Who has been the greatest live act ever?

[Mudbugfish]

Who has been the greatest live act ever?

The best band or act you've ever seen?

The Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Pink Floyd, Prince, The Who, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kiss, AC/DC, Nirvana or someone else?

This Day in Music have just started a poll to find out. If you fancy voting for who you think should win go to http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

You can vote for any act, just go to 'other' on the list.

[MatLane]

Faithless


Really good live






;-)

[costabunny]

for me its Roger Waters (saw him most recently in Granda, Spain) - Awesome live performance

[Mattaut]

Best live show I have ever been to is Rage Against the Machine.

[jbernie]

Given my lack of going to concerts (not including operas, musicals, etc)

U2 still puts on a great show, first saw them in 93 on the ZooTV tour, missed PopMart :( (maybe a mixed blessing?) and seen all tours since. Obviously the bigger the fan you are the more you can get out of it. Am listening to my U2 Vertigo tour playlist from the Denver concert now.

Saw Pavarotti in Sydney, a man who had so much power in his voice. Would have happily seen him many times over if I could.

Carerras was pretty good, Bocelli was a bit of a let down but still a good concert, Andre Rieu when the music was playing was quite enjoyable but they did way too many sections of just applaud the performers which took too much from the enjoyment of the show.

Unfortunately most of the bands I would like to say either don't exist, too many of the originals are dead or they just dont tour. (Queen, The Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd).

[jamesarm97]

Duran Duran, this year in Atlanta

[rdowns]

I've seen so many amazing live shows, it's hard to pick. A few that really stand out...

The Who at Shea Stadium
Talking Heads at Forest Hills (Old US Open venue)
Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden
Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park
Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden
Allman Brothers at Beacon Theater

[Melrose]

Last winter I saw the Rochester Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's 7th. We sat like eight rows from the front at the Eastman Theatre - very moving to hear performed live.

Other than that, I think I've only been to like three live shows. One of which was Yanni, which was okay.

Also, the 1812 Overture with the real cannons booming on cue. That was stirring as well.

[Delta608]

Got to agree :

Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden, then (for me at least) The Who in Tampa's old stadium...

[bombboy]

Coldplay is amazing live. Matisyahu is tremendous performer but his act is pretty straightforward.

[3rdpath]

greatest live act ever? that's tough....

some of the best i've seen:

zero 7
the who
queen
zep
elvis ( yes, i saw him twice before he got all bloated up)
cat stevens ( magicat tour-simply amazing)
the tubes in 1978 ( probably the best live show ever)!!!!
the stones in 1979
lynyrd skynrd in 77
brian wilson-smile( beautiful beyond words)
lily allen-major fun
NRBQ
prince

[blurredline]

I've seen quite a few concerts, but nothing seems to be able to top the pure energy and amazing stage show of Nine Inch Nails.

[sammy2066]

The greatest live act live is being performed in Amsterdam right now ....

Armada Dance Event ... w/ Armin van Buuren and Markus Schulz!

[gonyr]

The two best that I've ever seen are:

Guns n Roses - On the Illusion tour with Metallica. They actually played a whole set with no Axl meltdown. They took the stage just after midnight and played until almost 3:00 am.

Rob Zombie - Saw him opening for Ozzy a few years back. I wasn't super familiar with his material at the time, but he absolutely blew me away.

[hmmfe]

A couple of personal picks, though I am not willing to say they are "the greatest"...

Husker Du

The Greg Kihn Band (saw them too many time to count in small venues in the bay area - always a great show. Much better than most of their album work)

[jodelli]

I saw the MC5 up close with what would have been the original lineup when I was about fourteen. It felt sort of like that Cameron Crowe movie 'Almost Famous'. And I did write a review but it wasn't for Lester Bangs.

Also loved the B52's when they played the Mesopotamia tour in the old, beat up Grand Circus Theater in Detroit. Very diverse crowd, and the group was being plugged on the air by a DJ named Charles Johnson, AKA The Electrifying Mojo.
There were wavers, goths, punks, hip hoppers, technos, gays, you name it. I remember the balcony shaking and Fred Schneider was outdoing David Byrne with his spasming dance moves.

I've seen some big arena acts too but the above ones were the most memorable.

