Best live acts

cinc

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I’m looking for a sacrificial lamb
This isnt about which one is the best, I would like to compile a list of the best ones so if any of those plays a concert near any of us, we wont miss them. Its not about the bands with the best music but the best performers.

My first nominee is the Roots. A hiphop band that - apart from great original material - plays everything from the Beatles, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Guns and Roses, Police, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Fela Kuti to Wu Tang Clan, 50 cent, Lil Wayne in a very organic, improsative set.

They are led by Questlove, a stunning drummer and even better musical director/producer and the most technically proficient rapper, Black Thought (his breath control is incredible) who happens to be a decent singer too.ű

For about 15-20 years, till 2009 they played 250-300 gigs a year, so they became a very solid, responsive unit. Sadly they took a "day job": they are the house band of the Jimmy Fallon show, which means that they rarely venture into Europe anymore.

Sadly they only have one official live album (Come Alive from 1999) but there are abroadcast quality recordings of their shows out there.


The newest one is a radio broadcast from Switzerland this summer: Download Wrzscene.info-The_Roots--Live_at_Openair_Frauenfeld-DVBC-07-09-2011-OMA.rar for free on Filesonic.com

And there is a video recording of their show of the Lowlands festival (they were without their bassist as Owen Biddle just quit them a few days earlier): Lowlands 2011 - Video


A few youtube videos:








And a few more of their musical game from the Fallon show: Freestylin' with the Roots, where they improvise songs about the show's guest in a style that is requested by the host.





 
Saw Elbow at Reading,l thought they were excellent, their songs have a real "festival" feel to them.
And Muse of course who are regularly voted the best live band.
 
If we're speaking stadium-rock, I dont think anythings better than Arcade Fire. Saw them three times, the first time it was an intimate club years ago, the second time in London last december, the third time at a huge festival in Zagreb this summer.

Apart from the god awful O2 arena, the last two ones worked a lot better. Great music too, fortunately.



 
Bought a ticket to see them in Dublin last year but ended up selling it, couldn't get anyone to go at the time. Regret it.
 
cinc said:
This isnt about which one is the best, I would like to compile a list of the best ones so if any of those plays a concert near any of us, we wont miss them. Its not about the bands with the best music but the best performers.

My first nominee is the Roots. A hiphop band that - apart from great original material - plays everything from the Beatles, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Guns and Roses, Police, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Fela Kuti to Wu Tang Clan, 50 cent, Lil Wayne in a very organic, improsative set.

They are led by Questlove, a stunning drummer and even better musical director/producer and the most technically proficient rapper, Black Thought (his breath control is incredible) who happens to be a decent singer too.ű

For about 15-20 years, till 2009 they played 250-300 gigs a year, so they became a very solid, responsive unit. Sadly they took a "day job": they are the house band of the Jimmy Fallon show, which means that they rarely venture into Europe anymore.

Sadly they only have one official live album (Come Alive from 1999) but there are abroadcast quality recordings of their shows out there.


The newest one is a radio broadcast from Switzerland this summer: Download Wrzscene.info-The_Roots--Live_at_Openair_Frauenfeld-DVBC-07-09-2011-OMA.rar for free on Filesonic.com

And there is a video recording of their show of the Lowlands festival (they were without their bassist as Owen Biddle just quit them a few days earlier): Lowlands 2011 - Video


A few youtube videos:








And a few more of their musical game from the Fallon show: Freestylin' with the Roots, where they improvise songs about the show's guest in a style that is requested by the host.





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Excellent choice man, The Roots are awesome. Been into them since "Illadelph Halflife" What style album. Seen them live at the Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland a few years ago - total awesomeness of all awesomeness, although they didnt play one of my favourite tracks - "100% Dundee".

I kept tellin everyone to get ready to go ape to this shit, right up to the last song & even after they left the stage - "wait, they'll play it - i'm telling ya.."

Never did but everyone had a cracking gig. That Tuba is wicked aswell :D
 
cinc said:
I'm sure they will be around again with their next album.

Another great band with a very energetic live show:

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Really like this. Heard their name alot but never got around to listening to them, downloading now.
 
Iron Maiden are brilliant. Bruce is all over the place.

Chris Cornell had a much better voice than I knew. He sounded better live than he did on his albums, Soundgarden or solo.

Björk is pretty good. She held an outdoors concert in Iceland which I could see and hear from my house. That was alright.

I don't think crappy youtube videos do the band justice live so I'm not gonna post any.
 
Snow said:
Iron Maiden are brilliant. Bruce is all over the place.

Chris Cornell had a much better voice than I knew. He sounded better live than he did on his albums, Soundgarden or solo.

Björk is pretty good. She held an outdoors concert in Iceland which I could see and hear from my house. That was alright.

I don't think crappy youtube videos do the band justice live so I'm not gonna post any.
Click to expand...

Crappy videos dont, but there are quite a few pro-shot ones.
 
Great band, great live show: we went to the 30th anniversary gig last december in london, it was the best concert out of 3 very good ones we've seen that week (Arcade Fire, World Service Project, and them).

A video from the dvd made from that show:

 
Saw the Arctic Monkeys last night and feck me they were good, a lot of the younger lot in the crowd though.

Alex Turner in particular has some stage presence, he's like a god up there with his eccentric hair and northerness.
 
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