Best live act you've ever seen in person.

[cta]

I'd say it's a tie between Rush and Green Day. 

Rush delivers BIG TIME and has a very long set...go figure, they've been consistent for the past 30 years considering the huge miseries Neil Peart has had to endure a few years ago.  I don't know how he does it, let alone play his ass off at every gig with immaculate precision, power and raw balls (figureatively).  Lifeson and Lee hit all the notes and they're both up and down their fretboards, covering all the gaps...hell, I'd say their live performances considering some of their intricate and unconventional chords, are better than the studio albums.  OK, so they've kicked down the chords for 2112 because Geddy's not 25 anymore and can't hit those high notes.  Even though I find Lee's voice sometimes painful to the ears, the music and the band's performances make his voice's unintentional obnoxiousness seem miniscule.

Green Day, saw them in October and they played about a three hour gig.  All of "Idiot" along with all their hits, a few covers (Queen, Ben E. King, Tears For Fears, Iggy Pop).  They invited audience members to come up and play some little G-C-D chord ditty, Bill Armstrong gave the person playing the guitar the actual guitar - a nice shiney new Gibson with twin humbuckers, had loud banging pyrotechnics...they put on a hell of a show and added on a few extra musicians to round out the sound.  They got the audience going on their feet, the crowd was very well behaved and Armstrong has been probably the most interactive with the audience since Freddie Mercury.  Obviously Armstrong "borrowed" a lot from the Mercury-Bag-Of-Tricks...but hell, that's been missing in rock for so long!   I also find it nice that Green Day are just three guys from poor working class roots...unlike these wannabe-working-class people who permeate country like a bad staph infection lately that's probably got Cash and Jennings both on full rotisserie in their graves.  Green Day spells out their distrust of the government as of lately; not some punker band who claims "anarchy" yet is too pretentious and socially retarded to even attempt to talk to their audience.

Green Day and Rush...I'd say those have been the best performances I've seen. 

[Beckner]

I also saw Cheap Trick in a small club once about eight years ago, after they'd recorded their self-titled attempted comeback album

Yeah I saw CT at the 930 Club in DC about 5/6 yrs back. Awesome, wasn't quite a fan yet but it was truly great. Guided By Voices opened and that was a sweet drunken mess.

[Boxer Monkey]

Ian, I arrived late on the Jon Brion scene (physically, that is -- I've been a fan since I first heard the Grays back in the mid-'90s) -- too late to hear Elliott Smith perform with him, so I unfortunately can only imagine how great that must have been. Loved ES, though not necessarily so much as my avatar, JB.

I loved going to Largo so much. I lived in an apartment behind Canter's on Fairfax, so it was a very short walk to the club, which was like going to church for me every Friday night -- if church had ample amounts of Guinness, that is. I'd get ripped and go home with my very hot then-girlfriend. It was the life 'o' Riley, man -- best year of my life was the one spent in L.A. Damn, I miss it.

EDIT: Beckner, saw GBV in '97; they were great and woulda been a perfect foil for Cheap Trick.

[mark goddard]

a great show i saw was The Replacement's at the Living Room in Providence RI. When we first arrived we saw Tommy Stinson walking around the outside patio asking and receiving slices of pizza from  a group of girls eating at a table. once the show started it was pure mayhem . They would start songs and then abruptly end the song after a few verses and kick into a different tune.The audience was out of control kid's would climb up into the suspended ceiling and toss down ceiling tiles. At one point the band stopped and asked one kid to kindly climb down .....the band was on fire , i saw them after this a few more times opening for elvis costello and they were very tame in comparision.

[artie]

I can narrow this down to 4 (I've been to hundreds of shows)

(1) KISS 1996 reunion tour - the first time seeing the original 4 together as I was 9 when Peter left the band. What power, and every single song was great.

(2) Roger McGuinn (solo) 1995 - Roger took us through a "Storytellers" type show which was later memorialized on the "Live From Mars" CD. He took requests at the end, and I shouted out "Someone To Love" which he immediately tore into after nodding at me. I met him afterward and he autographed my "Back From Rio" CD booklet.

