I just thought I'd write a list of the top 10 rock shows I've ever been to. Here they are, in order from best to not-as-best:

1. Helmet, summer 1996?, First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN. The Melvins and Skeleton Key opened. Helmet was (and still is) my favorite band of all time and that probably made it the most memorable experience. However I had never seen the Melvins play until that night and I didn't realize how loud and damn good they were until then. Helmet played a pretty extensive encore too that night and dug deep into some noisy old stuff too.
2. Nothingface, summer 2001, Quest Club, Minneapolis, MN. My friend Bill and I went to this show mainly to see the opening band From Zero, but Nothingface was pretty incredible. The guitarist wore a cowboy hat. I got a drumstick. I still have it, but I'll probably throw it away sometime soon.
3. Pantera, fall 2001, Target Center, Minneapolis, MN. I hate the Target Center as a venue, but this concert was so loud that it didn't matter. Nothing but pure power. Imagine pyrotechnics and a flaming Pantera logo behind a giant stack of Marshall speaker cabinets. Nothingface, Soulfly, and Morbid Angel opened. It was also the first (and only) time I got to see Soulfly.
4. Fear Factory, fall 1999, First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN. Static-X, hed (pe), and System of a Down opened. What a lineup, eh? I went with a few friends and none of us had ever heard of the opening bands, and we were blown away. Seeing Wayne Static on stage in a track suit, tall black hair and goatee extensions while cranking out grinding riffs was something else. I lost a little bit of my like of Fear Factory after this show though. They screwed up a few times.
5. 311, fall 1997, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN. This was in support of their Transistor album, and Sugar Ray opened. Evidently a kid jumped off the balcony and killed themselves before Sugar Ray started playing. 311 was my top 2 band next to Helmet and this was the first time I got to see them. They played an extremely long show and played stuff deep into their 4 albums at the time.
6. Tool, summer 2001, XCel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN. Tool are untouchable geniuses. Meshuggah opened. We had great seats on the lower level, right in line with the stage off stage right. The seats were great because you could see the looks on their faces and see how they listened and interacted with each other on stage while playing complex parts. It was also the first time I'd ever heard or seen Meshuggah. They wore hockey jerseys and bludgeoned everyone's ears with math and noise.
7. Melvins, summer 2001?, Quest Club, Minneapolis, MN. This show was great because not a lot of people showed up and it was easy to get to the front. The band had one extra member that night on guitar, and they were all wearing homemade camoflauge dresses. Really damn loud.
8. Sevendust, summer 1999, somewhere in WI. Staind, Powerman 5000, and Skunk Anansie opened. Skunk Anansie was absolutely repulsive, but the rest of the show was excellent.
9. Korn, spring 1996, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN. I've never really cared for Korn's image they developed over time, but they can play. I'd never heard so much bass in a live setting before. Limp Bizkit opened, and they hadn't even released their first CD yet. Helmet also opened, which was a bit of a mis-match.
10. Fear Factory, summer 2001, La Crescent Arena, La Crescent, WI. A rock show in La Crescent? It was more like a gymnasium. Weird. Anyway, it was a great show because of the full lineup: Dry Kill Logic, Primer 55, and Puya opened. Fear factory was good but it solidified the fact that they're a better studio band than live.

Other notable shows:

• Slipknot, Sevendust, 200?, Madison, WI. Skipknot is a must-see-at-least-one-time band, but they were a little boring for my tastes. They were more about the shock and show than the music. Their albums are kinda like that too, but they were interesting to watch.
• Rush, spring 1994, Target Center, Minneapolis, MN. This was actually my first concert ever. It was super-memorable, but my attraction to Rush really diminished after this concert. They just kinda lost their idol-like status in my mind after seeing them. It also made me realize that live shows in arenas are terrible. Primus opened, and they were equally disappointing. This was also the first time I'd ever seen anybody smoke pot.
• Korn, Rob Zombie, spring 1999, Fargo Dome, Fargo, ND. My like of Korn was already decreasing before seeing them at this show. I was never a big fan of Rob Zombie, but after seeing this show I liked him a lot more. He's definitely a showman and a rock star. Where else can you see a 20 foot robot on stage?
• Van Halen, 1995?, Target Center, Minneapolis, MN. I used to be a giant Van Halen fan, and this show kind of put an end to that chapter in my life. Big arena show that kinda sucked, but it was at least cool to see a popular all-time guitarist in person.
• Mudvayne, Disturbed, 2001, Madison, WI. We went to see Mudvayne, but I was disappointed in the sound production for the show. It just sounded bad. Disturbed actually headlined the show and they didn't disappoint in the live setting, although I've never really cared for their stuff.
• 311, spring 2000, Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, MN. This was in support of their Soundsystem album. Jimmy's Chicken Shack opened (yawn). 311 never disappoints.
• Tomahawk, Melvins, Skeleton Key, 2003, Quest Club, Minneapolis, MN. I was there for the Melvins, but Mike Patton and Tomahawk were headlining in support of the Mit Gas album. I swear this was the loudest I'd ever heard the Melvins play. At the time I wasn't really into Patton's stuff like I am now, so I didn't really enjoy Tomahawk that much, although it was fun watching Helmet's former drummer in that band. Patton was great though - wearing a nice button up shirt and combed, slicked-back hair with a smile. The guy is insane and a musical genius.