Your opinion of greatest "performers", certainly doesn't have to be stadium sell out types

Small or big............greta performers that when you see them, it's a type of electricity of cool vibe watching these types put on just a tremendous show........


Doesn't mean that a band couldn't have great songs, but not perform great live (how I personally feel about the Rolling Stones, suck live except that Altamont show I saw some clips of and at the Cow Palace in south San Francisco......since 1980, they should just stop live stuff)

First ones that jump to mind in my peanut sized noggin........


Big Audio Dynamite.......Mick Jones' Clash spinoff obviously....Amazing live!!!  The Tours of his first 4 Cds, they just crushed it!


Beck, only seen live DVDs, but he just busts it hard with his funkadelic tunes.!

U2 tours of albums #4, #5, #6......Saw all these tours and the performances were great.....(Unforgettable Fire, Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby)

David Bowie  Bowie in the consumate performer  ..........maybe he and Freddie Mercury are the two that really stick out. Never saw either in concert, but in a lot of different shows, SNL, Late Night Letterman type stuff...(Bowie did more of that stuff, but seen some amazing DVDs of Freddie Mercury and Queen) I love Bowie, but I respect Queen and the talent on stage they had...........

Freddie Mercury/Queen........said it all above......

David Sanborn  Saw him and he was great live.Also seen him many times on TV special concerts etc.Great jazz performer live........ (for you Misfit and other jazz guys, that I like to be considered one of them)

Springsteen and the E Street Band   not much needs to be said there.

Wish I ever saw the Clash live........someone else will have to help on this, but I'm not qualified to say, but my conjecture is yes.........They are next in my DVD Concert collecting target.

Roger Waters    although I've never been in the audience, I've "seen" him live enough, and Mugg's endorsement good enough for me. Lord knows how many times he's seen him live....(bitter childish jealousy showing again)

I imagine Guns and Roses were amazing on stage........Feedback?

Led Zeppelin, same, but I feel comfortable putting a personal stamp on them as many concerts as I've seend DVD/TV/etc.....


Peter Gabriel..........haven't been in the building, but seen a ton of concerts DVD/VCR that includes him as  an amazing performer....

Red Hot Chili Peppers.........awesome show guys! Ironically, I saw them in the same small venue back in 1987 in a joint called Janus landing in St Pete that I saw Mick Jones and Big Audio Dynamite....2nd CD after he left The Clash.....They still hadn't quite made it yet. They had Computer printout ads that they paid kids to staple to phone poles back then.............They were raw and great.....Seen them plenty since various ways......I think most will agree them on this list

Yes.......guys that know me knew I'd toss them in as a fantastic performing group......no reason to even explain.




I freely admit I'm not a big hard rock metal guy, but would love to hear what y'all have to say, that even goes (quite reluctantly) with rap........


Grunge stuff, would love to hear about thoughts..........


I thought about tossing the Foo Fighters, but haven't seen them, but only listened to live stuff..



Other opinions?

Would love to hear some great concert experiences........

The greatest performers i've seen in concert...top 5:

1. Dee Snider and "Twisted Sister" .....really, nobody even comes close ( believe it or not)

2. Andy Williams....the old guy puts on a show that is beyond amazing...the only show i've ever attended where you could hear a pin drop....it's almost a religious experience...of course, I saw him during the Christmas holidays and he was performing a lot of Christmas music....the most underrated singer/performer of all-time IMO.

3.   Steven Tyler and"Aerosmith" ..... He takes the crowd on an amazing musical journey (of aerosmith tunes of course)

4.  Rod Stewart......solo and with the Faces...he can just sing his ass off...and is so comfortable up on stage..cracks jokes, kicks a soccer ball...one of the best IMO

5. Cheap Trick.... doing Sgt. Peppers ( Amazing!!!)

 

I'm flying to Vegas next month to see my dream concert:

Keith Emerson and Greg Lake performing together at the Las Vegas Hilton...I bought tickets today...will be sitting front-row center!!!!!  This is a dream come true for me.

