Live music is rubbish
- Thread starter Blzebub
- Start date
ciderglider
pfm Member
If it were a genuine market there would be new entrants who undercut Ticketmaster. The reason prices are high isn't just because of demand, it's because of supply as well.
Wolfmancatsup
Empire State Human
I think some changes would help - for a start the government needs to make resale of concert tickets illegal, just as they did (I believe) with football match tickets.
Too many gigs get sold out straight away and the tickets then appear at (even more) vastly inflated prices second hand, and folk just starting out in the gig-going world seem to accept that to get tickets you've often to pay much more than the face value.
Too many gigs get sold out straight away and the tickets then appear at (even more) vastly inflated prices second hand, and folk just starting out in the gig-going world seem to accept that to get tickets you've often to pay much more than the face value.
Still
he said his naim was ralph
The quality of live shows are highly unpredictable, & it's usually impossible to get redress if it proves to be a big steaming pile of a performance.
I'm choosy these days, so if there's a show that tempts me I'll do plenty of research before I commit to going.
Don't forget there's always the opportunity to turn militant.
I have happy memories of chasing a criminally incompetent sound dood around an auditorium in the late 1980s.
I'm choosy these days, so if there's a show that tempts me I'll do plenty of research before I commit to going.
Don't forget there's always the opportunity to turn militant.
I have happy memories of chasing a criminally incompetent sound dood around an auditorium in the late 1980s.
Nic Robinson
Moderator
+1. James, you missed out one very important addi5tional benefit from live popular music: A contribution towards irreversible loss of hearing included in the price!
foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
With the exceptions of Leonard Cohen and AC/DC (both at the O2) I have never been to a stadium gig that was worth the cash and the hassle and I've been to a fair few in smaller, but similarly priced venues that have also miserably failed to live up to expectations.
Now, I'd rather go to places the size of the Borderline, Vortex, Cafe Oto or Le Quecumbar over larger venues and seldom go to a rock gig where I'm not a +1, so they usually cost me nothing but beer. There are still loads of great nights out to be had with great music in any large British city, it is, however, one of the things you sacrifice if you choose to live in the sticks.
When live music is really good, it is one of life's great experiences.
Now, I'd rather go to places the size of the Borderline, Vortex, Cafe Oto or Le Quecumbar over larger venues and seldom go to a rock gig where I'm not a +1, so they usually cost me nothing but beer. There are still loads of great nights out to be had with great music in any large British city, it is, however, one of the things you sacrifice if you choose to live in the sticks.
When live music is really good, it is one of life's great experiences.
Thread starter i couldn't agree more
Whats more.. You tube has done so much damage to bands live credibility with me personally . Sad I know i love Avril Lavign first album well one song "But it was far from Anything but ordinary"
I think I would not pay money to see that .. then i watched Steely Dan thought nope I Stay in the best seat in the house in front of the hi fi and stay with the Cd's
The older i get the more i think Technology pulled the wool over my eyes.
Whats more.. You tube has done so much damage to bands live credibility with me personally . Sad I know i love Avril Lavign first album well one song "But it was far from Anything but ordinary"
I think I would not pay money to see that .. then i watched Steely Dan thought nope I Stay in the best seat in the house in front of the hi fi and stay with the Cd's
The older i get the more i think Technology pulled the wool over my eyes.
PsB
Citizen of Nowhere™
I agree with Bub for 95% of rock/pop, mostly because of the crap sound. Last time I went was White Stripes many years ago. The sound was awful (worse than the CD, which is saying something) and you could never tell if the music was coming from the musicians on stage, the other musicians to the side of the stage busy twiddling processors and synths etc. or from a computer somewhere in the massive stacks with blinking lights. I stopped going to big venues after that.
Anything 100% acoustic is of course completely different and well worth attending. One of the great joys of classical music and opera is that there isn't any amplification of any kind involved. As a side benefit this more or less insures that what you hear is what the musicians actually produced themselves on stage. No lip-sync or special FX here.
The grey area is where the instruments are supplemented by a PA sound system, for instance jazz or world music. It can sound very nice or it can sound awful. It's nice to see the musicians and the interplay between them, but if the sound is rough because it's coming from a lousy PA system that has been cranked up too loud, or you're too far to see anything other than on a giant screen or through binoculars, what's the point? AFAIAC, and unless it's a special thing like flamenco, once it's been through a PA system i might as well listen to it at home.
Anything 100% acoustic is of course completely different and well worth attending. One of the great joys of classical music and opera is that there isn't any amplification of any kind involved. As a side benefit this more or less insures that what you hear is what the musicians actually produced themselves on stage. No lip-sync or special FX here.
The grey area is where the instruments are supplemented by a PA sound system, for instance jazz or world music. It can sound very nice or it can sound awful. It's nice to see the musicians and the interplay between them, but if the sound is rough because it's coming from a lousy PA system that has been cranked up too loud, or you're too far to see anything other than on a giant screen or through binoculars, what's the point? AFAIAC, and unless it's a special thing like flamenco, once it's been through a PA system i might as well listen to it at home.
Eugene
Identity crisis...
So, Bub, what was the last gig you went to?!
I don't disagree with your sentiments entirely, but it's part of of the live gig "gig" - in the right circumstances, the live experience will compensate for the ticket price, the expensive beer, the shitty toilets, the tools in the audience, etc. etc. YMMV...
I don't disagree with your sentiments entirely, but it's part of of the live gig "gig" - in the right circumstances, the live experience will compensate for the ticket price, the expensive beer, the shitty toilets, the tools in the audience, etc. etc. YMMV...
