There are far too many bands that are good live to create a comprehensive list. Yet, we felt the need to get that list started anyway. To be a tight live band is what makes a live show, but what makes a live show a fucking experience is something different. It’s the whole damn stage, the reciprocated energy of the audience and the musicians, the entire aura of the show, which leaves the audience gawking. Some bands expressions go beyond music, and into a total sensory experience. Here are a measly five.
“Live in Leuven, Belgium” – Sunn 0)))
When the two guitarists of Sunn 0))) strike the first note of a show, the fog-filled room begins to vibrate. They control these fluctuations with slow movements on down-tuned guitars that are soaked in distortion and blasted through the perfect amplifier from which the band draws its name: Sunn 0))). This heavy metal (if one can even call it that) feels like a raga, drone and all, and the dark and deeply hooded monastic cloaks make the show appear ritualistic through the heavy fog and tone. Nothing short of the live experience will do justice to the body-shuddering, ear-plug requiring show.
“Opening Intro/Race for the Prize” – The Flaming Lips
This list is nothing without the Flaming Lips. These guys are the epitome of an enthusiastic experience. Wayne Coyne is like Willy Wonka, rolling around the crowd at the beginning of every show in a giant inflatable ball, as he riles the crowd every second he’s not singing, prompting them, screaming “C’mon motherfuckers!” Going to a Flaming Lips show means two sure-things, one, getting blasted by confetti, lights and balloons two, feeling Coyne’s love. With songs that get at the core of human compassion and love and light, the Flaming Lips want to hit the crowd in the heart. The band’s live show is an orgasmic sensory overload, as The Flaming Lips have coined it, and it’s nothing short of letting all of the animals out of the zoo, painting them with day-glo paint and singing along to Coyne and friends hammering on instruments until their fingers bleed.
”Forty-Six and 2” – Tool
The syncopated goodness that Tool makes plays front and center for the band’s live show, as lead singer Maynard James Keenan tends to the back shadows, sometimes crawling behind the drums, laying on the stage or standing absolutely still with only a silhouette of his body channeling the lyrics. The band isn’t well known for its deep and sometimes spiritual side, but live video done by guitarist Adam Jones (inspired by spiritual visionary artist Alex Grey who does album art), creates a setting where one can see the many dimensions that Tool pays attention to. Tool has always had raw energy. Even at early live shows one would find Keenan dressed like a strange transvestite, rocking back and forth and pushing his energy into the crowd. The raw, heavy energy that Tool has still remains, and talk of a new album in late 2013 means there is a good chance to catch the gurus at work.
”Applesauce” – Animal Collective
With the band’s latest album, Centipede Hz, the guys from Animal Collective went for a sound that one might find on a radio channel from an alien world. If that’s what an alien radio channel sounds like, the band’s live show is what an extra-terrestrial television show would be like. Animal Collective’s stages always have a multi-layered set-up, giving the light switches a more invasive feel. It’s a staple that the band constantly re-works old material and, in jam-band fashion, moves from song to song with noisy passages where singer Avey Tare shrieks, yelps and croons in ways akin to the Beach Boys circa the Smile sessions. The glistening, peculiarly shaped, neon sculptures onstage are made by Abby Porter, sister of lead singer Dave Porter (Avery Tare), and work incredibly with the crafted sound that only Animal Collective can create.
“Nonpareil of Favor” – Of Montreal
Of Montreal’s live show is a psychedelic sexual experience for a world that’s bent on dancing until death. Kevin Barnes will get on stage in a mini skirt and fishnet leggings, and guides the show through a series of mini plays (one might call them). Dressed sometimes in horrifying masks, trippy bodysuits, glittering wizard outfits or anything flashy, the actors strut to the sound, playing out the lyrics, and almost always end up either dancing or fighting with the rest of the band. If it isn’t weird actors in a psychedelic play, it’s Kevin Barnes on a damned white stallion in nothing but a purple speedo, singing his confessions (like always), whilst petting his steed. Of Montreal is somewhere between a synthesized incarnation of David Bowie circa 1970 and a Pride Parade, and it’s well worth the price of a ticket to be a part of the extravaganza.
