Best Live Performances

Somehow I was lucky enough to go to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. I still find it hard to believe I was actually there, particularly as a few days beforehand I was expecting to be watching it on television.

I have always loved the Olympics and have always wanted to go so when I found out that it was coming to London (I come from just outside London) I was very excited only to be disappointed in getting no tickets at all. However, I got lucky and managed to get tickets to the opening ceremony just a couple of days before the event. The ceremony had been kept secret so I had no real idea of what to expect and certainly the opening segment caught me by surprise.

We were all staring at the "Green and pleasant land" that had been created in the stadium and suddenly there was this extraordinarily loud drumming accompanying the transformation into an industrial revolution scene and the forging of the Olympic rings; it was stunning.

I have included two video clips of this fabulous live performance. The first one really captures the vibrancy and volume of the drumming which resonated throughout the stadium and every spectator and it features the first half of the "Pandemonium" segment of the ceremony. The second video clip features the second half of this section and shows the forging of the Olympic rings.

Below are four photographs that I took of this section of the Olympic Opening Ceremony. The first one is of the "Green and Pleasant Land" that had been created in the stadium; the next is of some of the 1000+ drummers that made an incredible noise as the industrial revolution took place; the third is of the "Dark Satanic Mills" that were created; the final photo is of the Olympic Rings as they were forged from the industrial scene that was created.

I can remember watching this Jean Michel Jarre concert as it was being broadcast live on television; looking back on it I wish I been there, but I was on a family holiday in Yorkshire, UK, not in Houston! 

I have vivid memories of watching this concert and "Rendezvous 4" was my favorite part of the show; when I hear it I can picture myself carving walking sticks with my father and grandfather, just like we were when I originally saw the concert - unfortunately neither of them are still here to share the memories.

This is one of the best live performances ever, in my opinion, and impossible to recreate due to the complexity of the light show and fireworks as well as the energy of the performers. Fireworks, laser beams, light shows on skyscrapers, catchy music, a huge choir and a mad, grinning Frenchman controlling it all - what is not to like about this?

In 1985 the Live Aid concert was big news - a way to raise money for people starving in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa. I was 12 at the time and not really that interested in the concert but it was on TV and it was being broadcast live around the world so I had it on as I was doing my homework. 

Most of the concert was rubbish, in my opinion, with technical faults, pop stars trying to be politicians and bands that just sounded awful, but when Queen came on my homework was forgotten.

I was very familiar with the music of Queen as my mother was a fan, but this performance was probably what made me a lover of their music. Quite frankly Queen were by far the best thing at Live Aid and I am not sure there is anyone who disputes this. Wish I had been there just for this act - I never got to see Queen live and I was truly saddened when Freddie Mercury died.

Lady Gaga was not really on my radar when she first became popular. I was living in Thailand and spending most of my time leading bird tours in remote forests, totally out of touch with what was going on in modern western culture.

However, I had heard the song "Poker Face" so I was vaguely interested in seeing who the singer was when my sister, Heather, started telling me about a Lady Gaga performance on the VMA music awards the previous evening. Her description of the performance was intriguing and with the wonders of the internet we were able to immediately view it. Oh, and what a performance!

What Lady Gaga did was art, designed to shock and bordering on insanity but, to me, it is one of the most memorable live performances that I have ever seen. I just wish I had actually seen it live.

Now, I have been to Dubrovnik, in Croatia, and the old city is awesome. It is a Venetian-style city, wonderfully preserved and restored, consisting of wonderful old buildings completely surrounded by an enormous medieval wall. What a wonderful location for an open air concert!

I came across this live performance when looking through Youtube for videos for another web page and oh wow, what a performance this is.

I am a fan of the rock group ACDC and also classical music which may seem like a strange combination but these two guys really make it work. In this performance by Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser of 2Cellos the energy of the performers is amazing, the music is great and the setting is wonderful - I would have loved to have been there myself for this.

The Live Earth concert was supposed to do for the environment what Live Aid had done for the starving in Africa. However, from what I could see it achieved nothing at all apart from a music concert that was, in fact, far better produced than Live Aid.

I watched much of this concert and there were actually quite a few good performances but the one that stood out for me was this one by Madonna and Gogol Bordello.

Unless you are a Buddhist monk who has spent the last 30 years in a cave in the Himalayas you will have heard of Madonna but few will know who Gogol Bordello are. Well, there is little better way to introduce them than by highlighting this video where they collaborate in this high energy version of La Isla Bonita. This performance is a lot of fun and one of those that gets you moving.

I was most certainly not at this concert in Argentina and although it is amazing I think I am glad that I wasn't as I cannot imagine being in that huge crowd. 

ACDC are one of those bands that seem to have been a round for ever but unless you are a fan of theirs you probably will not be able to name a single one of their songs. However, if you listened to their Greatest Hits album you would recognize many of the songs from advertisements and movies.

This live performance is just incredible because of the size of the crowd the band have attracted and the energy of the fans. It is amazing how much excitement a bunch of old boys can elicit by playing guitars and shuffling around a stage - at least they are not in bath chairs.....yet!

This performance was one that I heard live as it was recorded and played on BBC Radio 1. I only had a vague idea of who Dizzee Rascal was as I had been overseas when this song, Bonkers, had been a big hit but I was intrigues when this guy gave a really high energy performance of a song that usually relies heavily on electric instruments and sound effects (well, the sound effects are still there).

Dizzee Rascal's performance was interspersed with a very interesting interview that revealed him to be far more serious and deep-thinking than you might expect; he certainly came across as a good guy and a very talented performer.

Check out this video clip and if you haven't heard the song before I think you might be quite surprised how much you enjoy it - Bonkers!