Best Live Performances

[Albert Flasher]

[COLOR=Sienna]What do you feel is the greatest live preformance by an artist ever? This includes CDs, DVDs, or concerts you've attended, and also includes CDs made up of live preformances from various concerts.

I have four top acts that I simply can't rank, seeing as I love them all.

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive!: This one is a no-brainer. Frampton was an incredibly arena rocker, even if his studio albums weren't anything special. It is the greatest-selling live album ever, and with good cause. The album is highlighted by the incredibly epic version of "Do You Feel Like We Do," which is simply indiscribably awesome. About half-way through, it breaks down into one of the greatest examples of guitar playing ever, with a lot of awesome solos and an incredibly cool, albiet gimmicky, 'talking guitar' effect with the help of a talk-box. Very, very cool.

Rush - Rush in Rio: The recording quality on the album isn't wonderful, since it was recorded with, in Neil Peart's own words, primative Brazilian recording equipment, but that doesn't change the fact that the album is absolutly BEAUTIFUL. Alex Lifeson is a master of live guitar playing, and almost every song on the 3-disk show decends into a ripping guitar solo. The highlight of this album has to be the stunning rendition of 2112, which features some incredible guitar playing and sweet vocals. Oh, and the drum solo O Baterista (Drums and synths, actually) by Niel Peart and the guitar solo on La Villa Strangiato are also noteworthy.

Rush - Rush R30: Rush celebrated the 30 years since their debut with a world-wide tour, and they released a DVD from their show in Germany - and it didn't disapoint! The show opens with an massive jam session that burns through a whole bunch of songs, many of which aren't on the DVD at all. That was the defining moment of the album, but pretty much every song on the album was incredible. As I've come to expect with a Rush live preformance, most of the songs include an awesome guitar solo, and there's another Neil Peart drum solo called Der Trommeller (I think that means The Drummer in German, but my German is sketchy). All in all the show was awesome, and there was a really cool little interlude part way through the show that showed bobble-head versions of the band fighting dragons or... something. It was in German so I'm not 100% on what was going on...

The Tragically Hip - That Night in Toronto: The Hip are a great studio band, but are even better live. Why? Because lead singer Gord Downie's stage presence is incredible. He captivates you and makes it so you can't look away. The thing about Downie is that no two preformances are alike - he has a habit of screaming out things in the middle of songs that may not seem to make sense but do in a way. My favourite part of the DVD was the song "Fully Completely."[/COLOR]

[vegeta rocker]

I went to go see the Gin Blossums at Taste if Addison earlier this year and they were incredible.

They were kinda popular in the 90's but now they are kind of under the radar.

But they played like they were at the top of the world!

The singer sang into cell phones and video cameras, he even took their cameras up to the stage and recorded the band close up!

He then walked the fence in the crowd and he used our hands to get across and through.

Best experience ever.

[Momiji Love]

[CENTER][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana]Panic!At The Disco was quite amazing live. I saw them at Summerfest in Milwaukee a week ago. I hadn't heard all of their songs (Sins Not Tragedies, The Only Difference and a couple others) but judging by all the screaming girls (and guys) they sounded amazing to them.

AFI, contrary to what a lot of people say, sounds really good live. I only saw them perform "Miss Murder" on the MTV Movie Awards.
I personally love the extra scratch in Davey's voice live. Very sexy.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER]

[2010DigitalBoy]

I aint seen much. [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Slipknot[/COLOR] kicked some serious *** at the [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Big Day Off[/COLOR], but they're about all I've seen firsthand. The moving drumkits were sweet, loved the flames, and the big 666 signs were teh shiz.

I have watched plenty of [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]The Mars Volta [/COLOR] on youtube and it's simply freaking amazing. They take their songs and stretch the crap outta them adding in just all sorts of stuff. There have even been times where they just went onstage and made stuff up and it worked. Their live CD Scabdates is great as well, wehre they took a frikkin 12 minute song and stretched it to 42 minutes!

The [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Bulet In A Bible [/COLOR] DVD by [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Green Day [/COLOR] was cool as well.

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Coheed And Cambria[/COLOR] is great live (on youtube) though [COLOR=DarkSlateBlue]Claudio [/COLOR] screws up sometimes (prolly drunk) but others he's simply amazing. In one performace he yelled on of the lines into his guitar, it sounded awesome!

