How many times have you seen Ronnie in concert?

[Joe Siegler]

For me it's a bunch.

With Black Sabbath: 1992, 2007, & 2008. (Yeah, I know it's Heaven & Hell for two of those - bite me, it's Black Sabbath - even Ronnie said so).

With Dio:

1983 twice on the Holy Diver Tour (was at the filming of a video for one)
1984 on the Last in Line Tour (was at the filming of a video)
1985 Sacred Heart Tour (one of the best live gigs I've ever seen)
1986 Intermission Tour (after Viv was gone and Craig was in)
1994 Strange Highways Tour (Dio played a bloody PARKING LOT in Dallas for this!)
1996 Angry Machines Tour
2000 Magica Tour
2002 Killing the Dragon Tour twice (once was that festival tour with Deep Purple & Scorpions)
2004 Master of the Moon Tour

So all told it's 14 times. I could have seen him in Dallas on the Inferno tour in 1998, but that concert was an outdoor festival in August, and I shit you not, it was LITERALLY 110 degrees out. I skipped it - was too f'in hot for an outdoor concert.

Met him in person at the 2007 & 2008 shows. I've told the story of meeting him in 2007 here, although I unfortunately did not get my picture taken with him.

http://www.black-sabbath.com/tourdates/2007/050307.html

[snake99]

Not Enough

I saw him not nearly enough. I took full advantage of seeing him as many times as possible since the reunion with Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell.

I'm stunned that; I will never again get a chance to see him live again and hear:

The World Is Full Of Kings And Queens That Blind Your Eyes And Steal Your Dreams. It's Heaven And Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

or

If You Listen To Fools. The Mob Rulessssssssssssssss

Stunned there will not be another Heaven And Hell recording. How I will miss him!

[Damian]

Saw him in Philly for The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, and Intermission. New York for Lock up the Wolves and Dehumanizer, back in Philly for Strange Highways and Angry Machines, Las Vegas for Magica, Holmdel for Killing the Dragon, New York for Master of the Moon. Saw him with Heaven and Hell 4 times. Radio City, Philly/Camden, Reading, and Atlantic City.

So I guess I have 14 total also. Unless I'm missing something somewhere, running on fumes right now.

[DiosSword]

Dio, Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 1985 (Dokken supported)

Black Sabbath, Chicago, Illlinois, August 1992 (Danzig supported)

Heaven and Hell, Detroit, Michigan, August 2009 (Coheed and Cambria supported)

I almost saw him at a club gig in Indiana in 1997, but I was so sick with the flu that I couldn't even get out of bed.

I regret that I never saw him sing alongside Ritchie Blackmore. But I was 13 years old when he left Rainbow, and my first gig (Van Halen) was still a year away.

Thank God my dear wife prodded me to get Heaven and Hell tickets last year...she presciently said, "those guys may not be around much longer, you'd better see them again while you can!"

[Joe Siegler]

Saw him in Philly for The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, and Intermission. New York for Lock up the Wolves and Dehumanizer, back in Philly for Strange Highways and Angry Machines, Las Vegas for Magica, Holmdel for Killing the Dragon, New York for Master of the Moon. Saw him with Heaven and Hell 4 times. Radio City, Philly/Camden, Reading, and Atlantic City.

So I guess I have 14 total also. Unless I'm missing something somewhere, running on fumes right now.

Heh - you were at a few of the same gigs as me.

[devstorm]

I was supposed to go see the DIO band twice in the 80's and both times couldn't wind up making it (Despite having tickets). So it wasn't until summer of 2003 when he toured with Iron Maiden & Motorhead that I was able to see him for the first time.

They did a great selection of material (Stargazer was awe inspiring) and some Sabbath which I was totally Jazzed over. I was considerably blown away by the whole thing. I've always liked Craig Goldy so I was particularly stoked to see him with the band.

The next 3 times were with Heaven and Hell. April of 2007 LA Forum. October of 2007 Irvine, CA., And August of 2009 @ Greek Theater in L.A. (Won the tickets from Sam Ash).

Heaven and Hell were always spectacular. The last two shows in particular were just jaw-droppingly amazing. I feel very lucky to have seen them since it took so many many years to get me & them in the same building. But F-ing A if the wait wasn't worth it.

[Mark7]

Cow Palace, San Francisco 4/17/82 (my 1st concert ever!)
Sacramento 8/2/83 (2nd DIO show ever!)
Sacramento 11/12/92
Oakland 11/13/92 (last for the Sabs the 2nd time around!)
San Francisco 3/3/2000
San Jose 4/24/2007 (wow, 110 mins of classic Dio Sabs)
Reno 9/28/2007
Konocti 9/29/2007
Concord 9/30/2007 (3 straight nites, Ronnie sounded as good here as nite one!)
Fresno 10/2/07
Mt. View 8/31/08 (first row, Ronnie and I touched "devil horns" during "Children of the Sea"
San Francisco 8/10/09

Recorded all of these, glad I did for generations to come... Farewell dear Ronnie...

[Rover]

Only 4 times: twice with DIO in 2004 and 2005, and twice with BLACK SABBATH (once in Helsinki in 2007, the second time in St. Pete's last year). It was not nearly enough, and now it's too late.

[Grimace]

Sadly only once, last August in Cleveland. It is a show I will remember for the rest of my life. Such an amazing man.

[CaptainYowza]

Many, but not nearly enough.

