What is your very favorite concert video, and why?

[PaulyT]

I'm starting this thread mainly for selfish reasons, that I'm always looking for new material. I have some guesses as to which concerts some folks here may pick as a favorite based on earlier discussions. But please chime in with a (single) favorite concert video, of any style of music, along with at least a brief explanation of why you like it so much.


I'll start. Look I know you guys hate this, but I'm sorry, if I'm being honest, this is the concert that's moved me most over the past few years. Why? A few things: 1) gorgeous setting, what an amazing venue, and the filming nicely captures the transition from day to night with the city lights behind, over the course of the show, which adds a lot for me (especially as I grew up in the southwest in the southern Rockies) ; 2) the ENERGY of the performance, by all the players; and 3) how Joe and all the members of the band fill in the parts of the songs, which are for the most part pretty straight traditional 12-bar blues. Joe strings out this endless succession of solos which (to me anyway) are all slightly different and all musically (sorry Zing) interesting, that's where the talent in this show shines, as opposed to the musical composition per se.

SQ and PQ are also top notch, IMHO.

 

[jomari]

Sade Live

 

[PaulyT]

lol Thanks but so much for one SINGLE favorite!

 

[jomari]

i thought you wanted variety. so i thought this would help out.

i can fix it.

 

[PaulyT]

No that's okay, really. :handgestures-fingerscrossed: I've already ordered your George Benson dvd, may get the Sade as well, though I'm not as familiar with her.

 

[Botch]

Like Jomari, there's no way I could pick a "single" favorite; and I normally write wind-bag amounts on shows I really do like already.
So, in the interest of finding you "new material", I'm gonna throw out this:

I may have written about Blue Man Group before, but its been a long time. They were a comedy trio who invented these three Blue guys, from another planet, who were visiting Earth; very gentle, very curious, with hilarious attempts at common earthling actions. All three are accomplished drummers, and soon had invented a slew of instruments; totally unique (save for the stringed ones) and very musical-sounding, but unlike any other instruments. Many involve large amounts of PVC pipe, played either with sticks (acoustically exciting the tube itself) or with paddles on the ends (exciting the air column inside).

Now, they're big Vegas performers, and have "clones" performing in many cities around the world, and have "toured" the US in concert venues. You can make the argument that they're commercial; they are, but the music they perform, the instruments they've developed, and the underlying social commentary on the human condition are, to me, fantastic. The humor is just icing on the cake.

They have a couple shows on DVD, the above is the only one on Bluray that I'm aware of, and also at least one DVD-Audio recording (highly recommended). LOTSA drums, very tribal yet very sci-fi, excellent SQ and PQ, I love this stuff! :music-rockout: :music-rockout: :music-rockout: :music-rockout: :music-rockout:

Now, I could only pick one "favorite", so I'll end with a question for you Paulie:
Do you have anything by Peter Gabriel?
Do you have anything by Tower of Power?
Do you have anything by Herbie Hancock?
Do you have Joni MItchell's Shadows and Light?
Do you have anything by Slipknot? :angelic-green:
Okay, that was more than one question. Good luck on your search!

EDIT: Here's a low-quality video of a much earlier show, had some tricks in it not in the show I recommended, and good for a laugh:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEexbOjo3Yw[/youtube]

 

[PaulyT]

Now, I could only pick one "favorite", so I'll end with a question for you Paulie:
Do you have anything by Peter Gabriel?
Do you have anything by Tower of Power?
Do you have anything by Herbie Hancock?
Do you have Joni MItchell's Shadows and Light?

I have albums by all of the above, though the only Joni Mitchell I have is Blue. Are you talking about the Shadows and Light album, or the DVD? Wow, quite a list of guest stars on that DVD, including Jaco, gonna order that one for sure.

Oh and I have a Blue Man Group dvd as well. I agree, they're very cool, fun to watch.

 

[Randy]

Probably Pink Floyd The Delicate Sound of Thunder.

 

[Yesfan70]

Probably Pink Floyd The Delicate Sound of Thunder.

Add Pulse to that too.


And for my list, those two plus..........


Yes - Yessongs (for obvious reasons)
Rush - Exit Stage Left
Rush - A Show Of Hands
Rush - Time......

Ok, pretty much anything by Rush.



Eric Clapton - Live '85
Genesis - Three Sides Live
Seal - Live in Paris


That's some off the top of my head.

 

[PaulyT]

Cool, thanks. The only one there I'm not at least slightly familiar with is Seal...

 

[Deleted member 133]

Jesse Cook - One Night At The Metropolis.

Available only on DVD. Some technical glitches (noise) on one track do not ruin what is, to me, the best concert video ever.

Reason Number One: Jesse's a far better guitar player than that other guy.

Reason Number Two: Unlike that other guy, Jesse understands that he can't sing so when vocals are needed he brings in guests to cover it. This DVD is how I first "discovered" Sophie Milman and Melissa McClelland. Ron Sexsmith's no slouch either.

Reason Number Three: the rest of the band are absolutely phenomenal.





A close 2nd: Adele - Live At The Royal Albert Hall.

Jeff

 

[Botch]

Not familiar with Jesse Cook, checking Amazoid now.

