For an artist constantly reaching beyond our collective imagination, Bjrk outdid herself in a way few could have expected or understood, even while watching it unfold before their eyes. Nina Corcoran, 70. Nina Corcoran, 38. The Rolling Stones American Tour 1969 (1969), Oh, to be a rock legend in your prime. Despite winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, Arcade Fire still performed with an exuberant, impassioned, almost amateaur energy that recalled their early years, the type of intense live delivery that suggested the band was leaving it all on the floor just for you, that very night, right before your eyes. The groups 2011 tour was their first proper tour instead of a smattering of dates. Total tour attendance: 2.67 million As single after single climbed both country and mainstream charts, you were just as likely to hear Shania Twain blasting from a 16-year-old teen girls first car as a rugged pickup truck. Roger Waters, a founding member of Pink Floyd, embarked on a solo career in the mid-1980s. The band used an aerial photo of the concert in the liner notes of its . Bob Dylan- Bob Dylan World Tour 1966 (1966), Not everyone was thrilled when Bob Dylan chose to go electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Others would say the band was never better than when setting endurance records on a nightly basis on the Wrecking Ball Tour. Total tour attendance: 2.21 million OutKast at Emory University (September 1999) (Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc) The late '90s/early 2000s was a great time to be a college student. Shows played: 120 The band's synthpop was at a musical peak, as was their energy. December 3, 1980 Previous Dynasty Tour Next 10th Anniversary Tour The Unmasked Tour was a 1980 concert tour by the hard rock group KISS. Shows played: 326 He can be reached at mlevy@njadvancemedia.com. In 2013, he embarked on his solo"Out There! tour, during which he played 91 gigs, sang a total of 3,631 songs (an average of 40 a show)including 13 that hed never performed beforeanddrank zero glasses of water while on stage. Total tour attendance: 2.0 million -- Matt Melis, 71. high school Musically, they seemed to have it all together, but the band was months away from falling apart. Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues Tour (1983), The year was 1983. As a blend of pop, soul, rock, and hip-hop, the album showed how versatile Mone was in creating music. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: The Rising Tour, #22. Stacker distribution partners receive a license to all Stacker stories, ), 02. Lady Gaga- Born This Way Ball (2012-13), Billed as an electro-metal pop-opera with openers like Zedd and The Darkness tacked on, Lady Gagas Born This Way Ball was set to be a spectacle even before she hit the road. live music Nina Corcoran, Lilith Fair, the brainchild of singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, struck an early victory for womens inclusion in the modern touring industry. The Police - Synchronicity Tour (1983-84), In 1983, just before their dissolution, The Police became the Biggest Band in the World thanks to the success of Synchronicity. Shows played: 51 The 26 dates across Europe marked the last tour with bassist John Deacon and singer Freddie Mercury. released their major label debut and after Mastodon made theirs. It was a transformation of human expectations, stage design, and low-to-high delivery, thankfully captured on film for preservation. Billy Joel An Innocent Man Tour (1984), After fighting for much of his young career to be viewed as a rock and roller, Billy Joel did the damndest thing in the early 90s: he stopped writing rock songs. Bookmark Quiz Bookmark Quiz Bookmark. Lets face it: as Yentl, Babs, or Greg Fockers mother, Barbra is like butter. Someone in the audience shouted out Judas!, prompting Dylan to turn to his band and order them to play it fucking loud. The Hawks obliged, and rock and roll has never been the same since. Shows played: 136 No matter your personal taste in music, its highly probable that you know Coldplays breakthrough single, "Yellow, which climbed the charts in 2000. And yet, when it finally hit the road, Roger Waters' tour managed to be even better in person than any press could've described. Which was more awesome, The Joshua Tree or Zoo TV? Joanna Newsom- Have One on Me Tour (2010), Though one could say Joanna Newsom continues to outdo herself in live settings today, the singer-songwriter and harpist outdid herself in 2010 while touring behind the triple-LP Have One on Me. "Then came Omicron, and we stopped dancing," he adds. LL Cool J, Whodini, Eric B. Yes, the Dead have great albums, like Workingmans Dead, and more bootlegs showcasing their live chops than most people could ever get around to listening to, but, more than any band in history, what they toured from city to city was a culture and brotherhood, and their people followed. AC/DC didnt so much replace Bon as they went out and found another brother with the same