PunBB

My favorite non-Hip concert was the last show that Clutch played in London, Ontario. Neil Fallon, the lead singer, was in very good voice, and had incredible energy. So what's your favorite non-Hip show?

I'm not sure I can answer this question with one answer, there have been so many fantastic experiences. Off the top of my head:

Radiohead with Michael Stipe of R.E.M. in Vancouver, August 2003
Sufjan Stevens in Vancouver, October 2006
R.E.M. with Modest Mouse and the National in Vancouver, May 2008
The Hold Steady with the Drive-by Truckers in Seattle, November 2008
The Dead with the Allman Brothers Band at the Gorge Amphitheatre, May 2009
Yo La Tengo in Portland Oregon, October 2009
The National with the Walkmen in Vancouver, Sept 2010
Phish at the Gorge, August 2011

Bruce Springsteen - Buffalo, NY - 2009-11-22
I do not listen to Springsteen at all, and I only know of his hits.
This was the last stop ever supposedly for Bruce and the E-Street Band and I have always heard his concerts were a good time so I decided to grab some tickets.
Damn! I was blown away - just an amazing show from start to finish, literally unbelievable.

A few that come to mind...

Pearl Jam - 2010-05-20 - New York, New York
Billy Joel - MSG 2006 (During his '12 Gardens Live' run)
Chromeo at the Halifax Marquee, Fall 2007
Paul McCartney - Halifax Commons 2009
Wilco - Halifax Forum 2010-03-03

Those were the first 5 to come to mind.
I really want to add Holy Fuck to that list... as well as Gord & The Country Of Miracles @ The Fredericton Playhouse.

Sinead O'Connor at Buffalo State College.-  Her first North American show and she had Jonny Marr on guitar. She was 19. People make fun of her now but it was the best live performance I have ever experienced.

Off the top of my head:

U2- Montreal, October, 2001 (still holds up as the best show I've ever seen)
Pearl Jam- last night in Calgary (incredible!)
Wilco- Calgary, 2010
Lowest of the Low- Reunion tour #1, Ottawa, 2001
Midnight Oil- ARA '93 (absolutely mind blowing)
Ben Harper- Sasquatch Festival, 2006
Radiohead- MacEwan Hall Ballroom, U of C, 1996
Headstones- The Republik, Calgary, 1995. (the band walks out on stage, Hugh grabs the mic and says "Drop the fuckin' puck", and they launch into a blistering version of It's All Over. The crowd went bezerk)
Rheostatics- U of C campus, 1997 with the Weakerthans opening. Amazing!
Soundgarden- Max Bell Centre, Calgary, 1994

The Rolling Stones- Magnetic Hill Moncton, 2005...still tops on my list.

yeah stones/moncton was the most surreal show i've been too, both times i've seen clutch they were amazing

other shows that are up there
tool front row in 2001
pearl jam toronto 2006 night 2
neil young halifax 2008

Out of the countless shows I have seen, there is still one that stands out above them all....Peter Gabriel 1993 Secret World at the Skydome (sky tent). This has never been topped and doubt it ever will be.

Other honorable mentions:

1989 - Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels - CNE (first time seeing them ,had given up hope, hard to beat that rush)
2000 - Roger Waters, In The Flesh, Molson Amphitheatre
2002 - Rolling Stones - 40 Licks, ACC
2010 - Roger Waters The Wall - ACC
2009 - Neil Young - K-Rock Centre (Pocahontas and Cortez made the night amazing)
2009 - Brad Paisley - Scotiabank Place (best guitarist I have ever seen live)
1997 -Bob Dylan - Utica NY - Stanley Theatre (great small venue and you throw in Senor and Simple Twsit)

Pearl Jam - Winnipeg 2005 (Best show I have ever seen).
U2 - Montreal 2011 (Night 2)
Danko Jones - Halifax 2004
Sloan - Winnipeg 2005

Pearl Jam-MSG '08 night one (This is beginning to become a theme in this thread, eh?)
The Neil Young Project-Queen E Centre, Vancouver, Olympics '10 (Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, BSS and other performing 2+ hours of Uncle Neil's classics)
Sasquatch Festival '10

And those are just a few that come to mind...

Way too many to choose from so I had to go through the ticket stub collection dating back to 1975 to refresh my memory - these are the standouts in no particular order:

The Who Toronto CNE Stadium July 16th 1980
Ben Harper NY,NY Roseland Ballroom November 4th 1999 (3 hours of magic)
Radiohead Ottawa Congress Centre Aug 20 1997
U2 with Interpol Toronto Rogers Centre July 11th 2011
Sigur Ros Toronto Massey Hall September 22 2008
Pearl Jam Hamilton Copps Coliseum Sept 15 2011
Rush (I believe with Max Webster) Hamilton McMaster University Dec 30 1976

This makes me feel ancient!

Jane's Addiction - This past August in Calgary. Been a massive fan since meeting Perry Farrell in a cafeteria line in the Minneapolis airport. They were better than I could have imagined them.

Van Morrison - August 2010 in Calgary. Also a massive fan of his for +20 years and he was having an "on" night when we saw him.

Dave Matthews Band - Late August 2001 at the Gorge Amphitheater. Was a minor fan until this concert but it completely converted me. Was blown away by the continuous dramatic buildup and then let down in almost every song. Venue is also one, if not the best on the planet.

Aerosmith - Regina 1988. Was my first big arena concert and made a big impression on me.

Metallica - Winnipeg 1989 - Was not a Metallica fan at all and was only there to see the Cult. Cult was good but crowd not into them. Metallica came on a blew the roof off. I was so amazed at their intensity and musicianship... immediately became a big fan.

Awesome question and really tough to answer...

At a push I'd probably go for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds at the Hammersmith Apollo, but honourable mention goes to to Wintersleep at the Mod Club.

Matthew Good at the Moncton Casino, 14/10/2011.

Best 30 bucks ive spent to see a show in a while. Very refreshing to see that there still are great priced lived shows out there.