amazing live videos of Depeche Mode, Inside Out, Mitski & 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:
Depeche Mode at Chichester Festival 12/3/1981
They would become global superstars known for black eyeliner and Black Celebration but Depeche Mode started as a bubbly synthpop confection, thanks in large part to Vince Clarke who wrote almost all their early material, including singles “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Dreaming of Me” and “New Life.” Vince Clarke quit the band at the end of 1981, after Depeche Mode released their debut album, Speak & Spell — and would go on to co-found Yaz and Erasure — and this was the last gig he played with them. It’s a real trip to see how primitive, young (very young!) and low key it all was. [Bill Pearis]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ony2y9t1_A
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Inside Out @ Spanky’s Cafe in Riverside, CA – 5/19/1990
One of the most anticipated tours this year before the pandemic put every tour in question was the Rage Against the Machine reunion tour. With Rage still on everyone’s minds, Hate5six just uploaded this killer video (filmed by Joe Nelson) of Zack de la Rocha’s pre-Rage band Inside Out — whose lineup also included Vic DiCara (108, Burn, Shelter, etc) and other notable hardcore vets — tearing it up in 1990. Considering Rage were going to be headlining major festivals and massive arenas, it’s especially a trip to watch Zack totally in his element at a small hardcore show like this. As an added bonus: they played “Deathbed,” which eventually became a 108 song for 1995’s classic Songs of Separation. [Andrew Sacher]
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Black Hippy @ Power 106’s Cali Christmas 2013
Last week, TDE dropped a bunch of new songs, including — among other things — a very good Ab-Soul song, his first in four years. It brought me back to when Kendrick Lamar wasn’t yet a superstar and the whole Black Hippy crew — Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock — were more regularly playing shows together. The four of them are great on their own, but they’ve got a real chemistry when they’re together and these shows were super fun. We caught them at NYC’s Downtown Music Festival in 2013, and here’s a video of the group a few months later at Power 106’s Cali Christmas, where P. Diddy showed up as a surprise guest. [Andrew Sacher]
https://youtu.be/Icqyg8ZFX4E
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Art Brut @ Schuba’s 11/15/2005
Art Brut just celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, one of 2005’s most flat-out enjoyable, exuberant records from “Formed a Band” through “My Little Brother,” “Emily Kane,” “Good Weekend” and all the way to “18,000 Lira.” Frontman/lyricist Eddie Argos was a big part of their appeal and his charms were even more appealing live. Here they are at their peak, in Chicago, on the Bang Bang Rock & Roll tour, with Agos as indie motivational speaker, encouraging the entire audience to form bands. Wonder how many actually started at his urging? [Bill Pearis]
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Mitski @ The Red Barn at Hampshire College – 11/24/2014
We loved the theatrical, high concept performances that Mitski did for her tour supporting 2018’s excellent Be The Cowboy, but this video is from much earlier in her career; it was recorded a week after the release of her breakthrough album, 2014’s Bury Me at Makeout Creek, and it’s a solo, acoustic performance where the emotion in the songs really shines through. With Mitski on an indefinite hiatus from touring, it was gonna be a while before we’d be able to see her again even before lockdown hit – much less in an intimate performance like this. [Amanda Hatfield]
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And here’s a much more recent gallery of Depeche Mode, from the Hollywood Bowl in 2018:
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For more of our favorite live videos, head here.