electric current pumping through his veins. He was working on new graphics! Stevie Wonder- Songs in the Key of Life Tour (2015), To hear Stevie Wonder is to hear what it feels like to smile from the joy of being alive. It was a hint of what was to come for the genre and the group themselves. Year(s): 200809, Celine Dions "Taking Chances World Tour marked her return to the touring circuit after taking an extended break for her first Las Vegas residency, "A New Day The tour wasdirected by Jamie King, who also directed Madonnas "Confessions World Tour, and included lots of new material from Dions album"Taking Chances, as well as several of her classics like "My Heart Will Go On and "The Prayer., Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $329,889,628 And Then There Was David Lindley, See the Beths Deliver Refreshing 'Expert in a Dying Field' Mini-Set on 'CBS Mornings', The YSL Case Is Stretching Fulton County's Justice System to Its Breaking Point, Trump Promises to Continue Presidential Campaign if Indicted, Then Delivers a Snoozy CPAC Speech, NBA 'Investigating,' Team Suspends Ja Morant After Allegedly Flashing Gun on Social Media. Jackson had hits, set touring records, and even played before royalty with his siblings. Alice Cooper The Billion Dollar Babies Tour (1973-74), Alice Cooper (aka The Godfather of Shock Rock) has been offering fans a dark and macabre stage show since the beginning of the 70s, which included the climax of a villainous Cooper being executed by an electric chair. A list of 80s concerts people have attended and their reviews of the concerts. Matt Melis, 57. The deciding factor on how to rank and include tours? This seminal, month-long run in the band's history is the tour that could turn the most oblivious listener into a cultish fan. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $483,515,954 And from that came Horses/Horses, the recorded live set from the festival, including a cover of The Who's "My Generation", to blast from your stereo, a reminder that Patti Smith's longevity and relevance will never fade, nor will her goosebump-raising voice lose its strength. Pregnancy had cut a planned tour in the mid-60s down to a mere handful of shows, and stage fright had kept her away from performing ever since. The set, like the tour, is known for catering to both hardcore Deadheads and welcoming newcomers. While earlier that year, they recorded a live set that would become Live at Leeds, it was the combination of these sounds -- the blues-rooted, riff-heavy early material with the more adventurous, cinematic, crescendo-filled material of a rock opera -- that nailed this tour down as a career peak. 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. Between 1973 and 1976, Journey released three studio albums, all of which failed to meet the expectations of Columbia Records, which nearly dropped the band. Phish leveled up and its impossible to deny. However, Floyd fans who saw the first leg of The Dark Side of the Moon Tour got a preview theyll never forget (and one the rest of the universe will forever be insanely jealous of). Top Contributed Quizzes in Music. June 10, 1982. After hitting it big time with their second studio album, Nirvana took their grunge to the mainstream level, shifting from modest clubs to arenas and festivals. Total tour attendance: 5.39 million Shows played: 124 Thats why were more curious about the months Hendrix and The Experience spent building a name for themselves in the UK before coming to America. 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. Total tour attendance: 3.23 million Hislongest concert ever took place during this tour, clocking in at just over four hours. 10. However, in 1993, the band began to splinter. Year(s): 200708. All Rights reserved. Neil Youngwith Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps Tour (1978), Theres no denying that Neil Young is a dynamic live performer. His third album " was released in 2017, and the albums tour began the same year. -- Matt Melis, Becks slow ascent upwards came after a string of unexpected hits. 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. Still, if we can only revisit one U2 tour, it would be 1983s War Tour, before many of their best-known hits came to dominate radio and prior to Bono becoming a slicked-back, leather-clad god who wears sunglasses indoors. As the album and its handful of singles climbed the charts and took the world by storm, the real storm was brewing backstage as romantic partnerships in the group fell apart. The chance to see Hendrix in smaller clubs already playing with his teeth and, yes, lighting his guitar on fire (often to the consternation of security) months before Americans got to see it overseas feels like the ultimate sneak preview. Richards said he only "spent a couple of days in the hospital; it later came out that hed actuallyhad brain surgery to remove a blood clot resulting from the fall. Its so iconic that its routinely covered today (down to every last detail) by The Musical