The Steel Guitar Forum

My most surprising was my cousin's wedding. She invited her two uncles up to sing with the wedding band. I whispered to my wife that this is gonna be painful. Well, these two guys were like a cross between Sinatra and Bobby Darin! They could swing like the best big band singers I've ever heard and both of them tore the roof off with "Fly Me to the Moon." Good life lesson in not prejudging.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Little Village and Ry Cooder’s band from 2018.
Miles Davis 1985 with Bob Berg and Mike Stern was amazing
Bach Consortium of Japan under Suzuki in Nuremberg
Bruce Hornsby
So, so many. But Metheny and D’Angelo concerts in every case transcended.

I’ll go with Tom Morrell and The Timewarp Tophands.. Tom Morrell steel guitar and band leader, Rich O’Brien guitar, Leon Chambers guitar, Mac McCrae bass, Greg Harty drums, Randy Elmore fiddle, George Uptmore fiddle, Bob Boatright fiddle, Johnny Case piano, Leon Rausch vocals, Cris O’Connell vocals

Miles Davis (the "Lost Quintet"), September 1969 @ Shelly's Manne Hole in Hollywood, CA.

Beach Boys 1973, Springsteen 1975, Vince, Patty, Huey 1993, McCartney 2014, ISGC 1980: Emmons, Day, Green, Byrd, et al.

Muddy Waters at the Grant St Dance Hall.
Lafayette LA. 1979? I shared a pitcher of beer with Pinetop Perkins and didn't know it was him until the band jumped up on stage!

One of the best was David Lindley y El Rayo-X at the Bottom Line in NYC in 1982 (I think).

Lindley was simply outrageously good, and the band cooked.

Probably,the STONE CANYON BAND with RICK NELSON ,TOM BRUMLEY,in 1976
Lh

Larry Hopkins wrote:Probably,the STONE CANYON BAND with RICK NELSON ,TOM BRUMLEY,in 1976
Lh

Their live album "At The Troubador" from 1970 is incredible.

Ricky Skaggs hands down. Back when Bruce Bouton played steel.

Asleep At the Wheel with Cindy Cashdollar on her non-pedal Fender.

Joe Cook wrote:Muddy Waters at the Grant St Dance Hall.
Lafayette LA. 1979? I shared a pitcher of beer with Pinetop Perkins and didn't know it was him until the band jumped up on stage!

We used to go see Muddy's band at the long-gone Silver Dollar Saloon on East Lake Street in Minneapolis. He appeared there with regularity in the early '70s. We used to slip out to the alley in back during breaks to inhale some select combustibles with Muddy and some of his boys. Muddy was beaucoup paranoid of the Mpls cops (some things never change). It's ironic that one reason Muddy came to the Twin Cities so often was to visit his pal and former guitarist Pat Hare, who was serving a life sentence in the Stillwater prison for murdering the Minneapolis police officer who he caught doing his baby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E26dBq-98Po

Terry Sneed wrote:Ricky Skaggs hands down. Back when Bruce Bouton played steel.

Excellent band! I saw 'em in the '80s at a church in Richfield, MN with Bruce and Ray Flacke. An unforgettable show indeed.

Gee, so many to choose from. The Zappa bands in the 70s, tons of Dead shows, Pat Methany, Schofield, Santa especially the 70s, Pacquito D'Rivera, ChuCho Valdez, Eddie Palmieri and on and on. Just prior to the pandemic I caught Ben Wendall with a killer group. I have been lucky to live in communities where there were always lots of live jazz. But my absolute favorite was Buddy Emmons at ISGA 1977. Pure magic.

Chicago, 1971

Doug Beaumier wrote:Led Zeppelin, The Who, Grateful Dead, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Allman Bros, Chicago, Emmylou Harris w/the Hot Band, Frank Zappa, Blood Sweat & Tears, James Brown w/full band, Roy Buchanon, The Byrds w/Clarence White, etc, etc... It was All good!

This feller says Roy Buchanan started on pedal steel.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=roy+buchanan& ... djqoauFGOc

Rock: Buffalo Springfield / Beach Boys and Strawberry Alarm Clock

Country: Ernest Tubb and The Texas Troubadours / Johnny Cash / Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Grammer

Instrumental: The Ventures at CCK Air Base in Taiwan

Grateful Dead in 72, Boulder.
Richard Thompson in the 90's at Town Hall in Tarrytown.

A couple of people mentioned the most surprising show they've seen. I believe both times it was an Elvis concert that their wife "made" them go too.

Paul Revere & The Raiders were a great show band. I saw them in 1968. Between the outfits, the strange looking Vox guitars and bass, Mark Lindsey lead vocals and choreographed moves they kept you entertained. The great playing was just an added bonus.

The most surprising performance I've seen was by a group called The Royal Guardsmen. The group was famous for a novelty song, "Snoopy and the Red Baron". Their lead singer just left the group and was replaced by the backup singer that sung the marching cadence (hup, 2, 3, 4) on the record. They didn't have much original material to showcase. After telling all this to the audience they put on a solid 90 minute performance and received both a standing ovation and calls for encores.

A couple of people mentioned seeing The Amazing Rhythm Aces and Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Both were on my "I'd like to see" list but never came around my area.

A band that left a lasting impression on me was the early 70's Cherokee Cowboys featuring Blondie Calderon and Julian Tharpe.

Jim Fogle wrote:A couple of people mentioned seeing The Amazing Rhythm Aces and Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. Both were on my "I'd like to see" list but never came around my area.

It was my privilege to see one of a handful of the original Cody band's reunion shows -- featuring the original members -- at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul during the winter of 2001. I was accompanied by my son, an 11th-grader. The concert followed the live broadcast of the old Prairie Home Companion radio show. At the time, Andy Stein (Cody's fiddle & sax man) was a member of the PHC house band. After Garrison Keillor introduced the band, the lights went out, and the unmistakable odor of people "herbing up" filled the auditorium, raising my son's eyebrows, and eliciting a big grin on both of our faces. The Lost Planet Airmen kicked butt that night; from our seats it was obvious the musicians were digging it. Bobby "Blue" Black tore it up. I'll never forget after the show when my son -- a budding metal guitarist -- exclaimed "so that's how that thing you play is supposed to sound."

https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/57837.html

The Eagles - Jul 29, 1976 — Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ A GREAT night. I think it was the first time I saw the Eagles with Joe Walsh.

Second best was Linda Ronstadt at the New Jersey Arts Center, same time frame. Leo Kottke opened. Leo came out ... didn't say a word ... and flat DESTROYED the place with Vaseline Machine Gun. When he was done and the place calmed down, he leaned over into a mike and slurred in a deep baritone, "Hello, I'm Tammy Wynette" ... then destroyed the place AGAIN with another hot 12 string tune. His set was non-stop and fantastic. Ronstadt was pretty good too.

Non country, Chicago
Country, Leeann Womack with Randy Beavers on steel, Reba with Bruce Boutin, and George Straight with Mike Dailey. Hope I spelled all of the correctly!

Seen and heard a lot. The best is always subjective.

Paul McCartney, Last Pick at the Stick (Candlestick), Aug 14, 2014. Site of the last Beatles concert (with the exception of London Rooftop). Last event before the Stick was demolished.

5 piece band, 3 hours, guy in his 70's singing and [p;aying his ass off.

Great entertainment and stage visuals.