The Best Rocking Live Band on the Planet, even still?

Discussion in 'Free Zone' started by Mikie, Feb 18, 2014.


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  1. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    It was suggested that The Eagles are the "best Rocking Live Band on the Planet, even still." Hmmmm. I beg to differ...

    I've seen Don Henley and I have seen Joe Walsh in concert (I liked Joe Walsh!) The Hotel California Tour was good and they are very talented!

    So who is the best rocking live band on the planet, even still. The challenge with something like this is that we all have personal taste in music. But if we are going to talk about rock, my countdown would go something like this (from personal experience):

    1. Van Halen: for showmanship. (Yes, David Lee Roth is an absolute azz, but he does have charazzma!) Diver Down/Women and Children First.

    2. Rush: for musical ability. 3 guys (still together mind you) The musicians, musicians. The thinking man's band. The amount of music they can pump out live is incredible. Geddy Lee plays Bass, and Keyboards, and Sings . . . all at the same time. Then there is Neil Peart. Poor Alex! 2112/Moving Pictures/Signals/Power Windows/Hold Your Fire/Grace Under Pressure. When they came to L.A. I would see them several nights in a row...

    3. Pink Floyd: for theatrics and the musical ability to play a full album all the way through and sound exactly like the recording. Some call that boring. I called it exact. Then there is Dark Side of the Moon and lasarium for what, a decade? Seen Dark Side of the Moon/Animals/Wish You Were Here/The Wall. Dude . . . like, I think I did Man?

    4. Deep Purple: They play forever and ever, and ever! The energy is insane despite Richie Blackmores mood swings. Machine Head/ Burn/ Storm Bringer/Perfect Stranger

    5. Yes: Need I say more? Fragile

    6. J. Geils Band: Those bad boys from Boston! It's like going to a high school party with the greatest band on the planet playing in the front room! Froggy rules! Freeze Frame

    7. Kiss: What in the world!?!?!? Hey I was 19 years old and they new how to fill a stage. But only when Peter Criss and Paul Stanley was with them...

    8. Kansas: I'm talking Steve Walsh Kansas. Robbie could light that violin on fire! Left Overture/Point of Know Return/Vinyl Confessions

    9. Styx: Grand Illusion/Paradise Theater Rocked...The...House!

    10. Peter Frampton Maybe I'm tainted, and the contact high was more . . . intimate? Maybe it was the crowd, but Frampton Comes Alive . . . did! Hey! Best live album continuous for more than a decade has to say something!?!?!

    11. Aerosmith: Only cuz they fit in somewhere above but I can't decide where. Stage presence was insane. Toys in the Attic/Rocks.

    12. Genesis: How do you fit them all in the top 10!!! Abacab/Genesis

    Other good concerts but no cigar concerts: Heart, Foreigner, Ted Nugent was good but scratchy, Black Sabbath, U2 (They actually opened for J. Geils), Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Def Leppard, believe it or not Fresh Aire was pretty good! Kinda snoozy though.

    Bands that sucked! Molly Hatchet, Emmy lou Harris (she was booed off stage), Elton John (yeah, I was dating a Junior in High School as a Freshman) barf! Golden Earring (two hit wonders, but two of my favorite two hit wonders!) Azia was suppose to be the super band of all times, nahhh. Carl Palmer jumped up from behind the drums, grabbed a microphone and said they were gonna play all night. Three songs later they left without an encore... Grateful Dead sucked! Why did I bother....I don't get it!! And no, they didn't survive Jerry...

    Concerts I was physically at but have no recollection of:
    Genesis: Genesis
    Kansas: Vinyl Confessions. It was a good thing, cuz Elefonte is no Mr. Walsh. Although I do appreciate Elefonte's personal beliefs...
    Yes: Big Generator (I do remember rolling down the grass section in white pants down at Irvine meadows amphitheater . . . sort of)

    There is a kick start for kick azz live bands... Tell it!!!
     
  2. WTF? This is assclownary!

    No mention of the best band evar- Led Zepplin.
     
  3. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    Ahhhww, just having some fun with Dougie! We talked the whole time coming back from Sedonna about music. Dougie has excellent taste in Rock, in my opinion!
    Never saw Led Zepplin! Can't judge without the experience!

