However, it was a chance to see our favorite rain dog performing some of his finest material at the height of his quirky powers. Here are 10 of the biggest benefit concerts of all time. The Big Time shows captured those two worlds colliding. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $272,863,087 That terrible thought is enough to make us want to turn the page back to the Diary of a Madman Tour. The 1980s brought some of the best music of the 20th century to the world. It marked the zenith of the Eagles as a country-rock outfit, and many argue the band has never soared higher. A list of 80s concerts people have attended and their reviews of the concerts. Nina Corcoran, 77. distribution partner, email us at Nina Corcoran, 50. Nina Corcoran, Yes, we can look back to a time before Lindsey Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac. performing arts It was two already popular acts in the middle of a career rise, both giving it their all to audiences who were already dying to see them. The legendary tour, of course, gets best remembered for a single storm-shortened night in Central Park. The tour has been far and away Sheerans best. Last year, when the Rolling Stones tour grossed over $130 million and the Eagles earned $59 million, "we were all doing victory dances," says Andy Gensler, editor of the concert industry bible Pollstar. Gene Simmons was Uncle Sam, and he wanted YOU in his army. David Byrne wiggled like a nervous, fidgeting, unsure nerd. - Quora Answer (1 of 12): The mid 80s was my initiation to concert attendance by myself; away from the bosom of my parents, who enjoyed gigs and took us kids too. Brooks was the first 10-gallon megastar to prove that you could be a little bit country by day and a lot of rock and roll each night onstage. But Cave turned a period of mourning into a universal acknowledgement of life moving on no matter what you choose to do. In fact, no tour by a female artist has ever drawn more fans. Year(s): 198789. Unfortunately, the magic thats yielded some of the finest folk albums and live moments of all time has often taken a backseat to the duos clashing personal differences. From the stone pyramids to the bedazzled face masks to the abundance of religious imagery, the Yeezus tour was a visual feast for one of Kanyes strongest albums. For a few years, the Rolling Stones held the title for the top-grossing tour of all timethanks to their "A Bigger Bang tour. The tour thrilled millions, sent Prince even higher into the stratosphere, and pissed off Tipper Gore. Little Richard 1962 European Tour (1962), By the early 60s, Little Richard (born Richard Penniman) had traded in rock and roll for gospel. In fact, the Rumours Tour takes us back to not only the bands most successful years but also its most tumultuous. Garth Brooks The Garth Brooks World Tour (1993-94), To non-country fans, barrel-chested Garth Brooks might be little more than that guy who sang jingles for Dr. Pepper in the early 2000s. Total tour attendance: 2.66 million Legendary shows at venues like Shea Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl not only helped set attendance and revenue records but also captured footage of just how emotional fans could get at a concert. In some ways, it felt like Prince was the orchestra leader and finally had all the pieces to conduct his grand vision. And I miss it when Im not doing it. Here are the people whove done it best. A couple of years later we met at my studio in New York City. Taylor Swift began her career as a country artist; her self-titled debut hit shelves in 2006 and was full of twangy guitar and fiddle interludes. Various Artists --Warped Tour(1995), Warped Tour was the swan song of a generation bent on flipping off the status quo. St. Vincent- Fear the Future Tour (2017-18), What do you do when youre one of the greatest guitarists of all time? So many fans are still demanding to see him that there are regular shows scheduled until August 2019, with the possibility of adding even more dates. Simon needed a new inspiration to take hold of him, and he found that muse in the traditional music of South Africa, which he would combine with pop to create Graceland, his best-selling album as a solo artist. This final tour was run in conjunction with the release of the groups final album, "The Division Bell., Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $423,574,349 While artists like Madonna doubled down on creative costumes and Janet Jackson would go on to make her shows all about electric dance routines, Houston eschewed much of that showmanship in favor of wowing audiences with her musical creativity: improvising, scatting with her band, or adding jazzy or gospel inflections to her vocal arrangements. We cant say for certain. