Why live music?

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Jon W.
Date: 18 Aug 97 - 12:38 PM

Well said Bill, and with authority. BTW, do you happen to be featured in any Foxfire books? And what is a screed? I've only heard that word used as a name of a long straight board used for levelling concrete or the ground underneath it.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Justin
Date: 18 Aug 97 - 01:46 PM

I haven't been checking this site out for a while. I don't want to become addicted, but you guys have been putting down some really good stuff.

Maybe this is the answer to, "Why recorded music."

About thirty years ago there was a World's Fair in New Delhi, India. A German couple with cameras and recording equipment decided to drive a VW bug from Berlin to New Delhi. After being slowed down by some mis-adventures in Greece and the Middle East they got to around India or Kashmir just about the time that the monsoons arrived, and they realized that they would be bogged down there for a couple of months.

Making the best of a bad situation they went out into a street of the little town and started to try and interview the locals. None of the people there had ever seen recording equipment. They struggled with the language for a while, and then played back the tape. The looks on the people's faces when they heard their voices played back was wonderful. At first, they were stunned. Then they laughed, and then, suddenly one man got very excited. He got his friends together around him and spoke to them excitedly, and they scattered.

The couple was left alone in the middle of the street, bewildered. Then, in just a few minutes, the townspeople returned. All carrying musical instruments.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Peter Timmerman
Date: 18 Aug 97 - 03:26 PM

This has nothing to do with music, but the last note and Bill's somehow came together and reminded me of the great story of the anthropologist who went out to one of the offshore islands of Ireland sometime around the turn of the century, and he was rowed around the islands by an old fisherman. It happened that at one point they stopped for the night on one of the shores, and in the morning the anthropologist was shaving himself with a shaving mirror; and the fisherman asked him what he was looking at so intently; and the anthropologist suddenly realized that these people had never seen a mirror. So he gave the mirror to the fisherman, who looked into it; and after a second the fisherman's eyes filled with tears, and he said, "Oh, Papa".

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Susan of California
Date: 18 Aug 97 - 03:40 PM

Peter-that story brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Laoise, Belfast
Date: 19 Aug 97 - 07:31 AM

Whip, thank you for asking, yes I had a wonderful trip. I was diving off a boat in the Red Sea off Egypt for a week and then I was at a fiddle festival in Glencolumbcille, Donegal for a week. A bit of a contrast.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last two stories. They were very touching. Its amazing the things we take for granted.

Max or whoever deals with PR, a possible fund raising opportunity: putting together a book containing some of the wonderful wee stories about folk music and Mudcat on-liner's experiences. This stuff would be well appreciated by a larger audience. Whaddya tink?

Laoise.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From:
Date: 19 Aug 97 - 05:23 PM

I'm with Laoise, and I'll volunteer to help edit or whatever it is that we'd need to do to put a project together. What a great idea! Everybody, even those who rarely sing, has a singing story. I LOVE this idea. Anyone else?

And Peter T. -- love the post regarding artist's time -- my "Stuff Rechal Owes Mudcat Friends" has my own little treatise on non-linear time. I even did a drawing about it once for an art show.

LaMarca -- I can't believe no one was singing at a Bill Staines show! He must have done that song, "All God's Critters Got A Place In The Choir", right? Whassamatta with people these days?

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Bob Landry
Date: 19 Aug 97 - 05:53 PM

I got this email from a friend of mine today that epitomizes the beauty and value of live music::

It's not like I don't have a thousand things to do today. I need to prepare for a big meeting with the VP of Programming at CSS (a local counselling organization) tomorrow morning. My goal is to turn this meeting into work. I'm leaving in a couple hours to go jamming with a friend of mine and his musical buddies. I have laundry to finish from my latest stint at the farm. I have a kitchen to clean and e-mail coming out my ying-yang to read. I need to write my part for the CP exercise and I want to write a piece about my birthday. The list goes on and yet here I sit, listening to a fiddling CD a friend gave me for my birthday and bawling like a baby.

I hear the fiddle and am transported back in time and once again I am a small girl, sitting on the arm of my grandfather's chair, so in love with the white haired man who plays his fiddle for me.

My grandfather plays songs he learned in the old country. He closes his eyes and bow draws out the notes. Sometimes slow and mournful and sometimes fast and spirited. And I sit and listen enraptured.

