I’ve seen Rage Against The Machine perform live many times. I can hardly describe the mega-powerful force that fuels their concerts, from their monster sound to the juiced up crowd. I posted their ridiculous live cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad” below. And, while I’ve literally been blown away by their massive arsenal when I’ve seen them in huge arenas or at outdoor festivals, I would trade it all to have been at this small, impromptu, live, acapella performance which they dropped outside the 2008 RNC in Minneapolis. I love Tom and Zack cracking smiles throughout their performance (which you rarely ever see) as if they themselves can’t believe that they are dropping an acapella version of their tunes on the streets of Minneapolis. It’s inspiring and, yes, of course, if you have a pulse, it’s pure GOOSEBUMPS. Enjoy …

I first saw Bela Fleck & the Flecktones when they visited my college in the late-1990s. I had no real idea of what I was about to witness. Even with the risk of sounding cliche-ish, I witnessed geniuses. Pure geniuses. Ever since, I have always done my utmost to see them live every time they visit my town. Bela Fleck is amazing on the banjo (understatement of the century, thus far), and Victor Wooten is arguably one of the greatest musicians to ever play the bass guitar, if not the greatest bassist, period. What Victor does with a bass is, just simply, jaw dropping. If you haven’t seen Bela & Victor perform live before, do yourself a favor and go, as fast as you can, the next time they come to your town. It’s an experience like no other.

I originally wanted to post two Bela videos. Alas, I can’t find any good live footage of their Beatles cover “Oh Darling,” but you can listen to the slickest live version from their 1996 release, Live Art, here. Bela really belts it out after their instrumental jam. Very serious raw energy there. Thankfully, there are many versions of VIctor Wooten’s “Amazing Grace (Improv)” online. Do yourself a favor and check out as many as you can. You’ll get a sample of what I’m talking about, but nothing compares to seeing them/Victor live. Goosebumps. PURE GOOSEBUMPS …

In my world, life is a strange ebb and flow between ease and noise. What happens when a band attempts to take on that see-saw of emotions and mold it into a song? … Well, that song pretty much sums up my life. Lots of easy highs, lots of rough lows and lots and lots of complicated noise in between. Somehow, when you take a step back from life though, don’t you find that life is pretty darn beautiful, no matter what card you were handed, right? Life’s an amazing journey. Being a fan of Wilco since — well, since way before they “jumped the shark” and sold out larger venues — I feel like Wilco exemplifies this ebb and flow better than any band out there today. After all these trying years, Jeff Tweedy and gang know the masses are now finally following their rock & roll life catalogue, yet they seemingly dismiss the rock & roll life that we would come to expect from a band of Wilco’s stature. Wilco is comprised of musicians, making music — the music and noise of life. “I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL … FOR NOTHING … I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR NOTHING AT ALL.” Well, probably not my blog-followers. Haha. This track/performance exemplifies that ebb and flow. I guess we’re all just “misunderstood,” right? … Goosebumps. Pure, Goosebumps.