Box, a Genesis cover band that Gabriel himself donated instruments and set design pieces to so the tour can reach a new generation. Shows played: 114 While these dates werent the marathon shows that fans would become familiar with on future tours, recordings capture an intense experience unlike any other Springsteen tour, where fast songs were sped up to breakneck speed and slower cuts were allowed to stretch out and get moodier than ever. In other instances, a concerttour transcends live events and is a culturalmoment. -- Matt Melis, 84. by Madison Marx, 2023 Vivid Seats LLC. The data have been pulled from a compiled list of sources, and concerts have been ranked by the tours gross (adjusted for inflation). Originally conceived by Perry Farrell as a farewell tour and victory lap for his band, Janes Addiction, the festival hasnt travelled since its one-year comeback in 2003. buy tickets Check out our hot list of bands and singers touring in 2023. --Matt Melis, Seeing the Goddess of Pop right after her commercial success exploded (yet again) would be one to brag about for the ages. While the shows would become even more of a spectacle by the bands next tour a rocket-shooting guitar, you say most agree that the Alive II Tour (and the couple tours before it) marked the perfect mix of KISS mayhem and metal mastery. While preferences will vary, at least everyone can agree: the In Rainbows tour was a moment of magic in real life. Just over a year after her older brother Michael had rewritten every rule for what a pop tour or a music tour in general could be, kid sister Janet Jackson set out on her own record-setting tour. The "A Bigger Bang" concert tour turned out to be the top grossing tour of 2006. The tourcoincided with the release of their new album of the same name and featured other artists like The Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. Suddenly, Aerosmith found themselves shifting millions of units, saturating the telly (along with Alicia Silverstone), and even making movie and late-night cameos as Wayne Campbells excellent favorite band. Boz Scaggs - Summer 2023 Tour - Chevalier Theatre Boz Scaggs - Summer 2023 Tour Wed May 17th - 8:00PM Tickets Buy Drinks SEAT TYPE: Fully seated PRICE: $55 - $299 Bio It's appropriate that Boz Scaggs' new album is Out of the Blues, since the blues is what first sparked his five-decade musical career. Cher is known for her extravagant concerts, with multiple costume changes, elaborate sets, dancers, and video montages. Nina Corcoran, KISS didnt invent the outrageous stage show or become the first rock band with an insanely devoted following, but they sure as hell ran with those elements. The footage that exists of the tour shows a rock band still in its prime with Mercury playfully teasing the crowd in between showing off some of the greatest pipes in rock history. Paul McCartney- Out There Tour (2013-15), No musical artist appears on the average bucket list in concert form more than Paul McCartney. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs Tour (2010-11), When touring behind The Suburbs, Arcade Fire was at the perfect crossing point of the famous indie rock band it had become. While Dylans acoustic sets were welcomed, each nights subsequent electric set received its fair share of hecklers and scathing ink from the press. But when The Cure hit the States in support of Disintegration, it was an entirely different ordeal. Matt Melis, 58. It was also the year she curated Meltdown Festival, where she performed Horses in its entirety for the first time ever, giving fans a transformative experience. Beginning with the "Voodoo tour, Wyman was replaced with the groupscurrent bassist, Darryl Jones. 1 Name Just One - 10 to 1: Music . by Stephen Spiewak, December 20, 2022 Matt Melis, Since she first asked, Where did our love go? as a Supreme, Diana Ross has been a national treasure. Their "Not in This Lifetime tour marked the first time in over two decades that Rose, Slash, and McKagan shared a stagesomething fans were clearly excited to see. Nina Corcoran, Yes, we can look back to a time before Lindsey Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac. Radiohead In Rainbows Tour (2008-09), The best Radiohead album, the best Radiohead tour, and the best Radiohead mood? Each stop on his 1993-94 world tour featured the likable cowboy rising up amid pyrotechnics, leaping from platforms around the stage, and even soaring across the venue high above his audience. Nina Corcoran, 27. The Eagles One of These Nights Tour (1975), Ah, this ones for the dads. While its true he wasnt quite yet the King of Pop, catching him on the Victory Tour could definitely be considered seeing him a mere shamone or two away from his throne. The Def Jam 87 tour packaged seminal hip-hop acts like Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Erik B. Matt Melis, 36. --Matt Melis, 86. Not too shabby. Its no surprise, then, that this long-anticipated tour set attendance records at each of its stops and resulted in a hit HBO special, a successful VHS release (later DVD), and a multi-platinum live album -- not to mention several subsequent tours. Nina Corcoran, 88. (Malik left in the spring of 2015. "USA for Africa," as the U.S. ensemble was known, featured Jackson, Richie, Geldof, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many. Depeche Mode- World Violation Tour (1990), One of the most popular tours among Depeche Mode fans and electronic fans in general, the World Violation tour saw them kick off 1990 in style. Matt Melis, 17. 