I love live music too but not so I'd want to be in a smoky bar to hear it. A smoke free concert would be awesome. My drinking / smokin days are over. :)
We've seen David Bowie and Stephen Stills in Boston. Used to see some super bands at our junior high and high school gyms. A guy named Ed that graduated a couple years before me used to bring in the best rock bands out of Boston and UNH. He knew Aerosmith [and so did I for that matter]. We saw "The Chain" which was one of S Tyler's pre Aerosmith bands. Tyler played drums and sang, with just 2 other guys : a keyboard player that played bass with his feet, and a lead guitar player. It was the best I've ever heard, period. The Sprites with the late great Eddie Kistler out of Brattleboro VT had the "Sprite" soda logo on their van. He had a voice that was so wild it would send chills down your spine. I can remember them doing Paul Revere & the Raiders songs like "Hungry". That was the only part of school I ever liked - being able to see these fantastic bands.