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Eventually, the tour hit its stride, bringing in $300 million over its 14-month run. 1979/80 Highway To Hell 1980/81 Back In Black 1981/82 For Those About To Rock 1983/84 Flick Of The Switch 1985/86 Fly On the Wall 1986 Who Made Who 1988 Blow Up Your Video 1990/91 The Razors Edge 1996 Ballbreaker 2000/01 Stiff Upper Lip 2003 Stones & Club Dates 2008/10 Black Ice 2015/16 Rock Or Bust Their manager booked dates that dodged major markets, sending the band through cities like Atlanta, Memphis, San Antonio, Baton Rouge, Dallas, and Tulsa before concluding in San Francisco. It wasnt an act of innovation in their eyes; it was an act of betrayal. Jawbreaker- 2018 Reunion Tour (2018), For 10 solid years, punk fans and emo kids got to soak up the earnest talent that was Jawbreaker. Matt Melis, 62. There are a few guidelines and Bill Wyman walked away from the band, saying that he was tired of touring and would no longer continue playing with the group. Maybe that pain fueled the music. Those shows broke box-office records across the US previously held by The Rolling Stones as magician and skeptic James Randi introduced a series of gruesome stage effects, freakiest of all a guillotine beheading that put the roll in rock and roll. It was The Police in their prime era at their highest point, before drama got in the way. Various Artists - Motortown Revue (1960s), The Motortown Revue was a series of traveling lineups throughout the 60s that allowed Berry Gordy to package and showcase his talent at Motown to both the chitlin circuit and later on the world. Nina Corcoran, Theres no science to picking out the best tours, especially when some of the artists on this list have more great tours than you can count on a single hand. & Rakim, and elder statesman Whodini in a revue-style format that left no doubt that there was a new type of music on the block. Is it legit? While on this tour, Joel has created a sort ofresidency for himself at Madison Square Garden, playing one show there a month, as long as ticket sales stay high (already six dates at MSG have been announced for 2019). Buyer pays for return shipping. Top Contributed Quizzes in Music. On the eve of their UK tour, Joe Strummer went missing as a publicity stunt-turned-actual scare. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $291,414,474 The first tour in 1997 was hyped but still small, as they had yet to make it big. Un concert guichets ferms est donn le 5 dcembre 1983 l' Olympia. Nina Corcoran, 79. Although the decade of excess came to a close over 32 years ago, many of the biggest acts that came of age during the MTV era, like Sting, Duran Duran and Blondie, are still touring in 2022. The short winter tour in intimate venues across the US ended with two nights at Bowery Ballroom mere hours before Christmas. Ouch. It would be one of the first times that Redding, the equivalent of a powerful locomotive as a performer, would look out and see predominantly white faces in one of his audiences. Total tour attendance: 2.67 million Avid Stones fans claim that this is the groups best tour, but its also one that almost didnt happen. By the time they branched out in 1976 to play new venues in other cities, their reputation had to have proceeded them. Shows played: 124 It was a hint of what was to come before infighting became the norm, the band broke up, and Strummer eventually passed away. He had toured extensively with both The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, playing before royalty, debuting many of his most famous calling cards in concert (including his single glove, sequined jacket, and the moonwalk), and touring the songs off hit solo albums Off the Wall and Thriller with his siblings. by Stephen Spiewak, July 20, 2016 Winning comparisons to The Beatles forboth their popularity and their British origins, their "Where We Are Tour was the groups fourth and final tour as a complete band. Others would say the band was never better than when setting endurance records on a nightly basis on the Wrecking Ball Tour. In a sense, they still havent found what theyre looking for, but are well ahead of schedule in their quest. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $421,181,298 There were so many great bands and amazing songs that it's hard to narrow it down to just a few. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $364,300,000 The Jesus and Mary Chain's Jim Reid curated the tour in hopes of proving independent rock artists could be worthy of bigger venues, using Lollapalooza as a blueprint for how to do it. Total tour attendance: N/A Luckily, theres plenty of footage of Marleys final performances and message, including a sold-out stadium show thats still considered to be the largest concert in Italian history. Led Zeppelin- North American Tour 1968/1969 (1968-69), Its telling that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page cant leave their homes without being asked about the chances of a Led Zeppelin reunion. arts center Concert For Bangladesh: Madison Square Gardens, New York City (1971) When sitar maestro Ravi Shankar learned of the fast-escalating. It was the era of young adults claiming their thrones in hip-hop, and seeing that moment in history live was (and still is) a coveted thing. That boldness swells in size when people realize just how powerful that can be -- powerful enough for the radio, even. Public Enemy and Anthrax - Bring the Noise Tour - (1991), Aerosmith and Run-DMC had already proven that hard rock and hip-hop could play nice together, but Anthrax and Public Enemy discovered what acts like Rage Against the Machine would soon learn: the