Best Live Act of 2007
Looking for a way to reconcile Arcade Fire winning Best Live Act and Most Overblogged? It's probably that people were just sick of reading justifiably glowing Arcade Fire show reviews. If concertgoers weren't out worshiping Neon Bible, they were collecting in mass reverence to the great glowing pyramid, watching French robots come Alive. From there the list's a grab bag of the year's most hailed tours, from the Hold Steady to Grizzly, from Battles to of Montreal. Nice love for Man Man (beating My Morning Jacket no less). Note: Radiohead didn't tour this year and still they placed #16. They're just that good.
50 Interpol
49 The Shins
48 Sufjan Stevens
47 Bloc Party
46 Tegan And Sara
45 Bright Eyes
44 Rilo Kiley
43 Band Of Horses
42 The New Pornographers
41 Black Lips
40 Sunset Rubdown
39 Deerhunter
38 Broken Social Scene
37 The Polyphonic Spree
36 Justice
35 Bruce Springsteen
34 TV On The Radio
33 Kings Of Leon
32 Gogol Bordello
31 !!!
30 Menomena
29 Feist
28 The White Stripes
27 M.I.A.
26 Les Savy Fav
25 Björk
24 Beirut
23 Ryan Adams
22 Muse
21 The Flaming Lips
20 Andrew Bird
19 The Decemberists
18 My Morning Jacket
17 Man Man
16 Radiohead
15 Spoon
14 Okkervil River
13 Girl Talk
12 Dan Deacon
11 Jens Lekman
10
Grizzly Bear
09
Animal Collective
08
LCD Soundsystem
07
Wilco
06
Battles
05
The National
04
of Montreal
03
The Hold Steady
02
Daft Punk
01
Arcade Fire
Grizzly Bear? Live? Are you serious?
Of montreals sets have been absolutely terrible the last 3 times I've seen them. Don't deserve to be on this list.
The Klaxons put on the best set I've seen so far this year at Coachella. Blew Arcade Fire, et al out of the festival. Sadly completely missing from this list. As well is Hot Chip and Rapture. Sinful.
But thank god animal collective made the top 10. WTF? When will people learn voting just doesn't work.
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I think Against Me! got left off in this category.
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@MDSmit: The few times I've seen Of Montreal they've put on a great show. Bad luck, perhaps?
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Seriously, The National at five?
I was actually embarrassed to be at their performance. I had tricked my friends into coming with me, promising a good night with a band that made one of my albums-of-the-year.
And they were... embarrassing.
!!!, on the other hand, deserve to top that list.
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Yeah, i have to agree. The Grizzly Bears suck live. I actually feel that they suck period and don't really understand the whole "hoop-la" about them.
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I haven't made it to one myself, but shouldn't Dan Deacon kind of be required to be in at least the top 5?
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Spoon's ACL set alone should have warranted permanent exclusion from any current and future Best Live Act list. Goodness gracious, what a stinker.
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what the fuck? arcade fire over daft punk?
idiots!
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I'm sorry but Grizzly Bear live are great boys---really, four part harmonies and great songs. That's my "hoopla"
so are Of Montreal. Best cabaret costumes
Daft Punk is a party but it's also just a light show.
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yeah, seriously, WTF w/ Daft Punk at #2 on a best LIVE act list?
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Girl Talk at 13? YOU PEOPLE NEED A HEAD CHECK!
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Woah... you mean not everyone likes the same thing in a live show and anyone who disagrees with me is an idiot?
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If you don't think that grizzly bear is one of the best live acts of 2007 then you deserve all of the horrors of the world coming down upon you in one fluid motion. In otherwords... you deserve to have to listen to the arcade fire for the rest of your life.
grizzly bear is the best living band. Just look at them. god fuck you guys.
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yes, it's true, everyone else is wrong and you're a genius.
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I saw Man Man twice this year and both times they rocked me in just the right way.
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people who don't understand that Daft Punk is indeed a live act need to do some research before they speak. you embarass yourselves.
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Les Savy Fav only at 26? Whaaat?
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ART BRUT! TOP OF THE POPS! ART BRUT! TOP OF THE POPS!
