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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsThe BEST band you've ever seen live:
I've seen a zillion.
The best I've seen were the original Four Tops. I thought it was because I was a kid in college, but then saw them 30 some years later and they totally blew us away... We were dancing and singing on the seats!!
Throd
(7,208 posts)Lochloosa
(16,063 posts)Oh wait. Maybe that was the acid
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Most of them sans acid.
Lochloosa
(16,063 posts)Man I miss Jerry
antiquie
(4,299 posts)I've never had a better experience than at any Dead show and I saw the Doors at the Hollywood Bowl July 5, 1968.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Most of them in CA, some in the Midwest, a few other places like Vegas, Eugene, Arizona, etc.
NRaleighLiberal
(60,014 posts)Arcade Fire a few years ago (and in a few weeks in Washington), The National last year, Cowboy Junkies.
But for me, it is the Pat Metheny Group when they were making their best music - probably saw them a dozen times.
tavernier
(12,382 posts)you think will make the best impression. I won't do a negative post but there were many that were disappointing . Once you see that outstanding group of musicians, whether it's the chemistry between themselves and/or the audience, you just know you've been part of a magical thing.
Harry Chapin had it as well.
gvstn
(2,805 posts)I'm one of those people that enjoys a concert much more when I am close enough to see the expressions on the artist's face. Luckily, my best friend was fanatical about getting good seats so I saw many 70's early 80's bands close up. 7th row center was always the goal!
I have to say the one concert that I think I enjoyed the most was Roxy Music. Bryan Ferry really owned that theater. Something about the later Roxy Music and Ferry solo music of that time just synchs with me. I would have loved to see them more often but they broke up shortly afterwards.
There were plenty of other performers that had louder and higher energy concerts but that one stands out for me.
hibbing
(10,098 posts)It was awesome, Achtung Baby had reached it's pinnacle and the show was incredible.
2. Bob Dylan on the day Nixon was buried singing Masters of War.
3. Green Day American Idiot, fun fun fun.
Peace
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)i've seen them more than any other band.
KatyMan
(4,190 posts)That was intense, much better then the stadium setting I saw them in later that year (October 92 in the Astrodome). Everything you know is wrong
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Keep Yourself Alive...
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lady lib
(2,933 posts)in Madison Square Garden in NYC. It was my first date.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)I was a teenager. My older brother took me.
We were ninth row center on the floor.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Brian and Roger have STILL GOT IT. Of course you'd never know who my favorite astrophysicist is.
Adam Lambert is a good singer. Roger did a "drum off" with his son Rufus.
They had to play the recorded version of Bo Rap on the big screen, with Freddie singing-because there is no way it could be done live. I believe Brian said there were 180 overdubs or edits in the recording (?).
Best concert? How about the dynamite triple bills they had in the 1970s??? Like opener Robin Trower, middle act King Crimson, headliner Ten Years After with Alvin Lee?? That was in 1974. Or opener Styx, middle act Climax Blues Band, headliner Bachman-Turner Overdrive in '76? You don't see bills like that anymore with three solid acts.
Best concert of a single act? The Police on the Synchronicity Tour in '83. UB40 opened for them because they were a one hit wonder with "Red Red Wine". The Police were getting really good and broke up right after that. I've watched an instructional video by Andy Summers on YouTube and it fried my brain to watch him running through chords, and I'm not a guitar player. He said he studied years of classical, mentioned Bartok and Villa-Lobos, and plays jazz now. Was talking about jazz chords--7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths and suspensions.
This confirms my observation that people who study classical music for years and get bored go into jazz because those are the only two complex forms of music. Summers demonstrated some of the jazz chords he used in The Police, like omitting thirds. I knew they were really much better than the average rock band, and I haven't forgiven them for breaking up then.
Another example of a classical musician turning to jazz is Jean Luc Ponty, electric violinist. He graduated from the Paris Conservatory, winning the Grand Prix for best student, and went into fusion.
"No one ever erected a statue to a critic." -- Jean Sibelius, composer of Finlandia and several cool symphonies.
"I am in the smallest room in the house. Your review is before me. Soon it will be behind me." --Max Reger, French composer, conductor and organ virtuoso, 1906.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)so I never can get these things right but the bands that I thought handled their shit with style and bad-assery:
John Paul Jones - Zooma tour
Bolt Thrower
Atheist
Napalm Death - every time, great show from the first time I saw them in the early 90s to when I saw them last summer.
