Rolling Stone asking for Greatest Live Act

I got into the blues in the late 70s/early 80s as a white kid in the Toronto 'burbs watching B.B. King on The Tonight Show. That turned me on to so much cool music. Only saw him once - more than 20 years ago at the Ontario Place Forum (RIP) - but it is one of the high points of my concert-going life.

He is one of the giants of American music. BB Live at Cook County Jail is one of the great live albums of all time.

 

Hey, I can make it worse...

Saw Elvis 3 or 4 times when he was still with the Attractions.

Saw Pearl Jam just before Vs. came out.

And.. saw Talking Heads' last show before the Pantages gig when they filmed "Stop Making Sense." It was the same set & staging. Pretty damn cool.

You got me beat on Springsteen, though. I didn't see him until the "Tunnel of Love" tour. Would've loved to see one of the shows from "The River."

 

Jerry Lee was probably on the kid's case because he was 14 and hadn't married a relative yet.

 

Sounds like the NCAA enforcement staff went wild. No Boss. No Elvis (Presley or Costello). No Arcade Fire. No Talking Heads.

 

The Clash opened a lot of that tour. I know they opened the show at JFK in Philly (along with Santana) and I'm pretty sure they were the opener at the Silverdome (with Eddie Money, I believe). Don't knwo if they opened the whole tour -- I think the Meadowlands show was David Johansen.

 

Best live bands I've seen:

1. Springsteen (1988) -- not really a fan. But what a show.
2. AC/DC
3. Rush
4. The Who (all post-Moon but still incredible).
5. Johnny Cash (1995)

Worst:

1. Bob Dylan (he's supposedly hit or miss. My night it was a miss)
2. U2 (seen them 3 times. first time -- 1992 -- they were great. 2nd time -- PopMart -- I wanted my money back. 3rd time -- last year -- meh.)
3. The Clash (their aborted 1984 tour -- saw them in East Lansing. Just an abominable mess)
4. REM -- devoid of any energy. It was at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 1995. Same atmosphere as a teal-era Pistons-Raptors game.

 

Cherone is an INCREDIBLE frontman. Just incredible. I saw a club show by Extreme in 2009 that was the greatest show I've ever seen, anywhere. Absolutely scorching. Played to about 300 people and the energy in there was enough for 300,000.

The show I saw before that was Springsteen at Nassau Coliseum. Another top-three show, for sure.

 

I've seen BB a dozen times or so. He used to be fantastic, a real, old-school showman.
I saw him about 10 years ago, and he's just gotten too old for it.


Also, saying Grateful Dead or Phish shows lacked energy is uninformed. I can understand if you don't care for the music, but that doesn't mean they lacked energy.

 

To be fair, the only singer plus band they have in the bracket is the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
If you bands they left out of the bracket, in addition to the two (Talking Heads, Arcade Fire) that Terrier named, they should have found a way to include Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), the Animals and the Clash.
It would have been great if they could have gotten the Old 97s, Waco Brothers or Refreshments in there. ]
Plus how can they include Styx, Journey and Foreigner but not include REO Speedwagon?

 

Saw Joe Ely back in '95 or so at Tramps in New York City. It was the Letter to Laredo tour and it was a great show.
Was supposed to have seen the Old 97s in 2003 or 2004 (around the time of Satellite Rides I believe) at a small dive bar in Long Branch,NJ called Cheers (that might hold 150-200 people at the most), but they cancelled the show around 4 or 5 in the afternoon claiming Rhett's voice was shot (but it was fine for a show a day or two later). They posted on their website the next day the excuse for cancelling and that they later heard that Bruce had been planning to show up and join them. I haven't had the opportunity to see them since.

 

and the Rolling Stone survey results are in....

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-pick-the-top-ten-live-acts-of-all-time-20110309/1-bruce-springsteen-and-the-e-street-band-0557413

 

Do I get any bonus points for picking the top two (Springsteen/E Street and the Stones)? The Stones in their prime were incredible. You just have to throw out the last three decades. Bruce, however, still puts on an incredible show.

And on the odd opening acts tangent, I once saw the Charlie Daniels Band open for Rod Stewart and the Faces in '75. The Faces were great. Strutted out on-stage to "The Stripper." Great show. Sloppy, but great. That was their charm.