Performances where the artist possesses the audience

Two cases I can remember:

Bob Kidney, singing "Matchbox Blues"
"Well the old man asked me will a matchbox hold your clothes
Well the old man asked me will a matchbox hold your clothes
Well I scratched on my head and said old man, I don't know
How could a matchbox hold my clothes?

How could a matchbox hold my clothes?
I thought about it for ten years or so
How could a matchbox hold my clothes?
Everything I own in a matchbox
How could a matchbox hold my clothes?
(audience wide eyed, waiting for the answer.)
If you leave right now with nothing
And where you're going nobody knows
If you leave right now with nothing
And where you're going nobody knows
Then a matchbox will hold your clothes
You've got a whole lot of matches but a long way to go
(roaring guitar solo - the place erupts)

Case 2:
Nick Cave - two instances, same show:
The Mercy Seat: which builds a lot of tension anyway.. when he got to the last line:
"And anyway, I LIIIIED!"
.. I was expecting fights to break out..

and then,
Stagger Lee:
added verse at the end
"In came the Devil
He said I've come to take you down
In came the Devil
He said I've come to take you down
In came the Devil
A pitchfork in his hand
Well those were the last words that the devil said
'cause Stag put four holes in his motherfuckin head"

So - does this happen alot to other people? Am I just not going to the right shows?

I think this partly depends on the audience's willingness to be possessed; Tori Amos, for example, is a captivating performer but you feel at her gigs that a good proportion of the audience would eat out of her hand no matter what. What's interesting is that when they crowd DO go insane with the tension/emotion the place doesn't so much erupt as go very, very quiet - when she sings "Me And A Gun" people barely breathe.

you should watch "Wattstax: The Living Word" just to see Rufus Thomas single-handedly start and then (even more amazingly) stop a crowd riot.

The first time I saw the Make-Up the crowd was apeshit in the way you describe. Same with the Tight Bros From Way Back When.

I saw VHS or Beta at Casa del Popolos in Montreal, which is a small club with a capacity of probably 120 or so. It was hot as it was July. Once the band came out and started playing, almost everyone there just soaked up the vibe (heavy disco-y rock) and started moving; those few who were not comfortable dancing were quickly shifted to the sides. The place was packed to the point of overflowing out onto the sidewalk, and it was so hot I sweated through my jeans and my leather belt. I've never seen a crowd so in tune with the band before in my life, it was an amazing sensation and probably the best show I've ever been to because of it. By the time it was over everyone looked like they were about to melt.