![Arcade Fire: While their latest album Reflektor split critics somewhere between an utter masterpiece and a grand folly, Win Butler and co pump a Studio 54-infused spirit of danceable energy and colour into them when they take to the stage.]()
Arcade Fire: While their latest album Reflektor split critics somewhere between an utter masterpiece and a grand folly, Win Butler and co pump a Studio 54-infused spirit of danceable energy and colour into them when they take to the stage.
![Hot Chip: On record, the soft whine of vocals and damp dance-rock sounds might leave you a little cold - but as a live band, you'd struggle to have a better time than at a Hot Chip gig.]()
Hot Chip: On record, the soft whine of vocals and damp dance-rock sounds might leave you a little cold - but as a live band, you'd struggle to have a better time than at a Hot Chip gig.
![Muse: They're an obvious choice - but there's a bloody good reason for that. It's fairly fair to say that no other band on the planet puts the same supermassive amount of attention into the look, sound, and mind-blowing feel of a live show as Muse.]()
Muse: They're an obvious choice - but there's a bloody good reason for that. It's fairly fair to say that no other band on the planet puts the same supermassive amount of attention into the look, sound, and mind-blowing feel of a live show as Muse.
![Flaming Lips: A great deal of their latter day work has been slammed by many as pretentious, self-indulgent and almost unlistenable - but you put Wayne Coyne and co on stage and watch them bloom into an explosion of glorious noise.]()
Flaming Lips: A great deal of their latter day work has been slammed by many as pretentious, self-indulgent and almost unlistenable - but you put Wayne Coyne and co on stage and watch them bloom into an explosion of glorious noise.
![The National: Some call them flat, reserved and miserable - but live, they're a wine-fuelled storm of raw and unpolished energy. This is best shown by the dynamic shift from the vicious burst of the aptly-titled 'Squalor Victoria' to the traditional set closer of the band turning off their amps for an unplugged campfire rendition of the beautiful 'Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks'. Stunning stuff.]()
The National: Some call them flat, reserved and miserable - but live, they're a wine-fuelled storm of raw and unpolished energy. This is best shown by the dynamic shift from the vicious burst of the aptly-titled 'Squalor Victoria' to the traditional set closer of the band turning off their amps for an unplugged campfire rendition of the beautiful 'Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks'. Stunning stuff.
![The Prodigy: They're not just for ravers. From Reading to Download Festival, The Prodigy offer something for everyone as live band - a universal soundtrack to utterly lose your shit to.]()
The Prodigy: They're not just for ravers. From Reading to Download Festival, The Prodigy offer something for everyone as live band - a universal soundtrack to utterly lose your shit to.
![Green Day: Uno, Dos, Tre was panned by just about everyone, but anyone who caught a glimpse of their summer stadium shows or sets at Reading and Leeds can testify that with pop-punk exuberance and effortless anthemics, Green Day sure do pack a punch with their live sound and approach.]()
Green Day: Uno, Dos, Tre was panned by just about everyone, but anyone who caught a glimpse of their summer stadium shows or sets at Reading and Leeds can testify that with pop-punk exuberance and effortless anthemics, Green Day sure do pack a punch with their live sound and approach.
![Florence + The Machine: On record, her endless warbling can test a Saint's patience - but live, you can't deny the arresting power of Florence Welch's vocal.]()
Florence + The Machine: On record, her endless warbling can test a Saint's patience - but live, you can't deny the arresting power of Florence Welch's vocal.
![Prince: Vast swathes of people couldn't give the tiniest shit about anything that Prince has released in the last 15 years or - but wait until you hear His Royal Badness play it live. We guarantee one funky good time.]()
Prince: Vast swathes of people couldn't give the tiniest shit about anything that Prince has released in the last 15 years or - but wait until you hear His Royal Badness play it live. We guarantee one funky good time.
![Jessie Ware: She's pretty flawless on record, but her magnetic personality shines through every note when Jessie Ware takes to the stage.]()
Jessie Ware: She's pretty flawless on record, but her magnetic personality shines through every note when Jessie Ware takes to the stage.
