Back in 2014 I got to see Rise Against play at the House of Blues in Boston, which was amazing, and just recently I went to see grandson and K. Flay perform together.
I think these are my two favorite concerts I’ve been to, and the key factor seems to be the energy between the crowd and the band. It’s a thing that’s kinda hard to express in words, but for me that’s definitely what makes a concert go from good to great. It doesn’t need to be a high-energy thing necessarily, either: one of the best moments from grandson’s set was actually a really somber, lower energy song that he came down onto the floor to perform, and you could just tell that everyone was really invested in that moment.
What about you all? What takes a concert to the next level for you?
I’ve been to a fair few concerts (mostly at metal gigs)
Gojira - they’re just really good at their instruments and they sound fantastic. I notice a lot of bands sound worse live if you pay attention (and are not inebriated) but gojira sound better
Halestorm - half standup show and the coolest crowd I think I ever saw
Slayer - basically the perfect music to jam out to with a crowd of people. Disciple is a fantastic song to sing along to.
Queen (with Lambert) - incredible atmosphere.
Opeth - a combination of gojira/halestorm!