 

[Botch]

...the only Joni Mitchell I have is Blue. Are you talking about the Shadows and Light album, or the DVD? Wow, quite a list of guest stars on that DVD, including Jaco, gonna order that one for sure.

We-e-e-elll, since this thread was about "concert videos".... :teasing-neener:
And that remarkable list of "guests" were actually her band for that show, that's why it's so incredible. Joni's "folk" music is actually much more "jazz", one of the reasons I love her stuff so much.

And I'm glad Yesfan brought up Seal, if you're not familiar with him. His is my favorite male singer/voice ever. I didn't like his concert video all that much (and please, that suit?!?) Performance is great, however; highly recommend his second album.

 

[Yesfan70]

..........And I'm glad Yesfan brought up Seal, if you're not familiar with him. His is my favorite male singer/voice ever. I didn't like his concert video all that much (and please, that suit?!?) Performance is great, however; highly recommend his second album........

I have to admit, I haven't bought anything new from him in some time, so that's all I know (or think) is out there. I saw him in '96 during the Human Beings tour. I can't remember the personnel, but Tony Levin was on bass and Brian Blade was on drums. It was stellar.




Ditto the second album.

 

[PaulyT]

Jesse Cook - One Night At The Metropolis.

Available only on DVD. Some technical glitches (noise) on one track do not ruin what is, to me, the best concert video ever.

Reason Number One: Jesse's a far better guitar player than that other guy.

Reason Number Two: Unlike that other guy, Jesse understands that he can't sing so when vocals are needed he brings in guests to cover it. This DVD is how I first "discovered" Sophie Milman and Melissa McClelland. Ron Sexsmith's no slouch either.

Reason Number Three: the rest of the band are absolutely phenomenal.





A close 2nd: Adele - Live At The Royal Albert Hall.

Jeff

Well I'm skeptical about some of your claims :teasing-neener: but I've ordered the Jesse Cook DVD (from Canada, as it turns out), so I will be able to test this for myself. I have Adele's.

 

[jomari]

No that's okay, really. :handgestures-fingerscrossed: I've already ordered your George Benson dvd, may get the Sade as well, though I'm not as familiar with her.

the george benson live one, is a more toned down, finessed version with a DTS soundtrack (it defaults to DTS immediately, so my friends 'older' reciever couldnt decode it and i had to switch it at times)

there is another one, which i also enjoy a lot more, it sort of shows him in his better years i guess, despite the appearances and the sticker shock of clothing, it was definitely a better performance. i liked it because it wasnt as 'sassy' as the one i previously mentioned.

http://www.amazon.com/George-Benson-Liv ... B000BI1YT2

i have seal, and despite being a fan, i didnt care much for his recent dip into the big band era. but thats just an opinion of course. im assuming we are talking about this one...

http://www.amazon.com/Soundstage-Seal-B ... al+blu+ray

 

[heeman]

To many to list, however..............

The New Flying Colors............

Zappa Plays Zappa............great musician ship, plus love the enthusiasm!

Billy Joel, Live at Shea Stadium............Great Musicianship, great music and my roots growing up was at Shea with the Mets and Jets!!

Jeff Beck, Live at Ronnie Scotts............Love the venue, love that way the band is just so tight...............love Tal damn she is good!

Peter Gabrial, Front to Back.................Great, Great, Great!

Love Symphonic Yes!

Can't remember my favorite Yes, Rush or The Who.............

:music-rockout: :music-rockout:

 

[Babs]

Too many to list

^ Yes, myself, as well! I have been thinking, thinking, about what I would like to add. Busy, busy, Barbi!!

Billy Joel, Live at Shea Stadium............Great Musicianship, great music and my roots growing up was at Shea with the Mets and Jets!!

^ One of my favorites, Keith. I did leave the "Mets" in there for you, and only YOU.

I will add to this soon!!

 

[PaulyT]

Just finished Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light concert. Very good, thanks Botch!

Ok I admit, I'm probably not totally getting Joni's music. It's very lyrics-heavy, and as I've said before, I pay very little attention to words. So I'm probably not totally appreciating what she's written. And sometimes her musical construction is hard for me to follow, too.

The band is fantastic, enjoyed seeing a lot of folks I'm more or less familiar with, but at a younger age (especially Metheny). However, you know what song grabbed me the most - in fact I was utterly riveted - was "Amelia," which is (mostly) just Joni and her guitar. She's actually quite good, has a very nice touch. This song really resonated with me; I'm not sure I've ever heard it before. Great performance. (And it brought strongly to mind the Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat album.)

 

[PaulyT]

Watching this now, am about halfway through:

Yeah, good playing, nice mix of instrumentalists and vocalists. (No I will not offer an opinion on the relative merits of various guitarists...) The style of playing, the rhythms, and the the ensemble he uses here, reminds me very strongly of the Sultans of String, which is another Canadian group Jeff turned me on to:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bjQtWv1lAk[/youtube]

Guy even uses the same box "drum" thing that he sits on... Is it the same guy? I wonder. Anyway their Yalla Yalla! album is really terrific, highly recommended. I wish Sultans of String had a "real" dvd/bd video; if they do I can't find it.