1) Heaven and Hell Tour, Dallas TX, 07-05-80. I had just turned 12. Changed my life forever. Only Dio show I saw with the great Bill Ward on drums.
2) Mob Rules Tour, Dallas TX, 05-12-82. Live Evil does not remotely do this show justice. Possibly the greatest thing I've ever seen.
3) Holy Diver Tour, Dallas TX, 10-15-83. No concert shirt could make a teacher hate your guts like Holy Diver. Superb show. Y&T opened and kicked ass, too.
4) Last in Line Tour, Dallas TX, 11-18-84. Dio hits the big time and fills an arena with his solo band. I've seen few artists greeted so lovingly by the crowd.
5) Sacred Heart Tour, Dallas TX, 11-07-85. Could be my favorite off all the Dio shows, but the gigantic dose of hallucinogens may have had something to do with that.
6) Dehumanizer Tour, Dallas TX, 11-06-92. I don't think I'd ever more eagerly awaited the release of an album, and 30 seconds into Computer God, life was good again. The concert was simply beyond explanation. Too bad this would mark the end of Dio and The Boys....or would it?
7) Magica Tour, Dallas TX, 04-14-00. Dio kicks the crap out of the Bronco Bowl one last time. I thought opener Sebastin Bach would never get his dumb ass off the stage. Great show, and Craig Goldie was superb. Afterward, we spoke longingly of someday seeing Dio front Black Sabbath just one more time.
8) Killing the Dragon Tour, Dallas Tx, 06-09-02. Short set opening for Deep Purple and Scorpions. 3 fine bands in one night remains a rarity, what a great time.
9) Killing the Dragon Tour, Dallas Tx, 08-13-03. Dio opening for Maiden. We were front row in the 120 degree heat. Youngsters were swooning left and right in the heat. Dio, unaffected, kicked ass.
10) Master of the Moon Tour, Dallas TX, 10-21-04. Dio playing a club, and a small one at that? The Gypsy Tea Room? That's a damn shame. Ronnie wasn't fazed - he performed as if he were headlining Wembley Stadium. Stargazer and Babylon were played. Wow. Hell of an experience, but again, a damn shame.
11) Heaven and Hell Reunion Tour, The Woodlands TX, 05-02-07. The big moment I hoped would someday come. One of the best of the many hundereds of concerts I've enjoyed. I can't describe how thrilled I was. Monster setlist, Earth-shaking performance.
12) Heaven and Hell Reunion Tour, Dallas TX, 05-03-07. What a way to spend two consecutive nights. Second row. I took my avatar photo at this one.
13) Monsters of Metal Tour, Dallas TX, 08-22-08. Little did I know this would be the end of a long, damn fulfilling road. How very sad. Ronnie sounded amazing. My girlfriend had to stay home with a broken heel caused by an idiot bad driver, she loves Ronnie as much as I do. Huge bummer.

We would have seen The Devil You Know Tour, which skipped Texas, at Red Rocks, Colorado 2009, but complications from the car wreck kept us off the road. If only I had known this was the last chance. I would have chunked Mrs. Yowza's smashed carcass in the RV and we would have toughed it out. Curses!

13 times, eh? Cool. When my life flashes before my eyes someday, it will surely be worth watching, as was Ronnie's. Ya can't beat that.

RIP Ronnie James Dio, so many thanks for all those kick-ass experiences, and, while I'm here, UP THE IRONS!

\m/

[GuyOfOwnage]

My first opportunity to see Dio live came on the 2007 Heaven & Hell Tour. First in London Ontario, on March 24th, 2007, where I managed to push my way to the very front of the floor crowd. Being just a matter of feet away from those guys while they did what they've always done best was a very special moment, not to mention a distinct privilege, that I will never forget as long as I live. I'm pretty sure if you look hard enough, you can find the boatload of pictures I took at the gig in the Photo Gallery.

My second (and sadly final) gig came on September 20th, 2007, in Hamilton, Ontario. Not quite as memorable as the first gig, mainly due to a pain in the ass security guard that wouldn't stop giving me a hard time. Nonetheless, the band were arguably tighter than when I'd seen them 6 months prior. At the time, I assumed it would be my last time seeing the band as the new album had not yet been decided upon at that point in time. Unfortunately, I was more correct than I could have realized...

[Sahand]

none... Unfortunately...

[Charger]

Only 3 times...and that is about 1000 times too few...

First was in 2004 with Dio in Tuska Festival (perhaps one of the best concerts ever!)
Second was with H&H in 2007
Third with H&H in 2009

I was supposed to see him again and again and again, but those will never happen and my heart aches for it....

[DaniArrow]

Not nearly often enough. I've been a fan since I was 14 (I'm only 23 now). I've seen Heaven & Hell once, in Bamberg 2009. It was amazing and I'll never forget the show and meeting them afterwards.

[MH1986]

I've seen Dio twice in concert with Heaven and Hell. The first time being in 2008 at the Metal Masters Tour in Devore at the Glen Helen pavilion when they where touring with Judas Priest, Motorhead, and Testament. The 2nd time I saw him was at a Best Buy in San Bernardino California last year when they had an in store signing of the Devil You Know, I'll always remember meeting the guys, especially Ronnie; he was a true gentleman whom extended his hand to shake mine and thank me. That was special and something I will always remember.

I then saw them August 11th at the Greek Theatre. I don't have much money so I bought the least expensive tickets for the show for myself and my gf. Not long after sitting down a man walked all the way to the back of the venue and said he had to leave early giving me and my gf tickets about 10 rows back center stage. That was the best show I've seen to date.

I was extremely shocked today when I opened my email to find that Ronnie had passed away. I've been playing his music all day and even as I type this am watching Live From Radio City Music Hall. The music world lost one of its very best, nobody will ever equal Dio. He lived for his fans, and now we'll have to live for him.