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Author Topic: Best live act you've ever seen in person.  (Read 24962 times)
the captain
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« on: December 26, 2005, 06:55:08 PM »

What's the best show(s) you've ever seen? Take into consideration all things, including music, energy, overall vibe, etc. Having seen only on video or DVD doesn't count--I mean in person.

And explain why.
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« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2005, 07:07:21 PM »

Elliott Smith
Weezer, twice pre Green Album.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2005, 07:12:56 PM »

Frank Zappa, Queen, Elliott, Sleater-Kinney, Neil Young, Raspberries, Kiss, Bob Dylan, Ramones etc. More later.
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« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2005, 10:44:27 PM »

Ramones, Wilco, Elvis Costello.  I actually saw Morrissey put on a hell of a show in Portland back in '97.  Too many others to list.
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« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2005, 04:21:24 AM »

The Church, Tony Joe White, The Finn Brothers (with Paul Hester making a surprise appearance), The Finn Brothers (after Pauls passing, incredibly emotional), Brian Wilson does Smile
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mark goddard
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« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2005, 08:32:07 AM »

no question about it .....PRINCE
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trumpet sounds
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« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2005, 08:39:07 AM »

Springsteen 1977

This concert is number one cause it blew everything I'd seen before or since out of the water. First off, Bruce and the E Street band played two full sets with an intermission. I mean the first set tore you apart: Something In The Night, Rendezvous, a six minute Spirit In The Night with Bruce staggering down the darken aisle of the old theater cum concert hall singing "me and crazy janie were making love in the dirt singing our birthday song" and then crawling to a stop lying face down, halfway up the aisle, motionless for a couple of minutes and then jumping up to sing the jublent end. Then back on stage a long monolouge about his father and growing up in Jeresy ending in a powerful cover of the Animals's tune It's My Life, going right into Thunder Road! followed by a ten mintue She's The One...then just as you're catching your breath, Bruce announces they're taking a short break, but will be back soon for the second half of the show. Whew, and what a second half: Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Action In The Streets (using the same basic music as A Love So Fine), Backstreets, featuring a monologue style middle to end section, a ten minute Jungleland, a thirteen minute Rosalita, and ending with Born To Run! The encore is Quarter to Three and you don't want the party to end...








U2 1983

Saw U2 at the US festival, some strange three day festival that was put on for a couple of years by the co-founder of apple computers, Steve Wozniak. Some huge field in the middle of no where outside Los Angelas. Saw the Greatful Dead play a set there at 9:30 AM on a Sunday morning in 1982. U2 was just becoming popular on LA radio. Had a few hits. They were defintely not the headliners (that was David Bowie), the act that followed U2 was Missing Persons, the act before them was Quarterflash. It was 12:30 in the afternoon when U2 came on like gang busters. From the main stage Bill Graham introduced U2 as "One of the greatest bands out of England". This agitated Bono, who greeted the crowd by saying "We're not an English band, we're an Irish band!" Everyone went wild. The crowd for the festival was huge, 350,000 people, and Bono had them in the palm of his hands. Waving a huge Irish flag, climbing the scaffolding half naked, singing at the top of his lungs, getting the mass of people swaying their arms in the air as he swung his flag from one hand 100 feet in the air, climbing the rigging and singing "In the Name of Love" from *on top* of the stage...wow.

Also, this was back when the Edge had hair...







« Last Edit: December 28, 2005, 07:33:53 AM by trumpet sounds » Logged
RobtheNobleSurfer
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« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2005, 08:42:07 AM »

U2, Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Elton John
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« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2005, 08:47:37 AM »

Barry & The Remains - not in the 60's, but rather in 1998 !!! Un-frickin'-believeable !!

