I’ve been trying to wallop a stinking cold into submission with whisky for a couple of hours so I may regret this, but here goes…
Having watched a lot of people completely losing their shit in video reactions to Queen’s Somebody to Love (Live in Montreal, 1981), I have to say that this is the one. Perhaps even people who claim not to like Queen might be impressed by this. Why?
1. This is a tight band absolutely on top of its game, no help from backline vocals or mysterious backing tapes, just piano, guitar, bass and drums topped off by Freddie Mercury’s absolutely on-top-of-it vocals. Not a note out of place, massive (but loose) stage presence. Check out the way he slides back in in the last bars of Brian May’s guitar solo, and the way he plays the audience.
2. Brian May’s guitar solo.
3. Backing vocals. I always assumed, having watched lots of official videos back in the day, that the backing vocals weren’t reproducible on stage, but it turns out that they are.
4. Roger Taylor – thunderous drums, which add so much depth to the overall sound (and I’m a sucker for a drummer who can twirl a stick while still playing the drums) – and those backing vocals! He was the high voice of Queen, it turns out.
Any other suggestions? What I’m looking for is people you might have previously taken for granted but have been surprised (or even thunderstruck) by.
No. 2 – Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing (Alchemy Live). Listen to the way they just burst into it, two guitars, bass and drums, again absolutely on top of their game. Mark Knopfler obviously, casual, laid-back vocals and laid-back guitar – a tone that had never been heard before, which considering he’s playing a Fender Strat is quite some achievement. But the revelation is Pick Withers on the drums. Have there ever been such fills? The cameraman knows it.
Agreed. Absolutely. Knopfler’s touch – the languid bends and flurries of ultra melody are magnificent.
The drummer here though is Terry Williams. Ex-Rockpile and Man. Pick Withers left before this tour after finishing Love Over Gold in New York.
…hence the revelation…drastically under-rated drummer, is Terry Williams…
Revelation…. ISWYDT…but ’twas Jeff Jones on the skins fer that one!
It is fantastic drumming, but the drummer is Ken Effingham, who stood in for Pete Pouncey for that one gig.
Just for you, I’ll admit that it wasn’t deliberate…still, it’s all good clean fun…
That was the air guitar go to with my best mate at uni in 1984.
I posted this earlier today on the Supper’s Ready thread in response to the comment that “Abacab” is one of the great Genesis songs…..
Here they are with a short set from Montreux in 1987. A combination of old and newish tracks (and a sublime live version of Abacab) a band that are musically very tight (and for one of the biggest stadium groups, they seem to suit the small venue).
I like to watch this sometimes to see it build from something very simple…
I’m bound to say “pretty much anything from Rockpalast”. It seems to be Later with Jools in reverse, consistently bringing out the best in a range of performers… good rowdy audiences too.
Here maching some serious schau is a spunky young feller called Gabriel.
Trigger warning: contains men in gardening gloves.
Not as high-energy, but there’s a Steve Hackett one, some time in the late 70s. Features his very good band, assembled to play Spectral Mornings.
The R.E.M. Rockpalast from October 1985 sees the band in their IRS-era prime, delivering a muscular, high-energy set of Murmur-Reckoning-Fables classics. Absolutely riveting.
Make no mistake: Bochum was ROCKING that evening…
Sometimes I forget how good REM were back then. Spellbinding!!
A few of my favourites – mostly cover versions
Van Halen play “Won’t Get Fooled Again” – fuzzy picture but talk about powerful. It will upset Who fans no doubt but I’ll take this over the original
The Band Geeks play “You Oughta Know” . Blue Oyster Cult’s Richie Castellano on bass, his ex wife’s sister on vocals. Richie does put a lot into the post production – totally worth it given the balls it gives this.
The Highwomen cover “The Chain” – stays fairly faithful to the original but I prefer the vocals here, and the more haunting vibe
The Foo Fighters and Kiss Guy – I think it may have been posted here before but I never tire of watching this. Kiss Guy just nails it and Grohl’s reactions are just priceless. Imagine have the balls to get up and play like that!
In a similar vein to Grohl and Kiss Guy is Bruce Springsteen and a boy from the crowd. I know this was all over the net a while ago, but it’s always worth watching again just for the absolute joy and disbelief that is written across the boy’s face from start to finish. I’m not the biggest Bruce fan, but he gets an up from me for the memory he has given that lucky fan.
He had his own pick ready too like Kiss Guy.
Two great videos there. I’m not a FF fan but there’s no one nicer than Dave is there? And the look on Bruce’s face for the selfie is priceless.
I’ve yet to see anything that beats this for “Mach Shau”.
Oh my goodness yes…Vambo Rool, right enough…
This is the winner. The commanding presence of Alex Harvey and his band were the most convincing pack of droogs ever, and live were unbeatable. I enjoyed them more than The Who, when I saw them in 1976.
