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Concert Films


Dazey

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After the recent release of the latest Stones doc I got to thinking about the best live concert films and I'd be intrigued to hear about any that I've not seen. To kick it all off I'm going to post what I think is the best concert movie I've ever seen of The Band's final concert back in the late 70's filmed by Scorsese and featuring one of the greatest lineups I've ever seen on one stage together. Not sure how to embed from this site but here's the link anyhoo.

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v191484543aM8pxdK

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Just concerts, or documentary + concert dvds? I'm usually not a fan of the "behind-the-scenes" footage because it mostly seems to be there just as filler. But as far as concerts, Celebration Day, if you haven't seen it yet. In Flames In Live We Trust is really cool because there's more than one show - there's a concert in front of a few hundred people in a tiny little club, then there's an arena show, then there's some songs pulled from other concerts.

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U2 Rattle and Hum - they're so full of themselves and take themselves too seriously, but it caught U2 in the middle of the Joshua Tree tour, and when it goes into color, looked cool on the big screen.

Hail Hail Rock and Roll - Keith Richards tasked with making Chuck Berry sound and look good. Not as easy as it sounds.

Nirvana - 1991 The Year Punk Broke, Live Tonight Sold Out (and Live At Reading, Live at the Paramount) - Love them or hate them, just watch them play and see what the big deal was.

Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii - an oldie but a goodie. Pretty basic concept - Floyd among the ruins, mixed with studio footage of them working on Dark Side of the Moon.

Grateful Dead Movie - their last tour before going on a long break in the early 70s. Some trippy animation in the beginning, but it gives you a pretty good idea of the Dead and the Deadheads on home turf.

Woodstock - have to watch it once on widescreen. Extended version might be a little too long, but pretty cool to watch the festival.

Monterey Pop - Pennebaker. Hendrix, Otis, Janis caught on film. Great stuff.

Depeche Mode 101 - Another Pennebaker film. You have Depeche Mode playing synths, joking around backstage, telling stories, getting ready for a stadium show . You also have what might be the starting point for reality TV, a group of young adults win tickets on Long Island and take an RV cross country to Pasadena. This was "Music for the Masses" era, and "Violator" would make them superstars.

Wattstax - great soulful performances from the early 70s.

Shine a Light - Stones in a theater, a little bit of a documentary, but as good as The Last Waltz.

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

TAMI Show - just saw this on DVD for the first time, but it was filmed for theatrical release in the mid 60s. Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, etc. Totally cool time capsule from the mid 60s, in black and white.

The Kids are Alright - It's The Who, it's mostly music with some interviews, but enjoyable from beginning to end. Amazing Journey tells the whole story, this is the band when they were loud and snotty.

Jazz on a Summers Day- 1958, Satchmo, Chuck Berry, and other performers in Newport RI. Another cool time capsule, this one's in color.

Buena Vista Social Club - Cuban refugee get together. Amazing performances.

Stop Making Sense - one of the best concert films ever made. It raised the bar Last Waltz set.

Song Remains the Same - yes I know some of it's cheesy, and Royal Albert Hall was the better performance, but I saw this one on Blu Ray recently and got into it.

Big Time - Tom Waits concert film, I think Netflix is the only way to see it, or a VHS copy.

Tourfilm - REM, late 80s, right at the point they started playing arenas.

Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps, but Heart of Gold looks and sounds great. Year of the Horse is def. worth checking out for the old and newer footage, but watch these other two first.

Springsteen - 1975 Hammersmith.

Bob Dylan - The Other Side of the Mirror. Just for historic value or the curiosity of what Dylan was like as a folk performer and the moment he "went electric", it's worth watching.

Urgh A Music War - a mix of new wave and punk in the early 80s.

Police Around the World - it's been out of print, but it's fun to see them bouncing country to country.

Dig! It's more of a documentary, but it's way more fascinating than any reality show you'll see on TV.

Rock N Roll High School - It prob. didn't help The Ramones' career, and the storyline is cheesy, but it's one of my favorite cult classics.

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Guest Len B'stard

Wanted Dead or Alive - Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, Live at the Lyceum

Live at Longhorns - The Infamous Sex Pistols :D

GG Allin at The Fridge or whatever the fuck that last gig was called

Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey Pop

The Beatles at Shea Stadium, four scousers shitting their pants :lol: " 'ere John, how many people you reckon are 'ere then?" "there's one...and another...and another...and another...and another...*gulp*" "Shurrup!! Right, for our next noombah!"

