The best ever televised concert?

[crookeddy]

What are people's opinions on the best live performance to ever be televised (shown either live, or delayed, but on TV). I just watched the 4 CD set of Live Aid, and that concert really had some magic going for it. All of the best performers of the time, for a cause bigger then themselves, and one of the first true satellite events. Plus Wembley and JFK both so packed at the same time... Just had that extra feeling of watching something really huge.

Michael Jackson in Bucharest was also pretty amazing. It was a great performance, coupled with the nonstop footage of people getting over-excited and passing out - always adds to the excitement.

Beatles at Shea stadium - pretty terrible concert (the screaming was so loud that the Beatles could not be heard) but the first ever stadium live event, so you could still feel there was something special there.

I guess I have to pick a favorite, so I pick Live Aid, for the sheer scope.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Beatles at Shea stadium - pretty terrible concert (the screaming was so loud that the Beatles could not be heard) but the first ever stadium live event, so you could still feel there was something special there.

Paul's more recent concert at Citi Field sounded great. It's even available in a CD/DVD set.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Live Aid was pretty cool. I watched a lot of it on MTV (which did have music related stuff back then).

Live 8 was good too. Especially the Pink Floyd reunion.

Mr. Laser Beam, a lot of great bands from that era did pretty bad live performances. I've seen video for Led Zeppelin & The Who that sounded awful. Whether that was the original sound or the recording process of the day, I don't know.

 

[crookeddy]

Live Aid was pretty cool. I watched a lot of it on MTV (which did have music related stuff back then).

Live 8 was good too. Especially the Pink Floyd reunion.

Mr. Laser Beam, a lot of great bands from that era did pretty bad live performances. I've seen video for Led Zeppelin & The Who that sounded awful. Whether that was the original sound or the recording process of the day, I don't know.

Recoding I'd say, since their studio albums were incredible.

 

[tomalak301]

Live 8 was awesome, as was the Garth Brooks in Central Park that HBO did. That actually got me into Country Music at the time.

 

[Mysterion]

Fleetwood Mac - The Dance. I think it aired on HBO?

 

[FPAlpha]

Robin Williams Live at Knebworth (DVD is titled What we did last summer)

A brilliant and entertaining performance with some standout moments (i still love the moment where he pulls a decent looking woman on stage during "Come undone" and she uses the moment boldly to grab his ass and have a long kiss.. and Robbie plays along by grabbing her tits and planting a long kiss on her too )

And the crowd is just amazing.. all for a single person.

 

[crookeddy]

Fleetwood Mac - The Dance. I think it aired on HBO?

What was special about it? I didn't see this one.

 

[Pingfah]

I really enjoyed the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

 

[J.T.B.]

I would take the '82 Us Festival lineup over Live Aid any day, but it was only broadcast as highlights compilations and I never saw much of it. The first two Farm Aids were great, too, and I was lucky enough to catch a lot of the '86 one at a friend's house (we didn't have cable). First time I ever saw Steve Earle, and the Blasters and Los Lobos kicked ass.

The 1992 Bob Dylan 30th anniversary concert was also amazing. It's best known for Sinead O'Connor being booed off the stage. Ronnie Wood's "Seven Days" and Johnny Winter's "Highway 61 Revisited" blew me away. Johnny and June Carter Cash did "It Ain't Me, Babe," with June hamming it up awfully. The Band's Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm reunited to do "When I Paint My Masterpiece." George Harrison's great "If Not For You" was unfortunately left off the CD compilation, as was Dylan's "Hey Woody Guthrie." Cheryl Crow was a backing singer. And Booker T. & the MG's were the house band, what could be better?

--Justin

 

[Roshi]

I really enjoyed the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

+1


Roger Waters' performance of the Wall - Live in Berlin, 1990, featuring Cindy Lauper, Sinnead O'Connor, Ute Lemper, Tim Curry et al.

Maybe I should add Pink Floyd's Live at Earl's Court (October 24 1994) as I watched it on Belgian TV a few months later.

 

[crookeddy]

Are there any DVDs or recordings of the 1st Farm Aid?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Live Aid was cool. My friends and I tried to record the whole thing. Running home on our breaks to switch out tapes.

 

[Zachary Smith]

The Beatles at Shea performing "I'm Down". Watch it and tell me you've EVER seen a band having MORE fun than their audience like this. George and especially John are hilarious here. John plays that organ like a mad tail-gunner blasting enemy fighters out of the sky. BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE EVER!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnxUOsLSYIo

 

[JonathonWally]

Another vote for Fleetwood Mac - The Dance.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Was that one "televised", per se? I know I've seen it on PBS in recent years, does that count?

That is one of my favorite live CD's of all time though.

 

[crookeddy]

^ Was that one "televised", per se? I know I've seen it on PBS in recent years, does that count?

That is one of my favorite live CD's of all time though.

Ya, PBS should count :-) Otherwise we lose almost all the three tenors concerts, and stuff like that...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Live Aid was pretty cool. I watched a lot of it on MTV (which did have music related stuff back then).

Live 8 was good too. Especially the Pink Floyd reunion.

Mr. Laser Beam, a lot of great bands from that era did pretty bad live performances. I've seen video for Led Zeppelin & The Who that sounded awful. Whether that was the original sound or the recording process of the day, I don't know.

Recoding I'd say, since their studio albums were incredible.

I think the problem with the Beatles' concert at Shea was that they tried to use the stadium's own PA system (the band had very few speakers with them onstage). It was of course totally inadequate. I doubt it would have worked even without all the screaming.

Robin Williams Live at Knebworth (DVD is titled What we did last summer)

A brilliant and entertaining performance with some standout moments (i still love the moment where he pulls a decent looking woman on stage during "Come undone" and she uses the moment boldly to grab his ass and have a long kiss.. and Robbie plays along by grabbing her tits and planting a long kiss on her too )

And the crowd is just amazing.. all for a single person.

Doesn't sound like standup comedy. Is this a different Robin Williams?

 

[Mysterion]

Fleetwood Mac - The Dance. I think it aired on HBO?

What was special about it? I didn't see this one.

IIRC, it was the first time they'd really done anytihng together in quite awhile. And they seemed to be getting along with each other and were sounding very good in their performance.

 

[Smiley]

For televised concerts, I love "This is Garth Brooks, Too" from Texas Stadium. It has the spectacle, it features songs from the amazing "In Pieces" album, and Garth and his band are at the top of their game.