amazing live videos from PJ Harvey, At the Drive In, B-52's & more to watch while every show is cancelled

Basically no shows are happening due to the coronavirus outbreak (though some artists are doing livestreams instead), but if you’re already jonesing to see a show, or just need a brief distraction from the insanity of the world right now, thankfully there’s YouTube which has an amazing array of live footage from throughout the history of pop music, from clips from concert films, TV performances and other pro-shot footage, to tons of fan-shot video from shows. If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve been picking some of our favorites. Here are five more:

At the Drive In @ Big Day Out 2001

The first time I saw from At the Drive In perform was not in person but this live performance recorded a few months after Relationship of Command‘s release at Sydney’s Big Day Out festival, which was filmed for television along with an interview. They opened with the same one-two punch as the album, “Arcarsenal” into “Pattern Against User,” and not only did they sound razor sharp, but this performance made it clear right off the bat how physical a thing At the Drive In was. These guys were flailing their bodies across the stage — even in an environment as non-intimate as a major festival — and the music sounded as intense as they looked. The set became extra infamous when ATDI walked off early because Cedric Bixler-Zavala was pissed off at some aggressive moshers in the pit. He now says he could’ve handled the situation better, but it’s still badass to see Cedric bring these Fugazi-esque punk ethos to a crowd of thousands. [Andrew Sacher]

—

The B-52’s @ Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ 11/7/1980

New Wave greats The B-52’s were true originals, mixing ’50s kitsch with post-punk rhythms for a sound designed for parties and armed with Ricky Wilson’s truly inventive guitar style and the one-of-a-kind personalities of his sister Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider. (Drummer Keith Strickland kept the all-important beat.) Having released their second album, Wild Planet, a couple month before, The B-52’s were still on the rise and a total mass of manic energy when they played this show at NJ’s Capitol Theatre featuring a set full of now-classics, with the promise of a shiny new decade keeping the mess-around dancing. [Bill Pearis]

—

PJ Harvey @ Roskilde Festival, 6/29/1995

Touring in support of what’s arguably her best album yet, 1995’s To Bring You My Love, PJ Harvey’s Roskilde set from June of that year is intense, mesmerizing, and full of songs she rarely plays live these days, making it a total treat to witness. [Amanda Hatfield]

—

Oingo Boingo @ The Ritz 4/25/1985

I am almost 43 and I know basically nothing about Oingo Boingo except for the fact that Danny Elfman was the driving force behind the band and its singer. And all I really know about Danny Elfman is his vast library of film and television scores. I was first exposed to Oingo Boingo in 1985 when I was eight years old and saw Weird Science for which they did the title track, yet I didn’t know I was hearing Oingo Boingo until maybe a few years ago. Then, just a few weeks ago, YouTube’s algorithm decided to throw this onto my suggested videos feed and I decided to give it a whirl. And holy crud, I am glad I did. This seven-song, 31-minute performance (actually from 1985, not 1987) recorded at NYC’s The Ritz (now Webster Hall) is a towering exhibition of musicianship, songwriting, and energy that I immediately became addicted to. With the exception of “Weird Science” all of these songs were a completely new experience for me. Their dense tapestry of sound consisting of Danny Elfman’s killer vocals, horns, synths, drum machines, and seemingly handmade percussion instruments soar across a variety of up-tempo genre (including ska) and create a listening and viewing experience I wish I was able to see live in my lifetime and which remains timeless. [Jeff Bergstrom]

https://youtu.be/nQ2ChsCwIkc

—

Meshuggah – 2013 tour

I moved out of the USA a few weeks before the coronavirus touched down across the planet in earnest and governments around the globe began enforcing closed borders and travel bans. As an expat in a foreign land with no friends, no job, and consumed by the specter of maybe no job in the near future, I’m walking a psychological tight rope stretched somewhere between choking angst and stomach melting despair. During these trying times I find myself gravitating to the heaviest of metals as aural catharsis. One such salve is Meshuggah’s 2014 live CD/DVD The Ophidian Trek. This 15-song, 90-minute festival of heviosity finds Meshuggah flawlessly tearing through their greatest hits with wall-punching fury. Although every song is a masterpiece, gird your loins for the down-tempo chug-a-chug onslaught that is ”Lethargica” or the neck breaking fury of “Bleed” or the 15-minute journey through hell that is “Mind’s Mirrors / In Death – Is Life / In Death – Is Death.” This is a portrait of a band in their finest form and essential listening for anyone into the heaviest of sounds. [Jeff Bergstrom]

For more of our favorite live videos, go here.