The 15 best concert movies you can stream now, from the Who to Beyoncé

There are no actual concerts to enjoy for now. And there are things about the live experience that can't be captured in a livestream or a concert film — that whole communal vibe, the sensation of coming together as one nation under a groove, the traffic.

But we can relive the magic of actual performances while keeping a safe social distance from the comfort of our homes by watching classic concert films through streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime without spending a dime. (If you're already a subscriber to those services.)

This list is based on things we found a way to stream easily and at no added cost. You can certainly pay to watch "Monterey Pop," the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary that features that iconic scene of Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his Fender. And we highly recommend you do so if you've got the cash to burn like a Hendrix guitar.

But these won't put you over budget in these trying times.

'Stop Making Sense' (1984)

It's the essential concert film, a timeless document of Talking Heads in their prime and their element, artfully starting a show with David Byrne alone on stage performing "Psycho Killer" to a beat we're made to think is coming from the boom box he's carried on stage.

Then, bassist Tina Weymouth makes her entrance, sharing the edge of the spotlight on "Heaven," followed by drummer Chris Frantz on "Thank You For Sending Me an Angel" and guitarist Jerry Harrison on "Found a Job." It's a striking introduction to both the band and Jonathan Demme's masterfully directed film, a nearly 90-minute masterpiece overflowing with surprises.

By the time they hit the heavy-grooving arthouse funk of "Burning Down the House," the stage is crowded with auxiliary players, from Parliament-Funkadelic keyboard ace Bernie Worrell to Brothers Johnson guitar god Alex Weir.

After ceding the spotlight to Weymouth and Frantz for a crowd-pleasing "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club, their side gig, Byrne returns in what remains his most iconic stage look — the "big suit" — for "Girlfriend is Better."

Demme's film captures one of America's greatest live acts at their absolute creative zenith, clearly caught up in the joy of what they've managed to achieve. And at the center of that energy is Byrne, a dancing fool who remains one of the more endearingly idiosyncratic entertainers rock 'n' roll will ever know.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

'Wattstax' (1973)

Stax Records held this concert on the seventh anniversary of the 1965 Watts riots. Richard Pryor introduces this Mel Stuart documentary on the day's events as "a soulful expression of the black experience."

And it certainly feels that way, as the tone is set with a series of interviews about the black experience as it stood at the time.

As Jesse Jackson says, before leading the crowd in a call and response of "I am somebody" with fists held high: "This is a beautiful day. It is a new day. It is a day of black awareness."

Then he brings out Kim Weston to kick off the concert with "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which Jackson calls the Black National Anthem. The Staple Singers take the stadium to church while capturing the spirit of the black pride they were there to honor with a funky invocation to "Respect Yourself."

And after great performances by such Stax heavyweights as Rufus Thomas (lightening the mood with "Do the Funky Chicken"), an extremely charming Carla Thomas and the Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes brings the film to a rousing conclusion with a very funky "Theme From Shaft" and the gritty social commentary of "Soulsville."

Where to stream: YouTube.

'LoudQuietLoud: A Film About the Pixies' (2006)

This documentary goes behind the scenes to capture all the awkwardness and tension that appears to have defined what life was like when Pixies chose to set aside the differences that cause them to implode in 1993 and launch perhaps the most successful indie-rock reunion tour in history 11 years later.

Kim Deal travels on a separate tour bus with her sister Kelley to preserve her own sobriety while David Lovering gets hooked on Valium and Joey Santiago struggles to keep his composure as the house of cards begins to fall in on itself.

That can make for some fairly uncomfortable viewing, if not quite on the level of the Beatles' "Let It Be" or Wilco's "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart."

But other than one scene of Black Francis storming offstage in a huff when Lovering has some kind of drug-related episode behind the kit, the time they spend on stage together, reconnecting with the songs on which their legend ultimately rests, it's obvious why this was such a celebrated tour.

It also serves as a thrilling reminder that these Boston rockers were a revolutionary force without whose often-duplicated whisper-to-a-scream dynamic it's hard to imagine what rock music in the '90s would've sounded like. It certainly wouldn't have been as explosive.

