Basically, no shows are taking place due to the coronavirus outbreak (although some artists are doing live streams instead), but if you’re already watching a show, or just need a ‘a brief distraction from the craziness of the world right now, luckily there’s YouTube which has an incredible range of live footage from all over pop music history, film clips from concerts, TV performances and live music. other professionally shot footage, to tons of fan-shot videos from shows. If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve selected some of our favorites. Here are five more:
Kate Bush @ Hammersmith Odeon, London 13/05/1979
Kate Bush last performed in 2014, a 22-night tour at London’s Eventim Apollo dubbed “Before the Dawn”. It wasn’t the first time Kate had been there, having played their when it was called the Hammersmith Odeon as part of 1979’s ‘The Tour of Life’, which is the only tour she has never done, and this is the Hammersmith stop where it was filmed for a BBC special. Fresh off of her first two albums (The kick inside and Lionheart, both released in 1987), Kate pulled out all the stops for “The Tour of Life,” incorporating drama, mime, magic, myriad costume changes, and brand new wireless microphone technology (she was the first pop artist to use one on stage). It was a literal tour de force and Kate said while it was “extremely enjoyable”, she also found it “absolutely exhausting”…and never did it again. Fortunately it exists. [Bill Pearis]
Converge @ St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in College Park, MD – 05/25/01
J Bannon just revealed his new death metal-inspired band, Umbra Vitae, yesterday, which reminds me of old-school Converge, so here’s some old-school Converge. This was shot a few months before Jane Doe came out but after the classic lineup of Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton and Ben Koller was solidified (and Aaron Dalbec, also from Bane, is still in the band here too), and Converge just killed him early on. They open with the now classic “The Saddest Day,” and Bannon wastes no time jumping straight into the sea of moving bodies. The sound quality is a little rough, but the video paints a perfect picture of how crazy Converge shows were in this era. [Andrew Sacher]
Neurosis @ Musiktheater Bad in Germany – 6/13/96
Along the same lines, here’s one of Converge’s pals, Neurosis, two months after releasing the seminal Through the money in the blood. They open with a trippy, brick-heavy performance of the album’s title track, then go into his fan-favorite “Locust Star,” which is one hell of a way to start a show. The set taken exclusively from this album and its 1993 predecessor enemy of the sunso you can’t go wrong with the setlist, and Neurosis sounded massive and mind-blowing all night long. [Andrew Sacher]
Harry Nilsson – “The Music of Nilsson”, 1971
Ty Segall just released an EP of covers of Nilsson Schmilsson which reminded me of that big BBC concert special from 1971 – the same year that Schmilsson – which has Harry Nilsson performing solo… although at times he accompanies himself cleverly through somewhat primitive television magic. There are also a few clips from his children’s special, The Point!, interspersed with fantastic performances of “One”, “Let the Good Times Roll”, “Gotta Get Up”, “Life Line”, “Without Her”, “Without You” and “Coconut” with simian backing. [Bill Pearis]
Florence and The Machine at the Bowery Ballroom, 10/27/2009
Florence and The Machine did a pair of private shows in New York before playing Bowery Ballroom on October 27, but this was her real New York (and US) live debut. His first album Lungs had come out months earlier and she already felt too big for the Bowery stage, where she overwhelmed the sold-out crowd with her huge voice, and they sang her every word. I continued to see the festivals and stadiums of Florence headlining, but this show still holds a special place in my heart, and I’ve collected whatever footage I could find of it into a playlist YouTube (we also posted images of it). [Amanda Hatfield]
For more of our favorite live videos, head here.