![Miike Snow: When these guys play live, the inimitable Miike Snow sound gets a hell of a lot clubbier, as the songs take on a new life and power that you never thought imaginable.]()
Miike Snow: When these guys play live, the inimitable Miike Snow sound gets a hell of a lot clubbier, as the songs take on a new life and power that you never thought imaginable.
![Radiohead: Without spaceships, choreography or greatest hits, Radiohead lift the brittle skittery trip-hop sounds of their latter day work to sound as essential as all that came before when they take to the stage. Radiohead are still evolving. Radiohead still matter.]()
Radiohead: Without spaceships, choreography or greatest hits, Radiohead lift the brittle skittery trip-hop sounds of their latter day work to sound as essential as all that came before when they take to the stage. Radiohead are still evolving. Radiohead still matter.
![LCD Soundsytem: As a live band, the punkier edge of James Murphy's influences becomes ever more evident. Let us all join in prayer that we haven't really seen the last of them.]()
LCD Soundsytem: As a live band, the punkier edge of James Murphy's influences becomes ever more evident. Let us all join in prayer that we haven't really seen the last of them.
![Elbow: Labels of being overplayed and beige are often levelled at Guy Garvey and co - but that Northern charm and sense of triumph shines through ever brighter live. Expect to see them headlining Glastonbury in years to come.]()
Elbow: Labels of being overplayed and beige are often levelled at Guy Garvey and co - but that Northern charm and sense of triumph shines through ever brighter live. Expect to see them headlining Glastonbury in years to come.
![The xx: You may fear that the intimacy and sparse subtleties of The xx's sound might be lost in the live arena - but it only adds up to holding you even closer.]()
The xx: You may fear that the intimacy and sparse subtleties of The xx's sound might be lost in the live arena - but it only adds up to holding you even closer.
![Soulwax: Put on your tux, lose yourself to dance, await rescue.]()
Soulwax: Put on your tux, lose yourself to dance, await rescue.
![Manic Street Preachers: Decades of spite, resilience and pure Welsh pride come flooding out every time the Manics take to the stage. Expect insane guitar solos, bitter rants and James Dean Bradfield's fiery and relentless bellow.]()
Manic Street Preachers: Decades of spite, resilience and pure Welsh pride come flooding out every time the Manics take to the stage. Expect insane guitar solos, bitter rants and James Dean Bradfield's fiery and relentless bellow.
![Slipknot: The sheer aggression and raw insanity of Slipknot's sound can only really be measured by the amount of circle pits they inspire live.]()
Slipknot: The sheer aggression and raw insanity of Slipknot's sound can only really be measured by the amount of circle pits they inspire live.
![Bjork: Whereas many artists of her standing just fly around the world, get on stage and roll out the hits, Bjork is brilliant when it comes to translating her ideas into every medium and dimension. Not only is she one of music's last few eccentrics, but she's a true perfectionist of pop.]()
Bjork: Whereas many artists of her standing just fly around the world, get on stage and roll out the hits, Bjork is brilliant when it comes to translating her ideas into every medium and dimension. Not only is she one of music's last few eccentrics, but she's a true perfectionist of pop.
![The Hives: Dismiss The Hives as well past their sell-by date if you will, but we challenge you to be within earshot of them live without having one hell of a good time.]()
The Hives: Dismiss The Hives as well past their sell-by date if you will, but we challenge you to be within earshot of them live without having one hell of a good time.
![Bat For Lashes: Stunning as the songwriting was on her third album The Haunted Man, it was a little lacking in production. But on stage, Natasha Khan's bewitching brew of fairytale pop translates all the better on stage]()
Bat For Lashes: Stunning as the songwriting was on her third album The Haunted Man, it was a little lacking in production. But on stage, Natasha Khan's bewitching brew of fairytale pop translates all the better on stage
![Arctic Monkeys: Alex Turner's new found cocky bravado and swagger really boosts the tracks from AM and Suck It And See.]()
Arctic Monkeys: Alex Turner's new found cocky bravado and swagger really boosts the tracks from AM and Suck It And See.
![James Blake: Take a spare pair of pants. That bass is brutal.]()
James Blake: Take a spare pair of pants. That bass is brutal.