25 Greatest Live Bands Now!

5
RADIOHEAD
In 2000 many feared that the newly minted Best Band in the World would, given Kid A's excursions into electronica, retreat into an egghead's cocoon onstage. Instead, Radiohead managed to do something that had eluded scores of superstar DJs and techno titans: They imbued drama and majesty into such unlikely pursuits as pulling tones out of an ancient oscillator or a Theremin. Then they reminded everyone why they are the heirs to Pink Floyd and U2 by thundering through a guitar-driven anthem of decay from OK Computer or The Bends.
BEST MOMENT: When the ricocheting pulse of "Idioteque" drives Yorke to careen across the stage like Ed Grimley.

4
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
With every record, it seems as if the Peppers are an inch closer to transforming into the Eagles. But let it be understood that Henley, Frey, and Co. have never been known to tear the roof off the sucker. Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante, and Smith have never done anything less than that very thing every single show. Here is a band that burned from the moment they hit, bringing the unhinged fury of hardcore punk to thousands-strong audiences a good three years before grunge.
BEST MOMENT: Flea begins his slinky intro to "Me and My Friends," and there's the anticipation that the crowd is about to go batshit in a millisecond.

3
ARCADE FIRE By the time of their fall 2004 tour, the still-green members of Arcade Fire were faced with absurdly high expectations from audiences, who were anticipating performances as rich and dynamic as their debut album, Funeral. Amazingly, the band delivered from the first song, with the opening chorus of "Wake Up" sounding as though it were being sung from on high. Then, Win Butler and crew demonstrated their command of the stage, shifting from the joyful tension of "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" to the crisp beauty of "Haiti," all without betraying a hint of insecurity.
BEST MOMENT: The clanging, show-stopping "Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)," during which guitarist Richard Reed Parry maniacally drums away on a motorcycle helmet -- often while it's on his head.

2
THE STOOGES
You see this man onstage, his bare torso a roadmap of past excess, cavorting like a five-year-old who just might smear peanut butter and pieces of steak across his chest to amuse his parents' friends. This man is Iggy Pop, and he will be 60 next year. In 2003 he reunited with the brothers Asheton, with whom he'd recorded two albums whose transcendent dirtbaggery may never be topped. The three enlisted bass kingpin Mike Watt and have since been pumping out "T.V. Eye" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog" for not only aging bikers, but also young'uns who had been waiting decades to see the band that Mudhoney and a hundred others wanted to be when they grew up.
BEST MOMENT: The opening riff to "Loose," when all hell appears to break that way.

1
U2
Every generation gets the Bono it deserves, from the ponytailed shaman of the Joshua Tree tour to the leather-clad Ironosaurus Rex who hosted Zoo TV to the do-gooder of today. But despite the band's aesthetic whimsies (especially the iffy Pop tour), U2's must-see status has never wavered: The set lists spiffily update their vintage material, mixing requisite anthems ("Bad," "Sunday Bloody Sunday") with newly reenergized near classics ("The Electric Co.," "11 O'Clock Tick Tock"). But what's most impressive about U2's huge tours is that the quartet can cut through the precisely timed techno clutter and deliver moments of true spontaneity.
BEST MOMENT: "Where the Streets Have No Name," whose near-ceremonial, late-in-the-show appearance never fails to feel momentous.