I saw him when I was in college…in the late 90’s. There must have been a 40 year age gap between me and the next youngest person.
Not me, but my parents have seen Engelbert Humperdinck a few times, and they say he always puts on a wonderful show. The last time was just a couple years ago.
I second KISS. Saw them twice. Once on the Crazy Nights tour and once on the KISS Alive/Worldwide Reunion tour. Think what you want about thier music, they put on a hell of a show.
Went to see Survivor at a small casino for a cheap show. They were ok, but the opening act was the Village People. VP put on one of the most most fun, engaging sets I have ever seen. They were high energy, engaged with the crowd both during and between songs. One of the best times I have had at a show. Best moment a couple of older, very very drunk women were standing at the edge of the stage waving dollar bills. Filipe Rose (Indian) looked down at them and quiped “This is not that kind of show!”
I and some friends went to see him in Germany when we were stationed in the Air Force there, and he kept bantering with the audience in German. They loved it, we Americans didn’t know enough German to understand what he was saying. 
For great banter, check out The Skivvies on YouTube.
Unfortunately he just decided to take a break from touring that he may not come back from but…
Rik Emmett has mostly done acoustic shows with his stage partner Dave Dunlop. He is charming and funny and very engaging with the crowd and plays off Dave very well. I’ve seen him three times and highly recommend it. If he comes back of course.
I had a buddy in college way back when who managed to get 2nd row seats to Alice Cooper. Let’s just say they were a lot more engaged and interactive with the audience than he expected.
Imagine the Harlem Globetrotters with the kids in the floor seats. Except that it was Alice Cooper in a dark theater instead of a brightly lit arena.
Arlo for sure…
David Bromberg is pretty much a storyteller and sometime goofy on stage and ALWAYS puts on a great show. And he can build his own fiddle and guitar too!
High energy (read that as you may)…Leftover Salmon…FESTIVAL !!!
And a semi local band Old Salt Union are GREAT! If you get a chance, see them! Call Me Al
The bass player (in yellow jacket) used to work for me. His uncles is/was in Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt
My son and his friends HAD to go see Alice Cooper back in the Early-Oughts. Alice had a radio show where he introduced his favorite songs, but also told great anecdotes about the good ol’ days of rock ‘n’ roll… as well as current rockers.
I can still hear his melodious baritone on the car radio late at night: "So, here’s a phrase I never thought I’d start a story with… ‘I was sharing a hot tub with Eddie Van Halen after a hilarious 18 holes of golf’…"
Yes. This is why I’m such a fan (of the original 70s KISS). Their live show was better than the record; and isn’t that the whole point of a live show? To go SEE something you can’t simply HEAR by sitting at home listening to the record. And for the record, Paul Stanley’s banter with the crowd was always top notch, IMHO.
Darnielle is an absolute hoot. I have been going with the same bunch of friends for years to catch him each time he is in Australia. At the Mountain Goats wiki you can spend hours perusing his song intros.
For example *This Year * : “This is a song about how sometimes you are living in a house and you’re in high school and your stepfather is abusing your mother and you, and it really sucks. You have to take a lot of drugs to deal with that, right, but you don’t have to, I should say. But you probably do. And when you do, they make you feel marginally better but the main thing that makes you feel better is the company of other people who are as damaged as you are or will shortly become as damaged as you are, and you can sense it, because there is an internal sensor if you bear some damage, you have this sensor that says ‘That person is either damaged or is getting there, and I think I will hang out with her until things get a little brighter.’ I play this for a lovely person who wore a cape to school.” – 2011-03-30 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
or
New Monster Avenue : “This song is sort of about the feeling you get if you stay in your house for too long and you feel like maybe you don’t, uh, relate to anybody at all. And you sort of resent them, but you’re certain they’re going to come and get you. I’m here to tell you you’re absolutely right.” – 2006-09-26 - Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA
Todd Snider (that filthy hippy!) puts on a good show.
Drive-By Truckers can’t be beat.
Jimmy Buffett, pre-Parrotheads. Now, of course, he travels with a shitload of people and everything is scripted. But in the beginning when it was just him and “Fingers” Taylor, his shows were loose, wild and wonderful.
Unknown, I assume, to US dopers - John Otway fits the bill admirably. In this amateur video, we join him half way through an explanation of how he filled Abbey Road studio with a 1000 piece choir (in truth 900) of fans to record House Of The Rising Sun. He then goes on to perform the song, together with the audience.
God knows how, but over the years a bizarre call-and-response has evolved, so that the audience now do their own lines (kinda heckles, but “scripted”). So we have, for example:
(Audience, pre-empting the next line of the song): What’s the only thing a gambler needs?
(Otway, singing): The only thing a gambler needs, is a suitcase and a trunk…
(Audience): That’s two things!
(Otway): I know. I didn’t write it.
And so on. Give it a listen. It’s hilarious.
The relationship between Otway and his fans (I must have seen him 20 times over the years) is wonderfully warm and charming - you get the impression that the fans believe they own him.
j
BTW, Billy Connolly started off as a folkie, but over time the rambling bits between the songs became longer and longer, and the songs fewer and fewer, until…
Although a bit obscure, my favorite band is Gaelic Storm, and this is basically their entire schtick. A show’s success varies on the venue and crowd. I’ve seen then in places ranging from bars to big concert halls and they’re always fun. But the last time was in a venue with no place to dance, instead there were dinner tables filled with people who’d never heard of them. So quiet.