12 Great Concerts You Can Enjoy in Flight

Got a first-rate entertainment system on your jet? Consider putting it through its paces with one of these popular-music concert films.  

1.     Leonard Cohen—Live in Dublin. This recently released video, the first to capture a full Cohen concert in high definition, explains why people love his music—and him. Save it for a long flight because the show—performed the month the singer turned 79—runs three hours.

2.     Counting Crows—August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall. The band serves up everything from its seven-million-selling debut album in an emotion-packed New York show. Lead singer Adam Duritz is at his theatrical best throughout and the band captivates on classics like “Mr. Jones.”

3.     Crowded House—Farewell to the World. The best rock group ever to emerge from Down Under performs an outdoor show in Sydney, Australia for an audience estimated at up to 250,000. It was supposed to be the quartet’s final gig, but after watching it, you’ll be glad it wasn’t.

4.     Love—The Forever Changes Concert. Love leader Arthur Lee and friends deliver every song from the band’s Forever Changes, one of the most original and enduring rock albums of its time, even though it sold only modestly in the years after its 1967 release.

5.     Roy Orbison—A Black and White Night. The biggest hits, that inimitable three-octave voice and backup from such adoring fans as Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne.

6.     Bruce Springsteen—Hammersmith Odeon. Available as part of a 30th-anniversary edition of Born to Run, this 1975 London concert leaves no doubt what all the fuss was about.

7.     Bruce Springsteen—Live in New York City. Bruce, Clarence, and the rest of the crew are at the peak of their powers in 2000 at Madison Square Garden.

8.     Talking Heads—Stop Making Sense. Director Jonathan Demme captures the rhythmic, funky, and unique sound of David Byrne and his bandmates.

9.     Various artists—Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. An amazing body of work meets a terrific list of performers—Tom Petty, Neil Young, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and many more, including the man of the hour.

10.  Various artists—The Complete Monterey Pop Festival. Arguably less important culturally than Woodstock, but unarguably more important musically, Monterey featured seminal work by the Who, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, and many others.

11.  Various artists—Concert for George. This film of a London concert, which took place on the first anniversary of George Harrison’s death, includes fine covers of his songs by many of his friends—and what friends he had: Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, and Ravi Shankar are here, as are both surviving Beatles.

12.  Various artists—25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts. More than five hours’ worth of stellar performances by everyone from John Fogerty, U2, and Simon & Garfunkel to early rock icons such as Little Anthony, Darlene Love, and Dion.

Want more lists? Stand by for BJT’s 4th Annual Book of Lists, coming in our June/July 2015 issue.