I agree with Mike that recordings by their nature lack the immediacy and intimacy of a live performance. After ShoreGrass finished recording our CD, we talked about how it sounded different from our live performances, and Mike has put words to the issue exactly. We surely had the sound clarity, compared to the smoothing of the edges in a live room. But the recording process in a "dead room" by necessity changes the synergy and energy derived from a live audience.