#Best live performer how to#
#Best live performer archive#

“It’s About That Time” is seven minutes of free-jazz witchery from the trumpeter and his band, including a sloping sax interlude.

#Best live performer how to#

Five American GIs stationed in Germany in the ‘60s formed a proto-punk band, learned how to make feedback, and unleashed it on awkwardly dancing German teens.ġ1) Miles Davis, “It’s About That Time,” 1970 Live on German TV, “Monk Chant” likely sounded like nothing on the American pop charts at the time. Talking Heads circa Remain in Light was the band at its most muscled, and this entire concert, filmed at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, N.J., a month after the album’s release, seems alien. This entire performance is also worthwhile, showing Booker in 1983 on cable access.ĩ) Talking Heads, “Life During Wartime,” 1980 It screened at SXSW last year and I specifically recall this Montreux performance, perhaps because Booker squeezes every ounce of pain and heartache from it. The new documentary Bayou Maharajah tells the story of New Orleans pianist James Booker and his bittersweet life. (Sorry, this embed was not found.) 8) James Booker, “True,” 1978 (The performance is just after the one-hour mark.) You can watch the entire episode, which unfortunately starts with a Grinch Who Stole Christmas rape joke. He was subsequently banned, until he was invited back with the Beastie Boys. SNL allegedly asked Costello not to play “Radio Radio,” so he did it anyway. She owns every last inch of that stage.Ĭostello’s infamous Saturday Night Live appearance-hosted by Miskel Spillman, winner of the “Anyone Can Host” contest-was an exercise in self-editing. The song is about the excesses of the music business, and Franklin appropriately works those blues down to the nerve. This BBC special gives him room to harmonize, literally, with himself. Not necessarily live, but this clip shows how on top of his game Nilsson was in 1971, the same year Nilsson Schmilsson was released. Then at about 4:30, there’s the complete implosion of that artifice, back when those sorts of performances still flew on MTV. This was my favorite band on prime time, playing their hit like it’s Top of the Pops. I remember watching this VMA performance live and feeling ecstatic at age 13. Which live performances should you really be watching? Here are 14 worth your time.

Still, it can be daunting to jump into tide. This was the YouTube rabbit hole writ large, a deep dive into the “ vault.” Yeah, it’s a lot of Grateful Dead, but with patience, one can find Bruce Springsteen doing “Born to Run” in 1978 or Prince in all his warped glory in Passaic, N.J., 1982.

#Best live performer archive#

Back in July, YouTube opened up an archive of some 13,000 live music performances.