best song you ever heard played live ?

[Thedude99]

Radiohead playing Fake Plastic Trees on the OK Computer tour. When it keep kicked in - it was the most amazing thing I've seen.

 

[Triton76]

Yes Gates of Delirium at the Hollywood Bowl
Stevie Nicks Beauty and the Beast
Tool Eulogy at Universal ampitheater
Iron Maiden Paschendale
TransAtlantic Stranger in your Soul
Grateful Dead too many to list

 

[Stu Cats]

Bunnymen, Over the Wall, '86. Wish crazy Louis was on the kit.

 

[GulfportBound]

You saw all those shows?

I didn't see them myself, but those were some of the best live performances I'd ever heard.

For shows I've seen myself, I'd have to go with:

B.B. King opening for the Who and Jefferson Airplane, Tanglewood MA 1969
The Rolling Stones, Madison Square Garden, 1969
Miles Davis at Fillmore East, 1970
John Mayall and Boz Scaggs, Fillmore East 1971
Mike Bloomfield, Roslyn NY, 1974
Blue Oyster Cult, Commack Arena, 1975
Pink Floyd, Nassau Coliseum, 1975
Roxy Music, Hempstead NY, 1976
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers, New Paltz NY, 1978
Talking Heads, Poughkeepsie NY, 1978

 

[mr tom]

I couldn't call a single best, but one I remember as perfect was Marty Stuart, with Ray Flacke in the band, absolutely destroying "Who Will the Next Fool Be" at the UP (Michigan) State Fair, sometime in the '90s.

 

[Bob Pollock]

Jefferson Airplane with Grace, Somebody to love. Early 70's
B.B. King singing Caledonia to my wife.
Clapton, Bell Bottom Blues acoustic (the tour with Billy Preston). I had tears.
Jeff Beck Where were you, on the tour with SRV.
With my wife 2 months after her brain tumor surgery watching Aerosmith, I don't want to miss a thing. She had tears.

 

[gennation]

Probably anything off the J Giels Band album Fullhouse.

 

[deeohgee]

Purple Rain (including an extended solo guitar intro) - Prince, April 1992 at the Melbourne Tennis Centre.
The most powerful musical experience I have ever had.

 

[Don P.]

Oasis - Slideaway Mansfield,Ma. 8/2001
Bob Dylan - Summer Days Wilkes-Barre,Pa. 11/2002
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name Rochester, N.Y. 10/1987
Bob Dylan - Girl From The North Country Toronto, Ca 3/2004
Paul Weller - Into Tomorrow Newcastle, U.K. 4/2000

 

[Bluesful]

Couple for me.

Keith Richards doing You Got The Silver (Keith standing guitarless at the mic with Ron Wood on acoustic).
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams in the pouring rain. Stevie had everyone in a trance-like state.

 

[HowardMusic]

Schizophrenia - Sonic Youth at UCSB Campbell Hall 1990

 

[JJ321]

Jerry Cantrell - Down in a Hole

This was at one of Jerry's solo shows just shortly after Layne died.

 

[stephenT]

Most recently w/ be at the (Col. Bruce) Hampton 70. About the middle of the show Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Chuck Leavell played “Jessica”. It was absolutely stupendous, those three at the top of their game playing for their good friend. Farking amazing.

 

[noctilux1]

two that stand out for me
The CSN&Y 4 Way Street Tour where they played Carry On ---- their intro and the song were just unbelievable
second
Paul McCartney and Wings doing Magneto and Titanium Man - hearing Paul belt that out live in his prime was perfect ----
moments I don't forget

 

[Wolfgangsta]

A few stand-outs for me.
Van Halen kicking off the show with 'Unchained' here in T-town on the 2012 tour.
Gov't Mule and Grace Potter doing 'Gold Dust Woman' here at The Cain's Ballroom with Warren on a 12 string LP.
Vintage Trouble playing 'Blues Hand Me Down' at a little club.

 

[The Opera Panther]

So, I'll preface this by saying I am not the world's biggest Radiohead fan. I went to the infamous Nissan Pavilion show back in 2008.

http://dcist.com/2008/05/dcist_commenter_1.php#photo-1

The article does not do the conditions justice. It rained sideways all day and night. It was the worst weather I've ever been purposefully outside in. It was an ordeal getting there, and then no one wanted to get out of the van (renting a van/driver was the best call ever). Luckily, the pot brownies kicked in, and we decided, **** it, we're here, let's go. They opened with "All I Need" from In Rainbows. It was glorious. I've never heard anything like that live before, or since. And again, I'm not a huge Radiohead fan.

 

[8raw]

Too many to narrow down to one great song by one act one day.

I will say the biggest surprise and crazy fun was Zappa playing I Am The Walrus at a show back in the 80's.

 

[daacrusher2001]

The original Outlaws doing "Green Grass & High Tides". Saw them many times in the 70's and never before or since has there been a tour de force like the Florida Guitar Army at full speed.

+1 on Green Grass & High Tides - I saw them a bunch back then too...they were really a great band.

But, that said, I think the song that sticks out for me as the best song I've ever heard played live is "Yours Is No Disgrace" - played at Madison Square Garden as a second encore. Steve Howe is just crazy good.

A close second is "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" - Allman Brothers back in 1970-something...can't remember the year exactly, but wow...

 

[monty]

I wasn't there, but the Who doing wont get fooled again at the 9/11 tribute concert in NY (second song):

 

[TomDev]

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Stevie Ray Vaughn at Nassau Community College in 1982. In the college cafeteria, which was set up for the concert. Still remember it, as I was a big Hendrix fan at the time.