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I understand the appeal of a group like Daft Punk or LCD being high on this list, but I simply can't understand how seeing a slow, quiet band like Grizzly Bear or the National could possibly be better than seeing a rock band like the Hold Steady or the Black Lips. The Black Lips show I went to was the funnest show I've been to in several years. I like bands like Grizzly Bear, but there's none of the drunken energy that I look for in live music. Hail hail rock n roll.
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DR. DOG!!!
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I would just like to say that I would much rather go to concert that was full of slow, quiet band songs, than to go to a concert that was full of a bunch of loud stinky kids raving because they are unsupervised, and not even caring about the music. This isn't to say that other people could value something different in a concert. I think Arcade Fire at Number 1, just shows that they are very middle of the road as far as what they provide in a concert setting. It's not a wild crazy, Take off your shirt and dance Dan Deacon party, and it's not a sit in a concert hall and cross your legs live show. It's a little bit of both.
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If only more of these guys would come through Pittsburgh! We feel slighted every year. Great list though, minus Springsteen. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get it.
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well put zayin_451
I don't get whole "faster the beats"/"more moshing party vibe" =better the live show mentality
I'll take well orchestrated slower live acts like grizzly bear and joanna newsome anyday over dan deacon kareoke
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So apparently this is the list for "best live act not called lcd soundsystem" -- who consistently outplayed arcade fire this fall.
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i would definitely not have the national in the top ten.
white rabbits, hot hot heat, the whigs...
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"people who don't understand that Daft Punk is indeed a live act need to do some research before they speak. you embarass yourselves."
yes they do what they do live, but they're still by and large a SAMPLES based act and much of their best music is based on other peoples music.
what they do live really isn't all that difficult if you know that much about electronic music.
now their light & stage show... that's another story altogether, but i think most people rate Daft Punk so high because of that, not exactly because of their musical prowess.
nothing wrong with that, just sayin'
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Excellent Top 2, I can't agree with The National however. I saw them open for AF 3 times in NY, and they just seemed a bit dull, prodding through their admittedly excellent set. I'm tempted to say they should be listened to on headphones, but they rocked the house with Squalor Victoria and Mr. November. Still, Girl Talk belongs higher than The National.
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that caribou is not on this list is a crying shame
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Re: the insane notion that Daft Punk is anything but mind-blowing live...
Why should musical or technical prowess be a requirement for being awesome live? I thought the question was simply, "who performed live, and kicked a whole lot of ass in the process?" In that regard, Daft Punk definitely deserve to be firmly planted up top. They shouldn't be disregarded because of their elaborate theatrics. If that's the case, then nix of Montreal for all their costume changes, or Dan Deacon for any of his bullshit, or Van Halen any time Diamond Dave does a scissor kick. It's part of the experience.
As far as it not being that technical, sure, maybe it isn't. I have no idea, what the hell do I know about electronic music? However, I will challenge anyone here who wants to hate on their music being sample based to listen to their albums, then put in that compilation of songs that they got their samples from that came out this year, then tell me they're not goddamn geniuses. It's pretty amazing. Even if a lot of their stuff is comprised of other people's music reworked, it is incredible what they do with it. I'm impressed any time someone can take something else and craft it into something entirely different, but completely unique. I don't get why that would make you any less of an artist that someone who crafts their songs from scratch. It's like saying Andy Warhol is somehow less of an artist than Picasso. They're entirely different, but I don't think you could say there is any greater or less value. Doesn't make sense.
Also, check out their studio albums vs. the arrangements on Alive 2007. Fucking amazing.
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well I'd rather see someone struggle through a set but know that it was entirely unique to that show and that they were playing instruments rather than a big rave where two dudes in robots stand on a pyramid and press play
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Daft Punk was the best live period. I'd reverse the first two. Arcade Fire IS amazing, but wow Daft Punk will be with me until I'm old and dying. That show is unforgettable.
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that photo beside Animal Collective is pretty much exactly what seeing them live is like, minus the obnoxious blinding lights in your face the entire time. three guys hovering over samplers for an hour has never been so boring.
