To echo Kiwi's sentiment about the energy that comes from interacting directly with other people ... this has always struck me as the difference between live and packaged (i.e. recorded) performances of any kind. And this occurs at two levels - the presence of a live performer - and the presence of a live audience. Watching (or listening to) a taped recording at home means there is no crowd to laugh or cry with ... and no live performer to react to the audience's laughter or tears.

One of the most powerful musical experiences I have ever had was at the end of the Owen Sound Summerfolk Festival, singing "There's a Bright Side Somewhere", with thousands of other people, over and over, in unison & harmony, under a starlit midnight sky ... an unbelievable experience.