I've seen McCartney, Beach Boys, Billy Joel, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Monkees (with Nesmith), et al ad nauseum...
Barry & The Remains were far & away the absolute best- it actually made me cry, it was sooo good!!
BW's Smile portion of the show is #2.
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mark goddard
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« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2005, 09:04:10 AM »

one show that almost made me cry was James Carr at the house of blues in cambridge MA. ...he was dressed in a  baby blue suit and was very fragile looking ..but he sang like an Angel !!!
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« Reply #10 on: December 27, 2005, 09:12:55 AM »

There are so many, but the first version of the expanded Talking Heads in 1980-"Remain In Light" tour stands out.
Iggy Pop
Elvis C. , of course.
Steely Dan was amazing about two years ago.
Zappa's "best band you've never heard" was also a very special show.
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« Reply #11 on: December 27, 2005, 10:06:13 AM »

A tough question.  As I've said here before, The Who.  Spring of 1970.  Cincinatti Music Hall.
Pretty much the same show as Live at Leeds, the complete version including Tommy.

This had to be the Who at it's peak.  All 4 original members on what had to be a good night, putting out 110 %.

And this following a not to be followed warm up act of the original James Gang playing to Joe Walsh's  home town Ohio crowd.

Pete windmilling the guitar and leaping into the air, Roger roping the audience with the mic cord, Keith thrashing his drum kit tossing sticks in the air, catching them and resuming without missing a beat...and John stretching out on the bass...

The venue was much like an opera house with balconies and carpeting...adding to the total effect of Tommy...we could have floated home that night but decided to take the car as we might need it in the morning....

There was a feeling of oneness with the band....there was a rumor that the band would visit a local bar called Ludlows garage to hang out withthe fans....Pete told the audience during a break that there was a rumor they would be at Ludlows but that unfortunately  it wouldn't be possible due to their flight leaving right after the show...But Joe Walsh and Company were planning to appear..

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the captain
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« Reply #12 on: December 27, 2005, 10:23:23 AM »

People, you weren't asked to list every good show you've seen -- list and describe the BEST! I know it's probably hard to choose...hence the fun. Describe it...
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« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2005, 10:38:16 AM »

Besides Brian?  I would say Vince Gill on the High Lonesome Sound tour... and also the KISS reunion tour was a lot of fun too.
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donald
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« Reply #14 on: December 27, 2005, 10:51:48 AM »

luther, check the edit on my last post
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SurferGirl7
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« Reply #15 on: December 27, 2005, 11:34:18 AM »

Brian Wilson, Alicia Keys, Nsync (at the time), Al Jardine, Clay Aiken, PAUL MCCARTNEY!!!!  Grin
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Jason
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« Reply #16 on: December 27, 2005, 11:38:48 AM »

Brian Wilson (2 times), Nine Inch Nails, Death From Above 1979
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Lester Byrd
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« Reply #17 on: December 27, 2005, 11:41:01 AM »

First time I saw Brian Wilson, October 15, 1999, Moore Theater, Seattle. Musically amazing, of course, but also because it just seemed like such a miracle. And I've never, even at other Brian shows, felt such love for a performer emanating from the audience. Pete Buck and Eddie Vedder were sitting together a few rows ahead of me. Folks noticed them (Buck kept walking up and down the aisles), but nobody really cared because, you know, we were there to see a real legend.

As far as sheer musicianship, King Crimson live in 1982 on the Beat tour. Astonishing tight, passionate peformance of incredibly demanding material. Also Zappa on his last tour (twice) and Prince on the Lovesexy tour.

And of course, Springsteen. Many times.
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Chance
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« Reply #18 on: December 27, 2005, 11:58:41 AM »

No question: Cheap Trick, summer of '78, Community Theater, Morristown NJ. A smallish theater, maybe something like 1500-2000 seats. This was just after "Heaven Tonight" came out, so they were known to critics and hipsters, but it would be another eight or nine months before "Budokan" broke them wide open to the masses. I had never heard of them, but a friend had their three albums and said they were really good, so a few of us decided to go just to pass a Saturday night. I had no idea what to expect, and I wasn't expecting much. We brought along a bunch of pot, if the concert sucked we'd at least catch a buzz.

