watched u2 on jonathan ross last night and they totally tore the place up. i saw them in sheffield a while ago at the arena and they were s--- hot, they in my opinion have gone slightly back to where they were in the mid 80s and sound awsome. i find it quite refreshing in a time with so much crappy manufactered music that these guys can still do it the right way ie "live". deffo the best live act ive ever seen and still for me the biggest and best in the world. any thoughts.

I continue to find U2 so dull i can't put it into words. :)

Chris.

so whats the best live band youv seen, ive seen chilli peppers , deep purple, queen, stones, springsteen. all good at what they do but not got theb energy u2 have in my opinion.

I never saw them live but I'm sure my favourite band were better :P

Got the DVD though :D

i actually saw u2 at the arena 12 years ago and to be honest i wasnt very impressed maybe bono and co had a bad night:)

I think U2 are great live, but not as entertaining as the E Street band... The best band I've seen like was Bare Naked Ladies in America in 2001, an amazing live show, natural born perfomers.

I've never been a fan of U2 and I've never seen them live so I can't really comment on them.

I have been to some fantastic gigs in my time, though. The Manics are my fave band of all time, and I've seen them live on quite a few occasions, mostly in the very early 90s to mid 90s. They've always been awesome live, and every gig of theirs I went to rates way up there as amongst the best.

Bearing in mind I've seen great live bands like the Clash, Buzzcocks, Suede, Blur, etc ...... That should give some idea of how fabulous the Manics were, when they MEANT IT MAN.

But the best gig I've ever been to was Marion at the Leadmill in 1995 - beyond words brilliant. I managed to get pretty close to the front and it was just the most fantastic experience. The band obviously loved performing and were really enjoying themselves, the crowd were right behind them, the atmosphere electric ..... yeah, all the cliches! :) But they were true in this case!

Marion - defo the best live band ever - just a shame they could never quite capture the same energy and exhilaration on record.

StarSparkle

If you like a particular band then hopefully if you see them live you are going to enjoy it, but to say a band is 'the best live band ever' that's just your opinion.
I like the Enid as they used to stop and talk to their audience and ask and be asked questions, so a great deal of audience participation.
Martha and the Muffins had me leaping up and down and squawking till I was hoarse, the audience persuaded them to perform Echo Beach four times.
E.L.O. what a fantastic light show, I never got the chance to see them live but have often drooled over the Out of the Blue tour.
Camel fantastic musically and able to take you from a mad bounce to a reflective sit.
Rick Wakeman and his cheesy one-liners or his unorthodox way of introducing the rest of his group.
I've seen loads of bands over the years and would say that there is no such thing as a 'best' band.

Its hard to define "best live band". Its all context, i can see a band and have an amazing night where someone next to me can see a band and have an average night. Its only music, nobody wins or loses. :)

My favourite bands i've seen are Pulp, who i've seen twice and everytime i loved it. I saw Rage Against The Machine a month before they broke up, and i rate that quite highly.

Originally posted by StarSparkle
The Manics are my fave band of all time
Are you a Manics purist? I've only seem them after Richie disapeared and looking back they were average every time. Good, i had fun, but still average. :)

Chris.

I saw U2 on Wossy last night and thought they were OK but not outstanding. I was still a little disappointed at the end when they cut from the show as I got the feeling they were going to do another track.

Have to say that some of my favourite gigs have been the Richey-era Manic Street Preachers, although one I remember for sheer performance was Tori Amos supported by Boo Hewerdine at the City Hall in the 1990s.

That was a good gig!

And another high spot was Damon from Blur getting stuck on top of the speakers. Quite how he got there I don't recall - was it at the Octagon?

Loudest gig I've ever been to was Big Audio Dynamite - the bass so loud it bounced the floorboards. I drove to Edinburgh the following day and my ears were still ringing. Mick Jones wandered through the crowd at the start of the gig to get chips, and spent time chatting with the punters.

Joe

And there's more....

In terms of a good time, good evening out, Jools Holland's Big Band. Saw them at the City Hall some years ago and they were enormous fun!

Originally posted by Chris_Sleeps
Are you a Manics purist? I've only seem them after Richie disapeared and looking back they were average every time. Good, i had fun, but still average. :)
Chris.

Yes, I am guilty of being a Manics purist!

I loved them back in the days when they were "For Real", when they were completely untouchable.

They had everything I ever looked for in a band: brilliant live, with a stage presence to die for; a line-up to rival the best in rock; charisma; integrity and being 'for real'; beautiful and sexy; real concern and thought for their fans; rock 'n roll swagger while being genuinely nice; and last but not least(!), great songs with intelligent lyrics.

It was never the same after Richey disappeared - he was the heart and soul of the band. They really weren't the Manics anymore. I always thought they should've changed their name to reflect the change, like Joy Division/New Order did.

It's a shame you only got to see MSP after Richey, Chris - I saw them a couple of times after, and it just wasn't the same band. I mean, they were excellent and everything, still a great live experience, but not in the same league as before.

