e.g., Arcade Fire as an opening band at a small venue in Portland; At the Drive-In as an opening band in the old basement of Club DV8 in Salt Lake.

I don't mean it in a "I heard of them first" sort of way, cause I didn't. I had never even heard of the Arcade Fire before seeing them. They were the opening band so I saw them as an accident. But they were so, so good you knew they were going to take over. Same with ATDI. The great thing about seeing someone like that before they break out is that you see them in such a small space. Just little touring bands full of energy and you can stand 3 feet away from them.

Other greats for me are a handful of Fugazi shows, including SLC in 95 (or so), and Vegas in 98 (or so). Both just amazing.

Oh, and Ida in phoenix circa 99 or 2000 or so.

I'm still dying to see Pearl Jam and Radiohead, but I'm afraid I've missed my window -- the days of those bands having amazing live shows are probably passed.