Rolling Stone magazine runs a regular weekend poll for its readers. And the one to find the top live act of all time looked especially interesting to me.
Now polls like this one are, of course, largely subjective. But then isn’t music all about opinions anyway? So I awaited the results to see just who this particular group of music fans would come up with.
Right on top of the pile is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Now as a long time Springsteen fanatic I very much agree with that one! I’ve seen over 40 shows across the years and have never come away disappointed. And even now with several of the band members in their sixties, including the Boss himself, there is still a tremendous energy to their shows.
It was perhaps inevitable that many of the classic rock bands who have had lengthy careers would fill the top places.
So it was no great surprise to see The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin make up the next few places. All of these bands are known for their exceptional live performances.
U2 came in sixth place. The Irish superstars may not sell as many records as they once did, but come touring time they are among the hottest tickets on the planet.
Queen were seventh. Freddy Mercury was the ultimate showman, flamboyant and loving the spotlight. And they were pretty damned good musically too. Pearl Jam were next, another band whose stage shows are known to be exceptional.
The final two places were taken by American bands The Grateful Dead and Kiss.
That’s a pretty damned fine list! But in any top ten there are also those who miss out. So do you agree with the Rolling Stone readers? Or are there others that you think should have been included?
If you are looking at rock/blues bands, I would go for:
Ricky Cool and the Icebergs - best live band I've ever seen.
Rolling Stones - particularly during the Mick Taylor years
Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green version - not the soft rock imposters!...)
Blues Band (Paul Jones, Dave Kelly et al).
of that top 10 i have only ever seen U2 live, on their 360 tour and i found the whole thing rather disapointing, lacking real spectacle and energy... and the crowd were far too polite for my liking
but like you say, it is subjective, i find NME lists of live acts a bit nearer the mark for me
but then i am certain that some of my favourite gigs ever will never gain any sort of media attention
