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:
Sigur Ros in Iceland in 2006 (heima)
In 2006 Sigur Ros filmed two large outdoor concerts as well as more intimate performances in Iceland and made it their live concert film. heima. With beautiful photos of Icelandic landscapes, heima is a great document of how amazing Sigur Ros live shows are. There are images of them playing soothing, earthy music outside with a horn section, totally intense images of them playing heavier material in the dark with a mesmerizing light show, and a whole lot of in-between. It’s long, but worth it. [Andrew Sacher]
Grizzly Bear @ Sydney Opera House – 05/01/2014
Grizzly Bear have always been a great live band – they all play in a horizontal line up front (rather than having drummer Chris Bear in the back), and that makes so much sense to them, because each member really brings something unique essential to the band’s live show. Hearing their voices swirl together in real time can be even more uplifting than on record, and the live show always reinforces that the four members of Grizzly Bear are not only fine pop songwriters, but also highly skilled musicians. in a way that you don’t always do. see in indie rock. It’s all showcased in this pro-shot concert at the magnificent Sydney Opera House. [Andrew Sacher]
Shining Eyes @ Magic Stick, Detroit, MI, 05/12/2002
Bright Eyes drop a new single today, and in honor of that, I revisited this show from much earlier in their career, a few months before the release of Up where the story is in the ground, keep your ear to the ground. There’s an appreciable amount of crowd noise, but it adds to the feeling of actually being in a club, and Conors sounds excited and passionate as he plays an incredible setlist of songs from Let out the Happiness, Fevers and Mirrorsand Surveybacked by a full band, string section included. [Amanda Hatfield]
Sparks on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, 1974
Syndicated TV series Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert has brought some of the biggest names in the business – the Stones, Grand Funk, ABBA, Steve Wonder, Bad Company, Billy Joel, and more. – in American homes of the 70s and 80s. Sometimes it brought something a little different, like when they had Sparks in 1974. Between Russel Maels’ operatic voice and his brother Ron’s unique look and stage presence, most people who have figured this out at 11:30 p.m. on a weekend night. 1974 was a big year for Sparks, releasing both Propaganda and Kimono my house This year. Forty-five years later, their performance — including “Something For The Girl With Everything,” “Here in Heaven” and “Talent is an Asset” — is still unforgettable. [Bill Pearis]
The Beta Band – Live @ The Shepherds Bush Empire, 2004
They are perhaps best known now for their needle-drop appearance “Dry the Rain” in the 2000 film adaptation of High fidelity — “I will now sell five copies of The three EPs by The Beta Band” – but The Beta Band were one of the most underrated bands of the late 90s and early 2000s, most certainly in a truly transcendent live setting, especially when vocalist Steve Mason s sat on second drums and things got very krautrock/baggy Here’s a part of their 2004 gig at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire that included this High fidelity to hit. [Bill Pearis]
Also check out a photo gallery of Grizzly Bear at Prospect Park in 2018:
For more of our favorite live videos, head here.
