# Which bands kept giving the most energetic live shows for the longest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912 "2016-07-26T03:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/1 "2016-07-26T03:11:00Z")
I know Iggy Pop has a strong reputation in this respect… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/2 "2016-07-26T03:38:28Z")
Bruce Springsteen is in his mid-sixties and still kills it. Him and the E-Street Band have been doing their marathon high-energy shows for over forty years now. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/3 "2016-07-26T03:41:41Z")
Duh. The Grateful Dead… ETA: the Boss does deserve his props… ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/4 "2016-07-26T03:47:48Z")
I’m not sure the Dead were ever all that ‘energetic’… 🙂 I think that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have to take the top spot here. We saw them a couple years ago, and I was worn out well before the encore. I have no idea how he (and the rest of the band) do it. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/5 "2016-07-26T03:59:37Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > I’m not sure the Dead were ever all that ‘energetic’… 🙂 > > I think that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have to take the top spot here. We saw them a couple years ago, and I was worn out well before the encore. I have no idea how he (and the rest of the band) do it. Well, I remember a quote in maybe _Rolling Stone_ about “on stage stamina” and it was a draw between Springsteen and the Dead. Both could play for beyond what you would get for a normal concert ticket… I’ve seen so many other bands just do their set list and they don’t compare in concert to either! I think they both blow away all others… ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/6 "2016-07-26T04:29:46Z")
She’s more of a solo act than a band, but we saw Judy Collins last week. She pointed out many times that she’s been doing this for fifty-nine years. She’s still got it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/7 "2016-07-26T08:48:04Z")
Being where we are, South Africa doesn’t get as many live tours as the rest of the world, so my experience is limited but of what I’ve seen: _Rammstein_ were without equal. and then, surprisingly to me, _Mumford and Sons_ absolutely kill it live. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/8 "2016-07-26T08:59:55Z")
Not Rock & Roll–but Asleep at the Wheel have been playing Western Swing since 1970. [Their calendar](https://www.asleepatthewheel.com/tour) shows that, like intelligent Texas bands, they will be touring in cooler climes until September… ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/9 "2016-07-26T11:56:43Z")
Energetic. Long time. I haven’t seen Aerosmith in years, but Steven Tyler always flew around like a monkey. It would surprise me if he no longer did. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/10 "2016-07-26T11:58:38Z")
Pearl Jam… 25 years and counting… different setlist each show, tour on nearly their entire recorded catalog, shows are 27-32 songs and 2.5 hours long… ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/11 "2016-07-26T12:17:14Z")
I can say two bands that were and have been around for a long time that gave great energetic shows were Motorhead and Golden Earring. I probably saw Motorhead a good 10 times, and every time they were full on, balls to the wall, wall of sound. Everything I’ve heard was they played that way until Lemmy died last year. The two times I saw Golden Earring both the band and the crowd really got in to it. The whole place was full of energy, the first time I saw them the floor was jumping up and down. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/12 "2016-07-26T12:44:23Z")
Mick Jagger is 73 years old. The first and only time I saw them live was in 2012. He ran around the stage like a man in his 30s. The Dead may have always played long concerts but never with the energy level of what Springsteen does every show. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/13 "2016-07-26T13:08:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Mick Jagger is 73 years old. The first and only time I saw them live was in 2012. He ran around the stage like a man in his 30s. > > The Dead may have always played long concerts but never with the energy level of what Springsteen does every show. Came in to say this, only I saw The Rolling Stones live in 2002 and Jagger’s energy was damn impressive then. It’s good to know another decade hasn’t slowed him down any. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/14 "2016-07-26T13:14:10Z")
The P-Funk All-Stars. Seen them several times in the last decade or so and they rock a non-stop high-energy 4+ hour show. Of course they have the advantage of having like 40 people on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/15 "2016-07-26T13:24:33Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > She’s more of a solo act than a band, but we saw Judy Collins last week. She pointed out many times that she’s been doing this for fifty-nine years. She’s still got it. I saw a double bill of Colins and Don McLean a couple of months ago. While Collins was good\* McLean was utterly fantastic! Totally nailed American Pie, had the audience up and dancing. \*But she should get her facts straight. She stated that Leonard Bernstein forgot to pay Stephen Sondheim as the West Side Story lyricist. That would be a gross violation of Broadway ethics, and could close the slow down. The truth is more mundane: Sondheim was paid the minimum, but there was no clause in his contract for a percentage of the royalties or for re-negotiation. Bernstein apologized, but Sondheim said he was paid by seeing his name on the marquee with Bernstein’s. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/16 "2016-07-26T13:29:40Z")
The answer to this question, if you want only one answer, is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band. There is simply no other band that puts as much effort into a marathon concert, and keeps the energy level at a ridiculously high level. year after year after year. Honorable mention would go to Widespread Panic, Wilco, Pearl Jam, and Rush. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/17 "2016-07-26T15:51:23Z")
Alice Cooper puts on a great, energetic show. He’s in his late 60s. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/18 "2016-07-26T16:24:48Z")
From the blues arena, I’d mention “The Queen of the Blues”, Koko Taylor. I saw her perform in 2007 when she was 78 (she died two years later at 80). She gave it all for the show on a hot summer night. Afterwards she was backstage hyperventilating, looking like she might not make it. We were going to call an ambulance, but she held up her hand, signaling that she didn’t want one. The man who traveled with her got a wet towel for her neck, and whispered relaxing things to her. After about twenty minutes and a few sips of water she said she was ok. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/19 "2016-07-26T16:58:15Z")
Saw Metallica a couple years ago. They’re in their 40s/50s at this point and still had a 2.5 hour show where they all their crazy hits from the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-bands-kept-giving-the-most-energetic-live-shows-for-the-longest/760912/20 "2016-07-26T17:11:47Z")
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