    But. I did forget to mention Night Ranger! Dueling Guitars of precision with Jack Blade as the frontman.Saw Night Ranger/Midnight Madness/Seven Wishes!
     
  4. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    Fun thread, Mikie!

    LZ put on the worst supergroup performance I've ever witnessed. Maybe by '77 they were too full of themselves. That's how it came off, replete with 1-hour tardiness, horrible sound, and zero encore. Complete Zep buzzkill.


    For the most part, these bands still milking their former glory are sheer embarrassment. Ozzy, Brian Johnson and Klaus Meine can't hit the notes anymore. One key member is gone, and the "group" is gone. Think Deep Purple without Ian Gilliam (or even Coverdale), Foghat without Rod Price, Outlaws without Billy Jones and Henry Paul, Who without Moon, UFO without Schenker – the list is endless. Just let it go, people...

    You gotta catch 'em at the right time. VH was on fire in 1979. Henry Paul Band shredded the bar I saw them in in '80, including five encores. Tubes were insane in the 70s. Ramones in Boston, early 90s...total mayhem. Even Molly Hatchet ripped a blistering set when I saw them. So many I can't think of right now for some reason...

    Best live show I've seen in the last 20 years, and a contradiction to the degrading abilities and substandard performances I railed about above: Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. Despite no Harwood and Ayoub backing, Frank put together a mind-altering set, playing and sounding better than ever. High musical standards, small venue, cheap price = landslide win.

    Honorable all-time mentions: Beat Farmers (RIP, Country Dick), Blasters, Jean-Luc Ponty, Rush (always good), Blue Oyster Cult.
     
  5. Willi-D

    Willi-D Member

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    I mentioned the bands listed out in this thread to my kids;

    -both daughters (16 and 18) - blank stares/crickets/who? (they didn't even get the joke I made in reference to The Who).
    -my son (22) recognized a few but shrugged his shoulders, snickered and said...

    Wow - you are so old!
     
  6. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah

    As for an Eagles report. I am refering to the even still part, as to being 100% even still! All Brandon and I (the 40 year old guy who happend to be sitting next to me from OC Calif) kept saying was we could not believe how amazing this band sounded! These guys are in there late SIXTYS! The lead vocals and harmonys were spot on, closed my eyes and I could have been there when any of there material debuted, that goes for all vocalist. Yes,the Eagles have alot of brilliantly writen slow songs that took up the first half of the concert because in the early years they hadn't kicked up the energy yet. The second half was equally AMAZING and they kicked ass ROCKING with the tightest live performance I have ever seen. "THOSE SHOES" performance just blew me away! Joe Walsh plays the tastiest morsals to completly get lost in. They played Joe's biggest hits including "ROCKY MOUNTAIN WAY" and again with the Eagles playing back up what more can you say? These guys are well known for being crazy tight! This is one band that I have always wanted to see but didn't want to shell $500 big ones for! Picked up my tickets for $380, the most If ever payed, my seats were excellent and IMO it was well worth 3hrs. So since the concert, I have been reading up about them and to my surprise they are not very nice to there audience. We experienced this that night, no pictures, no video, no texting, and NO STANDING! How is this possible? My wife actually GOT BENCHED by an usher! So the Eagles actually ask,or TELL people to stay seated for a better concert experiance, I read that they call people out if you piss them off enough, remove you from there concert after 3 warnings. So me, my wife and the cool people we met from the OC were up rocking for the apropriate songs, for most of the concert, not being able to grasp sitting at a ROCK CONCERT! When on comes "HOTEL CALIFORNIA" with the best tastiest gutair licks, and the guy behind us was ready to fight cause he wanted to sit. All I can say is back in the day we didn't think about all the energy we were expending cause we were young. ROCK and ROLL is ENERGY and if you are to old to stand up then stay home or keep your mouth shut! Those Eagles are damn good still to this day, but how dare they say I have to sit down while they play. Thank GOD, I have a mountain bike to keep my energy high, this is not the only concert I have been to where the audience can barely tap there foot. Rock is dead and has been for a long while. As for the other stuff I just can't get into it. BTW, I accredit the rock gods VAN HALEN for handing over the death of rock to NIRVANA, or whatever they were called, due to there stupid big egos. Why do I like the Eagles, cause they could do it all back in the day, and do it well, even still!
     
  7. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah


    I know, but at the same time my son is a mucisian and knows who they all are, he knows how good they were and listens to the old and the new. He is 18.
     
