Is Washington '64 the last great Beatles live show?

[billychildish]

I am watching the Washington '64 show tonight and just wanted to start a discussion. This, IMHO, my be the last great live show they did where it doesn't sound forced or the band looks like they are just going through the motions. Maybe Shea '65 comes close but I don't think it comes close to this.

[Lord Reith]

No, not strictly speaking imo. I think they are having a storming time at the Paris Sports Palace in 65. They also turn in an excellent set for Blackppol Night Out in 1965. Shindig in late 64 was very good. Also, at least their final Melbourne gig saw them enjoying themselves having just gotten Ringo back again. Actually, the Miami Sullivan gig was really good too, but has poor sound quality.

I'd say the worst of the worst are all those dire US tour concerts. Packed into the Cow Palace or a baseball stadium with 15,000 screaming nitwits. I think the only time they enjoyed those was when the venue had some novelty, like the Bowl or Shea or maybe Red Rocks. There is nothing more humiliating for a musician than to give a bad performance. The only relief they must have felt was that nobody could hear it.

[jgjohnson]

Don't call the people who went to the Cow Palace show nitwitz, I was one of them!
OK, looking back now, I guess we were.

[MrP]

so the proximately 125 shows played between DC and Shea were forced and going thru the motions?

I am watching the Washington '64 show tonight and just wanted to start a discussion. This, IMHO, my be the last great live show they did where it doesn't sound forced or the band looks like they are just going through the motions. Maybe Shea '65 comes close but I don't think it comes close to this.

[IFeelFine]

I think the Australia 1964 shows are them at their live peak during the "fame" years.

[Ziggy C]

Great LIVE shows by the Beatles would definitely include Washington, '64. I'd place that one at the top, too. I'd also include Hollywood Bowl '64 and perhaps a couple others in 1964 & 1965.

As far as The Beatles being an exciting stage band; a hungry band - hungry for fame, eager to please, looking ahead rather than looking back - Washington '64 has that on full display. This is a band that has something to prove. They're trying to make it in America. They're breaking serious ice. Their excitement oozes from the stage. If there is any video or audio from Carnegie Hall in '64, the same excitement may be evident there, too.

But their excitement in those official US & worldwide tour shows which came after that, I think, is due more to the venue rather than due to their being a band with something to prove. By early '64 they'd proven it. From then on, it seemed that the audiences were more excited than The Beatles were. Didn't John Lennon refer to their tours as the band being in a cage, kind of like at a petting zoo?

[billychildish]

so the proximately 125 shows played between DC and Shea were forced and going thru the motions?

I just asked a question. I find bands doing the same set night after night "going through the motions" but your mileage may vary.

[Fast lucky]

I would say the rooftop ...

[james4954]

I think it's the last time we saw them in full Mach Schau mode for an entire concert. It was their Everest and they gave it their all that night.

The 1964 NME show soon after is pretty amazing too, notwithstanding some mic issues, possibly my favorite performances of Twist And Shout and Long Tally Sally. They were still riding the crest of that wave, introduced by Murray the K no less.

After that I think you can hear they still gave great performances but they'd lost the 5% extra they gave when they really turned it on.

[Rickenbacker325]

There’s so many shows that unfortunately we will never be able to see and answer this question….think of all the tours…the shows…the Essen show from 1966 comes to mind and in my opinion it was the best show they did in ‘66…but again there’s a multitude that have yet to be heard or seen