Basically no shows are happening due to the coronavirus outbreak (although some performers are doing live broadcasts instead), but if you already feel like seeing a show, or just need to a brief distraction from the madness of the world right now, luckily there is YouTube which has an incredible range of live footage from all the history of pop music, movie clips of concerts, TV performances and more. professional filming footage, to tons of videos shot by show fans. If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve picked out some of our favorites. Here are five more:
Talking Heads @ Palazzo dello Sport, Rome 12/17/1980
You saw Stop making sense a million times (and if you haven’t, watch this) but maybe you haven’t seen this – Talking Heads playing in Rome on the Stay in the light tower. It’s less of a flashy production and a bit more punk, with the band’s expanded “10 piece funk machine” lineup that included Bernie Worrell and Adrian Belew, and the setlist reaching bigger cuts. deep (or at least just before “Burning the house”). No big suits, just one killer performance with particularly impressive interpretations of “I Zimbra” and “Crosseyed and Painless”. [Bill Pearis]
Sugar @ The Academy in New York – 10/23/1992
Bob Mold’s current power trio setup and his last four solo albums are a reminder of Sugar’s all-glory days, and when he plays the Sugar classics live, he performs those songs with all the energy and passion you might ask. His shows have been a real treat over the past few years, but as we can’t see him or anyone else playing Sugar songs in person at the moment, here’s the video of the real Sugar in his prime. Copper Blue had just released the month before, and they ripped up the songs on that album, as well as stuff that would only come out Stupid and File under: Easy listening, their cover of The Who’s “Armenia City in the Sky”, and more. Everything is torn apart. [Andrew Sacher]
The 1975 @ O2 Arena in London – 02/22/2020
The expected new album from 1975 Notes on a conditional form is coming out this month, and we would have also been looking forward to the band’s North American tour with Phoebe Bridgers if it hadn’t been for this pandemic, so to help you out whenever that happens, here’s a great one. full video of the group in their home country earlier this year. They opened with the punky NOACF single “People” (a song that is really asking to be seen live) and did a handful of other songs on the new album including “Me & You Together Song”, “If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know ) “” Frail State of Mind “,” The Birthday Party “and one that has yet to be released as a single: the jangly and tender” Guys “. The new stuff sounded great, the band’s light show was more alive than ever, and of course, they did some explosive and dominant renditions of old favorites like “Love It If We Made It”, “Give Yourself A Try”, “Sex,” “Somebody Else,” closer to “The Sound,” and more. [Andrew Sacher]
(And in related news yesterday Matty Healy kicked off a podcast featuring Brian Eno, Kim Gordon, Mike Kinsella, Stevie Nicks, Conor Oberst, Steve Reich and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream; and Phoebe Bridgers, beabadoobee, Clairo and d ‘others will cover Le 1975 live this Thursday 5/7.)
10cc @ Hammersmith Odeon, London 06/18/1977
Much like a British Steely Dan, the 10ccs have been unfairly obstructed and very misunderstood over the years; serious actors and songwriters who have so rarely done things without a wink and a bit of theatricality. Here they are at the height of their worldwide popularity (albeit sadly after Lol Creme and Kevin Godley left the band), with a hit set featuring all the love songs (“I’m Not in Love”, “The Things We Do For Love “and” People in Love “). more “The Second Sitting For The Last Supper”, the boogie rock classic “Good Morning Judge” and more. [Bill Pearis]
The Decemberists @ Earlham College, Richmond, IN – 10/31/2003
This Halloween show unfortunately doesn’t feature any wacky costumes, but it does show the Decemberists playing songs from their very solid first two albums: 2002 Castaways and cutouts, and 2003 His Majesty the Decemberists, who was barely two months old at the time. The songs from these albums are still some of the most enduring in their entire catalog, and it’s a pleasure to see them performed over 15 years ago by a younger band. They also play the tender “Engine Driver”, which was released in 2005 Picaresque was still in the future at this point. [Amanda Hatfield]
And here’s a gallery of photos from 1975 over the years:
For more of our favorite live videos, head here.
