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Bands that always manage to exceed your expectations?


scottasin

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So I saw Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood last night. It was my 4th time seeing MMW, second time with Scofield. I much prefer them as just the trio, but even with Scofield, I go in expecting the concert to be spectacular and it always happens that the show is better than I ever imagined it could be.

 

It seems like a lot of the concerts I see, although I enjoy myself and have a good time, I still find a lot of things to nitpick about the performance or sound. Sometimes its bad enough that a show leaves a bad taste in my mouth or I'll leave early. I always try to curb my expectations before a show because of this, and its definitely led to some surprises, shows that I really didn't think I'd enjoy that ended up being a totally awesome time. MMW, though, has been the only band I've seen multiple times that just straight killed it every time. Of course, not every band plays the sort of format where a technical issue can lead to the best music of the night (bass player was having issues and they had to switch out his amp mid-set, leaving time for the other guys to create a groove from the ground up for him to jump back into). Although I've only seen them 4 times, it seems like even an 'off night' for them is still possibly the best live musical performance happening on the planet at that given moment.

 

Who have you all seen that just always seemed to put on a top caliber show every time you've seen them?

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Rich Dworsky, MD/ pianist for Prairie Home Companion..... Or whatever the show is called now. Monster player. Can play any style.

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I just saw Earth, Wind, and Fire. Only 3 of the original members remain, but their children have started transitioning into the band. I was blown away. They sound SOOOO good and funky. It was magical and inspirational. The whole body of music they played is a testament to their genius. Their Brass section was freakin killer. I'd love to post some video snippets, but I'm sure I'd violate some terms of use.
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Rich Dworsky, MD/ pianist for Prairie Home Companion..... Or whatever the show is called now. Monster player. Can play any style.
I avidly follow the youtube channel and have discovered several fantastic artists through it and seen some otherworldly performances. Chris Thile's playing never disappoints. Here's one of my favorite takes, Don't Think Twice It's Alright (Brad Mehldau on piano, Dworsky on organ for this one) with the full band.

 

[video:youtube]

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I've seen alot of great concerts in 40 yrs, there's only one that still stands out as jaw dropping:

 

Led Zeppelin, 1977 US tour.

The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it.
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I haven't see a shitload of concerts, but one jumps out.. Robert Plant. I saw Zeppelin back in the day, and it was fantastic. I them saw Plant a few years ago, around 40 years later, and it was shockingly great. His voice, the band and the sound was all excellent.

 

Of course there are the eternal hits, but he ventures into other directions and styles, with great results. Like mixing Eastern and Indian influences with country players, and sometimes applying that to his old hits.

Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands

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I second Snarky Puppy & Chris Thile/Punch Brothers. I would add Malika Tirolien (vocalist in Bokanté) - every time I have the opportunity to work with her I'm always stunned. ALso, Khaira Arby is a phenomenal singer from Mali that I've seen twice, both times incredibly powerful and moving.

 

 

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Who have you all seen that just always seemed to put on a top caliber show every time you've seen them?

If youre asking about an artist Ive seen many times, Pat Metheny. Ive seen Pat since Travels and probably never in the same group twice, which could be a reason why his performances consistently exceed expectations: several editions of PMG, with Hancock/Holland/DeJohnette, as a sideman with Joshua Redman, in several trios, with Brad Mehldau, and in both Unity groups. I have tickets to hear him with Gwylim Simcock, Linda Oh, and Antonio Sanchez this summer.

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I used to keep my concert stubs on a cork board. When it filled up, I threw them all away (but kept going to concerts); there were over 200. Zeppelin, Santana, The Who, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, Robin Trower, pretty much all the big bands except The Dead and The Rolling Stones, neither of which interested me. There were a few that I missed that I would have liked to have seen (e.g. Pink Floyd), but simply never had a chance because they didn't play near me.

 

The best single concert I ever saw was Jethro Tull.

