Not really a concert, but one of my favorite experiences was at the Grand Ole Opry. I bought one ticket at the highest price and had no idea where it was - it was something like in the "DD" row. Figured it'd be several rows back. I was shocked when the usher took me right up to the front row and asked her if she made a mistake. She hadn't. I was something like ten feet away from the stage.
It was awesome. I was right up there with Porter Wagoner, Larry Gatlin, the Riders in the Sky, and a bunch of other classic acts. I nearly wet myself. My only wish was that it would have been a couple hours longer so the performers could have done longer sets. I will go back one of these days - that was incredible!
For a regular concert, it was a performance of Carmina Burana in Portland about a dozen years back. Carmina Burana kicks mucho ass, but it was staged incredibly well. The chorus had their faces painted as skulls and were lined up at the back of the set. The chorus looked like about 100 skulls set on shelving. Then there were monks in black hooded robes carrying lit torches around. Yes, actual fire. They marched through the aisles and were thoroughly awesome. The rest of the staging was eye-popping and the performances were strong. The audience was wildly enthusiastic, too.
As for actual performance, I had a couple of terrific experiences. During undergrad, I was in the USC Marching Band which performed all over. One great performance was with Maynard Ferguson - he had us play "Birdland" with him at a summer concert. Really, really fun. The other was performing the 1812 Overture with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl. The 1812 calls for a brass band, so they put us on a platform that raised up in front of the Phil at the appropriate time. There were fireworks and a massive audience - probably around 90,000. I loved it!