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. Almost a decade later, they booked a proper string of dates from 2006 into 2007 and got busy creating what would retroactively be named the Alive 2006/2007 tour. Bee Gees - Spirits Having Flown Tour (1979), The Bee Gees are one of those groups that has more lives than a cat. i was lucky enough to see the crue 3 times in the 80s.the theater of pain ,girls girls girls and dr feelgood tours . Nina Corcoran, 11. In fact, no tour by a female artist has ever drawn more fans. On the sprawling Out There tour, the average setlist included 39 songs, a smattering of superstar cameos, and some comedic asides from Paul. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $820,194,986. What we do know is rarely has a pop rock band sounded so good and held so many audiences in the palm of their hand. But now things are looking up again way up. All three members of Run-DMC were 22 years old and all three members of Beastie Boys were between 21 and 23. The Eagles: Long Road Out of Eden Tour, #24. Gene Simmons was Uncle Sam, and he wanted YOU in his army. Year(s): 2017. by Alyssa, June 25, 2015 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. I first photographed Bon Jovi live in 1983, when they opened for ZZ TOP at Madison Square Garden. Consider it Americas belated response to the British Invasion. The band turned into nine-piece rock band-turned-funk group, amping the stakes up to the point where everyone would get out of their seats to dance along -- at shows and in movie theaters, when some of the last tour dates were filmed to create the concert documentary Stop Making Sense. Queen had no idea that their world was about to change forever, but they certainly left it all on the stage. With eight digital sources acting as video streams, LED screens projected various video and lighting effects that the band could add effects to on the fly. But the tour saw him try to outdo himself with a smile once more, whether that was digging out songs that had been untouched for nearly 30 years, like "Long Tall Sally", or touring Asia for the first time in 13 years (and treating them to "Another Girl", marking the first time a Beatle ever played the song live). He proved that a pop star could outdraw the hottest bands on the planet and that a pop concert could be an elaborate stage production on a scale never before seen. Depeche Mode still sound strong today, but catching them during their peak in the middle of a tour fans still gush over is a bucket list for any synthpop-loving music obsessive. 1984 and 85 was peak Prince. Few things functioned as intended, be it the backdrops or the microphone pickups, which turned the tour into a legendary catastrophe-turned-spectacle. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening Tour (2010), Dance music had a major glow-up moment in the 2000s, and the label DFA Records had a big hand in creating it. After all, the 80s was a time when rock music was at its peak. Year(s): 201618. It was hard to deny. But it wasnt until the 1998 Yield Tour that the frontman and his colleagues matured and settled into being the best touring band on the planet. Shows played: 167 A series of instruments were created and brought on tour to specifically illustrate the technological aspect of music. The White Stripes - Elephant Tour (2003), There's a boldness that comes with the territory of being a two-person band. 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. Her kick-off shows in London sold out in record time, the Japanese military was brought in to control the 25,000 fans who greeted her at an airport, and she played to record crowds in numerous countries and cities. Buyer pays for return shipping. 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. This saw a growth spurt where Newsom brought a full band with her on tour to nail the orchestral-style parts, played at a handful of festivals, and performed four times on live late-night TV shows (somewhat of a rarity for the notoriously secretive artist). Nina Corcoran, 53. Like Santa himself, Stevens packed every toy he could imagine: inflatable toys, excessive hats, neverending garland, and one giant wheel to be spun at shows to decide which traditional Christmas songs should be added to a setlist of original Christmas songs. Still, if we have to pick one tour, we have to go back to the purported beginnings of Wayne Coynes infamous hamster ball, which permits the smiling weirdo to visit his fans in bubble-boy style. Proving