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What are the best live acts?


I’m not asking you to list your favorite concerts. I think that there is another thread for that. Rather, we shouldn’t judge pop bands solely on the basis of their recorded music. Some bands are simply better on stage than they are in the recording studio. I’ll cite the following for their consistent ability to put on a great live show.

1. The Cramps
2. The Ramones
3. Toots Hibbert (touring as Toots and the Maytals, even though Toots fired the original Maytals some time ago)
4. GWAR
5. The UK Subs (crap music, brilliant live show)
6. AC-DC (when Bon Scott was their front man)
7. The Meat Puppets
8. Tom Waits
9. The Anti-Nowhere League
10. Van Halen (w/ David Lee Roth: I hate their music, but I saw them twice, and had a rocking good time!)
11. Iggy Pop
12. Ted Nugent (This man is the redneck Iggy Pop)
13. Joe Ely
14. The Butthole Surfers
15. The Clash
16. The Mentors
17. Nig Heist
18. Emmy Lou Harris
tweakgeek
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Nina Hagen...
You should first see her mimics and act during the live performance!
Kate Bush...
Uh... she's so lovely!
audioman4
174 posts
 
This is my angry side so dont be afraid...
Definately best live acts that I have seen multiple times to answer this thread.
1 Godsmack.........awesome live... excellent musically and
great on stage presence. Sully, lead singer, great
people person.
2 Metallica........super heavy and loud... not always
a good thing, but in this case, you must make an
exception.
3 Tool...........by far, technically, fantastic
musicans. Best drummer in the business Danny Carey
IMO.. Very deep music and visual effects are great.
---------
Anyone care to list their pics for most
dissapointing live acts???
Happy listening,
Joe
Custom Audio LLC
danvetc
527 posts
 
David Allan Coe
Bruce Springsteen
Rolling Stones
Sammy Hagar (solo)
Moody Blues
Yes

Your local Symphony
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Re The Stones: I am of the opinion that their live shows for the past close to 20 years now have been prefunctory money-extracting operations of the most hollow sort. Pay your hundreds, see the legends. True, they do empty professionalism as well or better than anybody - and of course they have a huge advantage in material over the competition - but that's still all it is.

Duane: The Mentors were about a hundred times better live than they were on record!

Random thoughts, very incomplete:
Highest, most concentrated live energy ever released on a stage: The Bad Brains, circa late 70's - early 80's.

Bands I most wish I'd seen live: MC5, New York Dolls, Jimi Hendrix Experience, the original James Brown revue, and of course, The Beatles.

Bands I danced the most to: C.J. Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band, Trouble Funk.

Band that meant the most to me to see live (many times): The Replacements.

For a good time, bands you should see live the next time they come to your town: The Dictators, The Flaming Lips, NRBQ, The Soft Boys (back from the grave), Sloan, The Fleshtones, The Swingin' Neckbreakers, Oxes.
prpixel
876 posts
 
Keb Mo, James Taylor.
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