The Top 10 (Other) Best Live Concert Films Ever Produced
EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally submitted to Geek Vibes Nation (Sept. 2023)
For those who are into ’80s music, it’s the 40th anniversary of what is regarded as one of the best live concert films ever produced — Stop Making Sense featuring David Byrne’s Talking Heads. Even if you don’t recall the music, you know the one with the dude in that oversized suit?
Talking Heads Stop Making Sense is one of the best live concert films ever produced
Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of The Silence of the Lambs, premiered at the 40th-anniversary screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and it brought the house down. Think about it: Live concert films crushing it at a film festival. Following the screening, all four original members of Talking Heads–David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison surprised everyone at TIFF with a live panel discussion. It was the first time they had been together since 1991 when the band broke up.
Many filmmakers, music fans, and cinephiles have long considered the avant-garde, genre-creating movie the best among live concert films, including Demme. What do you think? Wherever you rank this one, there have been dozens of recorded concerts since 1984–many have been riveting while others have been a waste of time and talent. So, time for another Geek Vibes Nation listicle.
Here are the Top 10 Live Concert Films ever produced for fans.
10. Monterey Pop (2002)
The year was 1967 and some of the greatest rock personalities were alive and performing in one place, the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. It was before Woodstock, but you would never know when you witnessed the power of those voices and talents together. That alone puts Monterey Pop among the greatest live concert films. The acts featured current legends like The Mamas and the Papas, Otis Redding, and The Who. There were also a couple of up-and-comers who shared the stage and would go on to Woodstock, launch their careers and become two of the icons of the decade and overall music history — Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
9. Summer of Soul (2021)
What Monterey Pop was for rock, Summer of Soul was for Gospel, R&B, and the Blues. Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots, this was a labor of love. Questlove and his team sifted through 40 hours of footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and made an Oscar-winning documentary. Featuring a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder, the acts were incomparable. B.B. King to Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips to Sly and the Family Stone performed and created high energy. And before 2004, no one ever knew it existed except for those in attendance. That’s when the tape was discovered, and it took 18 additional years for one of the most memorable live concert films to be seen by everyone.
8. Live at the Paramount (2011)
Recorded in Seattle where the Grunge movement shook the world, Nirvana was a band of visionaries. They took the teenage angst of the time and gave it a soundtrack. Kurt Cobain, who was as talented as he was troubled, seems to be clear of any burden on the stage of the Paramount on Halloween 1991. Three short years later, Kurt Cobain died, and his music became a legacy. This is one of those live concert films that featured a “Greatest Hits” setlist. “About a Girl” to “Polly,” “Breed” to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” And Nirvana’s amazing cover “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” comes from this stage. “Greatest” is a fitting term for this Nirvana show.
7. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2005)
Before his lengthy sabbatical from entertainment, Dave Chappelle put together a production that was as entertaining as it was surprising. When the trailer dropped featuring him and some of the hottest hip-hop acts around (who all have been on his beloved Comedy Central show), jaws dropped too. It starts in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where Dave loads up some hometown friends and goes to Brooklyn, Dave’s teenage stomping grounds. He takes us on a tour of where he grew up, gives out these Wonka-esque golden tickets to the show, and then hosts the block party. New York is bumping with Common, Erykah Badu, John Legend, Kanye West, Mos Def, and The Fugees back together for this one-of-a-kind concert.
6. Elvis Presley Comeback Special (1968)
Imagine the biggest star of any music genre and amplify that by 1,000–that was Elvis. And in 1968, he was considered washed-up. Did his fame peak? Was his career over? Once he showed up at this live concert on NBC TV in that form-fitting leather jumper, the world knew the answer. The King was back! Outfit changes, intimate moments, orchestral songs, and a few new songs–this thing had it all. It had been a decade since Elvis Presley was thrust into a major musical spotlight and he proved all the haters wrong. If Elvis was your thing, live concert films (or TV specials) don’t get any better than this.
5. Sign O’ The Times (1987)
When Prince died in 2016, it was crushing to music fans of any genre. That’s the kind of genius he possessed on stage and buried within his secluded Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In that palatial estate, Prince created a full concert venue, where he performed one of the most electric live concert films of all time. Sign O’ the Times is a full cover of his follow-up 1987 album to the majestic “Purple Rain” soundtrack. There’s no way the album could hold up to that monster platinum smash, but it’s Prince. It did just fine with jams like “U Got the Look” and the title track–both classics from His Royal Badness. The concert was fantastic, and it makes you wish you were there.
4. Amazing Grace (2018)
When Aretha Franklin splashed onto the music scene, she was a marvel to behold. She could do things with her voice no one else ever considered, like appealing to angels. In 1972, that’s precisely what she did with Rev. James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir. Over two heavenly nights, at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, she did the unthinkable–returned to her roots and recorded the highest-selling Gospel album of all time. Sydney Pollack’s tape was considered lost until 2018 when the world watched the Shekinah Glory on tape. Don’t believe it. Watch her do what she was created to do.
3. Gimme Shelter (1970)
Both are among live concert films and documentaries, but it is unmistakable greatness. Gimme Shelter features the Rolling Stones in the last weeks of their 1969 tour. (Think about this: Mick Jagger and the boys just dropped a new single–last month!) There is more than you think to behold with this film, including backstage features, on-stage performances, and even a brief expose about the Altamont Free Concert in California. If you’re not familiar, this concert was a massive crime scene and considered the end of the Hippie Movement. Among the tragedies were:
Two men were killed in a hit-and-run accident in post-event traffic
One man died by drowning in an irrigation ditch
During the Stones’ performance, an 18-year-old girl named Meredith Hunter was stabbed several times by one of the security guards named Alan Passaro, who was also one of the Hells Angels.
2. Rattle and Hum (1988)
One of the last true icons of music, U2, created a word for this live concert film called a “Rockumentary.” Jimmy Iovine produced this marvelous film and the accompanying soundtrack, which stayed on top of the Billboard 200 for six straight weeks. (Yes, the same Iovine who helped create Beats headphones with Dr. Dre.) Although this is considered a quintessential music film, the album is not. It’s not even one of U2’s best, but there was something magic about this film. All four members of the Irish band–Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.–are featured prominently. Like what Prince experienced, Rattle and Hum followed their signature album, The Joshua Tree. So, if you know someone who was disappointed, that’s easily why.
1. The Last Waltz (1978)
The music may not be your jam but the creator of this leader among live concert films is — Martin Scorsese. Featuring The Band’s farewell concert, this show included some massive names in their genres. Outside of Talking Heads, many consider this to be the gold standard of a concert film because of the amazing sightlines and angles captured at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom. It feels like a scripted movie with an authentic focus. There are also parts of the film that feel like a documentary showing the backstory of The Band and others featured on stage. At the top of the bill were Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, and Van Morrison–and somehow, Scorsese got all of it on tape. Thank goodness he did.
