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So the terrorists hate rock 'n' roll, too. What a surprise.

If there was an epicenter for last Friday's multipronged terror attacks in Paris, it was Le Bataclan, the concert hall where an American band, Eagles of Death Metal, was playing to a sold-out house.

Bono, the lead singer of U2 (which canceled a Paris arena concert set for the next night), was only somewhat hyperbolic when he called the attacks, including the killings at Le Bataclan, "the first direct hit on music that we've had in this so-called War on Terror or whatever it's called."

At least 129 people were killed by terrorists in Paris that night, and it is believed that 89 of them were in the 1,500-strong crowd at Le Bataclan.

That's 89 people who went out on a Friday night to experience the power of rock music, played live and loud. That's 89 people who will never again enjoy the cathartic rush of being moved — to sway, to dance, to lose control — by musicians on a stage in the same room as them.

While I was processing the news last weekend, I saw on my Twitter feed a series of posts by Ann Powers, the pop-music critic for NPR (and, I'm proud to say, one of the arts editors I wrote for at my college newspaper at the University of Washington).

"Listening and dancing and singing together is one of humanity's great pleasures and profound experiences. Music grows love among strangers," Powers tweeted. "Terror cannot silence music. Even in the starkest circumstances, people make it and share it."

She followed this with a list of shows that moved her over her career as a critic and music lover. With each one, she included the hashtag #livemusicheals.

Powers' reminisces had their intended effect, which was to get me to thinking about the live-music highlights of my life. Here are nine of them:

The Police, "Synchronicity" tour, Sept. 1, 1983, Tacoma Dome • I was a late bloomer, musicwise, so my first major rock show was at the start of my sophomore year of college. Aside from the brilliant musicianship of Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, I remember the dazzling lights, the crush of people and the dawning realization that my companion (on whom I had a major crush) didn't feel the same for me. "King of Pain," indeed.

The Moody Blues, "The Present" tour, Nov. 20, 1983, Seattle Center Coliseum • Since "In Search of the Lost Chord" was the first rock album I ever owned, I had to hear the Moody Blues when I got the chance. They were fine, though I really was struck by the opening act: Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose fiery guitar licks were more than the crowd expected. I also remember that, because I went to that show, I missed the nuclear-holocaust TV movie "The Day After," which aired the same night.

Lollapalooza, June 25, 1993, Weber County Fairgrounds • The first time Perry Farrell's mega-event stopped in Utah, and it was a blast. Primus was one of the main headliners, and its staccato rhythms lit up the crowd. Fishbone and Arrested Development were among the opening acts, dropping some necessary hip-hop on a crowd made up mostly of white Utah kids. I also remember the makeshift water pipes delivering cooling water, and how the bones from the Flintstones-size turkey legs crunched underfoot in the mosh pit.

Primus, "Liquid Pig" tour, Oct. 5, 1993, Utah State Fairpark Coliseum • Not long after Lollapalooza, Primus came through town on its own and delivered a fiery performance. (On my birthday, no less.) I think I got a contact high from the pot smokers standing behind me.

Metallica, summer tour, July 29, 1994, Wolf Mountain • I'm not a heavy-metal guy, so why I volunteered to review Metallica on a Park City mountainside (later known as The Canyons) remains a mystery. A howling windstorm blew through the outdoor venue, so strong that roadies were having to tie down the amps. Frontman James Hetfield, undeterred, stood his ground with guitar in hand, staring down the wind like Capt. Ahab facing the whale. The band drew energy from the audience, and vice versa, creating a feeling of palpable electricity.

Barenaked Ladies, "Roadshow '99" tour, Aug. 24, 1999, The E Center • The Canadian rock band had just released its biggest album to date, "Stunt," with its single "One Week." But I had heard the band before, and I knew its live shows were trippy, free-wheeling affairs, with plenty of improvisation and comic riffs — particularly when BNL played the early hit "If I Had $1,000,000." My wife, then seven months pregnant, reluctantly accompanied me after my original plus-one bailed. We had a great time, and I'm sure the vibrations didn't permanently affect our now-16-year-old son.

Milkshake, Jamarama!, April 1, 2006, Capitol Theatre • Kids and rock shows don't mix. Even when they're rock shows aimed at small children. The Jamarama! tour brought musicians who catered to the preschool audience, whose colorful videos aired on the Noggin channel (now Nick Jr.). But my younger son, then 3 ½, was having none of it. Even with the confetti cannons and bubble machines, the volume was too much, and he wanted out of there before the headliner, Dan Zanes, came out to play.

The Swell Season, spring tour, May 3, 2008, The Depot • Irish guitarist/singer Glen Hansard and Czech singer Marketa Irglova had recently won the Oscar for best song for "Falling Slowly," the ballad from "Once," in which they both starred and performed. Live onstage, as the couple were going through their brief real-life romantic pairing, the music was especially dynamic. Hansard prefaced the performance of "Falling Slowly" with a monologue expressing his ambivalence about its success, but when he asked the audience to sing along to the chorus, the effect was electric.

Paul McCartney, "Out There" tour, Aug. 4, 2014, EnergySolutions Arena • Being able to bring my wife, one of the world's biggest Beatles fans, to see Sir Paul perform was a treat. To see him, at 72, play his songs for three hours with barely a break was astonishing.

Sean P. Means writes The Cricket in daily blog form at http://www.sltrib.com/blogs/moviecricket. Follow him on Twitter @moviecricket. Email him at spmeans@sltrib.com.