Hamerhack Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 My wife wanted to go see Elton John recently, so off we went. Even though I like a lot of EJ songs, I wouldn'tsay I was eager to see him live. I gotta say... the little guy puts on a great show! Fun, enthusiastic delivery of songs he's played forever. Davey Johnstone was in fine form, too.Have you ever gone to a show that you were less than enthusiastic about, and then said "hey, that was fun!"This may include people whose style/genre isn't necessarily your cup of tea. My father never cared for Frank Sinatra, but he freely admitted he was a top-notch entertainer. My mother always enjoyed Elvis, Tina Turner, The Beatles, and other fun performers she saw on Ed Sullivan. (My father hated 'em!)I'd imagine Brian Setzer would be a cool show, certainly Sir Paul knows how to connect with an audience.Who are you favorite entertainers? Maybe they aren't the best guitarists/musicians, but they consistently deliver good performances, and may have cross-genre appeal. They're fun!
Eric Weston Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 Lenny Kravitz......My wife made me go with her, he (and his entire band) kicked ass!!!!
Guest pirateflynn Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 David Lee Roth. Not really a good singer but he is a solid entertainer.
Rocktuna Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 The 2 best guys I've seen for connecting with an audience wereRod Stewart and Johnny CashRod Stewart, in an arena, just made you feel as though you were invited to the party.With the Faces, they were a sloppy bar band, but man it was a fun concert. Later concerts the musicianship was a lot more professional, but he has a real charisma to him.Johnny Cash was in a smaller venue, (bout 3000) for me it was hero worship, he played every song I wanted, seemed like a humble, regular guy. I worked my way up through the crowd so I was close enough to tie his shoes!!Most entertaining show was KISS Was like a day at the circus, and no one could ever accuse them of being great musicians.Seen Van Halen in the early 80's and on the last Sammy tour and I have to say I was disappointed both times. For all the press about the great show they were good musically in the 80's, sucked laterRoth was overrated, Sammy should sell cars for a living.
Crwth145 Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 Some clips of Sade Adu and her band... "Sweetest Taboo" "Cherry Pie" "Like A Tattoo" "Is It A Crime" "Cherish The Day" Stopped me dead in my tracks, then blew me away...
DavidE Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 I agree with pretty much what was said above.Some surprises for me were:Butch Walker. Fantastic at everything and a killer entertainer!Brooks and Dunn blew everyone away when I saw them at Farm Aid.Rolling Stones can beAerosmith was not at most of the concerts I saw. They were at one.In the 80's, Frankie Goes to Hollywood put on one hell of a show.I haven't seen her live, but Pink is no slouch:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQDo2B3y9tI...feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFJl46v776cGarth Brooks....
JohnnyB Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 +1 on Rod StewartI also liked Brian Wilson on the SmiLe! tour. Incredibly tight band of 18, musicianship to burn. But the most important thing was from the opening number Brian & co. got the house rockin'. They opened with a set of vintage Beach Boys, starting with "Let's Do It Again." Say what you want about how Wilson's damaged goods, he came alive with that opening number. He had the delivery and swing in his voice to deliver that song and everybody got on board within seconds.
Brooks Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 years ago my wife dragged me to see melissa ethridge.besides the excellent people watching (lipstick lezbos making out),melissa was captivating just sitting on a barstool w/ a 12 string.
unfun75 Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Rocket From the Crypt, and any other John Reis band for that matter.Jesus Lizard was an awesome live band, too.
Stike Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Butch Walker. Fantastic at everything and a killer entertainer!It's almost criminal that he's not a massive star.
Ted Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 My sister Terry & I went to see the original line up of Culture Club at the Arie Crown Theater here in Chicago seven or eight years ago. It was a blast!!! Great people watching & meeting & they sounded really good.
Hamerhack Posted December 1, 2008 Author Posted December 1, 2008 +1 on Rod StewartI also liked Brian Wilson on the SmiLe! tour. Incredibly tight band of 18, musicianship to burn. But the most important thing was from the opening number Brian & co. got the house rockin'. They opened with a set of vintage Beach Boys, starting with "Let's Do It Again." Say what you want about how Wilson's damaged goods, he came alive with that opening number. He had the delivery and swing in his voice to deliver that song and everybody got on board within seconds.I've seen the Beach Boys a few times with Carl Wilson, once at Jones Beach in NY. That was a blast! Beach balls bouncing all over, everybody in the place (except my can't-sing-a-note brother) standing and singing along with every song.We took the kids last year to see "The Beach Boys" with Mike Love & Bruce Johnston in a small indoor theater. Not as fun, but still pretty cool. Whoever the guitarist was played a red Monaco III!
edgar_allan_poe Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 15 posts and no mention of Angus Young? Not the most technically proficient guitarist, but a killer entertainer.
cmatthes Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 The Darkness was one of the better shows I've seen in the last 5 years. I've seen a LOT of really good shows in that time period too, but they were totally living it up - it was a full-on, '70s style, big rawk show.Yes, they are currently residing in the "Where are they now?" file, but that was a damned good live band.
