All I need is a microphone, a stage, and an audience

Summertime: the time of outdoor frolicking, BBQ, sun lotion and live concerts.

Sure, a lot of live shows take place indoors, even in the summertime, but most outdoor shows - the big kahunas of the concert world - are outdoor gigs. Whether in football stadiums, baseball parks, farms or Central Park, the big outdoor show is the epitome of big-time musical performances.

So are all of my live selections from big-ass outdoor gigs?

Hardly.

But the sentiment is the same: there are some songs that simply thrive in a live setting. And there are some artists that relish the opportunity to perform their songs in front of appreciative (and sometimes non-appreciative) fans, where they can get immediate feedback, feel the sense of community from their fan bases, and allow the songs to grow into something perhaps a bit larger than the carefully-crafted studio production.

For me, live shows are a treat. I’ve seen many of my favorite artists in live performance: McCartney, Simon & Garfunkel, The Who, U2, Brian Wilson, KT Tunstall, Indigo Girls, R.E.M., The Police, Elvis Costello, James Taylor, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Richard Shindell, Moxy Früvous, Emmylou Harris, The Rolling Stones, among countless others. And almost every time, the live performance brings new life to old songs - sometimes making some more mundane tunes a lot more potent.

Enjoy!

1. “Comfortably Numb” - Pink Floyd (at Live 8, Hyde Park, London, 2 July 2005)
   I know that many people don’t really equate Floyd with extraordinary live performances. After all, the hallmark of their live gigs was often to recreate, as closely as possible, their studio mixes - albeit with films, lights, lasers, props and other theatrical elements. But most folks don’t realize that they often perfected their works (especially from Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and Animals) on the concert stage. They’d tinker with instrumentation, arrangements, lyrics, timing and other elements on the stage, then take the well-oiled machine into the studio to create some incredible albums. I include this version of “Comfortably Numb” because it’s such a rare achievement: a band reuniting its trademark lineup for the first time in 23 years in a one-off performance, simply nailing it. The performance is tight and fun - at least as fun as a depressing song can get. But it’s simply awesome to hear Waters, Gilmour, Wright and Mason (along with a handful of veteran Floyd and Waters sidemen and women) knock this one out of the (Hyde) park.
2. “My Generation” - The Who (at the Young Vic Theatre, London, 26 April 1971)
   Unlike Pink Floyd, The Who is known for delivering explosive live performances. Their early gigs were known for their destructive power (broken guitars, exploding drum kits), but lost in the mayhem was the craft these boys left out on the stage. And as they embarked upon more complex albums, they’d still rock out on their early material. So while this performance fell squarely in the era of Who’s Next, the boys rock out on their 1967 hit, adding extra wattage compared to the already-potent studio recording.
3. “The Boxer” - Simon & Garfunkel (at Long Beach Arena, California, 15 November 1969)
   During their heyday, Simon and Garfunkel usually toured as an acoustic duo: just a guitar and two voices, alone on a stage. But in 1969 and 1970, they decided to take their studio band with them on the road, as their new albums at the time (Bookends and Bridge Over Troubled Water) were high-production affairs. And on the 1969 tour, they also introduced many of the songs from Bridge to their fans. So imagine being a fan of S&G, having never heard “The Boxer” before this evening’s concert - it’s a revelatory experience. And to this day, I greatly prefer live versions of this song to the studio mix: more direct, more emotional, and much cooler.
4. “Closer To Fine” - Indigo Girls (live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, November 1994)
   If ever the Indigo Girls penned a song that goes up about ten notches in a live setting, this is it. Their first hit song, almost all IG fans - casual and die-hard - know this song in-and-out. The simple chord pattern and voice-friendly key lay down a foundation upon which lyrics that most folks can draw a lot of common ground dance and play. Amy and Emily fully realize this, and in a live setting this is the sing-along to end all sing-alongs.
5. “Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Down On Broadway)” - Billy Joel (live at Madison Square Garden, June 1980)
   This song deals with less-than-uplifting material: namely, the destruction of New York City in a nuclear attack. But when Billy Joel performs this song in front of a New York crowd, there’s a joy in camaraderie that lifts it to a new level. The song name-checks many NYC landmarks and institutions, and the New York crowd laps up the references with glee. The best part? That Joel and band feed off this energy and drive the performance home with gusto.
6. “Like A Rolling Stone” - Bob Dylan (live at Manchester Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, 17 May 1966)
   This one was a toss-up for me: do I go with the “scandalous” performance from the Newport Folk Festival (where Pete Seeger demanded that they “shut off that noise!”), or this one, the famous “Judas” performance from Manchester? Believe me, I thought long and hard, and listened to both performances many times to decide. But the latter one had more energy, as Bob and The Hawks seemed to raise their game many levels due to the crowd’s less-than-appreciative reaction to the newly “electrified” Dylan.

Download: “Comfortably Numb” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
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Download: “My Generation” - The Who (mp3)
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Download: “The Boxer” - Simon & Garfunkel (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Closer To Fine” - Indigo Girls (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Down On Broadway)” - Billy Joel (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Like A Rolling Stone” - Bob Dylan (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)