Share your favorite live music performance recordings
As Youtube has become my primary method of discovering new music over time, I find myself listening mostly to live recordings of both old artists I have been a fan of for a long time, but also especially new artists (both new and new to me)
I could go on and on about how I feel about modern studio recording, and music industry in general, but I think people mostly know all this, and live music has been a counter to some of these trends, as a place to find more authentic musical connection between artists and audiences.
I have discovered a few new artists through discussions here on Tildes before, so I thought I would ask people to recommend their favorite live music recordings. Most specifically I am looking for live performances that are both great themselves, and also well captured/recorded so that they can be listened to as a studio album would (there are a lot of live sets recorded by people holding cellphones, which usually have audio ranging from bad to terrible.) Also would love to see examples of complete sets/concerts rather than single songs. I love listening to "long form" music so to speak, and appreciate the journey that is often consciously crafted when artists put together their live sets.
And it doesn't have to be a critical or formal recommendation, doesn't have to be the best of that artist or genre or anything like that - I am more interested in the personal faves, anything that resonates with you specifically for whatever reason, that you can go back to over and over. Basically, recommend a live music recording you have personally listened to in its entirety at least 5 times. I am open to any genres or time periods (as long as the quality is decent enough to listen to for pleasure)
I'll include my own picks in a comment below. Thanks !
Edit: thank you all for the recommendations - looks like it is going to take me a few weeks to go through these :) Quite a variety of different genres too, and a lot of new to me artists, which is great.
My favorite live music recording is also my favorite album of all time:
Sinatra at the Sands
Frank Sinatra was accompanied by Count Basie and his orchestra, and the show was conducted and arranged by Quincy Jones. It doesn't get any better than that. My grandma was from Sicily, and she raised me on this album + The Godfather.
The 60th anniversary of this recording is this year, and a new version of this album is coming out next month. I can't wait. I only wish someone recorded this show on video, and I've searched over the years, but I don't think it exists.
It's not nearly as well known, but the Basie band did an opening set without Sinatra that was eventually released in 1998. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyHn3f7-9IULkh3fjlTfJ_YjfqSse7qx7&si=4jFYix75LsxNHcDC
Metallica's S&M concert series with the San Fransisco Symphony is really good.
Whoever wrote the orchestral accompaniments did a great job, some songs are really elevated, and other songs just take on a very different tone which is interesting.
If I had to pick one song from the set, it would be One. Which I guess goes without saying, but you know what I mean.
Daft Punk Alive 2007
Billy Strings Live Vol. 1
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Under The K Bridge
AURORA - Live in Nidarosdomen
AURORA - Live From Honda Stage
A Perfect Circle - Live at Red Rocks
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged
Opeth - Garden of the Titans: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater 2017
Obsequiae - Live at Fire in the Mountains 2022
Vader - Rise of the Empire Asia Tour at Hidden Agenda
Zao - Live From The Church
Dimmu Borgir (with orchestra) - Forces of the Northern Night
Ironically, the music I usually like the most (various forms of electronic music) doesn't really lend itself to being performed live that well. However, I mix in other genres of music into my listening and the following are some of the recordings that have been in heavy rotation for me over the past few years:
Hania Rani, Arte Piano Day 2022 - I have all Hania's records, but for some reason this performance really hits home with me.
Khruangbin, Pitchfork Live 2018 - this was my introduction to Khruangbin, and I still listen to it frequently. The tone is really great too, especially the bass. It like triggers my taste buds somehow..
Aurora, Live at Rock en Seine 2025 - only got into Aurora recently, so haven't quite covered all her live recordings, but this one is a standout. She sounds great on her records of course, but it's amazing to see her pull it off live (with the help of some great backup singers for the layered harmonies)
I could list more, but curious about other peoples faves.
Strong recency bias on this one, but this live version of The Hand by Annabelle Dinda with a choir is incredible.