[KatanaViolet]

[QUOTE=Momiji Love][CENTER][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana]
AFI, contrary to what a lot of people say, sounds really good live. I only saw them perform "Miss Murder" on the MTV Movie Awards.
I personally love the extra scratch in Davey's voice live. Very sexy.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/CENTER][/QUOTE]

I've seen AFI live, and it was probably the best show I've ever been to. This was right after STS came out, so there were lots of new songs. As a band, they sound really awesome live, but I will comment that the MTV Movie Awards performance was really disappointing. It wasn't the sound or anything, but when I saw AFI Davey was doing his "trade-mark" high kicks and he even did a flip onto the ground and walked on the crowd! So compared to the high-octane show that I saw, the MTVMA performance was nothing close. If you ever get the chance to see them when they are on tour, I recommend it. You'll have the time of your life.

[quote name='Tical'] aint seen much. Slipknot kicked some serious *** at the Big Day Off, but they're about all I've seen firsthand. The moving drumkits were sweet, loved the flames, and the big 666 signs were teh shiz.[/quote]

I saw Slipknot too, that was a really fun show! It was a Christmas present for my sister, who adores them... I used to be a big fan, but not as much anymore. We were off to the side away from the mosh pit up in the stands, but we had a great view of the stage and the pit so we could just feed off of everyones energy.

I've also seen My Chemical Romance, The Used, Saosin and others during the Taste of Chaos tour. That was alot of fun too, because you get to see a whole bunch of different bands at once.

I'm yet to go see Warped Tour, but that's next on my list. I'm saddened that I can't go, because this year AFI, NOFX and Anti-Flag will all be there. :(
Perhaps next year.

[Jakehammaren]

[B]Amon Amarth[/B] - I have seen them live and own their new live DVD, "Wrath of the Norsemen". This band is an absolutely incredible live performance unit. Massive sound and incredible tone accompanied with great sound production and clarity = extremely impressive show. I won't sit here and rant about how much Amon Amarth rules (which they undeniably do), because that's not what this thread is about.

[B]Children of Bodom[/B] - Children of Bodom... these infamous Finns put on one hell of a live show. They have tons of fun onstage, and you can totally tell. They'll play pranks on each other, like pulling out one another's cables while they aren't looking, spitting beer at each other... it's crazy! Plus, they take time to have unaccompanied guitar and drum solos, plus Alexi and Janne have this huge keyboard/guitar duel that is a staple of any Bodom performance, as well as one of the most mind-blowing displays of musicianship I've ever seen live.

[B]In Flames[/B] - The old Swedes are veterans in the Metal world. Although their latest couple of albums have been absolutly atrocious, their live show hasn't suffered one bit (thank the Gods). When I had the honor of witnessing them play live, they cranked out all the good ol' stuff from Jester Race, Whoracle, Colony, and Clayman, and even a cut from Lunar Strain! They kept their crappy new songs to a minimum, making it an extremely enjoyable live show. Plus vocalst Anders Friden has a great sense of humor, so there's no lack of laughs between songs!

[OrangeJulies]

As far as CDs go, The Who's [I]Live at Leeds[/I] is by far the best thing I've heard, ever. I hear it's often regarded as tops among most live albums in general, even though it's over 30 years old.

Unfortunately I've only seen one rock band in concert, and that was George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was a rush being only a few rows back from the guys who did greats like "Bad to the Bone." They were also great performers, but I don't remember if they did a lot of improv or whatnot (that was four years ago, which feels like a long time for me).

[NightAlchemist]

I went to Taste of Chaos earlier this year in Feb., and everyone was awesome!! Especially Street Drum Corp., I think that was their name...As I Lay Dying was the first band I saw there, and they were one of the best I've ever seen!! And Atreyu wasn't bad either along with the The Receiving End of Sirens.

[Billy Shears]

[quote name='OrangeJulies]As far as CDs go, The Who's [I]Live at Leeds[/I'] is by far the best thing I've heard, ever. I hear it's often regarded as tops among most live albums in general, even though it's over 30 years old.[/quote]

You should buy [B]The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970[/B] DVD. I bought it for $10 at Best Buy. Its got an interview with Pete Townshend and a couple other extras. Their performance is stunning. They play all of [I]Tommy[/I], and I wetted myself. Greatest live band ever, no questions asked. I cannot put it in any other term.