In a couple years I learn the dances of the country of my decendancy and my grandfather plays those old, up beat tunes while I bouce around his living room; I'm dancing. His eyes wide open now, he watches with a big smile on his face. One, two three. One two three. Toe, heel, knee, kick... In his tiny living room, just my white haired grandfather, the fiddle and the dance and me. It's not a very good dance, I've only just begun to learn. It will take years before I learn the dance well and win many awards for my effort, yet he smiles just the same.

Life was not always kind to my grandfather. He came to Canada alone leaving his wife and first born child behind. It took eight years before he could afford to bring them over to be with him. He lived his life as a poor dirt farmer. Supporting his family off the land. Never having much but I suppose enough.

The war took it's toll on my grandfather too. Although it took many years, eventually both his legs would be amputated at the knee, the result of poisonous gases he breathed while fighting in the war. Losing his limbs was so hard for him. I remember so clearly his determination to walk into my cousins wedding on his own power. It was a long flight of stairs down to the reception hall but he determined, one way or another, he was going to make down those stairs and to his seat by himself. I stood at the bottom of those stairs watching him make his way down. He did it. I was so proud of him. I don't know whose smile was bigger, his or mine.

At my grandfather's funeral I read a poem I had written for him. I don't know what ever happened to that poem. I know I burried it with him and I don't know that I've seen it since. I ended the poem saying "When we meet in heaven, I won't run ahead. Rather, I'll stand and watch you as you run to me instead." I felt so grateful that on the other side, my grandfather could walk once more. That's how much he seemed to miss his legs.

In my heart I know he is with me. He walks with me everyday. But today as I listen to the fiddle and feel myself transported back in time, I weep. I weep tears of mourning. I weep tears of love. The love a wee girl sitting on the arm of her grandfather's chair, enraptured by his music. I weep the tears of grown child, now 29 years old who misses her grandfather and his fiddle so.

My grandfather has been gone for 11 years now. I keep thinking one year I'll get over it. Guess it's not this year either.

Dido, in case you've forgotten, or if you never really knew, I want to tell you, I need to tell you: I love you.

I sure hope there are fiddles in heaven cause when I get there, the first thing I want to do is sit beside you-- I want to sit beside you and look upon you with loving eyes. And once again I will know rapture as you play your fiddle for me.

Barb

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From:
Date: 20 Aug 97 - 03:46 PM

Thanks for sharing that story, Bob. It's beautiful.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 Jul 01 - 11:16 AM

refresh

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: GUEST,Celtic Soul
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 09:06 AM

Thankfully, not all bands/acts that perform live draw that line between themselves and their audience. I know of quite a few where not only is participation encouraged, but adds greatly to the enjoyment of not only audience but group. Seamas Kennedy is a great example of that. Bands/artists that draw that line in the dirt don't know what they're missing! :D

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: clansfolk
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 10:34 AM

to slip slightly - I always find it amusing when you see those signs outside pubs advertising "Live Football" meaning a satellite transmitted match.....

I was wondering if we could get around the PEL licensing laws (see the many threads) by getting several groups together and transmitting the sessions to various pubs around the area - nay world - then advertise it as live music?

just a thought...

Pete

anybody got a satellite transmitter going cheap?

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: sophocleese
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 11:19 AM

clansfolk, an interesting idea. A weird state of affairs indeed when it seems reasonable to transmit via device something which is then named "live" because that which is really live is considered too much of an encumbrance.

On a sligthly related theme, Orillia has decided not to use pesticides on the lawns of their public parks. I have been watching today and last week a man with a small tractor and trailer with half a dozen containers of needed fuel, applying steam to weeds to get rid of them. This is safer and less poisonous than pesticides, however it seems, to me, to indicate a wierd imagination. We used to spray stuff on weeds to get rid of them, now we cannot spray that same stuff on them so we find something else to spray on them. What about pulling the weeds out of the ground by hand? Agreed pulling them by hand means fewer toys to play with and it gets pretty boring, but then again I can't see the fun of wearing goggles and heavy boots in hot weather so you can spray hot steam around.

This kind of thinking seems to underly the feeling that somem people have about live music. They want it to be more of the same as recorded music but fail sometimes to realize that it is a very different experience.

