Sigur Ros, Bright Eyes, Sparks & more live videos to watch @ home

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:

Sigur Ros in Iceland in 2006 (Heima)

In 2006, Sigur Ros filmed two big outdoor concerts as well as some more intimate shows in Iceland and turned it into their live concert film Heima. Along with gorgeous shots of Icelandic landscapes, Heima is a fine document of how stunning Sigur Ros’ live shows are. There’s footage of them playing calming, earthy music outside with a horn section, totally intense footage of them playing heavier material in the dark with a mesmerizing light show, and plenty of the in-between. It’s a long one, but it’s worth it. [Andrew Sacher]

—

Grizzly Bear @ Sydney Opera House – 1/5/2014

Grizzly Bear have always been a great live band – they play all in a horizontal line up front (rather than having drummer Chris Bear in the back), and it makes so much sense for them, because each member truly brings something uniquely essential to the band’s live show. Hearing their voices swirl together in real time can be even more uplifting than on record, and the live show always reinforces that all four members of Grizzly Bear are not just good pop songwriters but also highly skilled musicians in a way that you don’t always see in indie rock. That’s all on display in this pro-shot concert in the beautiful Sydney Opera House. [Andrew Sacher]

https://youtu.be/gZs7GYG9I3A

—

Bright Eyes @ Magic Stick, Detroit, MI, 5/12/2002

Bright Eyes are releasing a new single today, and in honor of that I revisited this show from much earlier in their career, a few months before the release of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground. There’s an appreciable amount of crowd noise, but that adds to the feeling of actually being in a club, and Conors sounds fired up and impassioned playing an incredible setlist of songs from Letting off the Happiness, Fevers and Mirrors, and Lifted, backed by a full band, string section included. [Amanda Hatfield]

—

Sparks on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, 1974

Syndicated TV series Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert brought some of the biggest the biggest names in the biz — the Stones, Grand Funk, ABBA, Steve Wonder, Bad Company, Billy Joel, etc — into American homes in the ’70s and ’80s. Occasionally it brought something a little different, like when they had Sparks on in 1974. Between Russel Maels operatic voice and his brother Ron’s unique look and stage presence, most folks who caught this at 11:30 PM on a weekend night. 1974 was a big year for Sparks, releasing both Propaganda and Kimono My House this year. Forty five years later their performance — including “Something For The Girl With Everything,” “Here in Heaven,” and “Talent is an Asset” — is still unforgettable. [Bill Pearis]

—

The Beta Band – Live @ The Shepherds Bush Empire, 2004

They may be best known now for their “Dry the Rain” needle drop appearance in the 2000 movie adaptation of High Fidelity — “I will now sell five copies of The Three EPs by The Beta Band” — but The Beta Band were one of the most underrated groups of the late-’90s and early-’00s, most certainly in a live setting where were really transcendent, especially when fronmant Steve Mason sat down at the second drumkit and things got very krautrock/baggy. Here’s part of their 2004 show at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire that included that High Fidelity hit. [Bill Pearis]