Favorite Live Band
May 24, 2009 at 6:01 AM Post #16 of 52
The Mark of Cain
Devin Townsend
Porcupine Tree
 
May 24, 2009 at 7:23 AM Post #18 of 52
I saw Electric Six a few months ago at a small venue. They rocked, were great with the audience and hung around afterward to talk. I'd highly recommend catching them.
 
May 24, 2009 at 8:54 AM Post #20 of 52
I've seen Phish quite a few times; they are great in that they always try to bring something new to the table and really push themselves, but they can also end up being pretty rough at times. The recent show in Hampton was a huge improvement over what they were pre-hiatus, and it seems they are on their way back to what they were in '97 and before. I think the improv may be shortened due to the fact Trey is off drugs though, which is both good and bad. They really tried to do too many songs (28!) the first night - I was really disappointed that they didn't save yem for later, and I found it strange that most of the flubs during the 3 nights were made during easier passages while they nailed the most difficult stuff (such as Reba) better than they had in years.

Keller Williams puts on an amazing one-man show. I've seen him about 6 times I think, and he's amazed me since the first time I saw him in Rochester, NY 10 years ago. He's really one of a kind.

As far as jam bands go, I've seen A LOT of them, and the tightest live is moe. Umphrey's Mcgee is a close second. I've seen them both many times and they always impress me. I can't get enough! See you this moe.down.

I would say the best (as in flawlessness) live performance I've ever seen would be a 3-way tie between James Taylor, Eric Clapton, and Zappa Plays Zappa. I expect to add a fourth this summer after seeing the special 2-night Steely Dan concert in NYC, the second night of which Steely Dan will play whatever album wins the most votes from the fans on the first night. I've been waiting for this for so long. The Dan are one of my long-time favorites.

Now only if I could catch Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, and Satch sometime...
 
May 28, 2009 at 4:10 PM Post #24 of 52
I managed to see KISS back in the days a couple times and it WAS good and intense with their playing/sound/lights/crowd synergy ....
Think they are all too old and geezer-like now to really kick out the jams .
Get some live KISS if you can .
 
May 28, 2009 at 6:42 PM Post #25 of 52
Andrew Bird is just fantastic live. He reworks his songs completely and is just really interesting and fun to watch.

Also, The mountain goats are awesome live. John Darnielle borders on sharing way too much information between every song, and he is extremely funny and engaging. He sticks around after shows, takes requests mid concert and just makes seeing the mountaingoats great. And with about 300 songs to his name, the concerts are always fresh.
 
May 28, 2009 at 6:43 PM Post #26 of 52
A few other concerts I have seen that were exceptional were New York Dolls (for raw energy), Simple Minds (before they were big) and The Stranglers (Feline tour). All seen at the same small venue with good acoustics and spring loaded dance floor.
 
May 28, 2009 at 11:47 PM Post #28 of 52
I'll admit that I've never really been to many live shows, but the one that sticks out in my mind most is from a few years ago at a small venue in Houston -- the Violent Femmes. They looked like they were having a blast, and the horns were just right there. They played the entire first album, too, which was great to hear. I would say that was easily my favorite live show.

Also enjoyed the Pixies live, but I wouldn't say they're especially good live. I just loved being able to actually see them. They even messed up on Debaser, which should be inexcusable, but I just didn't care.
 
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