[Counterfit]

Last winter I saw the Rochester Symphony Orchestra perform Beethoven's 7th. We sat like eight rows from the front at the Eastman Theatre - very moving to hear performed live.
The orchestra at my school just performed that last week. It was... lacking, in the first violins. :rolleyes:
Guns n Roses - On the Illusion tour with Metallica. They actually played a whole set with no Axl meltdown. They took the stage just after midnight and played until almost 3:00 am.

I assume this was before the mess at Montréal?


Two best shows I've ever been to: Arturo Sandoval, and Underworld (last US show in their tour last year.) Tower of Power is also still tight as ever.

[Melrose]

The orchestra at my school just performed that last week. It was... lacking, in the first violins. :rolleyes:


School orchestras do their best many times but just can't seem to nail it, sadly. The RPO (http://rpo.org/) is actually very good.

[gibbz]

Aerosmith was darn good.

[gonyr]

I assume this was before the mess at Montréal?


I think it was about a week before, at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

[bobr1952]

I have to give my vote to The Jimi Hendrix Experience--I was fortunate enough to see them twice.

[Much Ado]

Ever? Well, today it's Muse.

2002
Kerrang! Awards Best British Live Act
2004
Q Awards Best Live Act
2005
BRIT Awards Best Live Act
NME Awards Best Live Act
2006
Q Awards Best Live Act
Vodafone Live Music Awards Best Live Act
2007
BRIT Awards Best Live Act
Q Awards Best Live Act
MTV EMA Headliner
mtvU Woodie Awards Best Performing
2008
Meteor Music Awards Best International Live Performance
NME Awards Best Live Band
MTV Asia Awards Bring Da House Down

/Thread.

[Counterfit]

School orchestras do their best many times but just can't seem to nail it, sadly.

I think the worst part is there aren't any students in the first violins. Most of the strings (except the basses) are community players.

[iSaint]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)


greatest live act ever? that's tough....

some of the best i've seen:

zero 7
the who
queen
zep
elvis ( yes, i saw him twice before he got all bloated up)
cat stevens ( magicat tour-simply amazing)
the tubes in 1978 ( probably the best live show ever)!!!!
the stones in 1979
lynyrd skynrd in 77
brian wilson-smile( beautiful beyond words)
lily allen-major fun
NRBQ
prince

Wow, you must be ooooooollllldd! ;)

I saw the Stones in '81 at the Superdome. It wasn't their best show, but it was still very cool to see them. Prince was amazing in 1984. The Police put on a good performance in 1982, during the Regatta deBlanc tour. Never seen U2.

Major jealously for Queen and The Who. The Tubes, too!

You never saw David Bowie?!

[3rdpath]

Wow, you must be ooooooollllldd! ;)

I saw the Stones in '81 at the Superdome. It wasn't their best show, but it was still very cool to see them. Prince was amazing in 1984. The Police put on a good performance in 1982, during the Regatta deBlanc tour. Never seen U2.

Major jealously for Queen and The Who. The Tubes, too!

You never saw David Bowie?!

dude, i am ancient!;)

no bowie...but i get extra points cuz i actually hung out with queen.

and i won't bore you with how many times i saw stevie ray vaughan playing at the local pool hall.

or how many times i saw the dixie chicks when they were playing on a street corner for tips...

wish i'd seen the police in the old days...saw the reunion which was good-stewart copeland is a drum god.

[MacHipster]

Pink Floyd followed by The Flaming Lips.

[XxHOVESKOxX]

I've never seen them played but from the DVD's they have released "The Song Remains The Same" And The "Led Zeppelin" Concert To me those were the greatest live performances ever :D

[Ice-Cube]

The king of pop - Michael Jackson, when he was still black.

[R.Youden]

It has to be Queen.

And as for those who are saying Queen don't tour any more, yes they do.

Queen + Paul Rodgers is on a world tour at the moment and just have a new album out. OK they are now Queen (Freddie, Brian, Roger and John), but they are bloody good.

So fat this year I have seen them 3 times; Rome, London and Birmingham. I also have tickets for the extra concert at the O2 in London on the 7th November.

They should be doing North America next year. If you want to see an honest band who can really enjoy themselves they go see this lot.