that we often dont know a good thing til its gone, The Polices reunion tour grossed more than any of their heyday tours. Luckily, nobody told that to Tina Turner, or at least she didnt pay them any attention if they did. While both bands put on legendary shows when healthy and present, that didnt happen nearly enough across the 26 dates. -- Matt Melis, 33. Against Me! The list below was born out of some pretty serious arguments. Twain, yes, that impresses us much. Notable, but, sure, normal for McCartney's lively stamina. Total tour attendance: 2.20 million In 20162017, their tour "A Head Full of Dreams became one of the top-grossing tours of all time, showing just how big an influence the group has had on the music scene. With each band performing 45-minute sets with no encores, it was a fair and evenly distributed event, showing no bias except for maybe who could play the loudest each night. Some of the best moments can be found on his acclaimed Otis Redding: Live in Europe album, and it would be only three months later at Monterey Pop that Redding would largely wash away the color line at a music festival in his own country. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $273,464,451 by Madison Marx, January 12, 2023 Matt Melis, 34. The Top 100 Music Festival Lineups of All Time, The Top 10 Music Venues in 10 American Cities. Tour gross (adjusted for inflation): $364,300,000 Back in 2003, the White Stripes had just released Elephant and were in the midst of defining the garage rock revival. Frustrated that bills with multiple female acts were virtually impossible sells to promoters and radio stations, McLachlan decided to book her own tour. Its the energy and spirit of a band just scratching their surface. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, some of the best music the 20th century had to offer. The truth is that many of the same fans who had championed Dylan, revered his songwriting, or looked to him as the voice of their generation thought of plugging in as a waste of talent and a desecration of his message. Arcade Fire was the band whose live shows spread like wildfire. The co-headlining tour saw Blur, Dinosaur Jr., The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine play 11 dates in the UK. After the band called it quits in 1996 following a fight, the possibility of a reunion not only seemed impossible, but was off the table according to band members -- a fact so certain that a twee rock band from New York named themselves Jawbreaker Reunion in jest. But in 1985, that all changed when Guns N Roses hit the stage. Blur, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, and The Jesus and Mary Chain - Rollercoaster Tour (1992), There are some tours you would drop serious dough on in the moment, and ones you would drop even more money on today, if only for a nosebleed seat. by Alyssa, July 08, 2016 Throw in Faith No More, Body Count, Motrhead, and, um, Andrew Dice Clay as select openers, and what more could a metalhead want? On top of this, the 1970 tour saw their iconic headlining set at the Isle of Wight Festival. Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Tico Torres, Alec John Such, and Richie Sambora made up the original band, which had hits like "Livin on a Prayer and "You Give Love a Bad Name. Their "Because We Can tour was wildly successful, with the grouphitting multiple continents, but it was also full of drama, asSambora quit the band in the middle night, hours before their fourth show. --Matt Melis, 93. Year(s): 2013. Shows played: 102 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. And who can forget those skin-tight pants and spangled jackets? Girl into Beercan into Qu Onda Gero into Devils Haircut? And I miss it when Im not doing it. Here are the people whove done it best. Year(s): 1994, When Pink Floydplayed their final tour in 1994, only two of the bands founding members (Nick Mason and Richard Wright) took the stage. Young packed plenty of new material into the shows, which he divided into two parts: a solo acoustic set and an electric set with Crazy Horse. Daft Punk Alive 2006/2007 (2006-07), Daft Punk have existed for 26 years now, yet the French electronic duo have only toured two times. In the case of Mercury, they would be his final shows ever due to being diagnosed with AIDS the following year. by Madison Marx, January 31, 2023 With the songs from new hit record Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at his disposal, John, already balding, sporting huge sunglasses, and dressed in one outrageous glam costume (plenty of sequins and feathers) or another, turned what couldve been polite piano recitals into full-blown rock revivals. Closing in on six decades of being "the greatest rock & roll band in the world, the Rolling Stones are one of theoldest bands still performing today. Concert For Bangladesh: Madison Square Gardens, New York City (1971) When sitar maestro Ravi Shankar learned of the fast-escalating. Give Orange. 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.