(3) Ringo and the All-Starr Band (1992) - Dave Edmunds, Burton Cummings, Todd Rundgren, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, Nils Lofgren...when they belted out the harmonies on Burton's "No Time," it was chilling. Edmunds' "Girls Talk" was fun, and even Schmit's Poco nugget "Keep On Tryin" came across sweet. I had front row and slapped Ringo "5" during "You're Sixteen"

lastly, (4) Brian Wilson, 2002 Pet Sounds Live tour, the first set, especially. He did "Melt Away", "The Night Was So Young", "Busy Doin' Nothing", and "Friends" among others. On the Smile tour, he abandoned his solo work on the first set and did an all Beach Boys set that didn't get past CATP(albeit great). But on this August night in Boston, we were treated to the best setlist of any single set I have experienced in my life. Then we got Pet Sounds for Set Two, and I know I am in the minority on this, but I enjoyed it way more than Smile. Then I got to go to the after show meet and greet - Brian wasn't feeling well so I simply got to see him from about 5 feet away as he walked by, but we chatted with Probyn, Scott, and Darian and got a bunch of head nods from Jeff as he was saving his voice for the next night.

[Boxer Monkey]

Hey, Zen, was that first Replacements show while Bob was still in the band? That lineup is the No. 1 act I wish I could've seen live. Seen Westerberg three times, but never the "Mats. Came too late. Love the 'Mats, though. "The Sh*t Hits the Fans" is a masterpiece.

[the captain]

I'd have to say that my favorite concert event ever was Brian Wilson's Smile in Glasgow, March 3 or 4, 2004. It was something like the eighth show of the debut tour. I intended to avoid any mention of previous shows, but of course checked the message boards the day after it premiered, so I did end up knowing pretty much the gist of what was coming. Even though Brian was absolutely atrocious throughout the first set, it was still fantastic. He really sang well throughout Smile, and it was also the final night of my first overseas trip. Very fun, amazing piece of music debuted (to me, anyway) by a fantastic band.

Some runners up are Prince in spring 2004 (Musicology tour); Prince at Mill City Music Festival (downtown Minneapolis, outdoor show) in 1999; Of Montreal many times has amazed me; Fiery Furnaces in early 2005; and Brian Wilson in June 2001 in St. Paul, MN -- my first time seeing him, and coupled with Paul Simon, who was more fun to watch than I had expected.

[Aegir]

The only "real" band I've ever seen live was the Allman Brothers this March at the Beacon Theatre in NYC (I don't get out much). We had tickets for all the way in the back, but slowly but surely we made our way to the third or fourth row. They were pretty good; I liked the atmosphere, too.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Last summer I got to see Bob Dylan, with Willie Nelson opening, in Lancaster, Pa. They were on a tour of minor league stadiums and ticket prices were reasonable.

Willie came on first, smiling, bantering with the audience, and tossing cowboy hats into the crowd. He played a "hits" setlist; what a canon of songs he has! His performance was outstanding. You could tell he loved what he was doing. It was very positive.

Dylan came on and  played a mixture of hits and some newer (post 1988) stuff. He played an electric keyboard the entire set, only occasionally stepping out front to play a harmonica solo. You could understand his vocals, he gave a 100%. The band was tight; it was pretty much a rock and roll sound.

While Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan have some things in common - older, country-influenced, great songwriters, once dueted on "Pancho & Lefty", etc - their sets were completely different from each other. Willie's was loose, fun, kind of clap/sing-along-like. Dylan was serious and kind of aloof, but nevertheless brilliant. It was as if he was trying to make a point that he was there to present great "music", not  just represent some 60's cultural era. He succeeded! It had an effect on me.

I went home and made mix CD's of both artists and have been listening to them constantly since...

[JK]

Captain Beefheart, in 1972 at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

This was during his Spotlight Kid period so the Captain was looking super suave. To back him he had Zoot Horn Rollo and Winged Eeel Fingerling on guitars, Roy Estrada and Rockette Morton on bass (RM stole the show) and Art Tripp on drums.

Simply astounding!!

OK, this is another mega ancient thread but so many new folks have joined since then...

[hypehat]

Spiritualized. Seen them 4 times. Been blown away each and every time, and they constantly change the act. First was acoustic with strings and choir, the next time with a garage band set up, then once with orchestra performing an old album, then last time with an orchestra playing their new album 


Oh, and they're the loudest bastards I know.

[Mark A. Moore]

Van Halen (3 times), The Kinks, Heart, and George Thorogood & the Delaware Destroyers.

