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I guess this could go in the Youtube thread, but I thought it deserved it's own thread. There are also eight days of threads on the front page. It's a little sad.
I'm a huge fan of live performances that are far superior in quality and passion than the studio versions. My current obsession is The Frames Fitzcarraldo.
This song is one I can listen to over and over again. But not the studio version. It has to be live.
Other examples:
Harry Chapin, Cat's Cradle, although every live performance of his is miles above any studio performance he's done.
Nickel Creek, the Fox. I've seen this band three times, and their live performances feed off of the audience. There studio albums are good, but a little cut and dried.
Flaming Lips, Do You Realize?. It also helps that their live performance is one of the most amazing things I've ever been a part of.
How about you guys? Any more?
And full disclosure, some of these may be skewed by me seeing them in show (Nickel Creek, Flaming Lips) or me having a nostalgic attachment to certain live performance CDs (Harry Chapin Greatest Stories Live)
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Janelle Monae's Letterman Performance This is one of my favorite Letterman performances in quite some time, almost as great as another one on this list
Death From Above 1979 on Conan Not much to say about this other than that they are probably one of the few punk bands that successfully got the energy of their live show translated onto television.
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The Decemerists, The Wanting Comes in Waves when they performed on Colbert, hands down better than the album version. Plus it adds to my theory that women who can sing are sexy as all get out and should be worshipped.
The White Stripes covering Dolly Parton's Jolene admittedly odd, seeing as Jack White is singing a Dolly Parton song but the original has no emotion in it while Jack White really really doesn not want Jolene to take his man.
Citizen Cope acoustic Salvation the album version is top notch, but this live performance is full of emotion and is extremely close to when I saw him live. I love this song.
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I saw The Decemberists' performance on Colbert, and immediately bought the song. I was a little sad the album version didn't quite have the energy of this performance.
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In 1991, there was simply no one on Earth more extraordinary than Tori Amos. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I recall reading once that at a man at one of her concerts yelled at Tori Amos, "Show us your boobs!" She apparently turned to him, and politely said, "This song is for you." Then proceeded to play, Me and a Gun.
If that story isn't true, it's still an awe inspiring way to respond to that.
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I love Tori Amos, and Little Earthquakes is a nearly flawless album. But it takes a supreme effort of will for me not to skip Me and a Gun. I'm sure that's how she intended it, but that song seems to last an hour, and it's amazingly hard to listen to.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Speed: I love Tori Amos, and Little Earthquakes is a nearly flawless album. But it takes a supreme effort of will for me not to skip Me and a Gun. I'm sure that's how she intended it, but that song seems to last an hour, and it's amazingly hard to listen to.
Musically I'm not a fan of the song, but it takes a ton of guts to have an experience like that, and to put it out there for other people to listen to.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Also, if I can venture outside the YouTube box, here's a short Gogol Bordello concert on the NPR website. You're guaranteed to burn off 500 calories just watching it.
posted
Here's another one: Glanfaidh Me by Kila, a live performance of a song from perhaps the best Celtic album I've heard in the last decade.
(Not that I've heard a mountain of Celtic music, but still... wow.)
And speaking of Irish music and (from the original post) The Frames, no thread about amazing live performances could be without this one. I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but if you're into The Swell Season and/or Freaks and Geeks, it's one of the best things ever.
Love the Kaki King performance. I think if I watched it a dozen times I still couldn't come close to figuring out how that sound is produced. She's amazing.
ETA: And I loved Gogol Bordello. Never heard of them before, but I'll be checking them out further. If you have any recommendations of songs or albums to check out, please share them.
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Okay, one more, just for the sake of a semantic game. There's nothing good about this, but fits the topic as it's a live performance, and it's definitely stunning. One of the most morbidly fascinating musical train-wrecks ever broadcast on network TV:
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Lyrhawn: I've got the last 3 studio albums from Gogol Bordello. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, but I started with Gypsy Punks and it's still the one I like best. I'd love to see them live--everyone I've ever talked to that's been to a show says that they blow the roof off, and it's not hard to see how, judging by the tiny desk concert.
Glad you like Kaki King, too. I'm a huge fan. Haven't seen her live either, but I love the whole Michael Manring-meets-indie rock vibe she gets in her albums.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Kila is an awesome band. They build their songs with this incredible crescendo to a crazy climax, and then stretch that climax until you are forced to quit out of exhaustion.
