Lot of good ones on there. I am an admittedly avid Bruce fan so I will agree that he is the greatest entertainer ever. At least that I have seen. Opinion of course.

Drive By Truckers are just awesome.

Nice to see someone acknowledge Moonalice. I saw them years ago with Tea Leaf Green. Probably one of the most entertaining shows I have ever seen.

I will add a couple more:

JJ Grey & MoFro. Saw them at a street fest in Chicago years ago. Then saw them in North Carolina with The Drive By Truckers opening for the Allmans. That was awesome.

John Butler Trio. Guy from Australia. The guy is very unique, can play anything. His wife worked the merchandise stand when I saw him.

Could you suggest an album to start with for the John Butler Trio?

Lot of good ones on there. I am an admittedly avid Bruce fan so I will agree that he is the greatest entertainer ever. At least that I have seen. Opinion of course.

Drive By Truckers are just awesome.

Nice to see someone acknowledge Moonalice. I saw them years ago with Tea Leaf Green. Probably one of the most entertaining shows I have ever seen.

I will add a couple more:

JJ Grey & MoFro. Saw them at a street fest in Chicago years ago. Then saw them in North Carolina with The Drive By Truckers opening for the Allmans. That was awesome.

John Butler Trio. Guy from Australia. The guy is very unique, can play anything. His wife worked the merchandise stand when I saw him.

Could you suggest an album to start with for the John Butler Trio?

Living 2001 - 2002. Two discs. Many of the songs are on his studio releases but he is SO much better live and these capture the songs.

Live at St Gallen is another one. They are quite similar.

Thanks Lee

Going to try to veer away from the dinasaurs and some of the obvious choices so here goes:

Drive By Truckers
Lee Bain lll and the Glory Fires
J Roddy Walston and the Business
The Hold Steady
Screaming Females-Marissa Nadler the guitarist in the band is amazing
Dan Baird and Homemade Sin
Fleshtones

There are many bands I would go anywhere to see and have: Pearl Jam, Bruce, Iggy, Govt Mule, TTB included but I would love people to discover the above bands. They need the support.

[Edited on 5/21/2017 by Agerst1574]

Just saw Primus last night. I'd add them to the list of must see bands. They might be the trippiest band out there right now. Larry Lalonde has to be in the discussion for the best guitarist of the 90's.

Korn,
Sabbath

Steely Dan. Never seen a bad 'Dan show!

Zappa Plays Zappa - or whatever the "Zappa Inc." legal department is making Dweezil call his Zappa band these days.

For me:
Dave Rawlings Machine - don't miss 'em!....and it's almost as good when it's the duo billed as just Gillian Welch (with Dave)
TTB
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit - hoping that's still true when he's pushing the new album coming out....not blown away by the new tunes yet
Avett Brothers....have seen them twice, need to again!

Going to try to veer away from the dinasaurs and some of the obvious choices so here goes:

Drive By Truckers
Lee Bain lll and the Glory Fires
J Roddy Walston and the Business
The Hold Steady
Screaming Females-Marissa Nadler the guitarist in the band is amazing
Dan Baird and Homemade Sin
Fleshtones

Just listened to Dan Baird & Homemade Sin. Great suggestion. I love them. The whole band has strong backgrounds with other bands. Thanks.

There are many bands I would go anywhere to see and have: Pearl Jam, Bruce, Iggy, Govt Mule, TTB included but I would love people to discover the above bands. They need the support.

[Edited on 5/21/2017 by Agerst1574]

Honey Island Swamp Band
New Orleans Suspects
Tab Benoit

Honey Island Swamp Band
New Orleans Suspects
Tab Benoit

I really really want to see Tab. But I guess I'll have to travel to do it. I don't figure on him coming to Pittsburgh any time soon.

Honey Island Swamp Band
New Orleans Suspects
Tab Benoit

I really really want to see Tab. But I guess I'll have to travel to do it. I don't figure on him coming to Pittsburgh any time soon.

Does he ever leave New Orleans?

Others may have different criteria, but I definitely give bonus points to bands that are still creating new music.

That said, these are clearly my favorite current live bands:

1) Lettuce--It's like somebody genetically engineered a band just for my listening pleasure. I love the horns, I love the mostly instrumental material, their whole sound and vibe just resonates with me. I sometimes miss Eric Krasno when I see them live, but they continue to put out great albums of new material without him, and have maintained their identity admirably after losing their most famous member.

2) Phish--They are better right now than they have been in 20 years, and Trey has worked his way back to being one of the best guitarists on Earth. I like some of their new songs, others not so much, but they are still a very active and creative band. The Atlanta shows the past few years have been outstanding.

3) Railroad Earth--If I was a bigger Americana/bluegrass/folk fan, they would easily be #1 on my list. Nobody is playing that kind of music better than these guys. Todd Sheaffer is an incredible songwriter, and Tim Carbone, Andy Goessling and John Skehan are absolute virtuoso musicians. Again, they are a little too mellow for me, not quite my style, but they are an impeccable live band.

Honey Island Swamp Band
New Orleans Suspects
Tab Benoit

I really really want to see Tab. But I guess I'll have to travel to do it. I don't figure on him coming to Pittsburgh any time soon.

Does he ever leave New Orleans?

Check out his website. He plays all over the country. He's playing in Columbus, Ohio soon. A nice little road trip from Pitt.

Others may have different criteria, but I definitely give bonus points to bands that are still creating new music.

That said, these are clearly my favorite current live bands:

1) Lettuce--It's like somebody genetically engineered a band just for my listening pleasure. I love the horns, I love the mostly instrumental material, their whole sound and vibe just resonates with me. I sometimes miss Eric Krasno when I see them live, but they continue to put out great albums of new material without him, and have maintained their identity admirably after losing their most famous member.

2) Phish--They are better right now than they have been in 20 years, and Trey has worked his way back to being one of the best guitarists on Earth. I like some of their new songs, others not so much, but they are still a very active and creative band. The Atlanta shows the past few years have been outstanding.

3) Railroad Earth--If I was a bigger Americana/bluegrass/folk fan, they would easily be #1 on my list. Nobody is playing that kind of music better than these guys. Todd Sheaffer is an incredible songwriter, and Tim Carbone, Andy Goessling and John Skehan are absolute virtuoso musicians. Again, they are a little too mellow for me, not quite my style, but they are an impeccable live band.

This is one of the best threads in recent history on this site. Kind of a who's who of the jam band circuit. Please keep them coming,