Best Live Performance of All Time

AsSiMiLaTeD

Ok, we've seen many great performers over the years, what's the best actu fo all time.

Not necessarily the best live group, but the actual best live performance you've ever witnessed or heard about - can be a whole concert or just a single song.

I haven't been to many concerts, so my experience here is limited. My guess is there's a few classic concerts that have taken place over the years that many people will vote for, but I could be wrong.

I'd say Woodstock would rank up there. For a single song, maybe Jimi's rendition of the National Anthem??

My personal favorite is a rendition of All Along the Watchtower done by The Dave Matthews Band on their "Live at Red Rocks" cd...

marker

15 words, "You wanted the best, you've got the best, the hottest band in the world, Kiss!"

I've seen just about anybody you can name at least once before, and I've never seen a better live concert. I actually liked them better in the early 90s tours with the replacement members and without the makeup.

danger boy

that's tough.. i gotta think about this one.... i go to about 5 concerts a year.. for the past 15 yrs or so.. i'll get back to ya.

Roy Munson

I'm not really a big fan of the Dead but their live performances were great.

Zepplin and ZZ Top are great shows also.

Back in the 70's it was tough to beat a Springsteen show!

Too many to pick just one.

Edit: I haven't seen Los Lonely Boys except on Austin City Limits on TV, but I'll bet they put on a good show!

hoosier21

live shows for me have nearly stopped after kids, but I have been to some great shows, my favorite has to be Pink Floyd in 1986, first time seeing them and they delivered. Best sound I have ever heard in a live show. They came back in 91 or so, outdoors this time and they shook the whole stadium with "Sorrow". a level of bass unmatched to date, OUTDOORS!

Best from the early years was KISS, went to my first was in 1978, when I was 11, frigging awesome.

Coming in Third was Clapton in 1988 or so, great show!

PolkThug

Frampton Comes Alive

AsSiMiLaTeD

The "Do you Fell Like I do" performance always comes to mind as well. I've never actually seen him perform that, but have heard it bunches of times...

F1nut

Having seen hundreds and hundreds of live shows the absolute best was THE WHO. The best live sound I ever heard was the Grateful Dead in 1972 with their "wall of sound" that took a couple of tractor trailers to haul around. Another worthy mention has to go to the late Albert Collins. None of his recordings can do justice to what that man and his band could do live.

The absolute worst........kiss. How anybody can call that music is beyond comprehension.

dkg999

"Just remember that when you're sitting here in this same hall, paying $100 per ticket to hear some boy band that has a million dollars in the bank play for 45 minutes, and you go away unfulfilled...............that we always gave you our best and we only wanted to be the band that we wanted to go see"

I've seen a lot of concerts in my younger days, however I have to agree that KISS is one of the best! Maybe not the best musically, but the fun factor is way up there!

Others that rate ...... Grateful Dead, Ted Nugent, Pink Floyd, and one of my all time favorites from the Upstate NY area .... The Good Rats ..... nothing like Peppi Marcello belting out a little "Girl with the Yellow Flower on her Behind"

Toxis

Rock = Slipknot

Electronica = Crystal Method

Both very DAMN!!!

Crazed

Emerson, Lake and Palmer: 1979, Jenison Field House, East Lansing, MI

Pink Floyd: 1991, Pontiac Silverdome, and even

Elton John: 1976, Pontiac Silverdome (I think the concert was ok, spent most of it with my GF in the stairwell, tee hee) :eek:

gregure

Unfortunately, most of the bands I really love are not touring anymore (Floyd, Zeppelin, The Who, The Doors) and I'm not old enough to have seen them live.
If I could go back in time just once, I'd see Zeppelin. I think How the West Was Won is an excellent example of how great they could be live when they were in the zone.
When I first heard about that album coming out, I was skeptical that I would enjoy it, thinking they could not improve on the original album versions I'd come to love, however I was quickly proven wrong upon my first listen. Not only is the recording excellent, but the performances are in many cases better than the original version, or certainly a viable alternative depending on mood.