Where to stream: YouTube.

'The Last Waltz' (1978)

This Martin Scorsese film captures the Band signing off with a farewell concert for the ages on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Whatever underlying tensions led them to leave all this behind don't come through in the playing, which is often joyous and as sharp as ever.

In addition to their own performance, they rounded up such iconic fans as Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris and Neil Diamond to join them.

Bob Dylan’s performance alone would make this concert more than worth your while. Robbie Robertson squeezes out sparks at the helm of Dylan's most inspired backing band — the Band, of course — on a beautiful version of "Forever Young," which gives way to a fiery “Baby Let Me Follow You Down."

Then, everyone crowds the stage to join in on a stately, gospel-flavored version of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," the perfect ending to a damn near perfect concert.

And Scorsese fleshes out those live performances with backstage interviews to put the show in context with an eye toward elevating both the Band and this particular concert to the mythic status they've enjoyed for decades now because of it.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

'Live at the Paramount' (2011)

This concert film captures Nirvana live in 1991, rocking Seattle on Halloween night in the midst of changing everything with "Nevermind," the breakthrough album they'd released just five weeks earlier.

It's a bracing reminder of just how undeniable a force these guys were at that point in not only their trajectory but rock 'n' roll's trajectory, arriving just in time to save the day. This is what history felt like before it was history, preserved on 16 mm film.

Granted, the concert gets off to a somewhat muted start with a cover of the Vaselines song, "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam." But it feels more like the calm before the storm when Dave Grohl's drums kick in on an electrifying "Aneurysm."

Kurt Cobain sings like his voice is a raw nerve he can't stop himself from touching, shredding vocal cords with each intensely vulnerable cry, from "Drain You" to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to "About a Girl." He sounds tortured and wounded and fully committed to coaxing some salvation from these songs.

His guitar work is just as cathartic, harnessing feedback while leading his bandmates through a steady stream of primal fuzz-guitar riffs.

It's the sound of rock 'n' roll ready to conquer the world again. And it did.

Where to stream: YouTube.

'Amazing Grace' (2018)

Director Sydney Pollack's documentary on the making of Aretha Franklin's classic gospel album of the same name, a live two-record set recorded in 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, was shelved for nearly 40 years due to technical problems.

Then they figured out a way to synchronize the audio and video and it was scheduled for release in 2011. That's when Franklin sued, delaying its release until after her death in 2018, at which point Franklin's family gave the film its blessings.

It's a stunning document of Franklin in her soulful prime, the daughter of a Detroit minister connecting with the gospel music of her youth with the assistance of a choir and a small soul combo while accompanying herself on piano at times.

She's clearly caught up in the spiritual transcendence of the moment, from the opening line of "Holy Holy" through "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" to "Amazing Grace" and more.

You don't have to be religious to get caught up in the spirit of a talent as timeless as Franklin's connecting with a higher power. You can feel her feeling it and that's what matters here.

Where to stream: Hulu.

'The Song Remains the Same' (1976)

How many concert films start with a series of fantasy sequences, one involving a gangster werewolf, another featuring John Bonham on a tractor? Fortunately, I can only think of one.

But it's worth it to get to the music Led Zeppelin performed at Madison Square Garden over the course of three nights in the summer of '73. Additional footage was shot later at Shepperton Studios.

You're 12 minutes into the foolishness before the concert starts, Bonham bashing his way through the opening beat of "Rock and Roll." Even that doesn't signal the end of the fantasy sequences. Not by a long shot.

Again, the concert footage is its own reward. It's Led Zeppelin in their misspent youth, on the road in support of "Houses of the Holy," rocking their way through such obvious highlights as "Black Dog," the Jimmy Page solo that ushers in a slow-burning "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Dazed and Confused."

Where to stream: YouTube.

'Shut Up and Play the Hits' (2012)

Do we really need to know how many Thomas Pynchon books James Murphy owns? We do not. But establishing shots are what they are in documentaries of this nature.

