My 14th concert I have fond memories of.
I'm kind of amazed that you remember all of these. I've been to a ton of concerts and can't remember the order in the slightest. I'm not sure that I remember them all. I've done a fair bit of performing which might play into that in that as it's all just one fuzzy mess of memories.
But, I can tell some stories of my youth and experiences...
One of my earliest concerts (with popular contemporary music and without adult supervision) was Peter Paul and Mary.
I fricken' love Peter Paul and Mary. Later in life, I'd meet Noel "Paul" Stookey. He doesn't live too far away and I've had the honor of playing on stage with him (at a yearly festival in Kingfield). He has never been to my house but I have been to his house a few times to rehearse. We were backed by a local orchestra which was pretty exciting.
He has a recording studio that was an old commercial chicken coop called the 'Henhouse". It no longer reeks of chickens. I'm told that I can use his studio 'any time' but I think he was just being polite. He's also quite a religious fella, as is his wife, which I'll leave at that. I was never made to feel uncomfortable and the man is remarkably down-to-earth.
While I maintained my composure, I don't think he realized how much of an idol he was to those who wanted to actually play their gutiars. He's very accomplished and skilled. His work is not easily replicated by a novice guitar player, meaning you've really got to work at it in order to learn.
I don't recall the entire concert but they did perform what I consider to be one of the greatest 'break up' songs ever created. The song is originally a Bob Dylan song (whom I've also seen numerous times) and everyone does a Dylan cover eventually. Peter Paul and Mary would cover multiple Bob Dylan songs, putting their own spin on them.
As I said, this is probably the greatest 'break up' song ever. Well, it's up near the top.
And, yes, as much as I adore Dylan's work - many of the people who've covered his work have made the songs even better than when he made them. They've certainly sung them with greater skill and played them with more skillful guitar. Though, Dylan's guitar playing would improve with time...
Though, to be fair, you don't listen to Bob Dylan because you want to hear the guitar. You want to hear him and the guitar is the medium he uses to express himself. So, it's okay if people cover his work and adapt it to their style. So many bands have covered at least one Dylan song. It's almost a right of passage.