"U2" best live band ever.

[brooksy 10]

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.

[Chris_Sleeps 10]

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

 

Chris.

[brooksy 10]

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.

[igm1 10]

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

 

Got the DVD though

[bellis 10]

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:)

[Snook 10]

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.

[StarSparkle 10]

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

[WallBuilder 10]

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.

[Chris_Sleeps 10]

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.

[JoeP 11]

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

[JoeP 11]

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!

[StarSparkle 10]

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