Best ‘all round’ live performance by a guitarist you’ve seen live.

MagicPigDetective · January 2021

J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr in Manchester four years ago. He’s no showman and barely mumbles between songs. But his playing doesn’t need all that stuff. In total control of his guitar, noise, feedback etc. And those solos. Incredible.

Kebabkid · January 2021

Another one for Steve Lukather (mainly with Toto but also the once with Los Lobotomys). Consistent, interesting and he always has a good sound. I think I'll also go with Nuno Bettencourt

I'm also going to go with a couple of 'local heroes' - Darren Spicer of Steely Dan tribute band Stanley Dee and Jamie Moses (sessioner) of 80's Surrey band, Up All Night

pigface · January 2021

Al Di Meola. I've been lucky enough to see him 3 times, twice from about row 5 and once so close I could have reached out and touched him without getting up (a tiny venue in Cologne). There is nothing that man can't play and he is brilliant at supporting the other musicians, be it a single guitarist (as in the small venue mentioned above) or a bigger band. Just outstanding and I'd see him again in a flash.

Kebabkid · January 2021

pigface said:

Al Di Meola. I've been lucky enough to see him 3 times, twice from about row 5 and once so close I could have reached out and touched him without getting up (a tiny venue in Cologne). There is nothing that man can't play and he is brilliant at supporting the other musicians, be it a single guitarist (as in the small venue mentioned above) or a bigger band. Just outstanding and I'd see him again in a flash.

I've seen Al Di Meola in the 80s and he's masterful. You've actually reminded me, Paco de Lucia (R.I.P) with his sextet

Rich210 · January 2021

stickyfiddle said:

I’m not hugely into the guitar hero thing, but the one that sprung to mind is Joe Perry, about 12 years ago in Hyde Park, with Aerosmith, obviously. Played his ass off all night - flashy stuff, simple stuff, classic riffs, improv solos, a bit of singing and plenty of theatrics.

Just an absolute superstar

Dude, I thought the same thing! What a gig!!!! Remember when he was just doing some acoustic with Steve belting it out?

I think @DrCornelius was there too!

Philly_Q · January 2021

I haven't really thought about players in the "all rounder" sense suggested by the OP, but I guess I would say Roy Buchanan, who I saw at his last UK gig in 1985.

Other guitarists who really impressed me live would be Vernon Reid, Ty Tabor, Frank Hannon from Tesla, Robben Ford, Philip Sayce, Eric Johnson.

I've seen Jeff Beck, but I find that whammy-bar thing of his very tiring to listen to. I've also seen David Gilmour solo - I found the ticket a couple of weeks ago - but I can't remember the show at all!

Another vote for Nuno. Saw the Pornograffitti tour and it blew my tiny mind. Everything was amazing. Still remember it as one of the best gigs and probably the best overall performance by a guitarist I've ever seen. It showed me what was possible and how lazy other guitarists could be in terms of performance and playing.

Funnily enough I saw them on that tour, and I was more impressed with Jason Bieler from the support band Saigon Kick. Not saying he's a better player, I just thought he sounded better!

Funkfingers · January 2021

My nomination is Tommy Emmanuel. In trio format, Richard Thompson runs a close second.

Philly_Q said:

David Gilmour solo - I found the ticket a couple of weeks ago - but I can't remember the show at all!

What was the date? 1984 would have been the About Face promotional tour. Mick Ralphs on rhythm guitar, Raphael Ravenscroft on sax. At the show I attended, Roy Harper guested on Short And Sweet. Billy Bragg was the support act. He got booted off a few days later for making references to Syd Barrett in his between song banter.