 

The most consistently amazing band was...Grand Funk Railroad. Never once saw a show from them that I would rate as less than 9/10--usually 9.5 or 10. I've watched a few (not all) of the YouTube videos and none of the energy comes through. Their first live album (ca. 1972?) does a pretty good job of capturing some of the magic. Absolutely electrifying live act.

 

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Both of which require you to stay the hell away from everyone else.
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 didn’t even have a working phone in it.
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Who have you all seen that just always seemed to put on a top caliber show every time you've seen them?

If youre asking about an artist Ive seen many times, Pat Metheny. Ive seen Pat since Travels and probably never in the same group twice, which could be a reason why his performances consistently exceed expectations: several editions of PMG, with Hancock/Holland/DeJohnette, as a sideman with Joshua Redman, in several trios, with Brad Mehldau, and in both Unity groups. I have tickets to hear him with Gwylim Simcock, Linda Oh, and Antonio Sanchez this summer.

Although I've never had the opportunity to see him, back when I was in my 'totally obsessed with Phish' days watching the live DVD for The Way Up absolutely shattered my notions of what a piece of music can be. Was really eye opening.

 

Y'all are showin your age in this thread ;)

not a lot of bands from the past couple of decades to be mentioned. Sturgill Simpson reportedly never leaves a concertgoer unfulfilled, but I haven't seen him yet. Jason Isbell I've only seen twice, but has the ravid kind of following and top notch band that makes me think that he pretty much always nails it. I've had a few friends tell me that Lake Street Dive is the best live act they've ever seen, and from the one time I saw them, I think that could totally be true if the music suits your fancy. I can't wait to see all of these groups in the future with new material to see if they hold up.

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Plenty of newer artists to be named, we all know that :)

 

Especially considering that yes, the OP was about artists who do it time and again, not the single best concert/tour... :cop: Obviously that restricts it a fair amount, since you're supposed to have seen them at least twice, and preferably in different circumstances... Beyond the names already mentioned, if I try to stick to those criteria:

 

Donny McCaslin has always floored me, no matter what group he's with.

Chris Andrew is one of the best keyboardists I will ever see, in any style.

Brandi Carlile gives you shivers all over (I know Scott loves her).

Lisa Leblanc is a hard rockin banjo punk who takes no prisoners on her way to the party.

Tigran Hamasyan is a madman on the keys or beatboxing.

Sweet Crude is a beautiful, snappy mix of influences, instruments, and languages.

Lettuce is an unstoppable funky force.

Ponteix is a towering live band, massive sound.

Tedeschi Trucks Band is an American Music groove machine.

Zachary Richard is transcendental (though maybe not as much for those who don't understand French).

 

And so on and so forth...

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The Dregs, in the early 1980s, blew me away. T. Lavitz and Rod Morgenstein were on fire.

 

Another one that really impressed me were Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. Howard Levy was very impressive.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

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Plenty of newer artists to be named, we all know that :)

 

Especially considering that yes, the OP was about artists who do it time and again, not the single best concert/tour... :cop: Obviously that restricts it a fair amount, since you're supposed to have seen them at least twice, and preferably in different circumstances... Beyond the names already mentioned, if I try to stick to those criteria:

 

Donny McCaslin has always floored me, no matter what group he's with.

Chris Andrew is one of the best keyboardists I will ever see, in any style.

Brandi Carlile gives you shivers all over (I know Scott loves her).

Lisa Leblanc is a hard rockin banjo punk who takes no prisoners on her way to the party.

Tigran Hamasyan is a madman on the keys or beatboxing.

Sweet Crude is a beautiful, snappy mix of influences, instruments, and languages.

Lettuce is an unstoppable funky force.

Ponteix is a towering live band, massive sound.

Tedeschi Trucks Band is an American Music groove machine.

Zachary Richard is transcendental (though maybe not as much for those who don't understand French).

 

And so on and so forth...

 

Eric I literally, in the correct way of using the word, dont know anyone from that list! Will check some stuff out!

Rudy

 

 

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