  8. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah


    I saw Zep twice, they were to loud! I couldn't hear for 2 hours after either concert. But they sure were a creative bunch weren't they? Definety not that good in concert. Got to take into concideration how intoxicated all these bands were, and we didn't care because were were just as jacke up!
     
  9. Maddog

    Maddog Well-Known Member

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    H^B, I'm shocked that anybody even noticed you were standing up! :lol: How vertically-challenged was the guy behind you? :?
     
  10. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    Trying to comprehend spending $380 for a live show.


    Let's hear it, fossils. What'd ya pay for what band? $7.50 was the standard fare when I was eating that stuff up.

    VH for $3.93 in a 2500 seat auditorium. In 1980, before the keyboard infection. Beat that, headbangers...
     
  11. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    I remember tickets were around $17.00 to $24.00 bucks after 1980. I freaked out when they started hitting $35.00 and $40.00!

    Jon Bon Jovi made $11 MILLION last year as the highest paid liver performer. That comes from paying $380+ for tickets. I guess it's supply and demand and that's why I don't go to concerts anymore... :cry:
     
  12. Daddy Dirtbag

    Daddy Dirtbag Member

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    Draws a long, deep breath. . . . . . For the first few years I was going to see concerts, I didn't pay over $10 to see a show. I went to many of them by myself because I just couldn't find others that wanted to go, and it was usually pretty easy to get a single ticket for a good price. The first concert I went to was Jethro Tull at the Forum, great concert and it kind of got me hooked on going to see good rock-n-roll bands play live.

    My second concert was Black Sabbath at the Long Beach Arena. My next door neighbor camped out for tickets and was rewarded with front row seats. Another great show. Next was KISS, with Ted Nugent opening up for them. After that, it is kind of a blur, but here we go:

    Eagles - 3 times
    Rolling Stones - 3 times
    Black Sabbath - 4 times
    Blue Oyster Cult - 4 times
    Queen - 3 times
    Ted Nugent - 3 or 4 times
    Aerosmith
    Frank Zappa
    The Tubes - 4 times
    The Outlaws
    Carlos Santana - 2 times
    Tower of Power - 2 times
    Robert Plant
    Genesis
    AC/DC - 2 times
    UFO - 2 times (with and without Michael Schenker. . . . MUCH better with!)
    Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - 2 times
    Joe Walsh (solo)
    Mick Fleetwood
    Van Halen
    Crosby, Stills & Nash
    Journey - 4 times
    Electric Light Orchestra
    Boston
    Sammy Hagar - 2 times
    Judas Priest - 1st US tour
    April Wine
    Steppenwolf
    Iron Butterfly
    Rainbow
    Moody Blues
    Robin Trower
    Billy Squire
    Bob Seger
    Three Dog Night
    Greg Allman
    Beach Boys
    ZZ Top
    Lynyrd Skynyrd
    Doobie Brothers
    Foo Fighters
    Black Oak Arkansas
    Rick Derringer
    Triumph
    Big Brother & the Holding Company
    Los Lobos
    Aldo Nova
    Camp Freddy (Dave Navarro & Friends)
    Rod Stewart
    Eddie Money
    J. Geils
    George Thorogood - 2 times
    Joe Satriani
    Credence Clearwater
    Steve Miller
    Blood, Sweat & Tears
    Sheryl Crow
    Black Crows
    BB King
    Bruce Springsteen
    Foreigner - 2 times
    Heart
    The Runaways (when they were all 16 year olds)
    Dick Dale
    Kenny Wayne Sheppard
    Canned Heat
    The New Centurions (Keith Richards, Ron Woods, Stanley Clark, Bob Welch, and Stevie Nicks)
    Stone Temple Pilots
    Butthole Surfers

    Probably forgetting some. . . . . :~)

    The best?

    IMHO, and I was NOT expecting them to rock like they did. . . .

    Queen, the first time I saw them. It was the News of the World tour. Absolutely kicked butt, and Freddie's voice was unparalleled.
     
  13. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    A man who knowks his rock. . . We saluuuute YOU!
     
  14. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah

    Damn Daddy! That is on hell of a list!
     