Nirvana Unplugged in New York

Tupac, House of Blues

And everytime Moonie ever sat behind a drumkit for The Who, thats Charlton Athletic, the one in Texas, throughout The Kids Are Alright etc etc

The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus (if only just to see John Lennon, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton in the band fuckin' band and The Who absolutely rip the arse out of A Quick One, to this day i've never seen a rock n roll band perform with that much fuckin' balls and gusto, it's stunning to watch, Moonie looks like he's in a perpetual state of musical orgasm throughout the performance)

Edited by sugaraylen
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Wanted Dead or Alive - Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, Live at the Lyceum

Live at Longhorns - The Infamous Sex Pistols :D

GG Allin at The Fridge or whatever the fuck that last gig was called

Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey Pop

The Beatles at Shea Stadium, four scousers shitting their pants :lol: " 'ere John, how many people you reckon are 'ere then?" "there's one...and another...and another...and another...and another...*gulp*" "Shurrup!! Right, for our next noombah!"

Nirvana Unplugged in New York

Tupac, House of Blues

And everytime Moonie ever sat behind a drumkit for The Who, thats Charlton Athletic, the one in Texas, throughout The Kids Are Alright etc etc

The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus (if only just to see John Lennon, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton in the band fuckin' band and The Who absolutely rip the arse out of A Quick One, to this day i've never seen a rock n roll band perform with that much fuckin' balls and gusto, it's stunning to watch, Moonie looks like he's in a perpetual state of musical orgasm throughout the performance)

I can't believe you didn't mention "The future is unwritten".

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U2 Rattle and Hum - they're so full of themselves and take themselves too seriously, but it caught U2 in the middle of the Joshua Tree tour, and when it goes into color, looked cool on the big screen.

Nirvana - 1991 The Year Punk Broke, Live Tonight Sold Out (and Live At Reading, Live at the Paramount) - Love them or hate them, just watch them play and see what the big deal was.

Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii - an oldie but a goodie. Pretty basic concept - Floyd among the ruins, mixed with studio footage of them working on Dark Side of the Moon.

Woodstock - have to watch it once on widescreen. Extended version might be a little too long, but pretty cool to watch the festival.

Shine a Light - Stones in a theater, a little bit of a documentary, but as good as The Last Waltz.

Buena Vista Social Club - Cuban refugee get together. Amazing performances.

Springsteen - 1975 Hammersmith.

Bob Dylan - The Other Side of the Mirror. Just for historic value or the curiosity of what Dylan was like as a folk performer and the moment he "went electric", it's worth watching.

All of this. And yes, The Last Waltz is truly epic.

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Guest Len B'stard

Wanted Dead or Alive - Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers, Live at the Lyceum

Live at Longhorns - The Infamous Sex Pistols :D

GG Allin at The Fridge or whatever the fuck that last gig was called

Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey Pop

The Beatles at Shea Stadium, four scousers shitting their pants :lol: " 'ere John, how many people you reckon are 'ere then?" "there's one...and another...and another...and another...and another...*gulp*" "Shurrup!! Right, for our next noombah!"

Nirvana Unplugged in New York

Tupac, House of Blues

And everytime Moonie ever sat behind a drumkit for The Who, thats Charlton Athletic, the one in Texas, throughout The Kids Are Alright etc etc

The Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus (if only just to see John Lennon, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton in the band fuckin' band and The Who absolutely rip the arse out of A Quick One, to this day i've never seen a rock n roll band perform with that much fuckin' balls and gusto, it's stunning to watch, Moonie looks like he's in a perpetual state of musical orgasm throughout the performance)

I can't believe you didn't mention "The future is unwritten".

Sorry, i didn't think documentarys, like bios were included, i thought it was Concert Films. Like actual filmed gigs, was wondering why everyone was including so much shit that ain't a concert film.

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Sorry, i didn't think documentarys, like bios were included, i thought it was Concert Films. Like actual filmed gigs, was wondering why everyone was including so much shit that ain't a concert film.

Sorry, my bad. Yes I'm including docs and wotnot too. Have a look at the link I posted in the OP for basically what I was on about. :)

Edited by Dazey
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Guest Len B'stard

In that case:

The Filth & The Fury

The Great Rock n Roll Swindle

The Future Is Unwritten

This Machine Kills Fascists ( i think thats what its called, Woody Guthrie doc, one of them fold open dvd covers)

The one with Bob Dylan where he tours England and ends up round Dazeys manor getting heckled (as in generally the case round those parts :lol:) I think it's called Don't Look Back or something.

