| Rank | Act | Date/Venue | Comments |
| 1 | Depeche Mode | September 10, 1993
Worcester Centrum Worcester, Massachusetts |
The best seats I ever had for a DM show: 15th row on the floor, center section. It seemed like an eternity since I had last seen DM on the Violator Tour. The new SoFaD material sounded great, the visuals were great, the stage set was incredible, and the set list was perfect. The show was crisp, well executed and flawless. It is troubling to look back on this fun evening knowing that Dave (the lead singer) was probably high as a kite and my hard earned money was indirectly funding his habit. Favorite songs that night were many including "Walking in My Shoes", "Halo", "In Your Room", "Enjoy the Silence", and "Everything Counts". |
| 2 | U2 | July 2, 1997
Foxboro Stadium Foxboro, Massachusetts |
I waited 10 years to see U2 live. For the prior tours I was either too poor or too far away to attend a show. Although the Pop Mart Tour had some negative publicity, it was spectacular. The stage set and video screen really demonstrated how far the technology had come to make a live show visually engaging for a stadium crowd. However, the band was at their best when they made Foxboro Staidum feel as intimate as a Pub with their heartfelt renditions of "With or Without You" and "All I Want is You". |
| 3 | Erasure | March 29, 1997
American Legion Hall Hollywood, California |
As a warm-up to their "Cowboy" tour, Erasure performed a small club tour to re-introduce their wonderful collection of pop hits to the world. This sold out show in Hollywood felt like a high school dance as Erasure breezed through all the hits. The show was great and the crowd was outrageous to say the least. Favorite tracks were "Victim of Love", "A Little Respect", and "Chorus". |
| 4 | Billy Idol
The Cult |
July, 1987
Lakeland Civic Center Lakeland, Florida |
A show that caught Billy Idol at his peak. He was flanked on stage by his one-time guitarist and co-song writer Steve Stevens, and they rocked! At the conclusion of the show, the video for "Mony Mony" was filmed. The single hit number one just a few months later. The Cult opened up and got the crowd going early with the hits from their "Electric Album". Favorite Idol tracks included "Eyes Without A Face", "Don't Need A Gun", and "Rebel Yell". |
| 5 | Tears For Fears | April 18, 1996
Avalon Boston, Massachusetts |
Roland brought his band to this small venue to showcase his overlooked "Raoul and the Kings of Spain" album. While most of the audience was there to hear the classics like "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule The World", Roland proved the new material worked well. The band sounded great!! |
| 6 | Nine Inch Nails
David Bowie |
September, 1995
Great Woods Mansfield, Massachusetts |
I went to this show to see NIN, and I wish NIN had played much longer. It was great to see Bowie, but he couldn't hold a candle to the energy Trent and the gang had generated during their abbreviated set list. The Bowie/NIN colloboration was interesting during the midpoint of the show. Favorite songs included "Down In It" and the always intense opener "Terrible Lie". |
| 7 | Live Aid | July, 1985
JFK Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
At the time, I thought I had seen it all. So many bands during one hot July day. I had pretty lousy seats and sat with a friend with our picnic lunch enduring the marathon sets. Regardless of what the press reported, the highlight of the day was unquestionably the reunion of Led Zeppelin and their performance of "Stairway to Heaven". The crowd of 100,000+ sang this song word for word, and then cheered for over 20 minutes in hopes Zep would come back on stage. Also, an unusually reserved Madonna sang a few numbers from her first album and disappeared. |
| 8 | Depeche Mode | June 10, 1990
Great Woods Mansfield, Massachusetts |
The wonderful Violator tour that propelled DM from stardom to super stardom. The band would prove, however, that they would be capable of even better live performances down the road. Highlights included "Strangelove" and "Behind the Wheel/Route 66". |
| 9 | OMD | September, 1991
The Roxy Atlanta, Georgia |
This small club tour was in support of OMD's "Sugar Tax" album. Sadly enough, the album generated no airplay in the US despite having three singles which were top ten hits in other parts of the world. Andy and his band played all the hits including "So In Love", "Enola Gay", "If You Leave" and "Pandora's Box". |
| 10 | Depeche Mode | December 18, 1998
The Forum Los Angeles, California |
It was great to see the band back on top after so much trouble during the mid-1990s. The tour was a departure from the previous live shows: a live drummer, a more minimalistic stage set, and a new keyboardist to replace Alan Wilder. The LA crowd proved why DM has been so popular in Southern California by madly cheering throughout the entire show. Highlights included "It's No Good" and " Just Can't Get Enough". |