They will get the Cosmos Rockin' ;)

[millar876]

Queen
Origional lineup. The new lineup, with Brian, rodger and Paul Rodgers off of FREE isnt Quite the same. BUT they are still Brilliant

[msft138]

All I have to say is that IRON MAIDEN is the best show I've seen live. Bruce Dickinson running all around like he is still twenty, absolutely AMAZING!!!

[Killyp]

Massive Attack were pretty mind-blowing. The music, sound, lighting, venue and atmosphere was stunning...

The Cat Empire are by far the most 'fun' band I've ever seen. Had the whole place going - so much energy it was unbelievable...

[gusious]

I've never been to one but i would give my left nut to turn back time to see Nirvana.........

Ok not my nut but maybe my MBP!:D

[joeybuckets]

Pearl Jam;)

[Cph901]

You haven't heard Dave Matthews Band until you have heard them live.

[joelw87]

best live act of all time, Led Zeppelin...

best live act I have seen myself... Led zeppelin 2007!

[rs7]

No one has mentioned the Beatles yet?! :0

[Unspeaked]

No one has mentioned the Beatles yet?! :0

I think this is one of the few areas where the majority of both their admirers and haters can agree The Beatles made little impact...

[duncyboy]

Queen, Muse, Hendrix, Led Zep, Michael Jackson were/are all pretty spectacular.

Best gig I've ever seen live was The Police this year. They were unbelievable, absolutely mind blowing.

[Antares]

GWAR and Kiss have put on the best "shows" that I've seen live. Not necessarily the best music but the best shows...... quite a spectacle, both are. And MUSE is always quite exhilerating, for some reason. There's a type of bliss and energy in the air. Punk bands are a lot of fun too....like The Dwarves or Social Distortion, etc....what with all the mosh pit action.

A lot of bands actually sound better live than in recorded form. The Killers, being one example, sound 10x better live.....

[iObama]

KISS was the best show I've ever seen. I'm only 16, so I haven't seen many shows, but they were DAMN good.

I saw the Eagles on their "Farewell I" Tour back on '05, and they were awesome too. However, they don't move around a lot.

[iJohnHenry]

No, just massively good R & R.

You wanna see jumping about, watch a Michael Jackson video. :p

[lAciDl]

the best live shows i have been to were:

Metallica S&M at Madison Square Garden
Pantera Ozzfest 2000 PNC Bank Art Center NJ
Symphony X at Starland Ballroom

[QuarterSwede]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Phish yet. They were masters of the stage. Their shows were bloody amazing not to mention their lighting tech was so good that many considered him the 5th band member. Phish was so good in fact that they'd do 2-3 day festivals. It was like a spiritual experience.

[GutlessWonder]

Manic Street Preachers

[smwatson]

RADIOHEAD

[roland.g]

Guns N' Roses

Dave Matthews Band

Of all the crazy shows I have seen over the years, these two bands offered the greatest live acts because they didn't just give you canned versions of the songs. They both elaborate on themes, jam out, and otherwise do cool live twists on the songs. Whether it be Slash soloing from the end of one song into the beginning of another, or Dave Matthews dueling banjos or awesome jams, seeing either one of these bands was always a real treat.

[jgreen464]

I'm going to the Lamb of God/Metallica show on December 2nd and I have box seats... that might just be the best damn show ever.

Other than that... dunno, my mom went to Woodstock and saw The Who live for 6 straight hours or some ****.

[Mudbugfish]

Wow! Your Mum went to Woodstock!

[jgreen464]

lol, she was such a hippie. Hair down to her freakin' hips yet when I had long hair she was always telling me to cut it. *mutters about hipocracy*

The most unexpected insight into the festival she had was that while drug use was very prevalent, most of the people weren't on a whack-load of acid. Mind you I'm sure there was enough clouds of smoke that anyone within a couple mile radius got nice and baked.

[Mudbugfish]

I wish I'd been born 10 years younger and in the USA!

[jgreen464]

Well as far as the modern-day music scene goes being in the UK is probably the best you're going to get.

The Moments of Magick at the Stones festival sounds like it'd be pretty crazy, if you're down with the scene.

