Since we had just been talking about the Frankfurt 2008 version - I upped the original video with dubbed audio:

^That's great, but I'd have to disagree with the comment you put in the description. That is by far the best vocal performance of These Days since 1996, but by no means is it the best one Jon has given on the song ever.

Really? He couldn't hit the last high bit and didn't bother with the rest. In my opinion Jon has sung better versions of These Days in the 2010/11 tour

This is a far vocally better version of These Days:

I'm with nickolai on this one.

Sure, Frankfurt is a great performance, Jon's "I guess I'd rather die..." part and his little burst of energy are nice and everything, but his voice in 2008 in general is overrated due to the fact how shitty it was a few years prior and it is evident here. He doesn't go for a high note in the chorus ('But these days!') and and the "ain't nobody left but us these days" in the end is just a shoutfest and he's not even in key.

In the last tour, however, I think we saw better performances. Sometimes he would go for that high note in chorus (something I didn't think we'd see ever), the "woaaow" ad-libs are nice too and in the South American leg he did a great ending repeating the "ain't nobody..." line much better than here in Frankfurt. And in general, his voice in 2010 was way less strained and nasal.

If I had to pick the best performance from this century, it's a toss-up between Buenos Aires and Rio. Both very similar, but fantastic performance with Jon, IMO, at hist nowadays' best.

You're right and I stand corrected. Maybe I was overwhelmed due to the fact that I was there and was on such a high as this one followed right after a killer performance of Damned!
Some of the Circle tour performances were really brilliant - Rio, Buenos Aires, London. However, one that is often overlooked is the one from Sydney 2010:
Vocally, he didn't go for it as much as he did on other shows - but the way he delivered the Jimmy Shoes verse sends shivers down my spine every time I watch it!

I think both you and nikolalalalalal are bonkers. I haven't heard a single version of these days from the last tour where he belts out the chorus he way he does in the Frankfurt version. Listen to how he sings "The steets No No No." It's the only version where he comes close to matching the intensity of the album version, at least recently. All the versions from the last tour feel so much weaker in comparison because he refuses to really sing fully for that high note. THAT'S the high note of that chorus, not what you're talking about.

What, just because Jon "shouts" No No No in 2008 makes it a better version? When Jon nails "ain't no body left" in 2010 it is higher than the "No No No" so it isn't a case of Jon can't nail it. Do you think, just maybe Jon's excluding the "No No No" because its an integral crowd part where 50,000 people shout it? It's called crowd interaction. Jon does it all the time with various songs.

Aloha !

Yeah, this. Plus that on the last few performances Jon sounds flat all the way through with the ones from South America being the exception here and there. The example Nickolai posted from London is a rather bland one, no emotion and Jon struggles a lot, even with the verses. And judging from the way he's looking he knows it too.

Frankfurt was the last time Jon sang the full chorus every time as opposed to just It's not just a matter of hitting the notes, it's a matter of how the full song is delivered. The verses in Frankfurt start a bit flat but Jon really, really tries and gets into the song like I haven't seen since 1996. His range opens up a bit and he's capable of delivering the vocals with a rich quality that hasn't been doen ever since.

It's not the best version ever, but it's certainly the best version since 1996. The 2008 tour had really good vocals and it's a shame Jon didn't try to go for the more vocally demanding songs more often as he was really capable of delivering would he have trained his voice more like on occasions like this.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Combined with the vocals and the passion, Frankfurt was the best since 96, IMO. Yes, there were many good performances in 2010 and 2011, but that Frankfurt one was excellent all around.