The Cars were the opening act, and this was just after their debut came out. Nobody had ever heard of them at this point, they'd yet to start making the big NY station playlists. I remember thinking the name of the group was a little too "new wave," smacked a little too much of jumping on a bandwagon. The Shoes, The Shirts, The Jags, The Cars... I figured I'd seen this before in the Tuff Darts, an average band trying to hitch a ride on the latest trend. So I wasn't that impressed with them, only listened with half an ear. But I thought Ocasik looked pretty damn cool, thin as a rail and wearing a black leather jacket. Mostly, I felt that sense of, "Okay, let's get rid of this opening act and get down to the real show." Nowadays I wonder if they did perform a decent set and I just didn't give them a fair shake. I can't remember the music at all. Come to think of it, though, they must have been good because our local paper reviewed the show a few days later and said of them, "Therse guys are going to be big." That I remember.

Cheap Trick's set was another matter altogether. I have no expectation of ever seeing a more thrilling and perfect execution of adrenalin fueled, catchy, melodic, piledriving rock and roll. It was overwhelming. They came out blazing with the trademark opener, "Hello There" and for the rest of the show we proceded to have our collective minds cracked open and rewired directly into their overloaded amps. Not one of the songs was familiar to me, but time and time and time again they crashed down on us like pure magic; soul-shaking thunder and lightening from the gods. It was so euphorically hard and loud, and yet so unbelievable catchy and melodic, I couldn't beleive how perfect this music sounded to me. And then on top of that, you've got Neilsen in his Sears sweater and baseball cap, running around the stage, doing his spastic Huntz Hall on acid routine, climbing onto this little three-step platform at the foot of the stage to rip loose a blazing solo, running back down, spinning in circles, his eyes darting around their sockets like a squirrel about to get hit by a bus, his mouth distorted in an exaggerated scowl of concentration like a five year old learning how to hold a pencil properly. And at the mic, Zander, in an all white three peice suit, his pretty boy rock star looks perfect, golden hair falling to his shoulders, his feet slightly spread, guitar slung down strumming out the rhythm, his voice one of the greatest in rock and roll IMO, belting them out. Now, if you know Cheap Trick, you know they were working thier asses off at this stage, playing something like 250 shows a year, always on the road, but they seemed to be having so much fun. Petersson full of smiles, looking like he'd rather be doing nothing in the world besides scattering those rumbling bas notes all over the theater.

After it was over, I remember being afraid to talk to the rest of the guys about how profoundly it moved me. It wasn't just a show, it was the pinnacle of everthing I loved about the greatest passion of my life - music. I thought they might laugh at me, but when we did talk about it, we did seem to have the consensus that we'd just been through something amazing. My father, who was waiting outside in the car to pick us up, said two guys came out of the theater before the show ended saying, "That was BAAAAAAAD!!!" We became disciples after that, listening to Trick constantly thoughout the next few years. When there were rumors of a live album only available in Japan, I went on a zealout's quest to find it. I looked everywhere, I drove people nuts having them look for it. It was a single minded passion, it HAD to be found. We saw them again that December, the anticipation was incredible, and although we enjoyed it and revelled in it, it wasn't as good. Nothing will ever be as good as that August night in Morristown. Not in a million years, that was the tip of the mountain.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #19 on: December 27, 2005, 12:02:17 PM »

Amazing, soul-shaking post, man. Just reading that was a rock and roll experience. Damn.
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Chance
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« Reply #20 on: December 27, 2005, 12:09:18 PM »

Thanks, Ian.  Smiley
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the captain
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« Reply #21 on: December 27, 2005, 12:20:03 PM »

And good work on describing your best live act, not every band you've ever seen and enjoyed.
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« Reply #22 on: December 27, 2005, 12:21:34 PM »

Well, I've seen hundreds, so there's no way I could narrow it down to one or two!
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the captain
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« Reply #23 on: December 27, 2005, 12:22:40 PM »

Therein lies the fun. Otherwise we're all just listing bands we enjoyed. Most of us could guess those...
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« Reply #24 on: December 27, 2005, 02:09:34 PM »

Stone Temple Pilots and Local H
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