b/c (good) live music is a great thing to experience, & an amazing thing when you dig the songs/performer

meow85 said:

have you ever heard Jeff Martin from the Tea Party sing live? oh lawd

no, look at all the people going to see U2, and they are not worth a fuck.

muirdo said:

now if she could only keep up her beat in her drumming.....
[Edited 12/5/05 0:51am]

Byron said:

well said hon ...and I'd like to add in my lifetime there has been very little that comes close to the euphoria, anticipation and excitement of live music especially big concerts. that feeling when the lights go down, the crowd goes NUTS and you hear that sangin' guitar LIVE oh.my.god
[Edited 12/5/05 0:52am]

Byron said:

of course you do, silly!

Byron said:

I think you two would be cute together.

littlemissG said:

Very interesting question (and I didn't know you were Canadian!).

As someone who used to go to a shitload of shows but attends very few concerts these days, I probably have more of an objective perspective on it than most.

The concerts I will still attend are people like Springsteen, Prince and Tom Waits. I have a long-standing connection to their work and they don't tour very often. I also go because they are all great live performers who bring something different to the table every night (it's not just a rote, recreation of what's on the record).

Of course, these days (with DVDs and plasma screens) you can have a better "concert" experience in your own home. The only things you're missing-out on this way are eye-contact with the performer (if you're sitting up front), interacting with a community of fellow fans and hearing "Good evening, (your city here)!".

And, as someone who used to play live, I can tell you the ability to connect with the audience is more important than "talent" (although, of course, connecting with an audience is a talent in itself).

No, I go to gigs for the same reason I go to the movies - escapism, plain and simple.

Illustrator said:

Ace said:

littlemissG said:

welll....i think the answer isn't a simple yes or no.

first off, i think it depends on the kind of music we're talking about.

if it's, say, a jazz combo or a group like stereolab or sigur ros that is more about the production of the music than the importance of some kind of concrete message (and yes, i'm overgeneralizing here), then i don't really think an audience cares about making some kind of interpersonal "connection" with the performers. fans of these kinds of acts are going purely for the musicianship - stage presence is kinda irrelevant.

now, artists like prince or madonna or other "iconic" performers, who DO have images and lyrics with messages and concepts, owe strong stage presence to much of their success. of course, prince has a great amount of talent as a musician, but he's also amazingly adept at connecting with his audiences and keeping them engaged with what's happening onstage.

as for the comment about people not needing talent as long as they can connect with an audience, it could be argued that connecting with an audience is what performance is all about, and that in itself is an increasingly rare talent.

I just like to hear live music. I like the connection you get at a live concert but it's not only the artist that causes that; it's the crowd as well.

I once went to a Robert Palmer gig where the crowd just didn't get going - the whole thing was a let-down and he walked off the stage in the end. It's the only live gig I've been to where the connection just wasn't there. Every other gig I've been to, I've normally left buzzing.

to me, it comes down to this: do the artists act like they want to be there? do they act like they care about the music they're playing? do they seem happy that folks showed up for their show? are they enjoying themselves?

if the answer to all these questions is a big, fat NO, then why should i waste my time watching people ruining the music i want to hear by playing it as if they're being horribly imposed upon? If they're phoning it in, why did I bother buying the tickets and braving the crowds for a good spot and standing through a crap opening band?

even robert smith of the cure has a great connection with the audience at their concerts, and he barely even acknowledges the crowd. his stage presence is just so intense and "big", the few times he does acknowledge the audience, they always go nuts.

they go to see the music and they go for the socialization around a united cause.

I don't go to conserts. I don't like large groups.

I go to a shit load of concerts, I've been to 30 this past year easy, and honestly I go because it's something to do, not because of a connection I feel to an artist. Some times artists I feel a connection to suck, sometimes I'm surprised by how great an artist is when I expected the show to suck.
You can know every song by a band but until you see them live you really don't know what they are about, you might have an idea but not the whole picture. There is something complete when you are in the same room and the music is live that is missing in recordings.

That "thing" that is missing in recordings...is exactly what you are asking about Miss G, it's called showmanship. And it is the most important deciding factor between a show that sucks ass and an event you talk about for long after the show.

Anxiety said:

amen to that!

me and my bf say that all the time...wow so and so REALLY didn't wanna be there tonight didn't he ...or WOW so and so was having more fun than us!

Natisse said:

Haven't had the opportunity, no.

meow85 said:

he makes you melt with his voice