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I second the Against Me! omission...they should be on here
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How is Animal Collective hovering over samplers any different than Daft Punk hovering over a computer, or Dan Deacon, or Girl Talk? They all hover over computers or synthesizers (though Daft Punk is in a big pyramid, which is pretty cool) and have lights pointed at you. Also, all of them are a lot of fun.
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Grizzly Bear is maybe the worst live band I've ever seen. Not mediocre, but really fucking terribly bad. There's no way Of Montreal should be 4th, they're really not that good live.
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Gogol Bordello that low? Does one of the best concerts you'll see in your life turn off stereogummers?
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Excellent The Hold Steady placement!
the best damn show I've ever been to.
Craig made absolutely everyone in that audience feel like they were his best friend.
also, I just saw Against Me!, it wasn't all that great, you people need to get out and see more concerts.
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"It's like saying Andy Warhol is somehow less of an artist than Picasso. They're entirely different, but I don't think you could say there is any greater or less value. Doesn't make sense."
It makes perfect sense. Picasso is much better than Andy Warhol. What the fuck are you talking about?
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Ted, you are a massive idiot.
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Fuck Arcade Fire.
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An injustice. Sunset Rubdown should have placed higher than #40. That band is a powerful live act, with band members swapping instruments throughout the show and yet still sounding great. Perhaps even better as the set went on. Not to mention they've got one hell of a singer.
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I can't agree at all with this list. I saw 8 of the top 10 bands and, with the exception of Daft Punk, they were incredibly boring experiences. Arcade Fire are a great live act, but in a stadium-style setting the entire thing seemed completely lost. I saw them open for Unicorns a few years ago in Amherst, MA, and it was like an amazing punch to the face. Win couldn't meet the mic cable together and the entire band was breaking strings and drumsticks song after song and somehow still sounding fantastic. In contract, when I saw them this past year, I felt as if I was attending a 20-year run musical, well-rehearsed, but pointless.
I should add I don't think large venues are a good place to see music. When the performer takes up so little of the performing space, it's natural that the art becomes completely different. So no surprise that my favorite shows were all relatively small. Some of my tops ...
-Ex Models
-Health
-Soft Circle
-Big A little a
-Telepathe
-Lightning Bolt (without any doubt, the most consistent live band I've seen)
However, a couple performers on the list definitely ruled despite mid-sized surroundings ... Girl Talk especially.
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Lol@luke
yeah Soft Circle and Telepathe are WAYYYY better live than Of Montreal, Battles, Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective
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I know they are the last on this list, but I have to say that Interpol was the worst "big" band I think I have ever seen. They never looked at each other, there was no rapport, and it sounded like someone was playing their CD super loud. Absolutely nothing interesting going on. And I know four people at that same show who thought the same thing, independently. I'll never see them again.
P.S. Grizzly Bear and Feist are better live than on record.
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tegan and sara/northern state in austin was the best show i saw this year, hands down
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Liars, Man Man, Deerhoof, and Modest Mouse were the four best live acts I saw this year. Interpol sucked shit. Liars obliterated them. Too bad all the dumb scene kids didn't agree. Oh yeah, Moz ruled too. Especially when he kept taking his shirt off, OMG!!!
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!!! and Deerhoof should be up top.
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The Arcade Fire are good live, but I'm not sure they deserve the number one spot.
They were quite disappointing at this year's Roskilde Festival. Win had trouble hitting the high notes, and the intervals between the songs were far too long.
The biggest problem, however, was their choice of songs: Only four songs from 'Funeral' and the entire 'Neon Bible' (except the horrible 'Black Waves...', luckily). 'Neon Bible' definitely has some great songs, but the title track and 'Black Mirror' just don't work live
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the fact that THE KNIFE is not on this list just proves you all know nothing!!! :)
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I would just like to say that Grizzly Bear is one of the best live performances I have ever seen. First of all, whoever said that they are just a "slow band" probably has not heard their records or seen them live. They do have some beautiful, slow and intricate songs...but songs like "On a Neck, On a Spit", "Lullabye", and "Little Brother (Electric Version" are sick on record, and even more amazing live. They have turned a lot of their slower stuff into ridiculous barn burners for their live show, all topped with ridiculous layered vocals. Also, Chris Bear is much more prominent in their live sets and he is one of the most exciting drummers I have ever had the pleasure to see live.
