What are the best live bands you've seen?

[tatanka]

What are the most outstanding performances you've ever seen?

Mine would have to be
-My Morning Jacket
-Furthur
-James Taylor and his band
-Dave Matthews Band (especially the shows I saw in charlottesville va in 2010 and rothbury 2008)
-Moe.
-Levon Helm
-The Smashing Pumpkins

[7storymountain]

What are the most outstanding performances you've ever seen?

- Van Morrison
- Railroad Earth
- The Dead (Philly 2009)
- Crosby, Stills, Nash (Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland)
- Neil Young (acoustic set Horde festival)

[The Other One]

In no particular order...

- Grateful Dead 
- Jerry Garcia Band
- Pink Floyd
- Roger Waters
- The Who
- The Rolling Stones
- Bob Weir & Ratdog
- Phil and Friends
- Yes
- Santana
- Crosby,Stills & Nash
- Crosby,Stills,Nash & Young
- Neil Young
- Widespread Panic
- Allman Brothers
- Paul McCartney
- Grateful Dead (worth mentioning twice)
- David Bromberg

[sparkdog]

I've been lucky enough to see pretty much every band I've loved with the exception of The Beatles and Zep. And I by no means have a critical eye when it comes to my favorite bands - I always enjoy the show.

But, if I think about favorite shows of all time, these often come to mind:

Neil & Crazy Horse - Cap Center (MD) - Ragged Glory Tour (91?)

Grateful Dead - Alpine Valley - 6/28/87 - the first of many

Jackson Five - Chicago Amphitheater - 1971 (or 1970) - first concert ever

The Ramones - Chicago - early 80s - first time seeing them, the only band I've seen more times in my life is the Dead

Radiohead - 1st Bank Center, CO - 2012

Prince - Ogden Theater, CO - 2013

Any show at Red Rocks

The Replacements - either the first time seeing them in the mid-80s or last year at Riot Fest - or maybe one of those shows in between - seeing The Mats has always been a hazy experience

First two Lollapalooza tours - early 90s - mainly because year one was a cluster and survival of the fittest affair and year two we got one of the only live Temple of the Dog sets ever

Gov't Mule - the epic Saturday night Mt. Jam show in 2009

Jesus, I could go on and on with this...

[brig]

In no particular order.....and I'm sure I'm missing some others.....

Roger Waters

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Crosby, Stills & Nash

Live Recording of The Black Crowes' album Before the Frost....Until the Freeze in Levon Helm's barn

Wake Up with Warren @ the Peach '12

The Tragically Hip

Bob Dylan

Phil & Friends w/ the Levon Helm Band as the opener

The Black Crowes

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Gov't Mule

Furthur - especially the show @ Red Rocks the day after we got married

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Levon's 70th Birthday Bash @ Mountain Jam

Railroad Earth

Truth & Salvage Co.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Allman Bros.

Tedeschi Trucks Band

[Sneake]

not necessarily a list of my top favorite bands, but a list of bands that i really enjoyed live:
Alice Cooper
Break Science
NiN
Lionel Richie
TTB
Mule
Furthur
Jimmy Cliff
Radiohead
Beach Boys
Jack White
Slightly Stoopid
Black Crowes

[sparkdog]

Damn! I forgot Alice Cooper.

Devil's Night & Halloween in Detroit, 1985

[Andie Bee]

Been to hundreds of shows, but hands down: The Grateful Dead at Red Rocks or The Shoreline Amphitheater. Both those venues are magical. Heart in Seattle with John Paul Jones.

[smosey wales]

since the question is "outstanding performances" rather than "famous folks" I'd have to think back to shows where the artist put out extra energy, or I had those spine-chilling sublime experiences (due to the music)
For example one of the times I saw Deep Purple in the early 70's (opened by blue oyster cult IIRC) was way better than in the same time frame, the Stone's perfunctory 55 minute performance (opened by relatively unknown stevie wonder).
Charlie Daniels/Marshall Tucker/Grinderswitch c. 1976 where each band took a few musicians from the other then they all 3 jammed Will the Circle be Unbroken. Never forget that night.

The inconsistencies of the Big Names (especially as some fall from grace) is remarkable. One of my "outstanding performances" was Joe Cocker about 5 years ago in a small venue (Norva); I had seen him about 35 years prior a few blocks away at an arena and he was drunk and stupid. But Leon Russell a few years ago was one of the worst "let me play my minimum and pick up my check" shows while when I saw him c. 1972 just after Bangla Desh, again one of the best nights of my life.

Now, I don't go see the Big Names in Big Venues b/c I don't like sitting in a chair (in the old days the arenas usually had "festival seating" meaning an open floor) so I see the "outstanding performances by the "undercards" like DBT, DSO, Potter, Randolph, Rev Horton Heat, Costello (w/ Dave Hildago), Taj, Roomful of Blues in a place like the Fillmore.

And Robert Earl Keene. Always outstanding

[Andie Bee]

I once sat in a lonely dive in Canada, noticed a lone guy busing in his own equipment and set up in a corner. He started playing for no one, but got my attention right away. Riveting storyteller with a very powerful voice. Gordon Lightfoot. No frills, just a down to earth dude with a guitar.

[Franklin's Tower]

Grateful Dead                     '89 Philly, (last public event ever held at JFK stadium)

Bob Dylan & Grateful Dead  '87 Philly (JKF)

Live Aid                              '85 Philly (JFK) awesomes 12 hour show ever.

Little Feat                           '78 Charlottesville, VA (Lowell George)

Santana                             '91 Fairmount Park, Philly

Jerry Garcia Band                '89 Spectrum, Philly

Eagles                                '78 Richmond, VA

Lockn' 2013                        Oak Ridge Farm, VA 

[southernman]

Just a few of the great performers:

The Grateful Dead
Grace Potter
Jonathon "Boogie" Long and the Blues Revolution
Yarn
The Rumpke Mountain Boys
The Recipe
Big Leg Emma
Bryan Adams (goes under most surprising, I liked him OK but he rocked live)
Rolling Stones
Dave Matthews Band

Many of those I've seen multiple times. Some good nights represented there. Also a long list of big acts I've seen live that were disappointing and had a lot less energy than some of the lesser names I've noted above.

[arlenentim]

Of course the Greatful Dead, the Who in 82 at the carrier dome Syracuse N,Y, the Ramones Utica auditorium in 80', Allman Brothers in Atlanta GA in 79, Frank Zappa in west Palm Beach 85,Arlo Guthrie in Saratoga N,Y. I've attended over 1400 shows and I know my list is way longer but writing it down I'm good with the few I gave.

[John Steinbeck]

The Band, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead at Summer Jam, Watkins Glen, 1973. Tickets were $10, and 95% of us got in free. The music was other worldly.


en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Jam_at_Watkins_Glen

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2014 14:54:46 GMT -5 John Steinbeck said:

The Band, The Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead at Summer Jam, Watkins Glen, 1973. Tickets were $10, and 95% of us got in free. The music was other worldly.


en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Jam_at_Watkins_Glen

Hi, John. Really loved Travels with Charlie. Why don't you register and join more in the conversation?

[smosey wales]

And see about getting William Faulkner on board, too