Kendrick Lamar

live videos of Kendrick Lamar, LCD & more to watch while every show is cancelled

Cities have begun to reopen (NYC is in the early stages of doing so) and some people are finding socially-distant ways to put on concerts, but the world of live entertainment as we know it is still far from back to normal. In addition to watching the many livestreams that happen every day, one thing we’ve been turning to in these concert-less times is live concert footage, and 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:

Kendrick Lamar @ Reading and Leeds 2018

Kendrick Lamar apparently has a new album on the way, though he’s been pretty quiet about it. He did, however, emerge to protest on the streets of Compton on Sunday — a move that was no surprise considering Kendrick’s perhaps the definitive protest anthem of a generation. If you’ve been craving Kendrick’s music lately, you’re far from alone, and this excellent, pro-shot video of Kenny’s DAMN.-era headlining set at Reading and Leeds is extremely worthy viewing. [Andrew Sacher]

Moses Sumney @ KEXP Studios – 9/28/2017

Moses Sumney released his best album yet, and one of our favorites of the year so far, the double LP græ, this year. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to see him tour it yet because of coronavirus, so instead we’re revisiting this gorgeous studio session filmed days after the release of his debut LP, Aromanticism. It really showcases his gorgeous voice and eclectic, genre-defying music. [Amanda Hatfield]

Griselda @ Novo Theater in Los Angeles, CA – 3/6/2020

Griselda is having a serious moment right now. 2019 was the biggest year yet for these gritty, Buffalo-based rap traditionalists, and 2020 has only been bigger. It’s included a Fallon appearance, multiple projects and more on the way (including Westside Gunn’s Pray For Paris and two Conway EPs), tons of must-hear guest verses (including one with Lil Wayne), and a tour earlier this year supporting the group’s first crew album and Shady Records debut, WWCD. This fan-shot video from the LA stop of that tour captures how well WSG, Conway, Benny the Butcher, and their collaborators (including Boldy James, The Alchemist, and Keisha Plum) can command a crowd, and it also proves that what you hear on the album is what you get in person. Their talent is undeniable. [Andrew Sacher]

LCD Soundsystem @ Primavera Sound 2016

It only took James Murphy five years from LCD’s “last show ever” at Madison Square Garden to decided he wanted to get the band back together. While you may grumble at his conviction, nobody who went to see them live on the subsequent tour seemed upset that they were back. This Primavera Sound set is before they started working in songs from 2017’s American Dream, so this is all hits, opening with “Us v Them” and powering through to “All My Friends” and the Barcelona crowd is eating it all up. [Bill Pearis]

The Monks on ‘Beat, Beat, Beat’ 1966

The Monks were a garage rock band made up of bored G.I.’s stationed in German in the ’60s. They dressed as monks and shaved their heads, too, but the fuzzed-out, droney, organ-fueled sound they created was even crazier and proved influential. The Fall covered two of their songs on 1990’s Extricate and Rick Rubin and Henry Rollins reissued their 1966 debut, Black Monk Time, via their Infinite Zero label. During their brief time together they appeared on German TV show Beat Beat Beat, playing six songs which are all pretty fantastic. [Bill Pearis]

Check out a set of pics from LCD Soundsytem at Primavera Sound 2016:

For more of our favorite live videos, head here.