This one always cheers me up – nearly everybody gets to solo and they all have a ball, especially the pedal steel guy…
Rodney Crowell song.
Kate Bush sat at a piano singing a song about sex.
Wonderful!
It blows my mind that this is on YouTube. Echo and The Bunnymen at The Royal Albert Hall on my 18th birthday in 1983. I was there and the whole thing was wonderful. Les and Pete as good as it gets, Will being brilliant and Mac being ultra Mac. What a night it was…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6K5S7rko8
The Stone Roses, Fools Gold, live at Heaton Park. Reni and Mani are funking brilliant, John Squire is beyond brilliant, Ian Brown is on vocals.
The Clash, Armagideon Time, live in London. Really highlights what a superb musician Topper was.
Bruce Springsteen, Dream Baby Dream, live somewhere. There are two videos on YouTube, one black & white of Bruce and one in colour of his audience. I like the former best.
Fleetwood Mac, Rhiannon, the one where Stevie Nicks freaks out a bit that was shown on OGWT.
Cerys Hafana – Bwthyn Fy Nain a Ty Bach Twt
Again, live somewhere. Haunting, captivating, fragile, beautiful.
Can I just pop in to say I applaud the total lack of YouTube links here @Gary
Thank you. Rarely have I felt so proud of one of my creative decisions.
I’m going to go one louder and not even post any acts.
Go just one more louder, I dares ya
I’M GOING TO GO ONE LOUDER AND NOTE EVEN POST ANY ACTS.
Nice 👏
I remember back in the early days when we all just listed band and song and clips were saved for an OP where you wanted to share something we didn’t all know. We were happy to write Hey Jude, not even the band name. No one thought ooh maybe someone needs a reminder how it goes. Then some poor sap posted a clip for every song regardless and the rest followed suit and it all went to hell.
It’s spelled “Hull”.
War On Drugs – Under The Pressure. The audience are totally gripped and are practically levitating with delight by the end. You should check it out.
It’s You by Talk Talk, at Montreaux. Frankly, you can keep Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock and all the freeform neo-jazz post-rock studio experimentalism business – here they are on fire, with everything turned up to 11, Mark Hollis giving it LOADS, and the percussionist giving it even more. It just builds and builds…
That’s not half bad Captain! I’ve only heard or watched that Montreux gig once, will have to rectify that.
And yes, you can stick Spirit of Eden up your wotsit!
It’s Jackie Leven….. need I say more.
https://youtu.be/L-IDbf2av84
Could choose (almost) a hundred Wilco performances.
Via Chicago
Poor Places (from just a few months ago)
Radiohead doing Paranoid Android on Later in 1997.
It’s not often I notice lights, or guitar solos, but the start of Jonny’s first solo at 2:45 made me jump out of my skin.
Go To Sleep also from Later. Friend of the Afterword Steve Wright was present as a fan. Unsurprisingly Thom showed no interest. I remember this performance for Jonny’s guitar at the end, like some kind of malfunctioning machine. A consistently great live band over so many years.
Time-sig change ahoy! No spanners were hurt etc.
My favourite ‘Head track.
I think this is off Italian TV. Everyone seems stunned by London Grammar’s performance.
Thanks, Diddley!
That was magnificent
Re the OP: check out George Michael doing the Somebody To Love souncheck at the Freddie tribute. Vocals are just spot on, and the background audience of slebs including Mr Bowie, no vocal slouch himself, are v impressed too.
Impressive indeed! Thanks.
I’d normally post Crosseyed and Painless but today it’s this. I’d love to have seen the Name of This Band (disc 2) line up live. What a glorious groove they made.
Musically, that is really amazing, but the director of photography plainly doesn’t know which sounds are coming from which instruments. A common failing in live music videos.
The camerapersons don’t seem to be in contact with him and seem to be filming what they want to. He doesn’t seem to be directing them at all.
This is another favourite.
What a band!
In particular, note Ruth Underwood’s contributions throughout.
I particularly like her grand tour of her percussion setup at the end.
Time to post a Katzenjammer clip….
Yebbut Mike – I claim to not like Queen because I don’t like Queen. I can’t see any other reason to make that particular claim. I’m sure they’re quite as fantastic as you say, but it’s the type of fantastic I don’t like. Get well soon!
Thanks for letting me know.
On behalf of maybe one or two other people out there who winced at your loaded use of “claim” – as if it was a pose.
Dear Prime Minister,
I have embarrassed myself and I have embarrassed the party, and I feel I must therefore resign from this thread. My loaded use of the loaded word “claim” was entirely unintentional, at least in the sense that has been read into it. My only excuse was that I was more than a little loaded myself, and my normal facility with words had temporarily deserted me. “Even those who don’t like Queen might be impressed by this” was what I should have said. There are lessons to be learned from this, and you may rest assured that I will learn them.