I don't typically enjoy live music with vocals and whatnot when it's in recorded format, but I've watched the Linkin Park From Zero announcement livestream a few times, and it's very very good :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL1nlWOciL0
I also really enjoy listening to music as a whole set... but 90% of what I listen to is psytrance, and while the live versions differ from the studio versions, it's a lot of digital, not live instruments or vocals.
The Weeknd and Ariana Grande - Save Your Tears
This performance by Cecil Taylor at the Montreux Jazz Festival is one of my favorites. I don't know if there's a longer filmed version of it, but the whole thing is on the album Silent Tongues. It's great to be able to watch Taylor in action, when I first started listening to him it seemed a lot like chaos, but being able to watch his hands move help to really understand what he's doing.
I shouldn't have stumbled upon this thread. Now all of you will suffer through my personal recommendations!
I was on Rhodes (the Greece island, not the American one) on vacation and there was this rockband playing one evening. They played just covers, but they were really good! I went on a quest next day and eventually got to them through hotel manager (the big boss). They are called Lethal Candy and I would like to kindly ask all of you to boost their 10th anniversary stream video that got 34 views so far. Can we make it over 100 together? Come on! You can expect some GNR, AC/DC, Bryan Adams and so on - all the good stuff.
Or maybe you'd like to see some German high school choir singing Heal the world or I'll be missing you - both featuring absolutely awesome lead singers IMHO.
Or we can step it up a notch and make it a show - Marla Mindelle as Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act on Broadway singing Life I never led - absolutely perfect and touching song that makes Sister Mary Robert the star of the show for me, something that was missing in the movie.
And let's come back to the actual music. And I mean the time when music was just that - music. The time that I wasn't born yet and still I miss it. Let's have a look at the band I would pick if you presented me one time chance to see anybody perform for me - Dire Straits, specifically for this thread their Walk of life. I didn't live in that time, yet this video captures the music culture for me and it must have been AWESOME!
From the list I provided here, I have watched/listened to everything (excluding Lethal Candy) likely 500 times or more combined. Most viewed would be Dire Straits and Marla Mindelle - the former for their absolutely great live performances, the latter for her role and acting - you would have to see more of the musical, or the whole thing, to understand.
I've got a playlist of songs on YouTube I've found bookmark-worthy over the years, glad to have an opportunity to share some of it.
In the traditional sense of "live":
Battlefield Collective is (was) a local band performing at a festival in a park my (now wife, at the time) girlfriend and I went to back around 2015. They [were] a folksy sounding band (or duet, rather), with some pretty good songs. I bought their album at the festival and enjoyed it, though I have no idea where it is now. Here's a video of them covering Me & Bobby McGee live.
Shaun Morgan of Seether performing an acoustic version of Fine Again for a live radio performance. While the original is already sort of acoustic sounding, I really loved this rendition of the song.
Dan Wilson of Semisonic performing a live version of Closing Time for a live YouTube performance. The original is iconic in its own right, but the feel of this version hits in a way that feels much more impactful to me as a listener.
In the less traditional sense of "live", as there are small(er) artists doing their own thing, here's three more of my absolute favorites:
Juliana Chahayed covering True Faith, which many modern listeners may know as it was featured in The Last of Us (Part 2). Her voice and performance grab me in a way that I think many artists have difficulty achieving.
Violet Orlandi doing an exceptional rock cover of Toss A Coin To Your Witcher. While the version performed by Joey Batey (Jaskier) in The Witcher was exceptionally done, this version slaps, as the kids say.
Frank Watkinson doing a solo acoustic cover of Blink 182's I Miss You. Frank is an old man with the handle Virtualgranddad who describes himself as "performing songs my way ,nothing too serious, we can't all be polished professionals but that shouldn't be a reason not to sing". But his cover is incredibly well done, and absolutely worth your time.
Global Warming - Live in Lyon, France, Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!) Flying Whales (Live At Brixton Academy, London). These are performed by the French band Gojira, the first song, Global Warming, is more in line of what they sing about, environmentalism and related subjects. This song and Flying Whales, comes off of their From Mars to Sirius album. While the second one is the song that they performed for the Paris Summer Games in 2024 for the opening ceremony. And this allowed them to win the best metal performance.
