For best all out spectacle there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s Rush. I’ve seen Pink Floyd and all the other 70s era arena bands (and U2 three times for you 80s types) but Rush does it all better. Even at a big venue they’re warmth and genuine joy in what they’re doing comes through clearly.
But…
If you want to know which band can control a stage and an audience it has to be New Orleans own Cowboy Mouth. Someone from Cake Magazine once wrote:
And that’s what a rock and roll show should be. Half sexual frenzy, half confessional, half party and half madness.
I saw the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion a few years back, and they were quite unbelievably good, although I saw them again at a seated venue, and with no energy coming from the crowd, the show was nowhere near as good.
The greatest show I’ve ever been at was the Dirty Three from the Horse Stories era, and most of the times I’ve seen them they’ve blown my mind, without anything in the way of props.
My 18-year old daughter is at a **TOOL **concert righht now!
I am sad to hear this as Mark Knopfler is my #1 main man right now. Never saw him (or Dire Straits) in concert - sigh
My vote for the best live show(s) I ever saw was Jethro Tull in the '70s (Stand Up, Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, Passion Play).
Mr. Michele votes for Genesis with Peter Gabriel on the “Selling England by the Pound” tour (in the '70s too).
The best concert I ever saw was by The Doors in 1969. It included an extended version of The End, complete with some improvised lyrics appropriate to the venue. And, when Ray Manzarek played the organ intro to Light My Fire, the feeling was absolutely electric.
I don’t know if they were the best concert band ever, but they certainly were the best I ever saw.
I had good the fortune to see both Pinkfloyd (DSOM) and Jethro Tull (Thick as a Brick) and they were also mighty cool.
The worst concert? Van Morrison. But that’s another thread.
No one beats Springsteen and the E street band for putting energy into a show. And they’re coming to Cincinnati in the fall.
Call it corporate rock if you want, but Journey’s Steve Perry can sure belt out a tune. He sounded great live. (He didn’t look so bad in those tight jeans either.)
The Eagles stand out because they are all amazingly good musicians.
And I appreciated John Mellencamp more after I saw him live.
With the ventriloquist dummy heads on long sticks? hehehe. They did that in an encore when I saw them at Deep Ellum in Dallas, on their tour for Severe Tire Damage. And oh, the cheers they got when they brought out the glockenspiel for “Shoehorn With Teeth”…
I saw Elvis Costello and the Imposters last Friday and Saturday. He and the band were superb. He played for 2 and a half hours on Friday doing 30 odd songs. On Saturday he played just as long but did about 10 songs that he hadn’t done the night before, leaving out some of Friday’s set. Both nights I was in the fifth row and had the time of my life.
Other great performances of the past -
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Georgie Fame
John Mellencamp
Deep Purple
SuperTramp puts on a really great show, but they’ve been doing the same show since about 1980, so if you’ve seen them once it’s all pretty dated.
The Who is the absolute champ, though. Their concerts are a religious experience. You just stand there, in awe of the sheer power coming off the stage. My wife and I flew to Vancouver to see Quadrophenia a few years ago, and it was just freaking awesome. Zack Starkey on Drums, and Billy Idol and Gary Glitter as the Rocker and the Mod. And to top it off, when they finished Quadrophenia their 'encore was to play a 45 minute set of their hits, terminating in an incredible balls-to-the-wall “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
I used to work lighting for rock concerts. I’ve seen a lot of them, including Van Halen in their prime with David Lee Roth, and no one comes close to The Who. Van Halen might be second, though.
On the other end of the spectrum, I saw John Prine in Edmonton, and he was absolutely awesome. Saw Dylan a few months later, and he was incoherent and dull.
OK, TheRob, I’ll give you that one. Metallica put on the best (non-Kiss) concert I’ve ever attended. It was the tour where they were with Guns and Roses (Faith No More also, but that was nothing as far as I was concerned). I was not particularly a Metallica fan going into that concert, but I sure left as one. The GnR show, on the other hand, was terrible. Fans were actually booing Axl, which he didn’t respond well to. They were chanting for Metallica to come back on stage. It was the first show (I believe) that James Hetfield went back to playing guitar after burning himself pretty bad on some pyrotechnics.
[too bad there’s no smiley with Kiss makeup on it]
Led Zeppelin
Guns N’ Roses (when i’ve seen them anyway)
Tool (i just saw them!!)
Roger Waters, Pink Floyd
The Black Crowes
Ben Harper
Gov’t Mule
Bob Marley
I think the problem was that Jefferson Starship was on an “80’s Rock Explosion” bill with Eddie Money, Rick Springfield, Loverboy and Survivor. That was just the *wrong * combo… I can only assume the booking agent said “hey, they had that hit with “We Built This City” in the 80’s, they’ll be good”. :eek:
As you can imagine they sang only 60’s songs and therefore the whole booing thing occured. Unfortunate, really. I’ve also seen Creed booed off stage when opening for Van Halen (the short lived Gary Cherone version - hey, the tickets were free).
I’ve seen Green Day twice, both very impressive…most of their hits, played in ways NOT on the albums, new stuff, lots of audience interaction, including bringing 3 lucky concert-goers up to play the instruments for a bit. Plus, this last time in San Antonio, great big FLAMETHROWERS…
The two best live shows as far as theatrics go that I’ve been too would have to be Weezer (a few weeks ago) and Godsmack (last summer). Weezer had fire, fog, lights, and a flying W with pat on top. Godsmack toted around a castle and fire and all sorts of stuff for their show.
The Tool concert last summer was pretty awesome too. Lots of visuals were used included the eye thing that was shined around red rocks and imagery on the screens.
I’ve only seen two bad live acts, Aerosmith (like watching MTv, except not being comfortable) and Santana (boooooring!). Paul McCartney’s show in Vegas a few year back bordered on suckitude, but it was still on the right side of the line.
Excellant shows include: Allman Bros., Rush, Yes, Robert Cray, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Seven Mary 3, Michelle Scocked, Richard Thompson, Todd Snider, Lyle Lovitt, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull and Tool.
The best live act? Gotta be The Grateful Dead. Unless you were there, you wouldn’t understand.
Glad to see Weezer’s tour show is impressive…I saw them 2 years ago at a stinkin’ hot daytime show here in Austin, and while they were good, they were unfortunately distracted by bottle-throwing and assorted nonsense. I’ll be seeing them again on the same stage I saw Green Day on come August 4! =w=