Yours shamefacedly…
Dear Minister For Hats With Corks
Thank you for your letter. It has been forwarded to the appropriate media outlets and is already doing you great favours on twitter. It is refreshing to see such humility, and the admission you got something terribly, terribly wrong will go some way to healing the bloody rift your thoughtlessness has caused.
[usual sign-off here pse. -some quote from Churchill?]
I saw St Vincent doing a stupendous show at the Roskilde Festival last weekend. She has certainly learnt a lot from working with Mr Byrne.
The tour they did together, backed by a top notch, magnificently choreographed brass band was a total treat. I cannot understand why no live album was recorded. The Talking Heads Songbook has never sounded better.
You thought I wasn’t going to post a YT clip, didn’t you? In your dreams!
Get better soon Mike!
Oh come now, KFD! One measly clip???!!!
This one is well known, but Stevie doing an extended Superstition on Sesame Street in 1973 has to be up there.
We’ve had a lot of up-tempo stuff. Here are the Kings of Convenience feat Feist.
YT comments are invaluable. Thanks to Kjetil Jåsund:
*”Love is a lonely thing.” is the last sentence in the book «The song of the red ruby» by the Norwegian writer Agnar Mykle, written around 1955. Still a beautiful book about a young man and artist falling endlessly in love with his wife to be.”
I saw this wonderful Norwegian duo at Roskilde last Saturday for the third time. They never disappoint. Just two guys and their guitars, a lot of charm and some great songs,
Only two clips, KFD?
Yes – Yours is No Disgrace – Live on telly in 1971. Five young cracking musicians at the top of their game.
This is incredible…Prince performing a jaw-dropping version of one of his best and most emotionally raw songs, which inexplicably was only released via the forward-thinking and well-intentioned but appallingly run proto-streaming venture, the NPG Music Club – meaning that it’s only familiar to hardcore fans.
https://youtu.be/UbweLm8WGtc
Here’s one I* made earlier.
The Bible at the Town & Country Club. The date on the video is wrong: it should be 9th March 1990. Great version of Steve Earle’s Even When I’m Blue.
(*) Obviously my tall chum did most of the heavy lifiting on the night. It was filmed for a series of gigs at the T&C sponsored by McEwan’s lager. I tracked down the broadcast master tape at Thames TV and arranged for a S-VHS dub. A pal copied that tape to DVD, and Sir put it online during Lockdown #1. I never got the tape back, nor a copy of the DVD.
Not a live in concert performance, just a brilliant exposition of what goes into New Orleans piano music. 18 or 19 different styles, immaculately played, in under 8 minutes
Outstanding!
And here he is with a band, funky as…
Musing with the possible rule, where live probably means an audience, but this is live, in one take and includes the bum note. I ca’t get enough of it.
Asif Avidan.
Or this, by LP*, for a TV show, showing such unbridled joy. And cos of the fella with the beard in the front row:
*Laura Pergolizzi.
Enjoy.
The inimitable Howard Devoto
& friends from 2009. Obviously not the original line up but a great sound throughout- I rate ‘Parade’ as one of *the* great live albums & this stands up well in comparison.
For those confused bt my earlier posts, have some familiar:
Althea/The Dead.
Faces – 1971
Stay With Me – bloody brilliant performance
And this one ain’t far behind – Maybe I’m Amazed
Ronnie Lane’s bass is so terrific!
As the title says – 15 minutes of magic in the 4 songs
Dr Feelgood – Live At Southend Kursaal
1972 Grateful Dead – China Cat Sunflower. This is what I used to imagine that all festivals were like. After some decades of disappointment, I was forced to conclude that they are not like this at all.
This rendition of Love a Little by Blue Rose Code is just heart-melting. Well, it melts mine. A lovely rendition of one of my favourite songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_w749oBmUg
A black and white clip from 1971 of two Brazilian geezers playing a pot-pourri of hits on Italian telly. Magic!
I just stumbled across this gem: Vinicius de Moraes and Toquinho in front of large and very appreciative audience.
One guitar, two voices. That’s all you need.
Here’s three voices and two guitars. I just posted it on the Carolina page. It’s so exquisite I want to hear it again already.
I was at Roskilde this weekend and the ever-reliable Kings Of Convenience performed this song. Even without Feist it was magnificent.
They explained that “Love is a lonely thing.” is the last sentence in the book «The song of the red ruby» by the Norwegian writer Agnar Mykle, written around 1955. The Kings had both read it when they were 18 and it had left a big impression.
“Love is pain and suffering, love can be a lonely thing
Once you’ve known that magic, who can live without it?”
Those Norwegians are a cheery bunch!
This, always this, for me (plus a couple of dozen others). One of the live performances filmed in front of a small audience for their GroundUp album. I love the way the entire room – audience and band – seem to communicate their joy at what’s being created in the moment. When Shaun Martin bursts into flight with his Moog toward the end it always makes me tear up. Blissful.
This seems perfect for a sultry evening.
Note really t(e ideal lifestyle coach, but what a performer!