Good lord, how many would you like?
Damien Rice and Earl Harvin in a backpacker's in Berlin this got me through lockdown, I have no idea how many times I've watched it. Shot on a tripod but by an amateur and with good audio. It does a really good job of putting you there and it is a fantastic show.
Smashing Pumpkins in Brixton in 1996 this got my infant son through lockdown. Loudy! He asked for it so many times. Damn sight better than the wiggles. The pumpkins are at their peak here to my mind.
Pearl Jam at Pink pop 1992 if you even kind of like Pearl Jam this is worth a watch. If it's not doing it for you skip to the last song, that is a moment of transcendence.
John Prine at the house of Strombo a beautiful gig from a master songwriter later in life.
Blaze Foley at the Austin Outhouse No video with this. I keep coming back here, he's definitely not sober but there are some incredible sections. Clay Pigeons is one of my favourite songs.
Dr Collossus at the Gaso RIP to this venue unfortunately. Great gig from a novelty band that can actually play.
Grace Cummings on KEXP She's always better live, this is great.
Benjamin Clementine in a church in Paris I don't know where to begin on this. The first song is extraordinary, the second is probably not for everyone. An artist that isn't afraid of a bit of perversity.
There's many more where these came from should you be interested.
I'm sure I'm missing tons but here are a few old favorites off the top of the dome.
Björk & PJ Harvey - Satisfaction
You will never be this cool.
Blind Melon - No Rain
I don't even like this song.
The Coathangers - We Got the Beat
They changed a word. It's fun.
The Coathangers - Make it Right
Fuck it. Why not two? I like 'em.
Wye Oak - Civilian
I can't stand The Walking Dead but at least we got this out of it.
Gary Clark Jr - Bright Lights
You'll never be this cool either.
Op Ivy at Gilmore St - One Set
Op Ivy at Gilmore St - Another Set
Point of departure sublimated in a song
Always comin' and givin' us hope for a second, then it's gone, but
Sound system gonna bring me back up, right
One thing that I can depend on
Sibelius - Violin Concerto
björk - live at the riverside church, new york, sept. 5, 2001.
beautiful from start to finish. i hope i get her some new fans here. her music is a favorite of mine.
I watch a lot of Vocaloid concert footage and there are many good options for a favorite but I think the one I've watched the most is the 2011 Mikunopolis concert many times. It was the first Hatsune Miku concert outside of Japan which makes it historically interesting, it has a early era set I'd imagine that at least a handful of people in the crowd were themselves Vocaloid producers so seeing the characters onstage that must have been extra special for them. My favorite detail are how visible the projection surface is compared to later concerts. You can see the light up wands reflecting on the projection surface in a way that looks like they are inside it. Just for one night Miku's world touches ours and we can cross over.
Runner up pick: NicoNico Music Party 2015 VOCALOID Live specifically for its chaotic energy and rendition of マトリョシカ
for everything going right, the 16mm capture of Nirvana at the Paramount in '91 is amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abiXPDpVIYk
Presented with zero context, At the Drive-In playing One Armed Scissor live.
break glass in case of context
They played this on BBC right before Robbie Williams. Britney Spears was charting. This performance is right before they split off into The Mars Volta and Sparta.
Omar moves like a ragdoll in an old gmod video while his guitar quite violently weeps. Cedric decides the best thing would be to double that energy. Jim Ward somehow is completely unflappable about all this, in some sort of pocket dimension.
I didn't really get them before this, or why they were so influential in the hardcore scene. Then I did. Love this performance so goddamn much.
Here are a few!
Fitz and the Tantrums cover Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - https://youtu.be/X3ZG9Kym6WM
Glass Animals cover Solar Power - https://youtu.be/pgPlWb7NwcY
Lawrence covers It's Gonna Be Me - https://youtu.be/Yvq-AG6sj-4
Ween - Live in Chicago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoUgCCxKN1A
Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath (live 1977)
Anything live of theirs from that era, there's quite a lot to choose on YouTube