Carcass - ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Reverend Horton Heat
Slayer
Wormed
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
RUSH
At The Gates
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)or even been a fan of that kind of music, but I did see their drummer play with John Zorn and Bill Laswell as Painkiller and that was a fucking amazing show.
Kali
(55,007 posts)there is a local kid/young man leading a great band (ever changing, and all the best of Tucson) and they blow me away every time I have seen them. Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta. Here is something from NPR, but if it sounds interesting, check out the other videos and if they ever play near you, GO SEE THEM!
I saw an ELO show back in the 70s that was outstanding, same with ZZ Top the Fandango tour. But two lesser known bands were together (a LITTLE more recently, LOL) on the same ticket for a better show. The Reverend Horton Heat and Hank III.
there have been some pretty good shows and I am greatful to have experienced. these stand out for me at the present time.
Rhythm
(5,435 posts)That was the night that Manson -- mistakenly thinking that it was the last night of the tour -- set fire to the drum kit (and the pants-leg of drummer "Sara Lee Lucas" .
This was the first of several times i got to see them live over a few years, but this was the single best set, and at a time before Manson was so weird that he'd get pissy and quit a show mid-set.
I don't even mind the fact that someone in the crowd walked out with my leather vest (which i'd taken off to lay across the barricade up front)... it was well worth the price of admission to that macabre circus!
(video is from an earlier show, but same tour...)
Initech
(100,068 posts)The video does not do it justice - that was truly an epic show.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)Saw them three times! (different tours, of course)
I also considered Devo excellent in concert (enough to see five tours!)
And Crash Worship had me and everyone else mesmerized! In fact, at the show I saw in Houston (in a club that was all concrete, like an underground bunker) you could not stop your body from dancing and moving to the rhythms. It was one of the best shows I've ever experienced! Plus, because there was no way to burn the place down, there were fire pits everywhere, like in the video below
nirvana555
(448 posts)I've been to quite a few concerts and this was amazing beyond belief. He played for hours and all of his hits to perfection.
Solomon
(12,310 posts)Pissed me off to no end to pay that kind of money to hear recordings.
nirvana555
(448 posts)site I can go to where it says it's a recording? Now I'm curious.
Solomon
(12,310 posts)I can tell you that today's concerts are no where near as authentic as in the old days because of modern technology. They even have machines that keep a singer's voice from going off key etc. I saw Prince at the height of his fame during his Purple Rain tour and that was back around 1984, 1985 and it was mostly a recording with his band faking it. You have to remember that when it comes to making records in the studio that Prince plays all the instruments but when he goes on tour, his band has to act like it can play as well as he can. Thus a lot of what you hear is recorded. Not saying that Prince might not play a note or two along with the recording but you get my drift. Maybe he stopped playing recordings by 2011 but after seeing the state of the technology as far back as 1985, ... I don't know.
progressoid
(49,988 posts)I would loved to have seen DEVO or Oingo Boingo.
Can't believe Elfman did the whole show bare footed. He must have tough feet!
cry baby
(6,682 posts)Led Zeppelin
Cat Stevens
Rush
Gino Vanelli
Fleetwood Mac
I was fortunate to grow up near Dallas. I would sleep out at the local record store to get great seats, usually within the first 10 rows on the floor. I didn't get to see Pink Floyd - something I've always been sad about.
closeupready
(29,503 posts)What a treat that must have been.
cry baby
(6,682 posts)Still touches my soul to this day.
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)cry baby
(6,682 posts)and still sound good.
PennyK
(2,302 posts)I saw them last year, but they're not coming to Florida this time around. It was my husband's first concert in many years, and he was just blown away by the music and the musicians.
The Second Stone
(2,900 posts)and they were tight and had the place jumping more than any other band I've ever seen live. I can't figure why they never caught on.
I saw The Grateful Dead in 1993 live, and they were really enjoyable, but the audience was out of this world and amazing. Most wonderful concert I've ever been too, it was like being on another planet, largely due to the audience.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)followed closely by the Allman Brothers. The AB were better live than album- that is saying something.
