What Was Your Favorite Concert at The Summit?

Elvis Presley: The "Greatest Entertainer" ever and always will be. No one can ever come close to Elvis. Greatest Entertainer, Greatest Showmanship, Great Charisma. Greatest Concert.

Peter Gabriel on the "So" tour. Or Kiss on the "Love Gun" tour. That Kiss show was pretty much the first concert of my own choosing I ever went to. I think I was about 12. Styx was the opening act.

Also, Roger Waters, touring for "The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" was a pretty good one.

The answer is simple, ZZ Top

I remeber catching Carlos Santana with Citizen Cope there with my best friend Derek. We usually saw him at The Woodlands, so seeing the show in a smaller arena was a real treat.

I saw Kiss there in 79. Sure it was on the Dynasty tour and they looked pretty silly but I was 9 and I got to see my hero the God of Thunder breathe fire, vomit blood, and fly so it ruled. I learned the smell of marijuana that day. I also had my first communion that morning. Also saw Ozzy in 84 on the Bark at the Moon tour with Motley Crue on Shout at the Devil and Maiden in 85 on the Powerslave tour with W.A.S.P. The fact that's it's now a church is so beautiful knowing what sorts of sordid acts happened within those walls.

Had a good ticket connection for most of the shows at The Summit so there's not many I missed, but some faves are:

The Zeppelin show in 1977

Paul McCartney & Wings 1977

Aerosmith, Journey, AC/DC (w/Bon Scott)-1979 (?)

Dire Straits

Miles Davis

Several ZZ Top Thanksgiving Shows

1st concert ever: Motley Crue/Y&T - 1985..I was 14..I just remember being overwhelmed at how loud it was and the flash bombs scaring the shit out of me. (Coincidently, I smoked my 1st joint that night too so maybe I was just paranoid..but I digress..) They filmed the Home Sweet Home video that night so they played it two times..

Other memorable shows:

Ozzy/Metallica 1986 (RIP Cliff Burton)

Run DMC/Beastie Boys 1987..Togethe Forever

Micheal Jackson 1988 Night 2

NWA 1989

Rage Against the Machine 1999...Biggest mosh pit EVER

Prince - Purple Rain Tour. 6 sold-out concerts in January of '85, I think it was, and I was there to witness all 16,000 of the half-naked, camisole-wearing, weed-smoking freaks on the Friday, Sunday, and Monday night shows. Absolutely blew my 12th-grade mind.

neil young played a "trans" set solo...  then after stepping off stage, ostensibly before an encore, returned with a full rockabilly ensemble, the shocking pinks, and played an "everybody's rockin'" set...  mind effectively blown...  even though i had a head full of acid, i'm confident it actually happened...  in the summit...  83, 84?...

I also attended the U2 elevation show and was blown away by PJ Harvey.... that show is my most memorable because of it being the only time I've ever seen the lovely PJ and it was the first show attended by my then 5 year old son.

The 1991 Benson & Hedges Bluesfest was one of the greatest single days of live music in the history of the city. I think a ticket was less than $40, and it came with all the free cigarette samples you could stuff in your pockets. Best of all, it looked like there were only about 4,000 people there, so you could pretty much sit wherever you wanted to.

Queen, with Billy Squier opening in 1982.  Remarkable show.

The die-hard fan boy in me wants to say the Pumpkins tour in support of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, but since that was the tour where their keyboardist OD'd and they kicked Chamberlain out (Matt Walker from Filter filled in) it does not deserve first place.   So, I choose the Nine Inch Nails show they did supporting The Fragile.  A Perfect Circle opened.

The only concert I ever saw there was Smashing Pumpkins.. around 1995 or so? I was a youngen then.

I was at the Police/UB40 show in 1983 for the Synchronicity tour, and also Peter Gabriel on the Secret World tour in 1993. And approximately eleventy-zillion "Holiday on Ice/Ice Capades/Disney on Ice/Sesame Street on Ice" shows in the late '70s. I don't think those are quite in the same league, though.

My favorite was an Eric Clapton concert that I did not attend.  I did attend the Johnny Johnson (played piano for Chuck Berry) concert at the Satellite Lounge the next night.  I learned that Johnson had come in a day early for the Lounge concert and got a call at his room.  Clapton wanted to know if he wanted to sit in that night at the Summit.  So he did.  So 10,000+ folks instead of a couple of hundred.  Pretty classy of Clapton (funny he didn't call me, I have a guitar).  But I bet I got a better show.

Elsa, thanks for reminding me of Peter Gabriel's Secret World Tour concert - well preserved on film and recently remastered for Blu-Ray - and also of Bowie's Glass Spider show with Peter Frampton on lead. It stings that you missed The Who for automotive misfortune.