ND13

The best concert I have ever seen was the Rolling Stones at Legion Field in 1988 on the "Steel Wheels" tour. Living Color opened up, and though I think they rock, you couldn't hardly hear them and I had great seats. I'm by no means the Stones biggest fan, but they floored me. They played 46 songs, yes 46, my best friend is a huge Stones fan and he wrote them all down. 4 1/2 hours, with a 45 min intermission, is by any standards a long concert and that didn't include the 1 1/2 that Living Color played and the hour between them and the Stones. I was in awe that they could and would play that long, loud and clean. I have seen many a concert and this was by far the best live show I have ever attended. My father saw them in '63 on their first US tour and at the time I thought I would catch their last, that's what they were telling everyone at the time anyway. Boy was I wrong.
Those old F'ers just keep on rockin. But anyway, they rocked my world for 4 1/2 hours, haven't seen a concert where one act played that long before or after.

sda2mike

saw floyd 7 times...all about the spectacular...hardly saw the band members..you walk in hand in your brain, you walk out they hand it back to you..very consistent, flawless, peerless, top-flight musicians.

saw keb mo in april...great show..threw out his set list and allowed audience members to come up and right their requests down on a sheet..was'nt the smoothest of shows as far as song selections..but, i've never seen anyone do that....he jammed for 2.5 hours, no break!!

woodyjacobs

I've seen too many shows to pick one favorite but here are a few that stand out:
U2 - "War" tour, Constitution Hall, Wash. DC
Rush - "Permanent Waves" Tour, Capital Center, Wash. DC
Nirvana - Just before "Nevermind" went #1 and changed the face of pop. music for a decade - Cat's Cradle, Chapel Hill NC
Beastie Boys - Lollapalooza II (I think), Raleigh NC (the most high-energy show I have ever seen - and it was outdoors in 100 degree heat...made a huge fan of me)
Yes - 90125 tour, Washington DC, Capital Center

And one band that probably no one has ever heard of...The Blue Rags out of Boone NC...they are high octane Ragtime/Bluegrass hippie boys. Saw them at the Brewery in Raleigh NC and was totally blown away. Took a buddy to see their next local show...he is a lifelong musician (Punk Rock mainly) and generally not easy to impress. 30 seconds into their first song he just looked at me and said "GODDAMN." I've never seen another band that plays every song on the verge of completely going out of control...but never quite does. An amazing thing to see. Alas, I think they have split up now.

Pablo

Even though I don't like them anymore, I would say the Kiss shows I saw (79 & 80) were some of the best.

Floyd at Giants Stadium in the late 90s was unbelievable (I still think about that one).

Zeppelin was great (probably more because it was thier last tour when I saw them).

The Who was always good, but always to loud (even outdoors!) except for the Quadraphina tour they did a little while back (which was the best one of the 6 i've seen)

But for pure concert excitement, Pink Floyd the Wall at Nassau Coloseum had to have been the best.

Other good shows (if anyone gets the chance, don't miss these if they come around);
Petter Frampton (a little older now, but still rocks)
Yes (a lot older now, but still play fantastic)
Brian Setzer (this guy just loves to jam)

woodyjacobs

Good call on Brian Setzer Pablo. I saw him at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London UK a few years. Awesome show!

Pablo

woody,
I always like Setzer, but when I saw him in concert, I was blown away. It was around christmas, but I didn't realize until a quater of the way through that it was a christmas show (jingle bells, rudolf, ect). But he sure does know how to take a kids song an make it jam (and the hot backup singers dressed in tight red didn't hurt either).

thehaens@cox.net

Rush - In any era, great live band..

Kiss- For all the reasons that make them stand the test of time.

Prince- Yes, Prince. Amazing Perfomer, and one of the most talented musicians out there.

Metallica-See Kiss comment

Rolling Stones- See Metallica Comment

Bruce Springsteen-See Rolling Stones Comment

Guns N' Roses- When Axl finally gets off his high horse and actually comes out to play.

System of a Down-Better live than studio, personnaly really don't like their CD's, but they kick *s* in concert.

Tesla- The guitarists both have a synergy that works well live.

Many more......

gregure

It's interesting someone mentioned Rush. I've not had the motivation to get into their music much, although what I've heard I've liked. Many of my friends feel Neil Peart is the best drummer of all time. Also heard they still sell out every show they do. After all this time, I think that's saying something.

punk-roc

I think i'm considerably younger than most of the Polk Members who post regularly (23 y.o.) and subsequently i've missed most of the greats.