Queens of the Stone Age at The Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA

These aren't necessarily my favourite artists or my favourite concerts of all time, but the energy level they brought took it to another level:

Dixie Chicks: Bash all ya want, but those gals really know how to put on a show.

Billy Joel / Elton John: I think even on their own it would have been an entertaining show, but together they brought down the house.

Metallica: If you've never seen Metallica live, put it on your bucket list. I've seen them 5 times now, with the last being in November, and it gets better each and every time.

2010 - Emerson and Lake might be coming to a city near you, and it looks like ELP will be touring this year too!

Sugar,

you got me having to get some Buckley via Limewire......No way with the diversity of music you have, that they could possibly suck.

Jerry,

ELP touring? Holy shit. I'd catch that. None of us are getting younger......

Hugh,

I heard the Dixie bitches were OK, but did you like 'em, or just respect the performance. Curious.

Jerry,......."Andy Williams"



Cheap Trick did a great Sgt. Peppers.....


I'll bet B.Joel and Elton did a great show. Good call......
Not a Billy Joel fan, but I was talking performance quality......


Sugar, I'm gonna check out those others on your list. Thanks.......

4.  Rod Stewart......solo and with the Faces...he can just sing his ass off...and is so comfortable up on stage..cracks jokes, kicks a soccer ball...one of the best IMO


I'll bet that was great back in the day with the Faces.!!!!

Dennis......I'm telling you that Andy Williams is utterly amazing...download his music....trust me on this one...people don't realize what a great singer this guy is...andall of the hits that he has sung...Andy is a true AMERICAN TREASURE and a great man....

andy williams can't get used to losing you

Killing Me Softly by Andy Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxEazBfPVFg&feature=related Love Story...

He's not going to be around much longer..he's in his eighties. If you ever get the chance to see him.....DO IT...again, trust me. 

Jerry, you being serious?\

yeah, completely....ever since I saw him in concert, i've become a big fan....I recently saw Tony Bennett and he was so,so. although it was an honor to see such a legendary recording artist....I was Julio Iglasias and he blew dog IMO, I saw Wyonna Judd and it was like an angel was singing....I recently saw HEART, they were good, I saw Boys to Men,they blew dog, with them I saw..i forgot their name, two black girls...big group...anyway they blew double dog...I saw Vanessa Williams,,she was great, hot lady...I saw AMERICA, they were amazing. I saw Johnny Mathis and I was disappointed, although again, it was an honor being in the same building with him....and a few more...this has only been in the last 2 years! But yeah, Andy Williams blew me away....if you're in an easy listening mood, he's  the guy IMO...going from Twisted Sister to ANdy Williams is quite a stretch, but , there you go!

I'm flying to Vegas next month to see my dream concert:

Keith Emerson and Greg Lake performing together at the Las Vegas Hilton...I bought tickets today...will be sitting front-row center!!!!!  This is a dream come true for me.

 

DAMN!! I'm jealous!! I checked it out & they aren't getting any closer than SF  Would love to see that show.......saw Keith open for the Scorpions/Tesla about 6-7 years ago.....quick set but good........still had "it"........had Dave Kilminster playing guitar for him, who then went on to play for Roger Waters on his "DSOTM" tour.

 

My fav performers are.........

Alice Cooper.......great fun.....his shows are like an opera.......lots of props.

Sammy Hagar...........saw him open for Boston some 30+ years ago.......no one runs the stage like that.

 Bruce Springsteen...........he's not my fav band by any stretch but the guy works hard on stage........gotta respect it.

Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)...........guy is very versatile & just has fun on stage.

Roger Waters..........works both sides of the stage & the crowd very well..........just exudes "cool".

Mugg....Emerson and Lake are going to be in Vegas on the 24th and in LA on the 25th....not too far to travel...that's a saturday and sunday.....