Broken_Hero
(59,305 posts)Joe Shlabotnik
(5,604 posts)in a small venue. I got right upstage in a general seating area and was in awe all evening long.... I saw Stevie once more, in a stadium crowd with Jeff Beck and Jeff Healey, but it wasn't anywhere near the spiritual exchange that the first time was.
Runner up... the Allman brothers band 2x in the early 90's.............. mind blowing both times.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)The Allman Brothers Band, Emerson Lake and Palmer 1971 and the Moody Blues.
The best? Can't say.
Coventina
(27,114 posts)Here's a few standouts from my memories:
1. U2 at ASU stadium when they filmed "Rattle & Hum".
2. The Go-Go's when they played at the Phoenix Zoo.
3. Duran Duran on the "7 & the Ragged Tiger" tour. The first major rock concert I ever attended. It got me hooked!!
4. The Smiths on "The Queen is Dead" tour.
5. The Ramones on the "Escape from New York" tour.
Honorable mentions: Depeche Mode on the "Music for the Masses" tour, the Cure on the "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" tour, Madonna, REM.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Damn, girl! *envious*
shenmue
(38,506 posts)I can't deal.
Coventina
(27,114 posts)Ah, salad days.....
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Don't know which would be best band after seeing so many.
Best show was one night at the original Antone's with B B King that turned into an all night jam session with Stevie and Jimmie, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter and a bunch of other blues musicians. They played until dawn.
DFW
(54,369 posts)The guys he's been touring with recently blow away anything I've seen recently. Steely Dan was a close second, to my great surprise and delight. Bruce Hornsby is third.
Back in the sixties, the Youngbloods and the Hollies were among the tightest acts I remember.
ailsagirl
(22,896 posts)He's great on his own but I sure miss those DS days...
Paladin
(28,254 posts)cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)Around the early 2000s, there were two different touring P-Funk camps, one comprised of George Clinton (and occasionally some of the other big names like Bernie and Bootsy), and the other made up of several guys from the 70s lineup, and a bunch of younger musicians. I saw both, and Clinton's group just came across as totally bored and disengaged, and they devoted a completely unreasonable amount of time to some midde-aged, white rapper doing "topical" and "funny" raps that weren't funny and were a couple years late from being topical as well.
Meanwhile the other group played all the P-Funk hits, and played the shit out of them. They had something like 15 people crammed onto a tiny stage, so really full and busy arrangements, but the playing was tight enough that it didn't just devolve into the kind of muddy wall of noise that live shows sometimes turn into. The whole show was really high energy and lasted for something like 3.5 hours, and by the end, they seemed like they could just keep going all night.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings always put on an awesome show. Going to see Dave Rawlings Machine in a couple months with a lineup that includes Willie Watson from Old Crow Medicine Show, and John Paul Jones, who I understand was in some kind of Blues cover band back in the 70s.
Solomon
(12,310 posts)None better when they were in their prime.
James Brown's act was tight!
closeupready
(29,503 posts)at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City 5 or 6 years ago - Ann Wilson's voice is a little deeper, but she and her sister are more talented than ever. Enjoyed Elton John and Madonna's 'Confessions on the Dance Floor' as well.
bluesbassman
(19,372 posts)Lee, Peart, and Lifeson are all excellent musicians, but their ability to play the complex arrangements they have live is amazing. Well worth seeing them live even if one is not a big Rush fan.
reflection
(6,286 posts)See my post below. I'm a Rush fanatic. Every album, 50-odd bootlegs, been to meet-and-greets, flew to London just to see them last year. Phenomenal band. When I was just a little kid, my brother would spin Fly By Night on the turntable before we went to bed. Good stuff to cut your teeth on at 7.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)I had to wait until I was 18 to find out about the awesomeness of Rush - luckily I made a friend that turned me onto them in time to see them quite a few times myself. And will do so every time I can in the future.
blogslut
(37,999 posts)Therefore I feel unqualified to comment on anyone's expertise with a musical instrument.
Just the same, the one band that impressed me most was The Police. I saw them three times in the 80's and each time it boggled my mind that all that sound came from just three guys.
To add: Somewhere around 1981, I went to this club to meet a friend of mine. The place was so packed I couldn't see (and did not know) who was onstage playing. I just wanted to yap with my good friend. We sat at the bar, doing our best to hear each other over the music but in the middle of our conversation, I stopped and listened to this guitarist. I'd never heard anything so soulful. I asked my friend, "Who is that?"