politics of hip-hop and muscle of metal could amplify their already booming calls of injustice tenfold. Hey, hey. Stayin alive, stayin alive. -- Matt Melis, 35. Shows played: 159 As a blend of pop, soul, rock, and hip-hop, the album showed how versatile Mone was in creating music. Announced at a news conferenceheld under the Brooklyn Bridge, the Stones "Bridges to Babylon tour supported their album of the same nametheir 23rd U.S. studio album. While the tour's production was notable, particularly it's rotating LED cube dubbed "the Monolith," it was Beyonc's ever-improving talent that stole the show. It was a scene being born back then, and its a legendary moment now. Four days before the first date of the tour, Beyonc dropped Lemonade, a surprise visual concept album complete with a 65-minute film and 12 staggering songs. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $422,597,665 Her first time out in 1984, appropriately dubbed The Virgin Tour, caused near-Beatles levels of hysteria among young American females, many of whom donned the Material Girls style, which gave birth to the term Madonna wannabe. By 1987, the US was not enough, and the Whos That Girl World Tour sent a more sophisticated, but no less risque, Madonna out to conquer the world. Luckily, hes getting to follow that Yellow Brick Road one last time. -- Matt Melis, 31. So catching them during their prime would've been a treat not just for their youthful dexterity to play complex parts, but for the general bond that could be felt onstage before bitterness took over. Matt Melis, 34. Matt Melis, 48. Total tour attendance: 4.74 million Nina Corcoran, 38. Matt Melis, 54. Genesis- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour (1974-75), Few prog rock tours are as infamous as Genesis' jaunt in support of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the band's sixth studio album and last with Peter Gabriel as the lead singer. That set list, combined with a collection of his classic hits like "Born to Run and "Thunder Road meant that many of the showslasted upwards of three hours. In truth, so was his creativity as a songwriter. On a crisp fall afternoon in Dublinin 1976, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. gathered in Mullens kitchen anddecided to form a band:U2. Performing every song from an iconic album like this one isn't easy, especially when there are 22 songs to play, not to mention other hits and singles from your catalog. The list below was born out of some pretty serious arguments. -- Matt Melis, 78. --Matt Melis, 93. Was Bruce Springsteen better in 1975 or 1978? So her sound engineer Martin Fisher used a wire clothes hanger to create a wireless headset microphone. Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, #29. U2 has. Youre almost levitating on the energy from the audience, says Keith Richards. Total tour attendance: 3.47 million That tells you about all you need to know. Year(s): 201213. But perhaps more importantly, it was a bill stacked with powerful women, a first for the Honda Civic Tour and one that paved the way for other acts that followed. Which was more awesome, The Joshua Tree or Zoo TV? Year(s): 200708. When the tour was announced in 2002, Cher claimed that it would be her last (spoiler alert: it wasnt), and planned a massive, glittery farewell for herself with an incredible 326 stops. To visit!, This is not an exercise tour by Roger Waters, The Red Hot Chili Peppers 2022 World Tour featuring The Strokes, Thundercat, St. Vincent and more on select dates, REO Speedwagons Live and UnZoomed Tour with Styx and Loverboy, Violent Femmes with Deap Vally, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Bhi Bhiman and The Breeders on select dates, Pet Shop Boys Unity Tour with New Order, Daryl Halls BeforeAfter Tour with Todd Rundgren and John Oates on select dates, New Kids on the Blocks Mixtape 2022 Tour Featuring Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue and Rick Astley, Rick Springfield with Men At Work and John Waite on select dates, Iron Maidens Legacy of the Beast Tour with Trivium and Within Temptation, Mtley Cre with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, ZZ Tops Raw Whiskey Tour featuring Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar and The Circles Crazy Times Tour with George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Dead Kennedys with Nekromantix and The Venomous Pinks, The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Indulgent and Misguided Vanity Tour by Weird Al with Emo Phillips, The 26 Biggest Concerts and Festivals in NJ This Summer, Is StubHub legit? and Mastodon announced the co-headlining tour during critical points in both bands' careers, especially since it was just before Against Me! The complex arrangements on the new album saw her performing more nuanced, in-depth material both instrumentally and vocally. Does it get any better than that? Nina Corcoran, 25. Nearly every night of the tour, fans were surprised by casual guest appearances, including Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Beck, John Legend, Lorde, Mary J. Blige, Mick Jagger, St. Vincent, and more. Many of these performances would find their way onto his classic Rust Never