And I haven't seen that Jasen Segal video before. Hilarious. I laughed out loud. Luckily, most people aren't in the lab yet, so it went unnoticed. Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Lyrhawn, I'll second Gypsy Punks, it's a great album to give you an idea of Gogol Bordello and has some of my favorite tracks from them. They DO put on an absolutely amazing live performance, energy like you couldn't believe, one of my favorite shows from the last few years (this list also includes Radiohead and Avett Brothers).
Also, the lead singer, Eugene Hutz, was the main character, Alex, in Everything is Illuminated! (movie version of course).
quote:Originally posted by Strider: ... one of my favorite shows from the last few years (this list also includes Radiohead...
Have you seen this? Some fans recorded HD video of Radiohead live in Prague, and Radiohead gave them the soundboard recordings to they could mix the two. It's an awesome (and free) download. The link also brings you to YouTube vids of the show.
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Strider: ... one of my favorite shows from the last few years (this list also includes Radiohead...
Have you seen this? Some fans recorded HD video of Radiohead live in Prague, and Radiohead gave them the soundboard recordings to they could mix the two. It's an awesome (and free) download. The link also brings you to YouTube vids of the show.
Thanks for linking that! I need at least four renditions of every single Radiohead song.
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This one isn't a video, but it's stunning and it's live. It's from a short episode of Radiolab. Quantum CelloPosts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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I play Gogol Bordello at work, interestingly enough the Mexican construction workers love it, especially Start Wearing Purple. If you havent seen Wristcutters: A Love Story, one of the main characters is based on Eugene Hutz and Through the Roof is essentially half of the movies soundtrack.
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I saw Gogol Bordell at the BBK Live in Bilbao this year; a truly awesome gig. It was fairly early in the evening, but the crowd was jumping like crazy things.
My personal favourite live shows (in no particular order):
Pink Floyd Knebworth 1990, sadly I had to listen to it on the radio, but great none the less.
Fatboy Slim vs Armand Van Helden, Brixton Academy 1997? - both DJs in a boxing ring in the middle of the auditorium. Cool as.
Hiram Bullock, San Sebastian Jazz Fest, 2002 - he came on as support for BB King, who was delayed and so he played an hour extra, including a crowd stroll around - no mean feat in the packed Trinity Plaza.
The James Taylor Quartet, Victoria Park - eye opening and followed by Macio Parker and then Jamaioquai. A nice afternoon in the sun
That's all for now - nostalgia has got the better of me Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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Green Day and Aerosmith are both fantastic live. I've seen a lot of bands, but these two take the cake.
I'd love to see Elton John and David Bowie. Unfortunately, most people believe that Bowie will never tour again.
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Wierd Al Yankovic doesnt get the credit he deserves, I saw him only a couple of years ago and he performed for over two hours with no opening band and no intermission. Timed costume changes all throughout, never missed a beat and he even gyrated his crotch in the face of woman while wearing a devil red zoot suit and singing a song of disparaging and insulting pick-up lines. But hes just the class clown of decades enduring performers, atleast by most accounts.
I pray to a dear and fluffy lord for the chance to see Flogging Molly perform live, but in a small setting. Seeing them at a music festival was a bit like watching a drive-in movie from the concession stand. Amanda Palmer is also on my wish upon a star list of shows that escape me thus far.
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skip to three minutes in, and then begin to watch a 90's era lightshow which probably could have fed africa for a year.
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Samp: You probably know this, and like me are just too lazy but you can actually link to a specific time in a youtube video by adding, "#t=XmYs"
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Sorry to necro the thread but this was so awesome I couldn't help but share it- Ronald Jenkees recording "Stay Crunchy" for the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8LfoyDFUMPosts: 262 | Registered: May 2004
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I can't get enough of this performance of Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis by Tom Waits. I've been watching it every day since I came upon it a couple weeks ago.
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Rush always puts on a stunning live show. The best thing about it is that every time you talk about it, Final Fantasy III gets pushed a little farther down the front page. Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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I loved this version so much that I ended up looking them up, and downloading their whole album.
I had not heard of them, or of the guy who won the international version of Idol before this. His names is Kurt Nielson, and while I hate (with a passion) most of these singing shows, he has a really unique voice.
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Red hot chili peppers Live at slane castle, Ireland 80,000 people Band at their apex Frusciante is destroys everything
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