10 Best Live Rock Bands
2. U2
Many fans assume that going to a rock show means that everything will be fairly mindless fun with around 2 hours of music. Then again, U2 is not most bands when it comes to performing phenomenal rock shows.
Inspired by bands like the Clash, these four musicians from Ireland knew that music had the power to go beyond just a typical melodic frenzy. The first thing that grabs you is the Edge, whose delayed guitars cascade like rain as they set the scene for each performance. His style is one part crunchy, one part laid-back, but never once clashes with the song. The unsung hero of the band's live sound is Larry Mullen Jr., whose experience with both electronic and acoustic drums make the entire crowd move in lock step with every track.
At the helm of the performance is Bono's voice, as he tears through the band's classic hits with some of the greatest articulation in rock, while also providing emotionally stirring crowd banter between every song. The band's capacity to turn a simple stage platform into a spiritual uplift for millions of people is absolutely unprecedented and may even eclipse the band's studio efforts.