Best rock gigs you've seen at the City Hall

[hobinfoot]

Seen AC/DC twice once at the City Hall the other one Top Rank. They were great on both occasions. My ears rang for days after the Rank gig.

[wearysmith]

The list is so long. I saw that many. Memorable nights abound. The finest were sometimes not even the major 'noise' acts.

If an arm was twisted and I had to do the whole Top 5 thing I'd probably say:

The Strawbs in '73

Marillion '85

Bryan Ferry (with Chris Spedding on guitar) in '76

Be-Bop Deluxe/Doctors Of Madness in '76

Queen/Hustler in '74

 

Honorable mentions to The Spinners, Extreme, Wizzard, Van Halen (who slaughtered Sabbath), Lindisfarne, Eno & the Winkies, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople and Elton John (back when he was good in '73).   

[andycott]

I'd agree with LongCol re Bowie in '73- I remember the queue for tickets at 0630 went round and on Leopold Street, but luckily I spied a mate who let me in further up the queue! I also had Spanish oral exam that morning as well!

Also, Alex Harvey was brilliant with his crowd control using a hand-held spotlight.

The most boring stage performance was Roxy Music around the same time, but the music was good.

The loudest was Motorhead and also Gong in '76 approx.

 

[wearysmith]

Forgot to include in my 'honourable mentions' Sir David of Essex. '74, at the time 'Gonna Make You A Star' was massive. I was worried screaming girlies would drown him out.  They tried - but the man's a professional. Marvellous performance by him and his band.

[hobinfoot]

On 16/01/2020 at 23:31, e3sa934 said:

Bowie, 6 June 1973

I remember him sending a lovely suit to be cleaned by us. He stayed at the Grosvenor and we had to get it back early the next day.

[wearysmith]

14 hours ago, hobinfoot said:

I remember him sending a lovely suit to be cleaned by us. He stayed at the Grosvenor and we had to get it back early the next day.

I miss the Grosvenor. My wife & I used to go for meals there. Always enjoyed it when the guy doing card tricks would come to your table after you'd finished for some post-meal entertainment. 

I'm quite a practical person and would watch his hands very closely to see how the tricks were done. Never could spot the slight of hand.  

Edited August 19, 2020 by wearysmith

[RiffRaff]

Been to more than I can remember - Free, Hoople, Who, Nice, Floyd - but as regards sound quality and performance closely imitating recordings, there's one stand-out candidate...

Not rock in the true sense, I guess - unless you include the Giant's Causeway! - but the award goes to...

Clannad.

(And no, they weren't miming!)

 

Another stand-out night was Rory Gallagher...or it might've been Taste at the time. He actually turned his Strat down fully, so no amplification was involved at one point in a song. I remember one review saying that it was "like being in a church".

[SputnikBoy]

The Everly Brothers, 16 April 1960.  Not 'amazing' or 'mind-blowing' or any of the other superlatives used here for the exaggerated head-banging stuff that has turned so many people on.  Just two guys - Don and Phil - and their backing band - members of Buddy Holly's Crickets - with, if I recall, on-stage plug-in amps, singing some beautiful ballads in their two-part harmony and also belting out some GENUINE 1950's Rock and Roll!