Rob Halford coming on stage on a Harley surrounded by dry ice. Got a cheer but was rather silly and the leather look on Halford was always a bit too gay (even before he came out).

You can't really top this:

Was on this tour. I can still feel the heat, even from way back:

are both overblown, ridiculous and fabulous

u2 Zooropa 93 Tour - Nazi Propoganda, silly walks, drumming, sensory overload

AC\DC Wembley 1991- in the arena was dark apart from red blinking lights, the rumbling of thunder with the odd flash of lightning and then the riff kicks in for a minute of two until angus appears atop the scaffold in all his glory. Yay!!

Kraftwerk on the Computer World tour. Waiting for things to happen, you were aware of the occasionl faint "bleep" from the PA. Gradually, very gradually, the volume increased as a string of random electronic sounds became audible. As they did, so the excitement ratcheted up until the lights dropped, a load of striplights flickered on under the keyboard risers and four figures strode onto the stage..

It was wonderfully theatrical but also fascinatingly sterile and Germanic. And, hence, absolutely spot-on.

Black Crowes, 1992-ish, The Brixton Academy.
Surprisingly good unknowns Verve (no definitive article in those days) finish their support set. After the usual panto of roadies checking amps, trying out guitars, some authentic-sounding Middle Eastern music starts up. The lights dim. Joss sticks are lit onstage. The lights go out, to the usual chorus of squeals and catcalls.
The riff to No Speak No Slave starts up, and a straggly net of lights are turned on, hanging down from each side of the proscenium arch and across the front of the stage. The riff goes on for what seems ages (probably about a minute). Then, as the music keeps playing, the net of curtains parts in the middle and draws apart, very slowly.
Finally, as the curtains reach each side, the lights come on, the Crowes riffing away, and Chris Robinson strides forward, mic-stand held in the Rodular manner, singing 'Rooster crows at the break of dawn..'
The air is full of bubbles that have, unseen, been cascading from some source above the stage. The place smells like incense and bifters. The stage looks like a cross between the poop deck of a pirate ship and a head shop. In front of this impressionable student are Stones circa '72, the Faces and Zeppelin combined.
It looked a bit like this:

The stage set had a huge gauze curtain hung in front of it, through which you could just make out various shapes of people milling around - is that one MM? etc etc

Then a drum crash, light explosion, and curtain falls to start the show.

Actually, that's as good as the opening went, because they chose to "launch into" a track from the new album, thus heralding the theme for the evening: alternating new (bad) stuff with old (good) stuff.

About the time of the Manifesto album. Music starts and the stage is covered by 5 huge, ceiling to floor blinds. Gradually the lights shinje brighter from behind revealing 4 silohuettes until eventually, Mr Ferry's vocal comes in and as his backlight gets brighter, revealing shoulders swaying as only Ferry can, the other blinds raise up until by the end of the song, all is revealed (so to speak).
Incredibly simple but so effective and that old Ferry cliche, stylish.

I saw them at Hammersmith in the 70s, after that old fire curtain was dropped as they did before all gigs it was raised to reveal the whole stage had been filled with dry ice and the band danced out of it to begin the show.

The sign that Lizzy were about to take the stage was always the blue police light on top of the monitors.

The 'This isn't Kansas...' clip was always good at the beginning of a Rainbow show.

Late 1986 at Wembley Arena, me and chums out on a school night trying to fit in wearing as much (mainly borrowed) black attire as possible. Lights go down as loud voice announces "Ladies & Gentlemen, The Stranglers!!!" only to be followed by a chap (I later heard may have been Keith Allen) dressed in leather jacket and tight leather shorts, carrying a large wrench - who then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes claiming to be disgusted at us southern hetrosexuals as he was northern & gay & proud and what were we going to do about it?

Throw beer and try to rip up the seats appeared to be the answer, according to most people around us - much to our shock & awe. In his own time the chap eventually left the stage with the crowd baying for his blood - then on came the real Men in Black - straight into "No More Heroes", job done...

We ur Thee Sensatioanl Alix Harvey Bahnd!"

my life was never the same after and I'd only come to see Mott the Hoople

I love Lord Sutch's delayed entrance on this performance of "Jack the Ripper" from 1964. Some of the audience reactions are a treat:

Any performer who shuns the limitless, wonderful opportunities to create a dramatic entrance doesn't deserve the privilege of being on stage. Go back off and come on properly!

was 'smuggled from the dressing room inside a storage box, wheeled under the stage, then emerged upwards through a cloud of dry ice for the opening number. When the opening number was 'Let's Go Crazy', oh man that was something special...

a coffin was carried onstage, the lid opened and Peter Gabriel emerged to reclaim his place at the front of the band.