KRS · January 2021

I object to the rules of this thread! It's too hard! I've honestly tried to give this a go, pick one, but I find it just too tricky, so I'm going to have to cheat.
Dave Gilmour in the eighties. Just 'cos he literally 'blew my mind'. What an incredible experience to see Pink Floyd. Albeit minus Roger but probably with the lovely Guy Pratt, off of the Youtube.
Jeff Beck sometime in the last twenty years, it was in Liverpool, I remember that much. He just makes the guitar sing in such a unique and stylish manner. With attitude. Lots of attitude.
And I can't not mention Prince. We danced, we sang, we laughed, we cried. We looked on in astonishment when he was playing what looked like a Jeff beck Strat and just hurled it up into the air, spinning towards the side of the stage. Then a roadie appeared from nowhere and caught it, like he'd rehearsed it a thousand times. I bet he had. Prince live was like going to Church and getting a selfie with God.

Redlester · January 2021

@KRS I take your point- it can be a tough choice.

Given how many interesting and varied responses I've had, why not start a different thread where you set the rules and criteria? (e.g. best live solo you've ever heard, or something like that?)

As I said my original idea came to me because I heard this guy basically reproduce note for note whole string arrangements and solos from other instruments but on a single guitar. Incredibly versatile stuff.

But then again, there are players who play within more conventional limits who are euqally impressive.

I like reading about live gigs people have seen.

EricTheWeary · January 2021

springhead said:

Stevie Ray Vaughan at Hammy Odeon, totally in control and flawless.

Jeff Beck at the Indigo playing 50's and 60's rock and roll with Imelda May and her band. He got through quite a few guitars - Strat of course but also Les Paul, Gretsch, Tele.

JD Simo. Excellent everytime but on the first occasion he just had a vintage les Paul into a JTM 45, no pedals, didn't touch the amp all night and he played clean, jazzy, crunchy and full on blues rock.

Wilko everytime. There are many more..

I know I’ve told this story before but I used to know a chap who had been a pro sound engineer for many years and still went to many gigs when he had a ‘normal’ job and he once engineered for a SRV European tour and always without doubt said that SRV was the best musician he had ever seen.

Possibly the best ( tightest, grooviest) band I ever saw was Chic, Nile Rodgers is a monster although maybe not so much an all rounder.

KRS · January 2021

@Redlester after careful consideration, and reading my own comments I'm gonna have to say it's definitely Prince. Singing the way he did, whilst playing like a modern version of Hendrix and holding the choreography together like a pro was just incredible to watch. He also had a little tinkle on the piano. His harmonic approach and ability to write a classic pop song/jazz funk workout/ballad etc. shows his true musical genius. And Purple. Let's not forget Purple.

horse · January 2021

Philly_Q said:

I haven't really thought about players in the "all rounder" sense suggested by the OP, but I guess I would say Roy Buchanan, who I saw at his last UK gig in 1985.

Other guitarists who really impressed me live would be Vernon Reid, Ty Tabor, Frank Hannon from Tesla, Robben Ford, Philip Sayce, Eric Johnson.

I've seen Jeff Beck, but I find that whammy-bar thing of his very tiring to listen to. I've also seen David Gilmour solo - I found the ticket a couple of weeks ago - but I can't remember the show at all!

Another vote for Nuno. Saw the Pornograffitti tour and it blew my tiny mind. Everything was amazing. Still remember it as one of the best gigs and probably the best overall performance by a guitarist I've ever seen. It showed me what was possible and how lazy other guitarists could be in terms of performance and playing.

Funnily enough I saw them on that tour, and I was more impressed with Jason Bieler from the support band Saigon Kick. Not saying he's a better player, I just thought he sounded better!

I saw extreme in Nottingham on the pornografitti tour, and wasn't as impressed as I was expecting to be. Might have been the venue, but I also saw queensryche there around the same time and they sounded top notch. From memory we had King of the Hill supporting - would have much preferred Saigon Kick.

Ty Tabor or Cantrell for my vote I think.

Philly_Q · January 2021

Funkfingers said:

Philly_Q said:

David Gilmour solo - I found the ticket a couple of weeks ago - but I can't remember the show at all!

