Top 5 Live Bands

My personal selection of course, but I thought I'd take you through the best live shows I've ever seen and why.

Number 5: Candlebox

It's really, really hard to be an opening act. When you're opening for a band that a strong following, its even harder. When you're opening for a band *known* for the devotion of its fans, well that's a real trick.

I saw Candlebox open for Rush in 94 and they were clearly a young band. Not many showed up for the opening act (one of the reasons its harder to open for a band with such a strong following) and Candelbox was doing some of the things hair bands do. It was tough to watch for a few minutes, people were laughing at them. I'd be surprised if they could hear it- but they clearly knew they were losing the audience in a big way.

What happened then impressed me tremendously. They stopped flipping their hair around, started playing and singing with a new intensity, and after seeing them I went and put down money for my first Candlebox album.

Not one of my favorite bands of all time or anything, but a live performance in which a band seemed to grow up before my eyes, made an impression (a good one) and won over a crowd.