[grooveblaster]

The Clash

[hypehat]

Lucky git 

[Ron]

I may have already answered this thread, years ago, I don't know.  The best live act I've ever seen were the Rolling Stones.  I 'got' the Rolling Stones after that concert.  I wasn't ever a fan, although I knew and liked a handful of songs, but I got a free ticket from a friend and we went.  We sat on about the 50 yard line in a football stadium here in Charlotte to watch it.  It was great from beginning to end.   Blues Traveller opened up, and they were great too.  What struck me most about the stones were a few things: how professional they were, and how POLITE believe it or not Mick was.  I'm sure it was well rehearsed but he talked to the crowd a few times and told them how happy they were to be here, and they had been here in the 70's in this arena, and blah blah blah and chatted up the audience.  It was kind of a jaw drop moment for me.  I'd say it was the first time I saw somebody with real talent, and a really good work ethic doing something BIG.  I understood how they were able to be so successful and it wasn't an accident, it was a lot of hard work. 

The music of course was top notch, and Mick ran around the stage without his shirt on for 2 hours.  Crack or running around the stage had him in perfect shape well into his 50's.  It was the Bridges to Babylon tour. 

[jeffh]

John Fogerty. His voice is still amazing. Closely followed by LeeAnn Rimes. She was note perfect the night I saw her. No weak songs at all

[pixletwin]

The Flaming Lips by a very wide margin.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I've seen a lot of acts: McCartney, Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Neil Young, Ray Davies, Bob Dylan, Oasis, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones, Randy Newman, The Zombies, Lou Reed, Pulp, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, etc.

By far and away, the best were Rheostatics who I probably saw over 20 times while they were together. Truly the best band you've never heard.

[BananaLouie]

Macca, three solid non stop hours of hits with a few encores including Helter Skelter!!!

[Amazing Larry]

I'm not old enough or rich enough to have seen the above mentioned, but of all the shows I have seen, Jethro Tull would be the best.

[stack-o-tracks]

John Fogerty. His voice is still amazing. Closely followed by LeeAnn Rimes. She was note perfect the night I saw her. No weak songs at all

I saw him last May (I think) and he put on such a great set. One of those performers where even if you don't know any of the songs you'll still recognize them once he starts playing. The drummer sure beats the hell out of the drums, even though he looks like he should be in one of those "special" biker gangs.

[BananaLouie]

I'm not old enough or rich enough to have seen the above mentioned, but of all the shows I have seen, Jethro Tull would be the best.

Yes! Thick As A Brick or Aqualung performed live would be stunning.

[tony p]

i caught 'Heaven & Hell' live a few years ago and i gotta say it was one of the best sounding gigs i had ever been to

Ronnie James Dio wouldve been around 65 and his voice sounded amazing. I didnt sound all that different to his recordings in the 70's/80s. Cant believe that after all these years his voice still stood up like it did.

Not to mention Tony Iommi's brilliant riffs bludgeoning our ears. The sound was clear and for guys in their 60s it was a show to behold.

Shame RJD is not around to do another 'H&H' album. For my mind, they were just as good as Sabbath, if not better.

[Amazing Larry]

I'm not old enough or rich enough to have seen the above mentioned, but of all the shows I have seen, Jethro Tull would be the best.

Yes! Thick As A Brick or Aqualung performed live would be stunning.

They played Aqualung! It was a spiritual experience, but I think that was because of all the old men smoking doobies. 

[Aegir]

The only "real" band I've ever seen live was the Allman Brothers this March at the Beacon Theatre in NYC (I don't get out much). We had tickets for all the way in the back, but slowly but surely we made our way to the third or fourth row. They were pretty good; I liked the atmosphere, too.

Hahaha, the only thing I like about people bumping old threads is being able to read what I wrote six years ago! I've been to many concerts since. To expand upon my original post though, yes, the Allman Brothers in March '05. Notable not just as my first concert experience, but also the first time I got drunk, age 17, with my father and some of his friends. I had two shots of vodka and gatorade (a combination I've never had since) and about six or seven Coronas.

But yeah, I've been to so many shows since. Favorites are Dick Dale in summer '06, Conor Oberst fall '08, Wolf Parade summer '10, Broken Social Scene 1/18/11, and Jeff Mangum last September.