Nothin' Better than Live

When you think of the best bands or artists, people always talk about what great songwriters they were, how sick they were on their instruments, or how they could belt out the lyrics. However, if you can’t get out on stage and throw an amazing show none of that other stuff really matters. An artist doesn’t need all the elements to be considered a worthy musician, but every single one of them has to be able to show up when it comes to performing live. I mean James Brown wasn’t exactly known for his lyrics; half of what he said weren’t even words. Mick Jaggar didn’t even play an instrument (ok he does some harmonica!) and The Grateful Dead only broke the top twenty charts once with “Truckin” (pretty sure but going only from memory). But when you think about it these artists will go down as legends because of how they made people feel and what they could do on stage. In my experience I believe you can’t truly know a band or performer until you see what they can do on stage. It’s your chance to decide who you’re following and who you’re not paying a dollar to see again. Most if not all the bands that I consider myself a fan of completely thrive in the live setting; in fact most of my favorite bands didn’t reach that plateau until I caught them in a live show. I think that in the live setting you can gain a better grasp of the true character behind the band; in a sense you get to see them for what they really are. It’s a raw experience plain and simple. The funny thing is live music is the only thing where you can cross genres and actually compare bands from different walks of life. Whether it’s Bluegrass or Hip-Hop, the only question is “were they able to give the audience what they wanted?” It doesn’t really matter if its spitting blood or relaxing with a smooth, acoustic set just as long as the audience walks away feeling like the energy and the performance exceeded what they thought it would be. These days, it’s almost essential to make sure you go see shows if you’re going to follow music. All the crap that is produced these days often makes me wonder who is the Real McCoy and who synthesized and studio recorded their way to the top. Technology is great right, but when it helps artists mask what they can or cannot do it actually sucks. So before you decide whether someone has all the qualities that you like in music make sure it’s really them and not the machines Also, I always think downloading live music is a great feature to help one figure all of it out, and it’s a way to hear the show that you might have missed. On the other end, bands that receive the status of great live music get a following that is unmatched by record sales or appearances on television. When you can look in the crowd and recognize people from previous shows as you make your way through a tour, you know you’re doing something right. Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not like musicians are doing it for free, and you just can’t deny the profits that a band can make through concert sales. So, if you really like a band the best way to support them is catching them when the come to your area or travel to where you can see them. You get the chance to see if they are a band that can play live, you get to show your appreciation, and you can’t deny the good time you’ll have. So, you owe it to yourself and to the music to see as many shows as you can. Later