Personally I am thrilled on most songs to have people sing along with me. There are a few songs, story songs generally without a chorus or repeated line, where I prefer not to be accompanied, but usually without any easy handle for people to pick up on they don't try and sing along anyway. Orillia folk audiences really like to sing along with performers, it would be very difficult to shut them up.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: clansfolk
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 11:42 AM

Being involved in the "recording industry" I also find it hard to believe a situation where people prefer the "recorded" to the "live".

If someone goes to a concert club etc . and enjoys listening to the artist they buy a CD - however a CD is very rarely (if ever) a true representation of the artist - for the most part the Artists don't want it to be - asking for enhancement to the acoustics adding extra instrumental tracks double (and more) tracking of vocals etc. etc.

Yes the recordings are good but not a true representation of the real thing! and both should be treated as separate entities with recorded music being a poor substitute for the real thing - even we can't record atmosphere!

Live music is an inter reaction between Audience and Artist and no two performances will be the same - live music is unique

Keep music live!

Pete

But keep recording CDs as well - I need the money!!!

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: mousethief
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 12:17 PM

I love live music, and I love studio recorded albums. What I do not like is the concert album. Live music is not just the music, it's the whole experience of being there, in the same room with one of your favorite artists (or even a not-so-favorite!), interacting with the crowd, and so forth. All that a concert album catches is the audio portion of this, which is usually riddled with mistakes, voice flubs and so forth. None of which matter when you're THERE; but when you get home and listen to the recording of the concert, over and over and over, they are really wearing.

JMHO!

Alex

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Burke
Date: 16 Jul 01 - 08:54 PM

I tend to buy recordings based on having heard a performer live. When I listen to the studio recordings & hear the person who I heard solo with instrument accompanied by all the back up instruments & vocals I can't stand it. I'll buy a concert recording over studio any time because it's the closest I can get to the live event.

I have limited opportunities to go to live performances so I will go to almost anyone who sounds interesting. I have often been very entertained & at the same time felt I did not care about listening to their music & do not buy the recordings that are for sale.

I have heard others say something to the effect that they'll buy a recording & decide on attending a performance based on the recording. For me that's backwards. Almost every performer I really like, I've heard live first.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Grab
Date: 17 Jul 01 - 09:24 AM

Depends on the artist/genre, Alex. For folk, I'd much prefer a live recording, otherwise you don't get any of the feeling that comes with ppl singing along, laughing at the funny bits, etc. For rock, I'd agree it doesn't work too well, partly bcos it's very difficult to record it effectively. Having said that, one of my favourite CDs is Dire Straits' "Alchemy", so I'm not consistent on that! :-)

Graham.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Zorro
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 08:34 AM

I use to play on the patio of a seafood restaurant. Folks would hang out there while waiting for a table. One night there was a family there with a little girl, about eight or so and it was her birthday. I did a song for her using the old Shady Grove song and substituting Mary Anne for Shady grove. (the child's name)... "wish I had a fine while horse and corn to feed him on, wish I had little Mary Ann to feed him when I'm gone..." Every time I sang her name her eyes lit up; her parents were thrilled and I was pretty happy myself. My case for live music.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Joe_F
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 07:48 PM

If live music means singing to yourself, or with persons of your acquaintance, then the reasons are obvious -- it's fun to do it, and to talk about the songs and the people mentioned in the songs, etc.; and if it isn't fun, you don't do it.

If live music means going to public performances, then I see no good reason for it, except sociability (doing something with friends) & sentimentality (laying eyes on people who have given you pleasure thru your ears) -- at least, those are the only two reasons I ever go to concerts. If the idea is to experience a more competent performance than you & your friends can supply, then I say (1) that experience is overvalued, and (2) to the extent that it is valuable, it is better obtained by listening to a recording at home.

Subject: RE: Why live music?
From: Burke
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 08:02 PM

Even if I go alone & speak to no one, I like the whole experience of a live performance. Being with other people, listening to the introductions, hearing bad banjo jokes, laughing together with others, the whole bit. It's not just the music.

There can be a dynamic that happens between the performer and the audience that far surpasses the listening to recorded music. If the performance is just the music without the meeting of the performer & the audience, I'd agree somewhat.

I don't think I'd knock sociability as a reason. Shared experinces help to build relationships, after all.