Top 10 Bands to See Live

So, live music has always been my thing. My first real concert was Weird Al when I was in sixth grade. Since then I've been hooked on the live experience and I think a lot of people who are in to less-mainstream are. Most bands I know exist for the live shows, not the studio albums. The only real stipulation to this list is that all of the bands are still playing shows (to my knowledge). This leaves off obvious candidates like Pink Floyd and The BeeGees.


10. Flogging Molly
To be totally honest, I'm not a big Flogging Molly fan. But you can't argue with the energy they bring, even if they're old. The Celtic-Punk fusion sound really just means you can definitely do some awesome body moving.

9. Mindless Self Indulgence
A lot of people really, really, really hate MSI. Which is a shame, because if you're into anything slightly offensive, watching Lil Jimmy Urine interact with the crowd is a great thing to see. It's hard to argue with a man who can alternate between a growl and ear-splitting falsetto while taking off his pants and flipping the bird.

8. Los Campesinos!
An actual UK band (unlike Flogging Molly, that just pretends), Los Camp! has seven members who would really like you to dance around while they play some danceable punk. I didn't stop smiling the entire concert, I don't even know why. On top of that they are a pretty great band, and are good looking with British accents. Need I say more?

7. Andrew Bird
It doesn't seem like Andrew Bird would be a great act to see live. His records are mostly down-tempo, and to be honest, can be rambling. But to watch him create his songs live in incredible. He's usually either alone or with a drummer. He will play pieces of his songs on one instrument, record it as a loop, and then play another instrument and so on, until he has built the entire song on his loop station. Then he'll play through the song, weaving in the loops of violin, guitar, whistling, xylophone, clapping, etc. A must see!

6. The Faint
The only Saddle Creek Records band on the list (which may be surprising to people who know that I cream over every act they've ever had). The Faint is certainly danceable, but lately has been building on noise music. What makes them a great band to see is that they incorporate synchronized light and video shows. Add this to the great music and it's definitely a great time to be had by all.

5. Reel Big Fish
RBF has three gigantic positives for their live shows: great, great songs, unexpected set lists including fantastic cover songs, and a very, very long set list. Anyone who's seen them can say that their banter between songs is pretty hilarious, and you really never know what you're going to get. It'll be a solid mix of old favorites, new classics, and bizarre, random, delicious cover tunes.

4. Gogol Bordello
Eugene Fucking Hutz. End of story. Youtube this guy. His energy is out of this world. And their klezmer sound is fueled by a fiddle player that is roughly 60. This trans-European act will blow you away, even if you don't know a word to any of their songs. And there are a lot of words you won't know, since Eugene will sing is several languages in the same song.

3. Bruce Springsteen (and the E Street Band)
I've seen The Boss three times, though once was just two songs when he opened for John Kerry during 2004 election season. Around that time I saw him another political tour (Bright Eyes opened), and he played for three fucking hours. Three hours. And he's old, man. But he's going to play every song you love, he's going to play it well, and you're going to love it, goddammit. I saw him on an acoustic tour as well, and he no longer had his Jersey swagger, he was tender, yet heartfelt and strong. But I've always loved his acoustic material, though a lot of people don't.

2. They Might Be Giants
The first time I saw them, they got the entire crowd to do a conga line. They have fun, they will make you have fun. Their songs are playful, but not silly, and they have a whole lot of good ones. They will pull out boxes and boxes of instruments, do some kid songs, and probably a surprise cover or two. They've been playing monthly shows in New York City lately, but I haven't had the time to see them and it's a shame. They also may play a song that they wrote specifically for your venue. At one point they did a 30 city tour, played a song about each venue at that show, recorded them, and released them on a record. Not many bands vary their set lists at all on a tour, let alone write an entire new song for each night.

1. Green Day
I know I'll get shit for this, but if you've seen them live, you understand. A giant wall of video screens, synchronized pyrotechnics, great tunes, and always a few awesome covers thrown in for good measure (such as Always Look on the Bright Side of Life and Shout, all woven into their deep cut "King for A Day" off of Nimrod). Though they have backing musicians now, they'll always do a few old songs off of Dookie as a trio, with Billie Joe using his original white stratocaster, the guitar he played up until they recorded Dookie. No matter what they charge, I'll go see them. The two times I've seen them were the most fun I've ever had in my life. Taking my sister the second time made it even better, because it was her first major concert.