Going to a rock concert is an experience. Going to a GREAT rock concert is an experience you’ll be sharing with others for years – perhaps decades – to come.
We all have our favorite artists, but not all of them know how to give a great performance. Web Watch appreciates The Steve Miller Band, for instance, but didn’t need to hear them perform a 2-hour rendition of the Steve Miller’s Greatest Hits album.
We also recall one start-up band (whose name we will purposefully leave out) that had to fill a 30-minute set… but only had about 15 minutes worth of material. They opened with their hit, they closed with their hit – then, after being told backstage that they “need to get back out there”, finished their set by playing their hit a third time. Almost a text-book example of what the term ONE HIT WONDER really means.
Then there are those bands that you may or may not appreciate in album form, but whose live performances can convert anyone into a fan. Some concert experiences can be contrived (oh, let’s invite a 12-year-old on stage and have them play with us… then we’ll give them a guitar!), but the best ones are where you can tell that the artist and the crowd have become one, feeding off another into a spectacular frenzy that turns into that singular “you had to be there” moment.
And it’s the latter experience that ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE was concentrating on when they came up with their list of the 50 GREATEST LIVE ACTS TODAY. These are artists that, whether you’re a fan of them or not, you absolutely need to figure out a way to see them live before they decide to retire – or worse.
You’ll want to click through to read the description as to why these particular artists made the list, but here’s who they selected as the Most Incredible Live Performances You Have To See NOW:
- Bruce Springsteen
- Prince
- Rolling Stones
- Arcade Fire
- Neil Young
- Jay Z
- Radiohead
- Jack White
- Rage Against the Machine
- My Morning Jacket
- U2
- Wilco
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- The Black Keys
- Paul McCartney
- Alabama Shakes
- Nine Inch Nails
- Metallica
- The Roots
- Kanye West
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Tom Waits
- Pearl Jam
- Dave Matthews Band
- Phish
- Leonard Cohen
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- Patti Smith
- Muse
- Madonna
- David Byrne
- Sleigh Bells
- Beyonce
- Foo Fighters
- Bruno Mars
- Florence and the Machine
- The National
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Rush
- Eric Church
- Tame Impala
- Skrillex
- Mumford and Sons
- Janelle Monae
- Lady Gaga
- Tool
- Sigur Ros
- Green Day
- Taylor Swift
- Fiona Apple
So we’ve only seen about 20% through this list ourselves. Not a bad track record of concert-attending – but we could do better, based on who’s here.
Now if only we still had our ticket stubs… then we could look back and tell our friends, “we were there, here’s the proof!”