After eight minutes and change of precious little in the way of action, Murphy expresses his dissatisfaction at how slowly things are moving, speaking for us all when he says, “We want some of this time back."

Once they kick off the concert with "Dance Yrself Clean" a bit later, though, all is forgiven.

This was supposed to be LCD Soundsystem's final performance, a four-hour victory lap that finds them dusting off an awe-inspiring number of their greatest hits at Madison Square Garden. It's a brilliant performance that's beautifully captured by directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern.

And the interviews actually add to the experience, much like that earlier "Last Waltz," offering real insights into what makes Murphy tick.

Where to stream: Hulu.

'Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé' (2019)

Beyoncé directed this film of her headlining set at Coachella. And she fully captured the impact of that moment, taking the stage as a queen, an image of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti on her cape, and as the first black woman ever to headline America's premier music festival.

Like Richard Pryor said of Wattstax, this performance is a soulful expression of the black experience. But it's just as much a celebration of Beyoncé as a galvanizing force in American culture, as well as a two-hour tribute to historically black colleges and universities.

She's in total command of the moment from the time she swaggers through her royal entrance to a stage that's packed with an array of dancers and a marching band and choir on stadium bleachers.

She's already undergone her first of several costume changes by the time she's sung her first word, the marching band's horn section lifting a stunning performance of "Crazy in Love" to new heights.

Highlights range from an uplifting "Freedom" to "Sorry," "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and a Destiny's Child reunion. Meanwhile, her behind-the-scene narration offers fascinating insights into her creative process.

If you still don't get what makes Beyoncé an iconic entertainer after watching this performance, maybe you're just not meant for Beyoncé's world.

Where to stream: Netflix.

'Heima' (2007)

This is a stunning document of Sigur Ros staging a homecoming tour of Iceland, which offers a breathtaking backdrop to the cinematic grandeur of the band's emotionally charged yet ethereal post-rock.

There are open-air performances and smaller events in unlikely locations — from a dimly lit cave to community halls and a deserted fish factory — and an unplugged performance for family and friends at a coffee shop. Even the indoor concerts often cut away to scenes of the Icelandic countryside.

The effect is transcendent in ways that couldn't hope to complement the music more effectively. At times they incorporate singers and musicians from the town they're visiting into the mix.

In many ways, this film could be the perfect introduction to the band for those who may not be familiar with their music. It's also the closest a 21st-century concert film has come to rivaling the artistry of Demme's masterful "Stop Making Sense."

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

'Sign o' the Times' (1987)

This self-directed concert film was shot to hype the masterful two-record set with which it shares a name, capturing Prince in his late-'80s prime, with most songs (and between-song segues) filmed at Paisley Park.

Sheila E. makes her entrance on the title track, marching onstage at the front of a drum line and taking her place behind the drum kit for the second song, an exultant rendition of "Play in the Sunshine." Prince is in top form as he makes his way through several costume changes, tearing it up on guitar while showing off his sexiest James Brown moves.

The set draws primarily on "Sign o' the Times," including such obvious highlights as "U Got the Look," the title track and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man." But he throws in a smoldering, gospel-flavored re-imagining of "Little Red Corvette" for old time's sake.

It didn't set the multiplex on fire like he'd done with "Purple Rain" just three years earlier, but its stature has grown over time.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

'The Kids Are Alright' (1979)

This is the film that introduced my generation to the glory of the Who, first seen here on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Tommy Smothers asks Pete Townshend where he came up with his legendary windmill move. Townshend quickly answers, "That was bowling."

And so it goes, a series of loopy exchanges giving way to a truly explosive performance of "My Generation" that ends in an actual explosion as Townshend smashes his guitar. Keith Moon had rigged his kick drum to explode, which it does. Then when Smothers returns, Townshend grabs his acoustic guitar and smashes it to bits. It's the Who in a nutshell — the power, the humor, the chaos, the destructive urges.

Jeff Stein's film takes fans on a journey from their early days through Woodstock to their final performance with Moon, an epic "Won't Get Fooled Again" filmed just three months before his death.

It also features candid interviews with Townshend and the greatest live performance in the history of rock 'n' roll — "A Quick One, While He's Away" at "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus."

