Re: Avril Lavigne
 

Good points Andy :)

P.S. You're right, I do need to go to more concerts :rolleyes:

Cory

Re: Avril Lavigne
 

I'm definitely with Andy on this one. Done right, there is nothing like a good live show. The energy level you pick up from a good live performance is virtually impossible to capture on a recording. When the audience really gets into it, and gives good feedback to the artist, the performance quality can go through the roof. Whether they sit in one place and just belt out the tunes with a lot more soul (like when I saw B.B. King) or practically blow up the whole stage (AC/DC) is almost a secondary concern - in either case, the quality of the music was what mattered to me.

That said, the thing that you really have to look for is the basic capability of the artist. If they have legitimate talent, and you really like their music, then you are almost certain to like them in a live performance. If they are basically talentless posers (hhmmm ... Avril Levigne on a skateboard in her first video - all she could do was go in a straight line), then you should have a good indication of what they will be like during a live show. You just need to recognize the difference between Ray Charles and Milli Vanilli.

Also, don't expect that only big-name, big-money bands will always give the best shows. After the Southern California regional on Friday night, a few of us went over to the House of Blues in L.A. and saw Eek-A-Mouse. The next night we saw Leftover Salmon at The Knitting Factory. These are not groups that you are likely to see any time soon on MTV. But both of them turned out to be absolutely great small-venue shows that really pulled in the audience without assuming that cheezy tricks, massive pyrotechnics or flying surfboards (take that, David Lee Roth!) were all they needed. Both of these bands were mature and experienced enough to know how to work with the audience, and get them involved with the performance. They were able to show, once again, that a talented band with an appreciative audience is virtually impossible to beat!

Other bands that were much better live than on their albums:
- AC/DC
- Doobie Brothers
- Eagles
- Elvis Costello
- Metallica
- Concrete Blonde
- Elton John (again, Andy is right on this one)
- Chicago
- John Fogerty
- Arlo Guthrie and John Prine
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band
- Grateful Dead
- Rush

-dave

Re: Avril Lavigne
 

So is this why I could never get into the NASA webcasts of the regionals as much as I did Palmetto (and at least the competition side of Archimedes)? (grin)

Re: Avril Lavigne
 

Cool... I get to tell Cory he's wrong too... ;) I think bands just sound different live and sometimes when you get used to hearing the recorded music it's hard to accept a different rendition of it. I don't really like live "albums" but actually going to a concert can be great! A few years ago I made all of my friends and loved ones go to the Fairfax Fair to see They Might Be Giants. Now, Eric, my other, absolutely hated them and would cringe and whine about them when I would play their music at home. He now admits that their concert was one of the best concerts he's ever been to because they just perform so well live and he doesn’t whine when I play them at home now…

Other performers I've seen that have been completely amazing are Jethro Tull, David Bowie, Concrete Blonde and Violent Femmes. All of them were good because I liked their music but there were other factors that made them spectacular. Tull was really great because a group of us decided to risk the anger of the rain gods and get lawn seats and make it a picnic concert. It didn’t rain, so we had a fun evening sitting under the stars, and we had wine and cheese and strawberries and chocolate… and we took bets on whether or not our one friend, who was 8 months pregnant at the time, was going to roll down the hill when she went to get up… I saw Violent Femmes at a HFStival (can’t even remember who else was there, Counting Crows, I think and the Meat Puppets and Cracker maybe) and my friend and I had a blast singing along with every single Femmes song while Gordon Gano bounced around on stage with non-stop energy. Bowie is a born performer… I saw his Glass Spider tour when I was 17 and there was a giant spider draped over the stage and when he did Time, he floated down from the top of the spider (on a little platform) dressed all in white with big white angel wings… it was magical… Concrete Blonde also did a good performance. When they did Bloodletting, they turned off all of the lights except for some black lights and all of the band members came creeping out from behind the curtains wearing black body suits painted with neon colors to look like skeletons. It was spooky and fun and full of energy. Being there made the difference, if I had seen a recorded version of any of these concerts, I wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Heidi

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Okay, the Monkees reunion tour in 86 was fun too and my first concert!