Punk Attitude

American Hardcore

Westway to the World

The Kids Are Alright (again :lol:)

25x5: The Continuing Adventures of The Rolling Stones

The Beatles Anthology

Imagine

The US vs John Lennon (amazing doc)

The Decline of Western Civilisation

The Sex Pistols Live at Brixton (cuz i'm in it :D)

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Guest Len B'stard

The Great Rock n Roll Swindle probably tops the lot of em for the sheer...horrible vulgar arrogance of it. Basically Malcolm McLaren making a film about how he robbed the record industry and absconded with a shitload of money. Steve Jones, The Cat Burglar, Paul Cook The Teamaker, Sid Vicious the Gimmick and Johnny Rotten, The Collaborator...and Malcolm McLaren The Embezzler.

Also, i'm fairly certain Jordan is underage when she gets her tits out in this film :S I mean, to go to Rio just to film scenes with Ronnie Biggs, how that must've got on the establishments tits :lol: And Malcolm getting bathed in a tub by a midget like a roman emporer, his todger hanging out, you couldn't make this shit up :lol:

Meeting up with Martin Boorman and making a song with him :lol:

Edited by sugaraylen
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The one with Bob Dylan where he tours England and ends up round Dazeys manor getting heckled (as in generally the case round those parts :lol:) I think it's called Don't Look Back or something.

I saw No direction Home about Dylan's career in the 60s. I think it was made by Scorsese but I'm not sure.

Scorpions and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is great. One of my fauvorites.

AC/DC live at River Plate. The crazy Argentinian audience is simply amazing.

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Guest Len B'stard

That Dylan one you mentioned, the Scorcese one, was fucking fantastic. One of those movies you don't want to end. Shame they couldn't carry it on cuz i'm really interested in the tales surrounding what Dylan got up to post-the big bike crash.

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my personal favorites, not necessarily in order:

Dire Straits - On the Night

Queen - Live at Wembley Stadium

Roger Waters - In The Flesh

Bruce Springsteen - London Calling: Live at Hard Rock Calling Festival

Aerosmith - You Gotta Move

Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion

Rolling Stones - Live Licks and The Biggest Bang

but there are many others that I like.

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You all have mentioned most of my favorites but here are a few not mentioned yet

Thin Lizzy- Live and Dangerous- The classic lineup at the height of there power

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Dangerous-Thin-Lizzy/dp/B000VFGQUC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355934770&sr=8-1&keywords=Thin+Lizzy+DVD

Thin Lizzy Live at the National Stadium Dublin 1975- Amazing this even exists never mind in such good quality. The classic lineup in the beginning and it gives good contrast to just how far they developed by the time of Live and Dangerous

http://www.amazon.com/Live-National-Stadium-Dublin-1975/dp/B0074H0R96/ref=pd_cp_mov_2

Bob Marley documentary- Not a huge Reggae fan but I do admire Bob Marley and this documentary is one of the best I have ever seen on a musicians life.

http://www.amazon.com/Marley-Blu-ray-Bob/dp/B007PVHAN2/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1355935030&sr=1-1&keywords=bob+marley+blu-ray

The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68 [blu-ray]- Not much video out there on the Doors and lucky for us fans this is excellent.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0090O07RS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Jeff Beck: Performing This Week... Live at Ronnie Scott's [blu-ray]- what else is there to say it is Jeff Fucking Beck

http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Beck-Performing-Week-Blu-ray/dp/B001NP8PRG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355935284&sr=8-2&keywords=Jeff+Beck+DVD

The Free- really rare live video of this underrated band

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Forever-DVD-NTSC/dp/B000H80LAE/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1355936676&sr=8-18

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The one with Bob Dylan where he tours England and ends up round Dazeys manor getting heckled (as in generally the case round those parts :lol:) I think it's called Don't Look Back or something.

I saw No direction Home about Dylan's career in the 60s. I think it was made by Scorsese but I'm not sure.

There are three films being discussed here:

Pennebaker's 1967 film Dont Look Back, covering Dylan's '65 tour of Britain

Pennebaker's Eat the Document, covering Dylan's 66 tour (unreleased but widely bootleged)

Scorsese's 2005 film No Direction Home, charting Dylan's career up to the 1966 tour,

Scorsese's film actually included extensive footage from the first two.

Edited by DieselDaisy
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That Dylan one you mentioned, the Scorcese one, was fucking fantastic. One of those movies you don't want to end. Shame they couldn't carry it on cuz i'm really interested in the tales surrounding what Dylan got up to post-the big bike crash.

People were doing crazy shit to get out of being drafted, but I think he took the motorcycle accident and milked it as long as possible, maybe exaggerated what happened, became healthy, and was able to get off the road for a while.

I could see the gov't wanting to make "the voice of a generation" an example out of, but no files have come out about it.

Did he break his vertebrae? Maybe, but we're talking about a master of reinvention and deception.

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