[B]Rush[/B] is also another fantastic live band. I saw them on their 2002 Vapor Trails tour. It was a two-and-a-half hour set, and it was excellent. Blown away by the Neil Peart drum solo. [I]La Villa Strangiato[/I] is better live.

Like Tical, I've watched hours of the [B]Mars Volta[/B] live, and I will not die without seeing them. In comparison to the [B]Who[/B], they don't use gimmicks or pyrotechnics, just play the songs with full-on intensity. Cedric dances like a maniac.

I love [I]Scabdates[/I]. At first, I thought it was just a quick buck for the record label, but realised they put just as much effort into their live sets as well as the studio. Top-notch band, that [B]Mars Volta[/B].

I can't wait to see [B]The Number Twelve Looks Like You[/B], either. Good stuff.

[OrangeJulies]

[quote name='Billy Shears]You should buy [B]The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970[/B] DVD. I bought it for $10 at Best Buy. Its got an interview with Pete Townshend and a couple other extras. Their performance is stunning. They play all of [I]Tommy[/I'], and I wetted myself. Greatest live band ever, no questions asked. I cannot put it in any other term.[/quote]
Already got it. :D It is indeed a great concert. I fancy [i]The Kids Are Alright[/i] as well, if not more.

I always considered the Who rather low on pyrotechnics (e.g., in Isle of Wight you only get the fancy lighting at the end of the [i]Tommy[/i] segment). Not sure how it is now but if I get to see them on their current tour I'll know. :P As for gimmicks... well, Pete [i]says[/i] he's done with smash-ups...

[Skeith92]

Umm,my favorite live cd would be either Queens of The Stoneage: Over The Years and Through The Woods (the included live dvd is amazing too) or Slipknot 9.0 Live.

My favorite live dvd would be Slipknot: Disasterpices.

[Andrew]

If we're talking live CD's/DVD's, Metallica's Live ****: Binge & Purge is utterly fantastic! It is essentially, what every recognises as Metallica in their prime and they play out all their greatest songs with awesome sound and performance! For any Metallica fan or just a fan of Rock or Metal at it's height, this is highly recommended!

I saw Rammstein around this time last year and they were absolutely awesome! Some bands use light shows and other gimmicks to make their crappy live shows more exciting but with Rammstein's already awesome songs, the fireworks that went off for nearly every song was intense. An especially awesome song was the live version of Mein Tiel, where Singer Till brings out a huge cooking pot (which holds keyboard player Flake inside) and then continues to torch the pot with a flame thrower before the last chorus. There's so many good things to say about this concert. If you ever get the chance to see these German rockers live, you take it!

I also saw Dragonforce not too long ago. Their songs live sound pretty much the same as they do on their albums but the added bonus I got was the fact you could actually see them play the guitars that fast. It's shocking how their fingers move...Absolutely shocking!

[Momiji Love]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana]Well, this is interesting.
I just got "Spin" magazine in the mail, and it has an article called "25 Best Live Bands Now".
What they have listed 25-1 are:

Comets on Fire
The Mars Volta
AFI
LCD Soundsystem
Against Me!
Gogol Bordello
Art Brut
My Morning Jacket
The Roots
The Flaming Lips
Riverboat Gamblers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
My Chemical Romance
Turbonegro
Queens of the Stoneage
The Dirtbombs
Prince (ewww...)
The Hives
Green Day
White Stripes
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Arcade Fire
The Stooges
U2

They all have a small paragrah about why they are so good, and a "Best Moment" from one of their concerts.
Personally, I haven't heard of half of these bands, but I thougt I would share.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

[QUOTE=Momiji Love][COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Verdana]Well, this is interesting.
I just got "Spin" magazine in the mail, and it has an article called "25 Best Live Bands Now".
What they have listed 25-1 are:


[B]The Mars Volta[/B]

They all have a small paragrah about why they are so good, and a "Best Moment" from one of their concerts.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]Did it say "[B]Best Moment[/B]: Everything"? Cuz that is what I expect when I go and see them.

Oh wait, it is true. Everything about the [B]Mars Volta[/B] is amazing. :animesmil [/SIZE][/COLOR]