A rite of passage, a defining event, a catalyst of musical and personal epiphanies--a concert is an experience unlike any other. In The Show I'll Never Forget , writer Sean Manning has gathered an amazing array of unforgettable concert memories from a veritable A-list of acclaimed novelists, poets, biographers, cultural critics, and songwriters. Their candid, first-person recollections reveal as much about the writers' lives at the time as they do about the venues where the shows occurred or the artists onstage. Ishmael Reed on Miles Davis

Luc Sante on Public Image Ltd.

Heidi Julavits on Rush

Daniel Handler and Andrew Sean Greer on Metric

Diana Ossana on Led Zeppelin

Maggie Estep on Einstürzende Neubauten

Dani Shapiro on Bruce Springsteen

Gary Giddins on Titans of the Tenor!

Nick Flynn on Mink DeVille

Susan Straight on The Funk Festival

Rick Moody on the The Lounge Lizards

Jennifer Egan on Patti Smith

Harvey Pekar on Joe Maneri

Thurston Moore on Glen Branca, Rudolph Grey, and Wharton Tiers

Chuck Klosterman on Prince

Sigrid Nunez on Woodstock

Jerry Stahl on David Bowie

Charles R. Cross on Nirvana

Marc Nesbitt on The Beastie Boys

And many more . . . No matter where your musical taste falls, these often funny, occasionally sad, always thought-provoking essays--all written especially for The Show I'll Never Forget --are sure to connect with anyone who loves, or has ever loved, live music.