What was the date? 1984 would have been the About Face promotional tour. Mick Ralphs on rhythm guitar, Raphael Ravenscroft on sax. At the show I attended, Roy Harper guested on Short And Sweet. Billy Bragg was the support act. He got booted off a few days later for making references to Syd Barrett in his between song banter.

Much later than that, it was at the Royal Festival Hall in (without going and finding the ticket again) the early 2000s, I think. I got in for nothing, my firm does some work for DG and my boss at the time wasn't able to go, so he gave me his ticket.

Just wish I could remember it! There's no lingering bad impression so I probably enjoyed the show well enough... I just can't recall anything about it.

ICBM · January 2021

Best *all-round* performance - Dave Kilminster on Roger Waters' tour a couple of years ago. But - and I say this with respect for him, he's an infinitely better player than I could ever be - he was just a very competent, highly skilled guitar player who could play a wide range of parts originally recorded by more than one other guitarist quite accurately... nothing he did actually inspired me at all.

The best, most inspiring live guitar performance I've ever seen was Lloyd Cole, playing solo. He's always been one of my favourite singers and songwriters, but until the first time I saw him do that I had no idea he was such an amazingly brilliant acoustic guitarist.

Roysterdoyster · January 2021

Would have to be John Mayer in Dublin last year, quite sensational......but notable mentions would go to Simon McBride a couple of years ago at the Ards Guitar Festival, and Nils Lofgren perhaps surprisingly, about 20yrs ago in The Waterfront Hall Belfast. Would be easy to pick a few bigger “names” in the notable mentions, but then theres a big expectation with those guys, so weirdly perhaps it’s harder to be impressed by them.

Jimbro66 · January 2021

I’ve been lucky to see a lot of top class guitarists who have performed outstandingly but the one who stands out for me is Buddy Guy. I saw him probably early/mid eighties. Not only were his vocals outstanding but his guitar playing was a joy to hear and see. His tone, note choice, mastery of dynamics and the way he interacted with the audience was phenomenal. Very little flash, just complete control of his instrument to perfectly complement his vocals.

His backing band was very good but featured a guitarist who was clearly out to make an impression. Unfortunately his solos sounded like every OTT pub rock/blooze player going for the kill and completely missing the point. Which only served to reinforce just how good Buddy was.

viz · January 2021

Vai during the Ultra Zone tour - we were at the soundcheck; he’d just written Blood and Glory (they were playing a new song for each country for the cd). He worked the song out with the band there and then. It was like, ok guys it’s in E, I start with this lick, and Phil, you just play octaves, then the chorus goes like this, etc); they practised it for about 20 minutes. Then we hung around backstage and then the gig happened and they performed it live. And it’s on the CD and it’s flawless. Amazing. That was a band on top of its game and was a privilege to watch the prep followed by the performance.

the_jaffa · January 2021

My vote would be for Nick McCabe of Verve.

It's staggering seeing them live and hearing all the sounds that come from what appears to be a man ostensibly waiting for a bus.

Neill · January 2021

There's that mythical story about Hendrix being asked what it felt like to be the world's greatest guitarist and he replies dunno - ask Rory Gallagher.

Well I saw Rory in 1972 at the height of his powers and with probably his best rhythm section and I don't think I have seen anyone to match that performance. But, if you talk to anyone who saw Rory they all say the same - he played every gig as though it was his last.

Moe_Zambeek · January 2021

Reeves Gabrels at the Hug & Pint in Glasgow a couple of years ago. 3 piece band, just absolutely incredible.

Marc Ford with TBC in the 90s - awesome, especially considering there’s a fair chance he was totally off his tree at the time.

Kenwyn House with Reef, couple of gigs at the Barrowlands in the 90s. Unbelievable energy. Great great gigs.

Chuck Prophet every single time I’ve seen him. He’s just a force of nature. Never a disappointing gig.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Best ‘all round’ live performance by a guitarist you’ve seen live.

Comments