The Manics with Richey were Something Else.

Sorry for rambling on - the Manics are one of my pet subjects! (Bet you'd never guess!)

StarSparkle :)

i dont mind a bit of U2 but find them a little tame.

manic street preachers were great when they were trying to be guns n roses on their first album ;) .... not like richey ever played anything anyways, he wrote half the lyrics?!! james dean bradfield deserves lot more credit then what he gets. amazing guitarist/songwriter although needs to turn it up a bit nowadays!!. gone a bit soft :D

my fave live gig was slash's snakepit at the corporation (when it was near boardwalk) place was packed in so much cudunt move, came on...brilliant...i was sweating my arse off coz i still had leather jacket on...mistake!...god specs knocked off and jumped on by 100 hairy rockers and cudunt see.. had to pay 200quid to get them replaced........but BEST GIG EVER!

smaller gigs are always more fun then arenas

p.s velvet revolver (with slash) are :gag: bland

Originally posted by MTheo
p.s velvet revolver (with slash) are :gag: bland

I still wouldn't mind seeing them live... the best bits from GnR, without that whinning idiot at the front. Top band.

Originally posted by MTheo
manic street preachers were great when they were trying to be guns n roses on their first album ;) .... not like richey ever played anything anyways, he wrote half the lyrics?!! james dean bradfield deserves lot more credit then what he gets. amazing guitarist/songwriter although needs to turn it up a bit nowadays!!. gone a bit soft :D


:thumbsup:
Totally agree with you, MTheo, that JDB has never had the credit/kudos he deserves - back in the days when the music press were harping on about the Manics not being able to play, JDB was an excellent guitarist even then, always holding the band together onstage when Nick and Richey were doing their 'prima donna' bit.

But the whole point of the Manics is that they were never about the music. It was almost incidental. It didn't matter that Richey couldn't really play, orwhether or not his guitar was plugged in or whatever on stage. He WAS the Manics, heart and soul. He provided the band's philosophy and ideas and raison d'etre. When he disappeared, they effectively died as a band.

The Manics were MORE than just a band, they represented a way of BEING. They were about your philosophy of life, how you saw the world, etc. There was such incredible camaraderie amongst the fans - many of us knew each other and were in regular contact.

A bit like one band encapsulating the spirit of punk.

There's never been another band like them.

I'm going to shut up now, before I get really soppy! :D

StarSparkle :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Chris_Sleeps
I continue to find U2 so dull i can't put it into words. :)

Chris.
erm..isn't that just what you've done??? :confused:

I had their first 6 albums; Boy, War, October etc and i went to the joshua tree tour at wembley in 1985 when i was dead young! - they seemed really raw then which i liked, a bit anarchistic - became too commercial for me after that
it was the only concert i've ever gone to!

Was good to see/hear 'i will follow' on jonathon ross - brought back some memories

Not really bothered about U2 myself.

Have been to different gigs and liked many of them for different reasons.

But then I listen to a wide range of music.

Never liked the Manics either.

Currently liking Nick Cave and the White Stripes tho, both good live..

are u2 the ones that say 1,2,3 14 in spanish at the beg of their new song?? mmmmm:loopy:

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
are u2 the ones that say 1,2,3 14 in spanish at the beg of their new song?? mmmmm:loopy:

Yup, uno, dos, tres quatorce!

Hello, hello hola!


The song is called Vertigo by the way. It's not as good as some of U2's earlier stuff.

they did a good song with i think westlife or boyzone in video. apart from that, all songs sound same

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
they did a good song with i think westlife or boyzone in video. apart from that, all songs sound same

:o

look into some of these people's favourite U2 songs and your opinion may change nat :thumbsup: ;)

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22388

ok just picked four that i like:D

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
ok just picked four that i like:D

And they are?

streets have no name - not actually heard it but a boy i met in gran canaria wrote the words down for me and i loved him ( i was 14) nice memories
sweetest thing - good video
i still havent found....
with or without you

Originally posted by StarSparkle
:thumbsup:
Totally agree with you, MTheo, that JDB has never had the credit/kudos he deserves - back in the days when the music press were harping on about the Manics not being able to play, JDB was an excellent guitarist even then, always holding the band together onstage when Nick and Richey were doing their 'prima donna' bit.

But the whole point of the Manics is that they were never about the music. It was almost incidental. It didn't matter that Richey couldn't really play, orwhether or not his guitar was plugged in or whatever on stage. He WAS the Manics, heart and soul. He provided the band's philosophy and ideas and raison d'etre. When he disappeared, they effectively died as a band.

The Manics were MORE than just a band, they represented a way of BEING. They were about your philosophy of life, how you saw the world, etc. There was such incredible camaraderie amongst the fans - many of us knew each other and were in regular contact.

A bit like one band encapsulating the spirit of punk.

There's never been another band like them.

I'm going to shut up now, before I get really soppy! :D

StarSparkle :thumbsup:

Surely your forgetting the awesome festival (Glastonbury?) where they thought Richey was the lead guitarist, surely put JDB to shame...

