More than I can count, but these are the ones that stand out:
The Decemberists W/ My Brightest Diamond - I was invited to go up with a group of friends at the last moment, and it was well worth it. The show was great; The Decemberists are by no means my favorite band, but the mood was energetic and they put on a good performance. But I almost enjoyed My Brightest Diamond more. I had never heard of them before, and was extremely surprised in a pleasant way. I very much dug their noise-rock sound. For their last song they played a cover of 'Kashmir,' which sounded absolutely amazing with female vocals.
Gogol Bordello - Quite possibly the best show I've ever been to. 2 1/2 hours of pure, unadulterated energy, dancing, Grade-A music. Near the end of the gig, Eugene went backstage and got an old Bass drum, which he then stood and crowdsurfed around on while singing. The strange Asian midget hype man was kind of unnecessary, but he was easy to ignore. There's simply no words to put to the raw, kinetic sense of life that pulsed in every beat of every song. There wasn't one still body in the entire theater.
The Hold Steady W / The Heartless Bastards - I've always been a fan of The Hold Steady, if not a rabid one. The venue for this was perfect: a small, crowded, claustrophobic side-entrance of an old abandoned theater. Sweat and beer were everywhere. It was nothing profound or life-changing, but it was fun and intense in a paradoxically laid-back way. The opening act, The Heartless Bastards, were another pleasant surprise a la My Brightest Diamond, though the two bands sound nothing Alike. The Bastards are grungy, heavy folkish-rock with a female singer who has just the right amount of gravel in her voice to be compelling.
Dream Theater - Say what you will, but Dream Theater know how to play. A 4 hour, nonstop sonic onslaught of some of the most complex time signatures and rhythms you'll ever hear, topped with mind-bindingly technical solos, followed by a 45-minute medley encore. It was just great to watch and hear them in person. The best part of the show was their improv piece, which they made up off the top of their head on-stage and went on for around 10 minutes. Amazing.
Bruce Springsteen - I hate "Born In The USA," and most of Bruce's 80's work for that matter. But his first 4 albums are classics, as are his recent ones, from the late 90's onward. Luckily for me, he did mostly work from those two periods, including "Rosalita," "Born to Run" "Jungleland" "Blinded By the Light" and others. Dumb as it may sound, this was the happiest time I've had at a show. I think Jon Stewart summed up the experience of a Springsteen concert best: "Do you like joy? Bliss? Go see Bruce Springsteen."
Bob Dylan - I love Dylan, always have, always will. Sadly, this was a little underwhelming. His voice (as should be expected) is no longer what it was, and he spent the whole concert hunched over a piano..not sitting, not standing, but kind of crouched there, barely moving. He said nothing in between the songs, in fact said nothing the entire night except at the end a curt "Thanks. 'night." It was still great to hear his stuff life, though.
The Stooges - Saw them at Lollapalooza in Chicago last summer during their reunion. Absolutely mind-blowing. Iggy urged the crowd to come up on stage. So, of course, everyone who could did. Wisely, they played all their older stuff, and not much off of their new (pretty shitty) album. "Raw Power" indeed.
Rage Against The Machine - Can you say "Mass Hysteria"? This was the day after an absolute deluge at an outdoor venue, with the stage at the bottom of a large, steep hill that was nothing but purely liquid mud. Throughout the entire night, dozens of people came sliding involuntarily down the hill, falling into the pit between the end of the stage and the crowd area. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the security officers; with the band behind them and a seething mass of, well, raging fans ahead of them, both of them possessed of an utter contempt, hatred even, for authority, even if it was just for that moment. This was easily the hardest moshing I've ever seen.