She replied: "That's Stevie Ray Vaughn."
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)Not necessarily in that order.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Maybe it was just a matter of right time, right frame of mind, but the first time I saw them in concert, I immediately wanted to get all of their music and became an instant fan (having known almost nothing about them previously).
shenmue
(38,506 posts)Almost every show I've been to was good. I think Slayer in 1992(?) was one of the best.
yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)Kimiko Asahina and I to sit and have a beer and Ramen with them. I absolutely love JinnyOops, and Kimi and I are still friends with Hitomi Futenma on Twitter.
Futenma Hitomi (Dr.Cho) Ishibashi Mitsuyo (Vo., Gt.), Ishida Chihiro (Ba.Cho)
Starring Japan Culture festival mobilized music showcase of the world's largest "SXSW" (Austin), about 4 million people, "J-POP Summit Festival" to the (San Francisco), through such means as the US tours around the seven cities the United States, The active on the world stage while based in Osaka. Released self-produced single "BREAK" in April 2014. Appeared to FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL'14 are decided in July.
reflection
(6,286 posts)Religious experience.
Then Rush. I've seen Rush somewhere between 25-35 times, and yet the one Floyd show I saw in 1994 was just on a different level.
Coming in 3rd would have to be Cheap Trick, the energy they used to bring was so amazing.
I love live music. I'll see anything, anywhere. Went to Black Label Society the other night and bounced around like I was 18 again. The actual 18-year olds were shooting me looks of revulsion and pity and I couldn't give half a shit.
ProdigalJunkMail
(12,017 posts)back in the 80's...
sP
tavernier
(12,382 posts)Ran out of bands.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)ArnoldLayne
(2,067 posts)and Roger Waters "The Wall Live Tour" October 2010 and July 2012.
DoBotherMe
(2,339 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)I worked at a cd store and one year we got free tix in exchange for putting up posters and focusing on the band in the show.
They had fire, video, props, and they jammed their current album hard. We sat in the nosebleed seats, pleasantly stoned and watched the freaks in the pit. Me and a friend went as a lark, but when they came back through town the next year, we bought tix
I've seen better bands, Dead, Dylan, Lollapaloozas..., but Zombie entertained us hard.
blockhead
(1,081 posts)I really enjoyed them with Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman.
ok_cpu
(2,050 posts)Steely Dan. First time I saw them, they were amazing. Saw them a second time a few years ago when they were out with Michael McDonald and they were terrible. Like listening to paint dry.
All of the Radiohead shows I've been to were good. And Counting Crows put on a great concert too. And Harry Connick Jr. when he's on. Four Tops would have been really cool.
I guess I just like live music.
TeamPooka
(24,222 posts)RIP Clarence
greendog
(3,127 posts)Rob Wasserman, Darold Anger, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Conner, and David Grisman. Sam Bush and Bela Fleck joined for a few tunes.
Rhiannon12866
(205,247 posts)Both of them put on a hell of a show - and kept coming back. Though I'd have to give the edge to Springsteen.
Skittles
(153,150 posts)great shows
Bonobo
(29,257 posts)David Byrne might be second.
Peter is another world though.
progressoid
(49,988 posts)Especially with Manu Katche on Drums and Tony Levin on bass.
Maybe he'll do one more tour just for me.
av8rdave
(10,573 posts)Jethro Tull was also great live.
I just saw Springsteen/E St Band a few months back. Always kinda sorta liked some of his stuff, so I went in as a lukewarm fan. I have to say that he and his band put on a fantastic live show. The Mrs. says it's the best she's ever seen/heard, but then she's not a Rush fan.
geardaddy
(24,926 posts)central scrutinizer
(11,648 posts)For showmanship. Afro-Cuban Allstars for making it impossible not to dance for hours and leave the hall covered in sweat.
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)ms liberty
(8,573 posts)Rush, Time Machine Tour - I saw them twice on this tour, in Greensboro NC and in Greenville SC; 4/2 & 6/8/12.
Rush, Clockwork Angels Tour - I saw them twice on this tour as well, but the show in Raleigh NC was better than the show in Charlotte. Not that the band was better...they were stellar as always...but I had much better seats in Raleigh!
Pink Floyd, Animals tour, 1977 in Tampa Stadium. Gods, that was an awesome show.