Or maybe not :-)

Originally posted by IanMitchell
I never saw them live but I'm sure my favourite band were better :P

Got the DVD though :D

Ian, I saw your favourite band at Sheffield Students Union in late 1968, a few months BEFORE LZ I was released. They were billed as the New Yardbirds and there were only around 200 people in the audience.

It was a magical night and a hundred times better than anything the ****-poor U2 could have produced at their peak.

I hate U2 and I hate the Manics.....they both have a shared quality that I can't stand.

The best 'big' live bands that I've seen are probably...REM, Radiohead, Blur and The White Stripes.

Originally posted by mojoworking
Ian, I saw your favourite band at Sheffield Students Union in late 1968, a few months BEFORE LZ I was released. They were billed as the New Yardbirds and there were only around 200 people in the audience.

Some people are just too lucky, ya know? :P

Wish I could have been there....

Originally posted by LBoogie
I hate U2 and I hate the Manics.....they both have a shared quality that I can't stand.

No WAY! Listen to 'The Holy Bible' and I'm sure you'd amend your opinion. It's the fiercest, most powerful album I've ever heard, and a whole world away from what both the Manics and U2 are serving up these days.

Nice to see some other Manics obsessives on here!

As for 'best live band', it's a very subjective thing, as all music is I suppose. But the best gig I've seen in a long time was just over a year ago at City Hall - the Flaming Lips. Anyone who came out of that place without a smile on their face that night has no soul.

I've heard it...I don't know why I have such a vendetta against them. I just really really despise them.

It's the same with my dad and The Smiths, he doesn't know why but he hates them with a passion, whereas I love them with a passion.


. But the best gig I've seen in a long time was just over a year ago at City Hall - the Flaming Lips. Anyone who came out of that place without a smile on their face that night has no soul.

Sounds a bit like The Polyphonic Spree gig on Halloween :D

Originally posted by LBoogie
Sounds a bit like The Polyphonic Spree gig on Halloween :D

Yeah, I just re-read it and it does sound a bit spooky :help:

But what I mean to say is, the Flaming Lips gig was great fun - giant balloons, the most amazing lightshow, people in animal costumes dancing on stage, singing happy birthday to members of the crowd... Brilliant!

Yeah, I caught the end of their set at Glastonbury, it seemed mad.
Gigs should be like that though, you should have an amazing time and get something from it.

I think that people have different expectations from a gig. I'm not such a big lover of huge arenas, where you're forced to sit down, and all you can see is a dot in the distance. Granted, there may be fantastic pyrotechnics and lighting, and they may play extended sets, but personally, I'd rather be moshing about in the Leadmill, getting hot and sticky from all the beer that's being chucked about, and feeling a bit of atmosphere. It's each to their own, but the whole arena thing GENERALLY strikes me as being for amatures, people who go to maybe one gig a year, and maybe heading towards middle age.

But, saying that, I love festivals, you can choose how you play it. Hot and sticky at the front, stood up and not seeing anything like an arena gig at the back, or chilled drinking and smoking, sat on the grass having a casual listen in the sun.

That's my little fantasy over.

i wasnt that impressed with U2 live when i saw them in manchester. I would rather see morrissey much more fun!

watched u2 on jonathan ross last night and they totally tore the place up. i saw them in sheffield a while ago at the arena and they were s--- hot, they in my opinion have gone slightly back to where they were in the mid 80s and sound awsome. i find it quite refreshing in a time with so much crappy manufactered music that these guys can still do it the right way ie "live". deffo the best live act ive ever seen and still for me the biggest and best in the world. any thoughts I think there crap, rather overrated and just boring, my opinion that is.

They've anounced their stadium tour dates for this year today. Its in June and they're going to Manchester, London, Glasgow and Cardiff.

"U2"?

Or as Casey Kasem once observed "These guys are from England, who gives a Sh**?"

lol Casey is well clued up as usual.

Still, the final irony came when, during their ZOO tv tour (where they were being all edgy and incorporating unlicenced satellite feeds into their stage act, with cries of freedom etc) they were engaged in a law suit against Negativland for appropriating their dumb songs and working Casey's dimwitted dialogue in on top.

Thankfully, despite nearly destroying negativland whilst they were busy appropriating other people's material in their live act, U2s rank hypocrisy has been preserved for ever on this (http://www.negativland.com/nmol/info/info_tgafeawgas.html) CD.

This guy doesn't really like U2 very much either: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=11worst

dont really understand why people show such distain for u2, 25 years in the music buiss cant be that bad can it. thro the years they have gone thro music based changes but isnt that better than churning out the same tour oriented crap . for instance the rolling stones, the who,these bands tour yet never release new material how progressive is that. in my opinion at least u2 are trying to move with the times even if at the moment they have gone back to the 80s sound. i wonder if a lot of folk who pull them down have recently bought tickets for the 80s revival tour, duran duran, spandau ballet, kajagoogoo, ete rock on folks, jesus.