But as far as contemporary bands go, The Roots blew me away when i saw them about a year ago.

Its hip-hop, so most here probably wont be big fans, but if you even kind of like hiphop or The Roots, i definitely suggest you see them live. Great, great performance.

Jason

thehaens@cox.net

Originally posted by gregure
Many of my friends feel Neil Peart is the best drummer of all time.

Watching his solo is almost worth the price of admission. He is a perfectionist, and if there was a true master of the art of drumming, he would be "The One"

shack

The best I ever saw was the Allman Brothers (twice). Add that to the Filmore East Concert recordings and you have my "Best Live Performances Of All Time".

AUDIOSLAVE

Twisted Sister without a doubt.

If you lived in the New York area when Twisted Sister played the bar scene (before a record contract) you witnessed the greatest live band ever. Once signed and the record company's took over the show was a fraction of what it actually was. The music and energy, audience particpation, dee snyders version of the news and current events, the comedy... all combined made them the greatest live band before they signed. Not tlaking about special effects and gimmicks. They would hit you hard with the music then go into the comedy routine making fun of who ever and what ever they wanted, the place they were playing, a current event, a person, country... The shows were amazing.

In terms of "signed" live acts, I will go with the concert that stands out most in my mind, Nine Inch Nails live in the mud at Woodstock! An unbelievable scene.

PolkThug

Best "crowd performance" I've ever seen was at a Limp Bizkit concert about 6-7 years ago.

Maurice

The best performance I've ever seen was the last show of the Jackson's 'Victory Tour' at Dodger stadium in 1984. All the brothers on stage at once, doing ALL the old tunes & the (then) current stuff. Absolutely amazing!! No opening act, just the Jacksons throwin down for 2 hours! I saw people fainting by the dozens, like the old tapes of the Beatles shows.

A close second goes to Parliament's 1975 "Mothership Connection" tour at the L.A. Sports Arena. Me and my buds were only 11yrs old with a parent along, but we had a blast & got a major contact buzz!!:cool:

Ron Temple

Gotta go way back.

Genesis - 1974 Lamb Lies Down on Broadway w/PG
ELP - 1974 Brain Salad Surgury
Pink Floyd - Animals
Yes - Close to the Edge/Yessongs tour
Yes - Going for the One w/ Wakeman re-united

There were alot of great bands and shows, but these were landmarks. After 30 years I can still see the colors and in some cases was not sure what I was really experiencing. Must have been a chemical reaction.

Mazeroth

My first concert was Ozzfest `97. I'd still say the best performance I've ever seen was when Pantera played that day and I was in the front row. My lord, what a day it was!

Oh, and about the Neil Peart comment. He is a friggin' god, but I'm not so sure he's the best of all-time. I'd definately put him in my top 3. My #1...Buddy Rich.

Enjoy!

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/buddyrichsticktrick.html

Spawndn72

Kiss was great

Buffet was alot of fun(what I can remember anyway)

Aerosmith rocked

The Eagle's were cool

Tom petty puts on a good show.

However, and this is going to sound really corny, one of the best shows I have ever seen was Neil Diamond. My wife and I got free tickets and she wanted to go, I said whatever and went. By the time it was over I was clapping and singing along. I figure if he can get ME out of my seat, it must have been a really good show. That and it was funny seeing all the middle-aged women lusting after him.

thehaens@cox.net

Originally posted by Mazeroth
My first concert was Ozzfest `97. I'd still say the best performance I've ever seen was when Pantera

My #1...Buddy Rich.



http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/buddyrichsticktrick.html

Ahh yes, Buddy Rich, forgot about him.......not really in my style though.....I still go with Neil.........

Pantera - Added to my list as well.......seen em' plenty.....even seen them open up for Black Sabbath at the Forum in LA....if anyone went to that show you would of seen Ozzy reading off the tele prompter aka Karoake (sp?).....

ND13

Originally posted by Mazeroth
My first concert was Ozzfest `97. I'd still say the best performance I've ever seen was when Pantera played that day and I was in the front row. My lord, what a day it was!

Oh, and about the Neil Peart comment. He is a friggin' god, but I'm not so sure he's the best of all-time. I'd definately put him in my top 3. My #1...Buddy Rich.

Enjoy!

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/buddyrichsticktrick.html

RIP Dimebag Darrel