  15. hill^billy

    hill^billy iMTB Rockstah

    I knew going in that the Eagles demand to much money to match there ego's, was a spontaneous decision. STILL glad we went. Remember with the internet NO band makes as much as they used to buy selling albums. They have always made more money touring anyway Back in the day but there album sales with touring made them mega rich. Now ya just buy a song.
     
  16. Daddy Dirtbag

    Daddy Dirtbag Member

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    One of my past 'students' was a semi-famous rock-n-roll singer/guitar player. I got a chance to talk to him at length about 'the business' of rock-n-roll and how it works. He claimed that most of the proceeds from concert ticket sales went to pay for the cost of putting on the concert, and the number one cost by a mile was for insurance. He also said, the way bands really make money is from selling merchandise at the concerts.

    There were a number of tragedies at rock concerts such as when 11 people got trampled to death and a Who concert in Cincinnati, and then the Great White night club fire that were the root of the increased insurance costs for rock shows.
     
  17. ddmansprty

    ddmansprty Member

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    Having seen several concerts back in the day, which will be pathetic for the real OG's...

    Best show ever, was Oingo Boingo... I went the year before they retired, got in the pit, and, well did things I will never do again. FUN show!!!! I saw them several times and was never disappointed, or sober....

    Worst concert ever, U2, Joshua Tree at the sports arena, which was actually my first real concert... It was just boring... ZooTv tour was better.

    I've seen Rush 6 or 7 times, very solid, very good shows.

    Midnight Oil, the first time I saw them, VERY good... The second time, the opening band actually played longer then them, kind of disappointed.

    Depeche Mode, yes, I saw them twice, Actually pretty good, but was worried the crowd was going to tear down Dodger Stadium.

    Most obscure band... The Waterboys with the Chickasaw Mud Puppies....

    Opening band WAY better then the headliner... House of Love were WAY better then Peter Murphy!

    I've also seen Simple Minds (good show), No Doubt, Weezer, R.E.M, The Call (Who?), Janet Jackson (for the wife), The Pixies (ehhh), Primus (free tickets), Eric Clapton with Elton John, Carnival Art (my friends band, which at the time had Weezer's guitarist)... I guess that's all that I can think of.

    The concert that got away... My friend had an extra ticket to The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels show (Dad said no way in hell he'd let me see those druggies!) and Pink Floyd Division Bell (Dad said the same thing about them too)....

    Lots of good memories... LOTS! Oh, and Led Zepplin was a little before my time, but I'm sure my Dad wouldn't have let me see them either!
     
  18. ddmansprty

    ddmansprty Member

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    I'm guess the Butthole Surfers in Castaic? I forgot that I saw them and Stone Temple Pilots there.... I remember Pearl Jam played up there too, but I had to work

     
  19. Daddy Dirtbag

    Daddy Dirtbag Member

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    A band called 'The Snowmen' played at my high school. Found out later it was Danny Elfman.

    I feel your pain as I had a few of those 'no way in hell' misses too. Led Zepplein, Humble Pie, Jethro Tull (Passion Play), and The Who (Quadrophenia) among them :(


    That was the show. Some meat whistle from the crowd threw a beer bottle onto the stage and broke Gibby's tooth. He stood there and cursed the crowd for several minutes, and then brought out a shotgun and fired what I assume were several blank rounds over the top of the crowd as he raged at them for breaking his tooth. Three broken arms in the mosh pit that night, and the grass in that area has never recovered. I was flipping burgers at the side of the stage and just watching the whole spectacle unfold :~)

    Sonic Youth played there back then too.
     
  20. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

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    DaddyDirt, you are one well-travelled headbanger \m/

    Howzabout weird band lineups? Can you imagine the folly of Ramones opening for Black Sabbath? It happened, and it wasn't pretty. Whose genius idea was that?
     
  21. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    Golden Earring opening for anyone! :lol:
     
  22. ddmansprty

    ddmansprty Member

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    I've got a good couple....

    Primus opened for Rush. I'd say a good part of the crowd didn't get it, or Les playing bass in nothing buy his long johns.
    Public Enemy opened for U2... Good show, but kind of a weird paring.

     
  23. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

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    Hah! U2 opened for J. Geils Band...
     
  24. F.A.D.

    F.A.D. Newbie

    Name:
    Ken
    as for live performances, I don't think it gets much better than this.

    [youtube]yxR3TGvzv3E[/youtube]
     
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