New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin dismissed it at the time as "willfully uninformative." But everything you need to know about the Who is right there in those live performances.

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

'Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970' (1998)

Yes, this is a second entry on the Who. A lot of people still consider them the greatest live band in the history of rock (myself included). And a large percentage of those fans would point to this film, captured more than a year into touring on "Tommy," as the most compelling documented evidence to support such a claim in the form of a concert-length film.

It features them rocking a festival crowd within months of a similar concert at Leeds University that led to the seminal "Live at Leeds" release, an album often celebrated as the greatest live recording any rock act ever made.

You'd never know they took the stage at 2 a.m.

This is that rarest of all breeds of concert films where when nearing the end — they start "We're Not Gonna Take It," the anthem that brings "Tommy" to a close — there's an overwhelming sadness knowing it's almost over. I want every concert film to mess with my emotions that profoundly.

It helps that Moon and Townshend are such entertaining lunatics to witness. Their antics kept making me smile and laugh and gasp and, on occasion, blurt out a reaction at the screen while John Entwistle, rocking a skeleton shirt, was making my jaw hit the floor with his stellar musicianship.

The physicality of Townshend throwing his entire body into the performance makes the music that much more electrifying, with his endless stream of jumps and windmills. And Moon is a rock 'n' roll madman on the kit throughout. This is a document of everything that made the Who so special in the first place.

The only downside is director Murray Lerner edited it down from a three-hour set to not quite 90 minutes. Now that we're all stuck inside, it may be time for him to run that other 90 minutes up the flagpole and see who salutes.

Where to stream: YouTube.

'Under Great White Northern Lights' (2009)

This Emmett Malloy documentary follows the White Stripes' Canadian tour in the summer of 2007, both onstage and off, in support of "Icky Thump," the band's final album.

Did they know this was their final tour? There's no mistaking the emotion in that last scene, in which Meg White weeps on the piano bench as Jack White sits beside her singing "Easy come, easy go / Be a star of the show / I'm giving up all I know to get more."

It ends a hug that couldn't be more awkward or more genuine, a disarmingly bittersweet coda to a film that feels more like a celebration of the chemistry that made them the 21st century's most electrifying bet for keeping rock 'n' roll alive.

The action begins with the trash-rocking splendor of a raunchy "Let's Shake Hands." Guitarist Jack White turns to his partner, one of rock's most underrated drummers, coming out of a squealing guitar break to remind her "You can do what you want to, Meg."

They effortlessly live up to the promise of that opener on highlights as relentless as "Black Math," "Ball and Biscuit," "Icky Thump" and "Seven Nation Army."

And when they do ease up on the accelerator, those moments are just as engaging, from Meg's lead vocal on "In the Cold, Cold Night" to "We Are Going to Be Friends" and an electrifying rendition of Bacharach and David's "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself."

Where to stream: YouTube.

'If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth a F' (1977)

This documentary chronicles a U.K. package tour designed to hype the roster at Stiff Records, a pioneering indie label whose stars included Wreckless Eric, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Nick Lowe, Larry Wallis and a bespectacled computer operator who'd taken the name of a previous rock 'n' roll legend in vain, a savage young Elvis Costello.

As a snapshot of an oft-neglected yet exhilarating moment in the history of the U.K music scene, it definitely rises to the challenge. As a concert film, it's even more engaging, lo-fi though it is.

Lowe leads a band of Stiff all-stars and his Rockpile bandmates Terry Williams and Dave Edmund, in "Heart of the City," a version that filters the reckless abandon of punk through the musicianship of pub-rock veterans.

Costello makes the most of the dramatic possibilities of "Watching the Detectives" at the helm of the freshly assembled Attractions, as talented a backing band as any in the history of rock.

And Ian Dury does his best to steal the show, leading his bandmates in an exhilarating rendition of "Blockheads" before calling back his label mates to join him on the star-studded finale, "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll."

Where to stream: Amazon Prime.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The best concert movies to stream now on Netflix, Hulu & Amazon Prime