New Order
New Order

amazing live videos from Minor Threat, Jefferson Airplane & 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:

New Order @ Shinjuku Koseinenkin Hall, Tokyo on May 2, 1985

New Order were really at the height of their creative powers in 1985, having fully integrated drum machines and synthesizers into their sound for a truly unique rock/dance hybrid. The week before the release of their brilliant third album, Low-Life, they played this show in Tokyo that shows off what a good live band they were then, too (when their delicate equipment was working correctly). With the new album fresh on their minds, the setlist is heavy on Low-Life, including “Love Vigilantes,” and “Sub Culture” but also some amazing deep cuts, like the great, anthemic, shoulda-been-a-single “Face Up” which is just a joyous rendition here. Elsewhere in their set: “We All Stand” from Power, Corruption and Lies, standalone single “Confusion,” “As It Was When It Was” (which would be on their next album, Brotherhood) and, of course, “Blue Monday” to end it all. This was released on VHS under the lovely official title Pumped Full of Drugs which, if you’ve read Peter Hook’s New Order memoir, is probably a pretty accurate description of the band at the time. [Bill Pearis]

Minor Threat @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC – 6/23/1983

Not known for their quality or shelf life, I have chucked a good many VHS tapes in the garbage in my life time. Some, however, will remain in my library forever, even as subsequent DVD or BluRay upgrades render these dinosaurs obsolete. One such title whose antiquated VHS version I cherish is Minor Threat Live, a magnificent snapshot at the live fury Minor Threat was able to unleash at the tail end of their career in 1983. Housed in a clamshell box with supplemental booklet, this felt ‘Criterion’ before I knew what Criterion even was. The video kicks off with a super grainy, early B&W video recording of ‘Minor Threat’ as performed at DC Space in Washington DC in 1980. After that, it transitions in earnest to a 17-song onslaught as recorded more professionally at the 9:30 Club in DC in 1983. The 9:30 Club material begins with a great deal of stage banter in front of a barely visible audience who are all just standing there. However, the second they tear into “Stand Up” the place absolutely erupts. It is an incendiary performance that still gets me absolutely amped. [Jeff Bergstrom]

Fiona Apple @ Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA – 5/23/2000

Fiona Apple revealed some details about her long-awaited new album earlier this week, so it feels like the perfect time to revisit one of her live shows. This is a rare recording of a show her tour supporting 1999’s When the Pawn…, and while neither the sound nor picture are exactly pro-quality, the setlist is sublime and it’s a great reminder of what a live force Fiona is. [Amanda Hatfield]

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Jefferson Airplane @ Monterey Pop Festival, 1967

Before there was Woodstock there was Monterey Pop Festival, which was much less of a disaster than Woodstock and perhaps the definitive concert event of the summer of love. The D.A. Pennebaker (RIP)-directed documentary/concert film is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest concert films of all time, and thankfully D.A. and his crew had tons of footage that didn’t make it into the film, including of Jefferson Airplane’s set. Like with their pals the Grateful Dead, you’d never know exactly what you were going to get from the Airplane’s often-improvisational sets, and they were on at Monterey. They breathed new life into favorites from the then-recently-released and now-classic Surrealistic Pillow (“Somebody to Love,” “White Rabbit,” and “Today”), did fiery versions of two of their regular covers (“Other Side of this Life” and “High Flyin’ Bird”), and ended with a performance of the then-unreleased “Young Girl Sunday Blues.” Just as incredible as their sound were the psychedelic oil-drop projections behind them, which made the whole thing look as trippy as any concert visuals you can see today. We miss you Paul, Marty, and Spencer. [Andrew Sacher]

Video of almost the whole set is on YouTube, but at the end of this playlist is audio of the full concert:

Napalm Death @ Salisbury Arts Centre, UK, 6/30/1990

As much as I love Napalm Death, my favorite period of theirs is between 1987 and 1992. In that time, they unleashed four records; Scum (1987), From Enslavement to Obliteration (1988), Harmony Corruption (1990), and Utopia Banished (1992). Scum serves as the bedrock of grindcore as we know it, while the three subsequent releases saw their sound getting bigger and heavier. With the release of Harmony Corruption, 1990 was a pivotal year for the band. Though peppered copiously with their signature grindcore blast beats, Harmony Corruption saw Napalm Death leaning more heavily on the death metal sound that was dominating the scene at the time. The album sounded more massive and more polished than anything before and as such their popularity started to gain serious momentum. While on tour in support of Harmony Corruption, a performance at Salisbury Arts Centre on June 30, 1990 was professionally recorded for an eventual release in 1992 as Live Corruption. This 19-song onslaught captures the fury and heaviosity of Napalm Death in their prime. It also serves as a final document of the sheer ferocity drummer Mick Harris brought to the proceedings; he would leave the band in 1991, before the video was even released. Interspersed with short interviews with the band outside the venue, this is an essential document of an important place and time in death metal. [Jeff Bergstrom]

For more of our favorite live videos, go here.