Sometimes it’s the song, sometimes it’s the choreography, and sometimes it’s just because…

5. Sloan, Hampton Beach Casino, NH (2004) – Megan’s first show in a club and she was about 10 people deep from the stage when the band opened with “Gimme That.” She turned to look back at me and her smile said it all. Sure, there was Jeff Tweedy kicking off my first Wilco show with a solo version of “Gun,” and Queen in 1978 at Boston Garden opening with “Tie Your Mother Down,” and the Who, and of course my first Bruce show, but this one makes it just because…

4. Black Sabbath at Live Aid (1985) – No, they didn’t open, but when I stumbled in after an all-nighter driving from Boston and partying in the parking lot, Ozzy and Sabbath were rocking in front of a sea of 100,000 people in Philly’s old JFK stadium. Surviving that show was like going 15 with Ali.

3. Stones, U of Colorado (1981) – College roomies Phil, Marty, Pat and yours truly drove 900 miles from Tucson, AZ to see the boys and there was one song I really wanted to hear. I’d never seen the band, so the first chords Keith ripped to “Start Me Up” was good enough to make the top 5. Oh, and “Under My Thumb” they played 2 songs later…

2. KISS, Providence Civic Center, New Years Day (1976) – Lights, smoke, bombs, action! Gino’s bass line thumps as he and Paul Stanley descent 20’ high stairs opening their “Destroyer” tour show with “Detroit Rock City.”

1. Alice Cooper – I don’t remember when or where, or even what the first song was, but Alice’s theatrical entrance to the stage was the best I’ve ever seen. Ever. (Granted, I never saw Spinal Tap live…) The lights go down and a film is projected on a movie theatre screen made up of long, white vertical strips. The scene is of a wheat field being harvested. We then move to a bottling plant where large vats of clear liquid are seen and then the filling of thousands of vodka bottles… (At that point, we all got it. Alice had famous battles with the bottle, even back then. Bottle after bottle was filled and sent down the line to be capped and boxed. At the end of the line, the bottles were falling toward us and into one of twelve slots in new cardboard boxes. Suddenly one bottle is coming at us and is uncapped. Just as the vodka begins to spill from the bottle, Cooper bursts out from the projected image and onto the stage as guitars wail and drums crash. That was cool.