is this the greatest live band of all time?

No one can pick a “greatest” because every  person has their own opinion of what the greatest live band is.  Each great band had their moments of greatness in concert. I saw Yes in 73 and they were absolutely great, but the Yessongs album which was taken from several tour stops was their Masterpiece. I love that album. And they had many other Live performances that could never measure up to what they achieved those nights when Yessongs were being taped. How about Chicago Live at Carnegie Hall- one of the best live rock performances ever.  But did everything ever come together in other live shows they performed like it did when they recorded at Carnegie Hall? I don’t know. I was at a Pink Floyd Concert during their Momentary Lapse of Reason tour and it was the best outdoor concert sonically I ever heard. The whole area was thundering and rumbling yet with great clarity. Many great live bands were mentioned in the thread. Greatest live band is impossible to say. 

In person the Tubes in their heyday were quite something.

Now a lot of how we perceive a show does depend on us, not on the show itself. I remember seeing Todd Rungren once and being bored out of my mind. Man he was sleepy time. The crowd loved it though. They were jumping around and stomping their feet, clapping their hands, all that type of thing. Was it me? Was it that the real Todd fans loved him so much that they didn't care?

I really don't know.

I remember Led Zepplin putting on one of the absolutely worst shows that I have ever seen, Kezar Stadium 1973 or so, 3+ hours late, Jimmy Page constantly screaming off key at the wrong time, miserable show. My friends though knew that the Zeps could do no wrong so they loved it.

Go figure.

Then again, there was the time I saw the Bay City Rollers.
Yes, I did. It's a long story. They couldn't play their instruments at all.
Really lame. All the prepubescent gals in their tartans were in rapture. 
The joy in their faces when they streamed out of the show to their waiting Mommies was obvious. It most definitely was a terrific show for the audience. Who am I to disagree? 

After all, the Ramones loved the Bay City Rollers and I thought enough of them to see the early Ramones at least 15 times.

On another front, bands have nights when they're hot and nights when they're not. Many times I saw the Dead burn like fire. Many times I saw them smell like something else.


I remember Pete Townshend apologizing because the previous show they had in San Francisco was so regrettable. That was the show at the Cow Palace where Moon was carried off halfway through. Pete apologized for the show but I thought it was easily the best show I'd see them do.


The Sex Pistols in their last show, the Winterland thing, could not play their instruments at all. They were always ducking thrown objects as well.
Musically ragged and disjointed. Great show though? Hell yeah.


As has been noted by many, there are no absolutes here. What's important? Musical expertise or showmanship? Audience buy-in or your personal state of mind? I could list a bunch of names, as could most of you, but really, you had to be there.

Did I actually say Jimmy Page screaming off key? That should have been Robert Plant screaming off key at the wrong times. Jimmy Page every once in a while would get a good run started, we would get some hope, and then the band would descend back into the morass. Utterly dismal.

The Dead with the "Wall of Sound" at Winterland.

Glad to see that all you dudes/dudettes would occasionally wrest yourself from your rig to actually watch folks wield musical instruments.  To be sure, it's a hassle and a crap-shoot, but when it hits it really hits hard.