Bruce Springsteen, 1978 at The Bayfront Stadium in St Petersburg. Terrible seats and I was hovering between severe bronchitis and walking pneumonia, but I didn't care...it was BROOCE and they were amazing!!!
Yes in June 1976 at Tampa Stadium, and The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac 7/4/76 at Tampa Stadium.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)amazing concert, Jonathan Demme was in the audience and decided to make a movie about them .....
the concert was far better, and the movie was good.
PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)I was also at the filming of Stop Making Sense.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Over two nights. I went one of the nights. What a show.
PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)IronGate
(2,186 posts)Rush
Mahogany Rush
Little Feat
Faster Pussycat
Def Leppard
raptor_rider
(1,014 posts)Played all his 1980's stuff. The two best songs, "Crazy Babies," and "No More Tears."
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)Wolfgang's Vault has a $5 download of the May 28, 1976 show at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium, with Scaggs, which I assume was right before or after the Paramount show. They used to have that one too, but I no longer see it on their Website:
http://www.concertvault.com/the-tubes/shrine-auditorium-may-28-1976.html
Mr.Bill
(24,283 posts)Mostly in the 70s. Great show every time.
tavernier
(12,382 posts)after all of these amazing high tech groups.
It's just that they were four guys with nothing else but their songs and shtick and charisma... and a total devotion to the audience and a sense of pride in their music.
I've seen many bands/groups before and since, but they were exceptional. I'm not sure why they had this magic to make us all feel a part of them, but they did. 😄
Mr.Bill
(24,283 posts)dating back to the late 60s. But the best musical performance I've ever seen was the Count Basie Orchestra with Sammy Davis Jr. singing at Ceaser's Palace in south Lake Tahoe in the early 80s. That show and a Dave Brubeck outdoor concert at Stanford University around the same time expanded my enjoyment of music by making me explore Jazz and Big Band music.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)Jimi was awesome live. I saw Jimi in three shows, in 1968 and 1970. Mitch Mitchell was the greatest drummer in rock in my opinion, a converted jazz drummer who could play with great power and tremendous subtlety and soulfulness. He was a big part of Jimi's sound. And Return To Forever, maybe the greatest jazz-rock fusion group of all time (Chick Corea on keyboards, Al DiMeola on guitar , Lenny White on drums, and Stanley Clarke on bass) were monster musicians, miles ahead of any rock players of their era. Another player who really impressed me live was another rock-jazz fusion monster, George Duke.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Logical
(22,457 posts)Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)show of original band), Welch & Rawlings, Chris Whitley.
All great.
kaiden
(1,314 posts)steve2470
(37,457 posts)awesome light show and 99% of audience was stoned.
Demoiselle
(6,787 posts)Yes, I am very old. Saw these incredible guys at Wesleyan (Connecticut) in the early '60's.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)I mean, really.
TrogL
(32,822 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)They were just starting to get "big" and this was one of their last shows in a club environment. The crowd was packed into the place on a hot summer day and were very energetic, and the music just pumped them up more. Plus, the band was still young and hungry, and just gave a long, intense show.
Green Day in a club down the road from the Agora not long after the song "Longview" started them on the path to stardom. That was really good as well.
locks
(2,012 posts)Cadfael
(1,296 posts)My parents got tickets for this for my 12th birthday. My father (bless his heart) was a furniture salesman at Sears, & the furniture department was right next to the customer service dept. where Ticketmaster was located.....sooo..my dad stood in an endless line dressed in his conservative navy blue suit with his crew cut to buy these tickets for me and 5 of my friends. On the fateful day of the concert my mom drove all 6 of us to the Stadium, dropped us off (this was a different era obviously) reminded us for the 10th time to stay together, and came back to pick us up outside around 3 1/2 hours later. I'm not even sure how she knew when to come or where to find us - no cell phones back then. And she drove us back out to the suburbs where we polished off massive amounts of burgers and fries (picture 1/2 dozen 12 year olds with unbelievable contact highs). A truly unforgettable and amazing music experience...made even more memorable and special because my parents made it happen. My first live concert experience and still the best!
tavernier
(12,382 posts)The Plantation Key Kindergarten class of 2005 singing
Grey Squirrel, Grey Squirrel, Swish your Bushy Tail.
(and the audience went wild!!!)
...
I know. I'm the grannie who was there.
😄