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With a relative minimum of fanfare, resurgent post-rock overlords Godspeed You! Black Emperor have snuck out an album this week — ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! is their fourth studio album and their first since 2002′s Yanqui U.X.O. We’ve always been big fans of the band, and we’ve jumped at every opportunity to see them live since they got back together in 2010 — their epic shows are the stuff of legend, frequently stretching past two hours and always very, very loud. But we do appreciate that their shows aren’t for everyone, and that even if they are for you, you kinda have to be in the mood for them. In this spirit, then, we celebrate (and/or gently poke fun at) a selection of bands whose shows are something of an endurance test, either in a good way or just in a rather tiresome one. As ever, let us know if we’ve missed anyone.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

We heart Godspeed, and we blissed out happily during their epic two-and-a-half-hour comeback set at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple last year, emerging with sore ears and a strange feeling of inner peace. We also enjoyed them at the recent ATP in New York, although we did feel for the benighted souls strung around the perimeter of the warehouse on Pier 36 where the band played, looking imploringly at their boyfriends/girlfriends and asking wordlessly if it was time to go yet.