Sleeps and Live Rust albums, with Youngs aggressive playing alongside Crazy Horse having a direct influence on both punk rock and the future alternative scene. Year(s): 201617. Nina Corcoran, Joni Mitchell's 1974 tour of North America was the time and place to hear her songs spring to life exactly like how they sound on record, though traditionalists beware. December 3, 1980 Previous Dynasty Tour Next 10th Anniversary Tour The Unmasked Tour was a 1980 concert tour by the hard rock group KISS. January 23, 2019 The legendary rock group, The Who, perform on stage during the band's final . -- Matt Melis, 55. Matt Levy covers the entertainment industry live, writing about upcoming concerts, festivals, shows and events. Although the decade of excess ended over 32 years ago, many of the biggest bands that grew up in the MTV era, like Sting, Duran Duran and Blondie, are still touring in 2022. Still, few tours capture the spirit of 90s alternative rock like those early Lollapaloozas, especially the tours 1992 installment. At this point, The Who were settling into their role as rock superstars. 1 Name Just One - 10 to 1: Music . Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler mixed elements of classic rock with metal undertones and slasher influences and brought something totally new to the industry. by Amy, August 26, 2020 1 UK independent chart position and proved the genre was a force to be reckoned with, and everyone got the message by the time the Grindcrusher UK tour started. The tours namesake album had just gone No. The most popular metal band of all time touring with the most popular metal band of that time. British-born pop singer Ed Sheeranreleased his debut album "+ in 2011, and it instantly won him millions of fans. While both acts are fun in their own right, having the bands perform back to back turned venues like The Fillmore into proper discotheques, where the spirit of live dance bands felt as palpable as ever (though maybe it was the sweat that was palpable, in hindsight). Total tour attendance: 4.62 million The Eagles: Long Road Out of Eden Tour, #24. He had a hit movie, a hit soundtrack, and, with The Revolution behind him, the band hed always wanted. Watching the band onstage, it was impossible not to feel her energy transmit to onlookers, encouraging them, too, to seize as much as possible out of life in any given chance. On the Do You Believe? At the age of 64, Wonder brought more exuberance and glee to the stage than anyone could have expected, so much so that he chose to add over 20 more dates to the tour to keep it going. ZZ Top Concerts 1980s 1980 January 4, 1980 Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, TX (supported by Eric Johnson) January 5, 1980 Convention Center Arena, Dallas, TX January 6, 1980 Tarrant County Convention Center Arena, Ft. Worth, TX January 10, 1980 Civic Center Coliseum, Amarillo, TX His third album " was released in 2017, and the albums tour began the same year. See details The set, like the tour, is known for catering to both hardcore Deadheads and welcoming newcomers. The band used an aerial photo of the concert in the liner notes of its . And their proximity to the artist doesnt seem to matter, as ticket sales are up in every venue from intimate clubs to massive stadiums. Theres a case to be made for each and recent archival releases from the 70s remind us that Young needed nothing but a guitar and a mic to mesmerize but 1978s Rust Never Sleeps Tour with Crazy Horse offered the best of all worlds. Shows played: 219 . ), Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $319,972,060 However, the first few years were rough going. -- Matt Melis, The frenzy has its own name: Beatlemania. However, now that Sabbath has officially closed shop as of 2017 and Ozzy Osbourne insists his latest farewell (No More Tours II) will be his last extended goodbye, we find ourselves staring down the barrel of a potentially Ozzyless concert slate for the first time in decades. LL Cool J, Whodini, Eric B. Consider it Americas belated response to the British Invasion. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $421,251,623 Nina Corcoran, 16. Im not going anywhere. For a woman who had spent her youth in the housing projects of Detroit, it acted, like so many of Ross performances, as a moment of triumph, defiance, and celebration. All recounts of the tour point to how amused and bitter Johnny Rotten seemed to be, not to mention Sid Vicious' struggling attempts at bass. Instead of indulging her indie rock or manic solos of the past, Annie Clark leaned hard into her St. Vincent persona for Masseduction, her fifth studio album. It was only because his records were still selling overseas that the founding father of rock agreed to take Sam Cooke and tour Europe in 62. However, the Bad World Tour was the moment Jackson took over the world and truly became the King of Pop. Nina Corcoran, 85. His 2021 cover headline was "The Great Return. On the Victory Tour, his last stint as a Jackson, he actually performed his solo albums Off the Wall and Thriller with the group and stunned the world with his moonwalk, single glove, and sequined jacket trademarks hed take with him into his solo career. Nina Corcoran, 88.