Feynman Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Tom Jones is one entertaining mudderfukker, though his musical skills are top notch too, so maybe he doesn't apply here.
HamerHokie Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 My wife wanted to go see Elton John recently, so off we went. Even though I like a lot of EJ songs, I wouldn'tsay I was eager to see him live. I gotta say... the little guy puts on a great show! Fun, enthusiastic delivery of songs he's played forever. Davey Johnstone was in fine form, too.I had assumed that Elton was over-emphasizing his pop stuff but I've seen vids of him on Youtube from as late as 2007 doing "All The Young Girls Love Alice" and "Funeral For A Friend."
Hamerhack Posted December 1, 2008 Author Posted December 1, 2008 My wife wanted to go see Elton John recently, so off we went. Even though I like a lot of EJ songs, I wouldn'tsay I was eager to see him live. I gotta say... the little guy puts on a great show! Fun, enthusiastic delivery of songs he's played forever. Davey Johnstone was in fine form, too.I had assumed that Elton was over-emphasizing his pop stuff but I've seen vids of him on Youtube from as late as 2007 doing "All The Young Girls Love Alice" and "Funeral For A Friend."He opened with "Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" and also did "All the Young Girls Love Alice".
DavidE Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 The Darkness was one of the better shows I've seen in the last 5 years. I've seen a LOT of really good shows in that time period too, but they were totally living it up - it was a full-on, '70s style, big rawk show.Yes, they are currently residing in the "Where are they now?" file, but that was a damned good live band.Yeah, I agree. Thay seriously rocked when I saw them.My wife wanted to go see Elton John recently, so off we went. Even though I like a lot of EJ songs, I wouldn'tsay I was eager to see him live. I gotta say... the little guy puts on a great show! Fun, enthusiastic delivery of songs he's played forever. Davey Johnstone was in fine form, too.I had assumed that Elton was over-emphasizing his pop stuff but I've seen vids of him on Youtube from as late as 2007 doing "All The Young Girls Love Alice" and "Funeral For A Friend."Does he every play Captain Fantastic live? For some reason, that's always been one of my favorite EJ songs. [Nevermind. Lots of great examples on youtube from the 70's until today.]
elduave Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 EJ shows are hit or miss, set-list wise. I've seen shows where it's pure greatest hits, and I've seen shows where you get ATYGLA and such. One of the best times I *ever* had at a show was in Norfolk (The Scope?) with Shilo when she was 4. We got great deep cuts and real up close attention from Elton and Davey. My most treasured guitar pick is the one Davey walked all the way across the stage to hand me as Shilo was sitting on my shoulders. I fuckin' teared up when I realized what was happening. Later in the show, Elton put a purple boa around Shilo's neck. I know I've told this story before, but there you go.EJ did a few Captain Fantastic shows recently to comemorate the album's anniversary. Played the entire record EXCEPT Tower Of Babel.If you're an old school EJ fan the DVD to get it the 60th birthday show. Outstanding set-list. BTW, EJ is one of the best Rock N Roll piano players I've ever heard.I wish more artists would hip their fans to what material will be aired on a given tour.
Disturber Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 MINISTRY. Boy, did they put on a GREAT show.Iggy Pop - Blah Blah Blah tour. Damn the Iguana could be a full blown punk Sinatra in his heydays.The Cramps and The Red Hot Chilipeppers - Seing Lux Interiours and Fleas dicks on stage was entertaining, in a weird kinda way. Not pretty sure I want to do it again though.The Jesus & Mary Chain - just a few gigs before they broke up. Fists were in the air, never felt such tension on stag. Faith No More - Last tour with that ugly bearded guitarplayer. Insults were flying on stage, fists in the air.The The Jesus & Mary Chain and Faith No More shows were, so to speak, entertaining in a way they probably were not supposed to be. But anger and tension on stage can be pretty damn exiting to watch.
zorrow Posted December 1, 2008 Posted December 1, 2008 Steve Vai. Great great guitarist, I know... but WHAT A SHOWMAN!
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