[Mudbugfish]

Results from This Day in Music:

Best live act ever.

1, Led Zeppelin
2, Queen
3, Pink Floyd
4, Bruce Springsteen
5, The Who
6, The Rolling Stones
7, U2
8, Radiohead
9, AC/DC
10, Guns N’ Roses
11, Nirvana
12, Rush
13, David Bowie
14, Grateful Dead
15, Dave Matthews Band
16, Prince
17, The Beatles
18, Oasis
19, Pearl Jam
20, Metallica

Just outside the Top 20 were:

Aerosmith, Status Quo, Jane’s Addiction, Coldplay, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimi Hendrix and The Clash.

Madonna was the highest placed female being voted in at No. 30.
The only other female acts to receive large numbers of votes were Kate Bush, Tori Amos and Beyonce.

Other acts who received a high number of votes included:
Rick Astley, Michael Jackson, Spinal Tap and The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.

[jgreen464]

I've seen Queen (Roger Waters singing) and The Who live and they were both super epic. Not very surprising Zeppelin topped the charts, but I almost think Pink Floyd would be more of a show.

[Chim3ra]

Wow, i've never been forutunate enough to see any of the top names live, but it would've been a dream to be able to see all of them!!

i'm glad Coldplay made it, my personal favorite concert ever. Followed closely by Red Hot Chili Peppers, who had an amazing set.

Two other bands who (probably not the greatest) had amazing concerts include: Death Cab for Cutie, who's encore on stage was more than worth the entire concert. Also, Panic at the Disco had a very very elaborate concert, probably the most elaborate i've ever seen or dreamt of.

[waloshin]

Whitechapel, Dirge within, Chimaira ,and of course Trivium!

[partyBoy]

DAFT PUNK of course !!!!

[solchitlins]

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1243/4327470/22695996/378433151.jpg
This clip brings tears to my eyes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX9Vhv4akxc

[completeidiot23]

by far the greatest

the mars volta

[nick1516]

Metallica, easy choice.

[Yojiirill]

It makes me sad that NIN was only mentioned once here. I mean, what other band destroys their instruments on stage?

Also, you can't deny the awesomeness of Pink Floyd. I saw them in 06, and it was amazing.

[completeidiot23]

i think the who, where the first band to smash their instruments

[Antares]

Either: KISS or GWAR

Any person who has ever seen either of these two bands, live, cannot deny that they put on the best shows. Not necessarily the best music...but the best live acts.

[Bfat567]

Pink Floyd or Queensryche

[pukifloyd]

iron maiden or pink floyd

[North Bronson]

If Jimi Hendrix went to the Moon and back, this guy would already be past Saturn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NllPZ5_Tw40

[Bengt77]

1 Radiohead
2 Underworld
3 Sigur Rós

This is my top three. Many, many other bands and artists are very good too, but these three have all stunned me with incredible live performances. Radiohead did that multiple times.

Results from This Day in Music:

Best live act ever.

18, Oasis
I saw them live once, and it was goddamawful. "Hi, we'rr Oaaaysis, th' bast band en th' wæld." You've got to be kidding me.

[hj100]

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

[fireshot91]

Muse. No contest.

[hexonxonx]

I had a nice reply all typed out but the board logged me out during the time I typed it and so everything was lost. I'll try again.

Queen 1982 tour, Billy Squire opened.

Pink Floyd, saw them twice and both times they were amazing.

Rolling Stones. Both times were back in the 80s when concerts used to be a whole Sunday event. One of the concerts was with Heart, George Thorogood, Eddie Money.

Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell Tour and the Mob Rules tours, Dio was the Singer as this was when Ozzy left the band. Also saw Sabbath with Ian Gillan as singer for Born Again tour.

Metallica, Guns and Roses tour. Axl started playing piano for November Rain and then stopped the song a few minutes in. Asked the crowd if we wouldn't mind if he started it over because he f'ed it up.

Gary Numan. The original Pleasure Principle tour and then two times in the 2000s.

The Cars, Shake It Up tour.

Skinny Puppy, Last Rights tour and a few times in the 2000s.

Ted Nugent. Several times in the late 70s, early 80s. Wango Tango tour was when he came out swinging on the rope wearing just a fig leaf.

