea what, but it caused Ian to stop the show for a lecture directed at me about the proper way to watch a band perform, which apparently does not include any conversation with friends. i definitely felt like a kid whose teacher had just caught him passing notes in class. except in this case the teacher was the Founding Father of DC Punk, the Straight Edge movement, and Dischord records.
god, so many awesome shows ... The Ramones, Billy Bragg (AWESOME showman! go see him!), Two Man Advantage, Agnostic Front, Dropkick Murphys (when they first started out and their shows were just BONKERS), DRI, MDC, i can't list them all. i'm probably an ass for doing this, but i'm gonna throw in two of my own:
- my band at the (new) 930 in 2004. sorry i'm just blatantly bragging here, but it is a show i will never forget. we got to play a sold out show at the 930 and we had such an amazing time. by the end of our set, 40 or so of our fans had stormed the stage and were chanting our lyrics along with us. i think i've posted this pic before, but oh well. deal with it.

- our bassist's bachelor party show in 2010 at the Sidebar Tavern in Baltimore. while we were playing, someone opened several cases of Twinkies and threw them all over the bar and stage and floor. the entire club was covered in a slick white goo. it was the most hilarious mosh pit i've ever seen. not one person could stay standing for more than a few seconds. it was just an endless series of hilarious pratfalls. no sooner would someone go charging in than their feet would fly up over their head and they'd knock two others on their asses. i have no idea how many concussions were sustained that night. our instruments were coated in the stuff too. and man, then after we were done playing ... oops this is a family site ... i'll just stop there.

Quoted from cycochris:

righto. been to many gigs, mostly metal. heres my picks:
best overall event: Motorheads Motorboat. last year we traveled from Auckland, NZ to Miami to go on a 5 day cruise with motorhead, slayer, anthrax, suicidal tendencies, exodus, corrosion of conformity, hatebreed etc etc. each band played 2 shows on the boat. bloody awesome. im a thrasher at heart so pretty much all my favourite thrash bands on one boat. brilliant.
my best individual gigs:
sepultura, third world posse tour. small venue, amazing gig. seeing igor play the drums live actually made me give up playing. there was no way i would be that good. took up drinking instead. super fun mosh pit!
alice cooper, 28.4.1991. how do i know the exact date? it was on my 18th birthday. perfect night of thunderstorms here in auckland, seemed fitting for an awesome show. great gig.
entombed, same difference tour, london. massive entombed fan, especially wolverine blues. i was so into them at that point. i was front row at the london astoria, man that show rocked!
iron maiden, somewhere back in time tour. all their classics, opening with aces high, they played phantom of the opera, poweslave, rime of the ancient mariner etc. brilliant.
shihad, killjoy album show. local nz band played their 1995 album in full a few years ago at rotordaves favourite venue the powerstation. great power rock album, amazing show.
» YouTube video

Quoted from fireball2:

The ones I can remember right now:
1. Clash in '79 @ Santa Monica Civic. Leaning against the stage, not a barrier. London Calling tour.
2. Ramones in '80 @ Warfield Theatre, SF. Crushed against the stage. Joey stepped on my fingers.
3. Motorhead at a club in SF in '79. The stage was 3 inches high. Lemmy spewed saliva everywhere. Nightranger opened and the Motorhead fans were flipping them off the whole set like 3 inches from their faces.
4. Devo at Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma in '80. One week before the gig that O-Din was at that started this thread.
5. Elvis Costello @ Warfield in '81. Also saw him in '79 @ Cal POly SLO. That might have been an even better show.
6. Monsters of Rock @ Oakland Colosseum in '79: Nugent, Aerosmith, AC/DC and more. Aerosmith was soooo loaded. Also saw the Day on the Green a couple of weeks before with Journey, J Geils, UFO, and Thin Lizzy. That fairly rocked too.
7. BOC, Cheap Trick, Pat Travers @ California State Fair in '79.
8. Pretenders @ Cal Poly SLO in '80 I think.
9. Saxon and Metallica in '82 at the Whiskey in SmellA. Metallica was the opening act and did mostly covers and got blown away by Saxon: » YouTube video I was there baby.

Quoted from Jackontherocks:

So many shows but let me decide my favorite on vacation and return