A small blink back to 1990 and later. We all love a good list of memorable concerts. At least, we think they’re good. Do you remember one of the following shows? Have you been at one of them? Or did you see one of the artists in a later phase? Anyway, enjoy the listed concerts of the last decade(s).

9. Madonna

When? 1990

Where? Blond Ambition Tour

For Madonna, her 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour was more than just shock factor: It was meant to transform live pop music. In many ways, Madonna is in this new show everything Liza Minnelli seems to want to be: the link with the great show-biz entertainment tradition. Her approach offers the kind of dazzle--a flashy set, colorful costumes and a cadre of dancers. If anything, the drama around Blonde Ambition just elevated her fame, helping Madonna reclaim her narrative and power as the tabloids (wrongfully) deemed her a villain. By then, she’d ignited a blonde revolution.

8. Guns N’ Roses

When? 8 April 2016

Where? Las Vegas

Guns N’ Roses disintegrated as quickly as their Sunset Strip excess conquered the world. By 2012, the year of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the band’s legacy was so faded — and so controlled by Axl Rose — that the odds of a classic lineup reunion seemed impossibly slim. Of course, that first major show, Las Vegas in April 2016, didn’t go off without a hitch: Rose broke his foot at an L.A. warm-up gig the week before, causing speculation about the tour crumbling before it started. Vegas fans witnessed a band that once threw it all away return to their arena-packing peak.

7. Allman Brother Band’s Final Show

When? 28 October 2014

Where? New York City’s Beacon Theatre

In 2014, the Allman Brothers played their last show at the Beacon Theatre, a venue they have played over 200 times, at nearly 1:30 AM that day. When guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks announced their plans to depart the group in 2014, the band decided to close up shop altogether, ending with one last stand at the Beacon. The concert, structured into three sets and spilling out over four hours, showcased the band’s trademark guitar harmonies and stacked percussion on staples like “Hot ‘Lanta,” “Blue Sky,” “Melissa” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.’’ But the Beacon show was a reminder of what we all knew for decades: Few bands, if any, sparked more joy playing their instruments in the same room.

6. Janet Jackson

When? 1993 till 1995

Where? Janet World Tour

Janet Jackson peeled back her militant Rhythm Nation-era layers with 1993’s janet., her most sensual album to date. She was transforming into a bonafide sex symbol, and she celebrated the title with the Janet World Tour. The album was a genre fusion, soul, pop, jazz, opera, hip-hop and house. The opening act of the tour on each leg — Tony! Toni! Toné, Mint Condition, MC Lyte and Tevin Campbell — helped set the mood just right. After sending four continents and 18 countries into an amorous tailspin, the entertainer had clearly cemented her journey to icon status.

5. Green Day

When? 14 August 1994

Where? Woodstock

Woodstock 1994 was supposed to be about another weekend of peace and love. Especially for Green Day. It was punk as fuck, and nobody expected that to happen. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong coaxed the crowd into starting a mud fight that eventually spilled onstage. By set’s close, bassist Mike Dirnt was playing on his back as Armstrong slung massive mud clumps into the audience, the band’s instruments now plastered brown. It was a crazy set, one set that would be live changing.

4. Pearl Jam

When? 19 july 2013

Where? Chicago’s Wrigley Field

It was a thunderstorm Friday night during Pearl Jam’s tour- opening set at Wrigley Field. The band was forced to postpone its show for several hours. Eventually the band came back three hours later to continue playing untill 2:00 a.m. They steamrolled through an additional 26 tenacious songs, debuting two new cuts and even bringing Cubs legend Ernie Banks on stage.

3. Prince - a piano and a microphone

When? 28 February 2016

Where? Paramouth Theatre, Oakland

Long live the Prince! During his show in the Paramouth Theatre, he left his backing band behind and left the crowds breathless with his stories and piano arrangements.

No, this was no ordinary Prince concert. Except the fact that no one would have guessed that this would be his final tour, it seems all too fitting seeing that he gave a performance that he, himself explained as being something that he had never done before and wanting to challenge himself.

2. Metallica

When? 6 September 2019

Where? Chase Center, San Francisco

If a signature moment was what Chase Center needed to get off the ground, Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony provided it in spades. The nearly three-hour concert was exquisitely performed, intricately constructed and included unexpected risks that pushed the band and symphony into uncharted waters. Back in 1999, Metallica did what no other metal band had done before and they merged two of music’s biggest genres. Together with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, they blew the minds of classical and rock fans alike. 20 years later, they decided to do it again and they did not disappoint.

1. Rolling Stones

When? 23 July 2019

Where? Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

In 2013, The Stones celebrated their 50th anniversary which means in 2019 they have rocked the crowed for 56 years. Their concert in Philadephia showed that they were not about to call it quits. These guys do not seem to know the word retire. The show was not anything else than what you would have expected from a Rolling Stones concerts. The recent heart surgery of Mick Jagger reveals that this show was a statement that they were still in the game and going strong. They’re a phenomenon, a marvel!

Show us how wrong we are

You probably don’t agree with the list above, do you? Of course not, there is no such thing as one top list for everybody. So don’t hold back and show us how wrong we are. Download the Gigit app and share your favourite gigs!

What is Gigit!?

Gigit! is your concert and festival app in which you can save, review and share all of the concerts you go to.

Start your Gigit Liveline and share all your live music memories with your friends and all the other music lovers out there. Connect with like-minded people or discuss with dissenters: share the love for live music all round and be inspired for new gigs and glory.

And guess what? You’ll find all this in one app: Gigit!

Join the live music community today!