Billy Idol. Rebell Yell tour, once in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium and that same summer at Red Rocks. Same him two more times after.

I've seen allot more bands but these were definitely the best.

[InTheUnion]

Everyone will say the greatest live act ever is their favourite band :rolleyes:

And I wish I'd been old enough to see Neutral Milk Hotel live...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5vBw5LMZBc (Without knowing the song or being a fan, a LOT of you wont be able to take this seriously ;))

[tman07]

Ive never seen them live, but i have seen all of their live dvd's i could get my hands on, but I will say Dave Matthews Band.

Their concerts seem like such a jam session, and they are all so talented. I WILL see them, and soon. RIP Leroy :(

[rhett7660]

Kiss
Megadeth
Metallica...
Billy Joel
Bon Jovi

Those come to mind

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

iron maiden
I hope so... I'm seeing them when they come to Bergen, Norway later this year. Expectations are sky high. Been a fan since the mid 80s, but never seen them live.

Best show I've eve been to must be Norwegian band DumDum Boys in the green tent at Roskilde in '89. That concert just took off... :cool:

Velvet Underground (also) at Roskilde, in 1993, was kind of awesome, too, but more because of the "been there" notion, musically it was average, or thereabouts.

[LukeHarrison]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned Kraftwerk yet.

OK, they don't move much anymore (in fact, they never did, apart from the '81 tour when Ralf did some amazing dancing :p) but their last gig at the Manchester Velodrome was amazing.

As they went into the Tour De France suite, the cycling team from TeamGB started cycling around the band and the audience, and everyone in the crowd was given 3D glasses for the second half of the show, when the video backdrop was played in 3D. That radiation symbol was pulsing out of the stage into the crowd :)

[addaminsane]

For me, it was a Nickel Creek concert. All the members are virtuosos with their instruments and i was just blown away.

it helped that the concert was in a closed in, old style theater venue.

[OceanView]

You forgot to ask if this was while the audience was high or sober.
Makes a little difference :)

[str1f3]

It is obvious who is the best live act of all time. It's Springsteen. Even at 60 he still plays longer than every other artist at a concert. He does it because he loves it. Most others do it for cash.

Can anyone tell me another artist who has been known for playing 3 hour concerts?

[Abyssgh0st]

AC/DC and Metallica were great, but if I could choose one band to see live (with all original members) it would most definitely be Queen.

I lust for Freddie Mercury, in a semi-homosexual way. But mostly just for the singing. :p

[tina1234]

Wow, i like Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC, Nirvana.

[eRondeau]

Gotta add The Tragically Hip to the list. A good old-fashioned Canadian rock n' roll band. Their live shows kick a$$!

[glowfly]

i think i'm going to opt for radiohead instead! i love their new sound and their live performances. they can take up any instrument and play it skillfully

[pdxflint]

I know he's been dead for 19 years now, but in his day Stevie Ray Vaughan just killed it 'live.' And so little of his live stuff has made it into recorded history, unfortunately. One of his best shows (besides his last one) was recorded at Auditorium Shores in Austin one summer by a local radio station, and once in awhile they'd play tracks from that performance on the air. When I heard "Leave My Little Girl Alone" from that show blasting out of my car stereo, it was an electric moment - the attack and presence of that recording was the best I've heard as far as capturing SRV the way he really was - unbelievable! RIP, SRV...

[adn rcd dly]

I've been to two Nine Inch Nails shows and they blow me away. Trent Reznor has to be a personal hero of mine. :p

[maldoblaz]

Who has been the greatest live act ever?

The best band or act you've ever seen?

The Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Pink Floyd, Prince, The Who, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Kiss, AC/DC, Nirvana or someone else?

This Day in Music have just started a poll to find out. If you fancy voting for who you think should win go to http://www.thisdayinmusic.com

You can vote for any act, just go to 'other' on the list.

Single acts, not festivals!!

1) Pink Floyd
2) Genesis ( the last 3 tours, not the recent crap!! )
3) Paul Mc Cartney
4) Eric Clapton
5) Toto

[The JTizzle]

Rabbit in the Moon.

[iPhilPHX]

Peter Gabriel (Security, Us tours)
Pink Floyd
KISS