After all of these years, these specific performances still hit me right in the feels.
A collection of random artists and songs from my youth and first in a series of posts like this where I maybe touch on a few performances you may have forgotten about. Staying away from the iconic here; that is to say, these are not posts where you’ll see Freddie Mercury at Live Aid or Nirvana on MTV. 🙂
Cyndi Lauper – All Through The Night
I love this performance so much. Ever the showwoman, Cyndi Lauper starts off low and slow, lying down on the stage before showing us her rock and roll, complete with some sort of half windmill motion and a bit of an Irish jig during the instrumental break before bringing it home with the delicate finish. It all comes together in a way that is so weirdly her and you just know that she had the whole audience in the palm of her hand.
Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes – Live In Athens
Out of all the live performances of this song, it’s this one I crown king. The vibrancy of the dancing, the genuine joy during the duet and a killer ending with the lights. This is one I wish I was in the audience for.
Accept no substitutes, there are a few versions of this on YouTube but this one brings you right to the end.
Foreigner – Hot Blooded
This is in the 1978 time capsule for sure. Every note killed, every riff slayed. So much energy poured into this performance.
Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight
You know it’s coming, which is why it’s so exciting to see him sitting down at the start of the song. The intimacy in front of such a large crowd and over four minutes of anticipation as he slowly gets up and works the stage and makes his way to his drums.
4:26 if you want to fast forward, but I recommend that you don’t. The anticipation is all the fun in the one.
Harry Belafonte – Day-O
And maybe it’s because I’ve had Harry Belafonte on the turntable for the last little while, but this performance is not only amazing from Belafonte, but the Fozzie just cracks me up in it, especially during the call and response.
Any performance pieces you’d recommend? Let me know in the comments!