Live Music

[kazuya]

So I'm only starting this thread because of my own experience growing up buying 'live album' CDs as the only access to certain artists...but I feel that having a live performance as your first exposure to a song is far more significant and meaningful than the artificial perfection of a studio recording. Listening to different live recordings I really appreciate the artistry and technique only seen in live recordings! Does anybody else (besides obviously Dave Grohl) feel this way, even in the era of COVID?

[Kizyr]

I grew up in Nashville, which has (or at least while I grew up there) a very active live music scene -- not just country but all genres -- to the point where pretty much any bar, coffee shop, or other decent venue has a stage. So when I was at least old enough to go I got a good taste of live music from both local musicians and people touring the city to try and make it big(ger). Managed to see some musicians before they got famous also (which wasn't necessarily good or bad... like I saw John Mayer opening for someone about 6 months before he got real famous, and my only thought was "who's this generic-sounding guy with a guitar? I'm just gonna go play pool for 45 min and come back...").

*ehem*, anyway, so... I figured this is something everyone thought? Like there's a ton about live music that doesn't get replicated in a recording, not to mention less tangible things like the energy of the room. Being able to see live music is something I really miss from pre-COVID times, and I don't really feel safe doing so in enclosed spaces now. The last time I saw any was at BlerDCon in 2021, which was in a brief period after vaccine rollouts but before the delta or omicron variants, and half the concerts were outdoors and they required masks indoors.

The two biggest things that don't get replicated in live music, for me, are the energy of the room (for me this is biggest with hip-hop and metal), and a lot of aspects of acoustics/sound quality -- especially with smaller venues like local clubs that are set up for this sort of thing. That said, there are some really great live recordings that capture some things -- one of my favorite albums of all time e.g. is Maná's MTV Unplugged album (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maná_MTV_Unplugged), which captures a lot of the acoustic quality and some improvisation that isn't there on the equivalent non-live albums. Not necessarily better but just different, enough to where I think both are fantastic.

[kazuya]

Well obviously I completely agree there are things live music captures that a lifeless recording never will...especially depending on how social the music is meant to be. I mean even if you're going to see highly technical music from a virtuoso like Paco De Lucia, you will always be shocked by the sheer number of attendees. But I would venture to argue that it can even happen with electronic/noise music where it's not just some meathead pressing the play button: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW03QgubN0M