Also, I love Spoon and The National. I think they made some of the best records of the year...but I saw them both live this summer and was completely disappointed in their sets. I hope I was merely unlucky.
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well said william in response to grizzly bear. they put on a really stupendous show and those that don't get it are usually just looking for your average rock out a la spoon.
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yeah yeah yeahs toured a little bit this year. anyone? anyone?
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Perhaps the live web casting Radiohead did justified their spot at #16.
Not on the list, but has anyone else heard of this Brooklyn band, Pale Nimbus? I was at a holiday party over the weekend and these two dudes from some magazine (Spin?) wouldn't stop talking about them, claiming they were the best band they have seen in New York all year. They evidently formed this August and are already playing Mercury Lounge and a bunch of other places. I went to their MySpace and there is no music, but they have over 10,000 friends. info...anyone?
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My best concert was by far Mute Math, RRIICCEE and rounding at third Arcade Fire.
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I'm also going to say that I saw Animal Collective live this fall and it was almost unbearable. I loved strawberry jam...I hate how they didn't play any of it. I understand they get to make their sets and whatnot, and don't have to play their entire new record...but people showed up wanting to hear it. Their opening act was awful, and other than a few highlights it was completely forgettable altogether. I would have rather seen panda bear by himself with his drum set and synth.
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I've seen The Hold Steady 3 times so far. I enjoy the band, and I enjoyed all three shows. But I want to know--does anyone else feel like (at times) their act is a little forced? Some of Craig's moves...some of the keyboard players moves...they seem fake to me in a way. Just calling it like I see it.
Also, where are Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings? It is now just assumed they are the world champions of live music? Sharon could take a dump onstage I could still probably find a way to dance to it.
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anybody that saw ghostland observatory at ACL or any of their other festival appearances knows that they should be on this list.
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I don't usually get involved in these blog comment wars but alas I feel the urge to comment and surely nothing can stop me now.
When I see a band or artist live I always think that if they were any good live they would have brought something more to the music - maybe even help me appreciate a song in a different way. This can save even the direst of performances from say, Dylan, who sounds like a cow drowning in quicksand when performing live. Even at the solitary time I saw him perform, he still pulled out a great version of 'Maggie's Farm'. Artists like the Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire bring energy to their songs and artists like Ryan Adams and Springsteen can often rework a song and give a new feel to it. I guess an exception to that rule is if you see someone with a truly unique extraodinary voice, like antony or joanna newsom (with these artists it is just a pleasure to hear them sing).
Having said this, why are 'the shins' on a list of the best live acts? When I saw them, save for a version of pink floyd's 'breathe' the performance was uninspired and flat. The songs were great as always but I may as well have been at home listening to the albums with a can of special brew.
Maybe I caught them on a bad day and I guess what I have said above is also subjective (and they are pretty low on the list after all). I wonder if they made the list just because they are a popular band.
As for the list itself, I have not seen fifty live acts this year. How many people have?
And where is my mate Dave's band, they did a cracking set at The Fox in Palmers Green with a rip-roaring, toe-tapping, finger-snapping rendition of Barenaked Ladies 'One Week'? I have no respect for this list for that omission.
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Why oh why did Interpol make it on this list? If those guys don't even like each other, how the hell are they going to put on a great show together?
And where are Arctic Monkeys?!
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Shout Out Louds.
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Shout Out Louds. Brooklyn.
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I still don't see the fascination with The Arcade Fire. They still sound like The Talking Heads to me. I finally heard Animal Collective on Conan and they were fucking terrible.
Half of these bands were so hyped up all year that I just ignored them.It's the same article in the same 4 magazines,ya know?
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The Hold Steady was definitely the best live show I saw this year.
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Wait, Dan Deacon is pretty much the biggest thing to happen this year because of his live act.
Gogol Bordello took over Coachella!
¡AMA te AMA!
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Patrick Wolf is missing from the list and so is the RAPTURE. people suck when it comes to votin.
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i tokio hotel sono the best
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