Insane Clown Posse - Easily the best, most insane live performances ever!

Twiztid

Anybody Killa

Basically everybody on Psychopathic Records

Tech N9ne

Bone Thugs in Harmony

Gwar - Easily the second best, second most insane live performances ever!

Tom Petty

Metallica

AC/DC

A bunch of bands I'm forgetting

A bunch of local stuff most of you won't care about

I've not seen many "big" names, as most big acts don't venture to Halifax, and those that do price themselves out of my ticket range.  I regret not going to Lenny Kravitz and Pearl Jam, though.

If you are a Pink Floyd fan, and the Australian Pink Floyd show comes to town, do not hesitate and go see them.  They are AMAZING.  Their current tour, a recreation of The Wall, is one of the biggest and best spectacles I've seen.

EDIT - these bands only Canadians, or friends of Canadians, are going to recognize:

Blue Rodeo (twice - the Lost Together tour, and then shortly after Tremolo was released)
Great Big Sea (too many times to count) - They are one of the best live bands I've ever seen.  Great audience interaction, and they just want to have a good time.
The Tragically Hip - twice; the In Violet Light tour, and then for World Container.  One of the hardest working and most fan-dedicated bands around.
Big Sugar - just before they hit it big, I saw them at a small club and the blew the fuckin doors off the place.  Gordie Johnson is one of the most kick-ass guitarists around.

Then theres Huey Lewis and The News (the Small World tour), Randy Travis (ugh, I went through a shitty country phase), Howie Mandel (back in the blow up a glove on my face days - it was hysterically funny), Aussie Floyd twice.

I am not really a concert guy, and leaving out music festivals and local bands/bar bands, I don't have much of a list

B.B King
Buddy Guy
Wide Spread Panic

Quote from: RockViper;277080B.B King

I saw him when he supported U2. I think that was about '88.

Quote from: droog;277145I saw him when he supported U2. I think that was about '88.

Saw him when he was touring on the Louis Jordan tribute album, and he was great! But Bobby Blue Bland opened for him and absolutely stole the show. Now that man is a performer.

Some other highlights

Solomon Burke, the King of Soul
Alice Cooper
Cassandra Wilson
Clutch
Faith No More
Angels of Light (Michael Gira of the Swans)
Neko Case
Taj Mahal
Fugazi (Probably the band I've seen the most)
Tool (Dull, but with acrobats!)
Dismemberment Plan
Ted Leo/Pharmacists
Rocket from the Crypt
Sister Machine Gun
David Byrne (With string quartet!)
Ghostface Killah
Run-DMC
Common
The Mekons
Duran Duran
Prince...

...lots more...I love seeing live shows. Hoping to see George Thorogood soon!

Quote from: James J Skach;276687I saw U2 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana on, IIRC, the Rattle tour. No opening act. One of the best concerts I ever saw. One of those times when there was a chemistry between the band and the audience and the mood was just right.

Hm, I think they tended to go for that; I'm not saying it is or isn't sincere, but each time I saw them (it was at least twice) in the '80's, there was a phase of the concert that could be described that way.

Quote from: Elliot Wilen;277181Hm, I think they tended to go for that; I'm not saying it is or isn't sincere, but each time I saw them (it was at least twice) in the '80's, there was a phase of the concert that could be described that way.

Yeah, I don't know if it's cynical or not, but they do have an ability to connect on that level. I will say that in this case it was pretty much the entire show, not a portion or phase. I think it's part of what makes Bono the front man he is.

Anyway, I held off saying anything because I didn't think people would believe me. But this AM I decided to Google it up, and sure enough, there was a review. So, I can now tell you that I saw Neil Young and Crazy in a concert where a storm blew out the electricity but the band kept playing. Ironically, I had really gone to see Ben Folds Five, Morphine, and Beck - but found out that my wife, of at that time about a year, liked Neil Young (also interesting that the review does not mention Beck). What a show. It was quite amazing. That storm was like a hurricane in the Midwest. We were close enough (I think we were in the 8th or 10th row) that the water they talk about forced us to stand on our chairs as it rose to the underside of the seat; all the time watching a concert done, by act of nature, on stage amps by flashlight.

I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in Virginia, back in 2001.

A list of artists I saw live : Depeche Mode, Front242, Dead Can Dance, Killing Joke, Alien Sex Fiend, Fields of the Nephilim, Christian Death, Pixies, Cannibal Corpse, Immolation, Strapping Young Lad, Cradle of Filth, Tony Allen, Skatalites, Jaga Jazzist, Didier Lockwood, Crystal Distortion. It's put more or less chronologically, so I guess one could see trends over time. I limited the list to bands/artists whose performance I'd be glad to get more. (And I hate the lingering feeling that I forgot someone important)

I'm glad that a few of the names overlap ones previously mentioned. I didn't expect that much.

The Beach Boys
Tori Amos
FUSEBOX
BELLJAR
Voltaire