I see that jerry.........& SanFran on the 26th. They have a gap after SF before they play Houston on 5/02 & I'm hoping they will add a Seattle or Portland date in between...............kind of late for that now so I'm not holding my breath.

 The Vegas show would be great but I'm strapped for time around then so it would be tough to pull off.

JR - hear ya a bit about Williams, but the gushing is surprising, lol. He was 1 of my Dad's favs along with Nat Cole, Sinatra, Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass & Mathis. Always relaxed & smooth with a  good voice, but I couldn't ever go much more than that. Nice seeing the diversity tho -

I came to love the raw purity of Joplin's singing, but also liked & respected the rich beauty of Karen Carpenter's whether you liked their tunes or not - doesn't get much more opposite than that. Quality is quality -

A few have already been mentioned & too many to name, but some of the more engaging 1's I saw in the 70's/early 80's:

Elton John, Rod Stewart, Loggins & Messina, Yes, Zeppelin, Jon Anderson/Yes, Carlos/Santana, Dave Mason, Dan Fogelberg, J Geils, J. Tull etc, etc

Also ELP & would prob add N. Young -

Others in terms of personal charisma & takin ya into their world -

Sammy Davis Jr, Jerry Jeff Walker, Delbert McClinton, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown & Lou Ann Barton

 

 

I wasn't expecting such a great show/performance from AW....the show was a variety style show with a magic act...that was utterly mind-blowing, and a fantastic dance act, and a singing impersonator, a famous guy, I can't remember his name...anyway,  Andy's voice sounds exactly like to does on the record, unlike a lot of artists that i've seen who need the studio to make them sound good...he told some RFK stories, RFK was one of his closest personal friends, and  some Sinatra stories( he didn't like Sinatra...thinking him a bully...) and some other interesting stories about his ex-wife Claudine Longet who shot her boyfriend and was put in trial for murder....anyway...it was one of the best shows i've ever been to, if not the best,  but it was totally unexpected as I was thinking what you guys are thinking...oh, yeah, some old has been....ill stay for 1/2 an hour and then leave...the audience was DEAD SILENT throughout Andy's performance..just mesmerized....yeah, im gushin..

JR - in some ways I'm not surprised. He's definitely talented & was always kind of a cool guy in his stylish, understated way & a personal class act. Just before my time & I've always just grouped him with some of the others from back then -

Kind of amazing in a thread about great "performers", MJ hasn't been mentioned. Regardless of what you thought of him, in his prime noone had much more electricity & sheer diversity of talent (song, dance) than he did.

Alice Cooper puts on one hell of a show.

You can actually buy the concert that went to now on his website Via download or they will send it to you on a special edition Alice Cooper  flashdrive.

***That you went  to

Bands that I have actually seen live that I consider the best shows:

The Ramones

Led Zeppelin

Pink Floyd

Buddy Guy ( puts on an amazing show)

Frank Zappa ( RIP )

 

Roger Hodgson from Tramp is great. I have a bunch of live solo stuff of him doing Supertarmp stuff, and That double live Paris Supertramp album is a fav....

Gutcheck, Once again, a shame I only heard him live like many others, but heard Zappa was phenomemnal.

Have Zappa doing an incredible cover of Beatles "I am The Walrus". Zappa crushes it, just does it perfect with an energy I can't describe. Date I think was '75.

Mugg, they have an easy cheap flight fron Seattle to vegas for that ELP show......Of course you didn't need me to tell you that......Suprised they wouldn't swing up to the Seattle area......

We all would have had a chance to see Zeppelin had Robert Plant not that it so neato to play silly little shows with Alliso Krauss instead.

I thought the CD that they did together sucked by the way.

Hope we get another chance. I am one of the unlucky one that has never seen Zep in person.

top of my head: jackie wilson, james brown, parliament, spinal tap, bootsy collins, and a few punk bands cannibal corpse