Great article Chris. My favorite shows were the two nights GnR and Soundgarden played and the Benson & Hedges Bluesfest show in '91 - John Lee Hooker,B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Etta James and the Fabulous Thunderbirds all in one show.

I also saw Andrew Dice Clay there at the peak of his popularity.  (Always makes me smile when I drive by Lakewood now.)

Jon (@oompahead)

Oh, and Steve Miller Band on the night after Elvis died. His drummer held up a stick into a laser beam and it caught fire! Or so I remember.

Bruce Springsteen in December 1978, playing "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" and it being so cold outside that Bruce said it reminded him of Jersey. Bob Dylan in 1980, about to become a born-again Christian or just after, don't remember. The Who in 1980 and Prince on the Purple Rain tour. Jackson Browne and Karla Bonoff, Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey Buckingham, Bruce again on his Born in the U.S.A. tour. Always a great place to see a show but a bitch gettin' out of that parking garage!

Beastie Boys, The Roots, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - May 6, 1995 - The Roots did a small club set at The Magic Bus later that night - Freaking awesome show!

Nine Inch Nails on the Fragile tour. No question.

My favorite show in the Summit/Compaq Center was Bruce Springsteen on the "Darkness On The Edge of Town" tour in December 1978.  That show changed my life.

Worst show was the last one...ZZ Top closing the Compaq Center in 2003.  When they brought Governor Goodhair on to play drums at the end, the "boos" and single-finger salutes were hilarious.

The opener for The Summit, The Who, was really good - last time to see Keith Moon. Parts of that concert are featured in their movie "The Kids Are Alright". Led Zeppelin, 1977, the famed "Dragon Snake" concert was an absolute killer and ZZ Top's Recycler tour (great show) & Antenna tour (fun show) were pretty special. Many others but these are the standouts.

Motley Crüe & Warrant 1990, Clash of the Titans (Slayer,Megadeth,Anthrax,Alice in Chains) tour 1990, Metallica Black tour 1991, GnR x2 1991

My most memorable was Ozzy Osbourne with Anthrax.

when I was young my parents took me to this christian concert called the young messiah tour back in 1992. I was 6. Anyways it had all these christian artists that were popular at the time: cindy morgan, twila paris, maybe sandi patty (who is a powerhouse vocalist in her own right) and a few others. Anyways what they did was this updated rendition of Handel's Messiah complete with synthesizers, guitars, etc. 

We also went to the young messiah farewell tour which was pretty interesting but a little different. This time I remember they had Point of Grace, whom I really liked as far as christian groups go. (think the harmonies of Wilson Phillips with 4 members meets the hype of the Spice Girls and that basically describes them) They did a bangup version of "Hark the herald angels sing." 

But now that I am older I would have loved to have also seen some of the other bands that came through there like Stevie Nicks on her many tours in the 80s, Journey's Escape tour (I love journey!), and countless others. 

I am getting old but believe the wife and I saw Shenna Easton @ Summit?

As a 14 year old in 99, it couldnt get any better than seeing rage against the machine drop their banner that read "battle of houston." gang starr opened and became my dad's first (and last) rap show. I can almost remember him chanting "fuck you i wont do what you tell me" but i think thats just revisionist history on my part.

1. Rush, Signals Tour, 1983.  Golden Earring opened.

2.  Police, Synchronicity Tour, 1983.

Saw other shows, including U2 on Unforgettable Fire.  But those stand out.  Rush was amazing.  I think they started the Show with the first part of 2112 and ended with the 2112 Grand Finale.  With  La Villa Strangiato encore.  I can't believe I still remember that.

Outdoor venues are great but there is nothing like a live rock show in an enclosed space. 

Bowie on the Heroes Tour. Think I was in the 7th row. Queen on the News of the World Tour. I was in the 4th row for that one. Freddie was the ultimate showman!

First concert I ever saw - Metallica in 1991. Only concert I was able to see there.

George Strait in 90's up close was great !!!

beastie boys with the roots and jon spencer blues explosion

October 31st, 1994... Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and The Jim Rose Circus.

ozzy w/ alice in chains........

Pantera + White Zombie

.....   great article.   I never attended the final show, but I heard at the time that Billy was quoted as saying "..ZZ walks out and Jesus walks in...".      last show i saw there was queensryche doing operation mindcrime.  it was excellent. 

Hands down. The Cure. 1989 Prayer tour.

My first show ever. Tom Petty, Long After Dark tour. Van Halen 1984 tour. Ozzy, Judas Priest, Motley Crue (I believe it was the Home Sweet Home video they filmed), AC/DC, ZZ Top. Deep Purple (Perfect Strangers era), Aerosmith, Metallica, the Cult, Bob Seger, Rage Against the Machine, Sammy Hagar and bunch more I can't remember. Also saw Olajuwon drop 50 on David Robinson one night. Great memories in that building.