Minstrel SE
These go to eleven
I tend to agree but you go for the vibe and whole experience of just being there in the crowd.
Crushed in at a Smiths GMEX or Manchester Poly gigs with full plastic beer glasses raining in from the crowd. Crushing forward and pogoing into each other. People having sex at the back. A support band being badly heckled, and pelted with anything available. It was just a great laugh and the music was secondary.
I remember the poly building gigs being affordable and I much prefer the smaller venue. They all started closing down and Im not really into seated arenas, health and safety and polite clapping.
The sound was often a loud distorted mess especially if you were stood infront of one stack. You couldnt get in the right position to hear anything well. I didnt care as it was just a buzz to be there.
I agree that I wouldnt pay the ridiculous ticket prices now asked. The group would have to be bloody special. I will regret never having seen Joy Division live to my dying day.
Crushed in at a Smiths GMEX or Manchester Poly gigs with full plastic beer glasses raining in from the crowd. Crushing forward and pogoing into each other. People having sex at the back. A support band being badly heckled, and pelted with anything available. It was just a great laugh and the music was secondary.
I remember the poly building gigs being affordable and I much prefer the smaller venue. They all started closing down and Im not really into seated arenas, health and safety and polite clapping.
The sound was often a loud distorted mess especially if you were stood infront of one stack. You couldnt get in the right position to hear anything well. I didnt care as it was just a buzz to be there.
I agree that I wouldnt pay the ridiculous ticket prices now asked. The group would have to be bloody special. I will regret never having seen Joy Division live to my dying day.
Pete the Feet
pfm Member
I agree. By the time many bands have learnt to play and play well their fire has gone out. And as for Ticketmaster, robbing bastards. I remember when it was the same price as an LP to watch a band. The bigger the venue, the bigger the price I don't get.
dehavillandrfc
Bassman
This just convinces me of something I've always suspected, that the majority of folks in the 'hi fi' world are more into the hobby of it than the music. There is no substitute, in my view, for the experience of music. No hifi system - no matter how good - can match the excitement and emotion of a live gig. And I think my system is bloody good!
You guys just need to get out more!
Of course not all gigs are great but I have been to fantastic shows at the O2 (Led Zep, Santana), RAH (Cream, Porcupine Tree, various Proms) down to intimate gigs at places like the Shepherds Bush Empire, Borderline and even IndigO2 where I saw Little Feat and Return to Forever. It's not the size of venue but the music.
Live music rules....
You guys just need to get out more!
Of course not all gigs are great but I have been to fantastic shows at the O2 (Led Zep, Santana), RAH (Cream, Porcupine Tree, various Proms) down to intimate gigs at places like the Shepherds Bush Empire, Borderline and even IndigO2 where I saw Little Feat and Return to Forever. It's not the size of venue but the music.
Live music rules....
Nic Robinson
Moderator
dan m
pfm Member
I'll often pull down live concerts from archive.org and invariably at the beginning of each track there's one super-fan who screams "YES!". It's as if he's playing name that tune -- "I'm such a fan, I can name that tune in one note."
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
Just a choice of poor souerce material then
What you need is to play "Metallic 2xKO" that has emotion and excitement aplenty.
And bottles.
A lot of this doesn't tally with my experiences of live music at all. I've been to quite a few superb gigs in the last few years - ones that spring to mind are Shellac, The Unthanks, Lau, Bonnie Prince Billy Micky Greaney and Kraftwerk. All amazing, engaging perfomances I felt privileged to witness.
Of course there are no end of dull performances in big venues by burnt out relics from yesteryear, but if you're fool enough to spend your money on that sort of thing..... (and yesteryear doesn't have to be that long ago, and there are relics from yesteryear who are anything but burnt out)
But there's always a risk - even my favourite live bands sometimes have off days. I'm happy if they're good some of the time.
When I was younger I used to go to really rowdy gigs and would usually enjoy them. I went to an infamous early Jesus & Mary Chain gig I remember vividly. They shuffled on stage a couple of hours late, plugged in and there was just a wall of feedback for 15 mintes, then they shuffled off again. I'm not sure whether they played anything or not, but the whole thing, especially the near riot afterwards was absolutley electrifying. A good gig is about more than just the music.
In terms of sound, my experience is that it's much better than it used to be. I remember endless gigs in the 80s where the PA was so poor that the sound was barely music at all. That's much rarer these days.
I also think that different people get different things from music, and if the whole live thing doesn't work for you, then stay at home.
Of course there are no end of dull performances in big venues by burnt out relics from yesteryear, but if you're fool enough to spend your money on that sort of thing..... (and yesteryear doesn't have to be that long ago, and there are relics from yesteryear who are anything but burnt out)
But there's always a risk - even my favourite live bands sometimes have off days. I'm happy if they're good some of the time.
When I was younger I used to go to really rowdy gigs and would usually enjoy them. I went to an infamous early Jesus & Mary Chain gig I remember vividly. They shuffled on stage a couple of hours late, plugged in and there was just a wall of feedback for 15 mintes, then they shuffled off again. I'm not sure whether they played anything or not, but the whole thing, especially the near riot afterwards was absolutley electrifying. A good gig is about more than just the music.
In terms of sound, my experience is that it's much better than it used to be. I remember endless gigs in the 80s where the PA was so poor that the sound was barely music at all. That's much rarer these days.
I also think that different people get different things from music, and if the whole live thing doesn't work for you, then stay at home.
RickyC6
Infuriate the frog-men
I was just thinking of that very GMEX gig as a rare example of an excellent stadium gig
Aye, I was at that one. Mental.