What makes a good live show?

SaShman

SaShman

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Inspired by a brief convo that happened a few weeks ago in the Vet lounge (which is actually better than heroin btw)...

What makes a good live show? Obviously the music would play a big part in the quality of the show, but what do you think separates listening to a good album at home from actually seeing a live band?

Do you like extravagant stage lights and effects? Does the crowd need to be intense? Do you prefer seated events? Does it depend on what kind of band you are seeing? Who has been the best live act you've seen and what made them so great? etc..

and while we are on this subject you may as well share somethings which you think make for a shit/boring performance.
 
To me the first thing is a strong connection to the audience. There have times I've been to shows where the artist plays like they are way to rehearsed. They don't even acknowledge their fans, because they want to play as many songs as possible in their set and get on the road. These artists are generally the sell outs.

A good show generally has a vocalists who talks to the audience throughout whether it to be just pumping them up, or giving goofy side comments. Musicians are not only musical artists but as well entertainers to a degree. I'm not saying untalented folks like Britney Spears, where all they do is show some cleavage, some ass, and dance around .. that's not even music to me. To me live musicians are those that can connect to their audience on a deeper basis and actually put all their passion out there in that one night, even if they've been on the road and played 11 concerts for 11 straight weeks. That to me is a live show, the ones who can feel out their audience and make them move to the music.

Also maybe a solo here and there to demonstrate the talent of the other band members generally gets the crowd moving. Whether it be a guitar riff, a drum solo, or even a person breaking down on the ole sax.
 
For me, it has to be a carefully planned show. The artist has to show dedication and enthusiasm instead of looking like they're being forced to do it or not wanting to be there in the first place. A good live voice and music is a must. I don't pay to see artists that can't even perform live because I'd rather just listen to their records instead.

As Tyler's also said, a strong connection to the audience is a must. If you don't have any communication with them whatsoever and they've paid so much money to see you live, then what's the point? And one more thing. Maybe to involve the audience somehow? I know that when he was doing a concert, Bryan Adams invited a woman in the audience to sing When You're Gone with him.
 
I went to a Santana concert a couple of years ago and whilst that was great, he started lecturing us halfway through. He had a break in the middle and he kept fucking talking about the environment, and how he felt a special connection with this particular audience, even though he obviously said that to anyone. I find that shit quite annoying, obviously if you go to a U2 concert some Irish prick will start spouting bullshit at you, but you'd expect that. Still I don't want to hear musician's opinions, most of them are fucking stupid anyway.

The best concert I went to was Bob Dylan. He just got on stage and played, he didn't say shit to the audience until the end when he introduced the band and the final song. It was a completely natural performance.
 
Yeah, I agree with Tyler. A strong connection to the audience is a major key point. I like a performer who knows the name of the freaking city they are performing in at least XD great sets are always good aswell and a good atmopshere. But you can get some twats who can mess it up. But thats hardly the performers fault, unless they encourage the mosh pit lol.
 
There are a few things which can annoy me at concerts. Firstly I hate it when the front man spouts cheesy lines just to get cheap cheers. For example "How are you [city name]" or "Gee there are a lot of pretty girls here today" If the front man is going to talk to the crowd they should at least say something original.

One thing that can bore about performances is when a band sounds almost exactly like they do on their CD. I can't stand it when they sound too...perfect, like they have been mixed in a studio or something. I like it when bands mix things up a bit, take risks, improvise etc.. A perfect performance seems to lack authenticity IMO.

On the crowd side of things, I can't stand it when people act like they are in the presence of a Demigod. I don't mind moshing but I prefer it when people make a proper pit so that those who don't want to mosh can still enjoy the show. The Gallows performance I saw was particularly good because the crowd made a huge circle pit about 20 metres in diameter that was open enough so people could have fun without getting too hurt.
 
The venue plays a big part and how well it pairs with the style. You could see the same exact act in two different places and get a completely different vibe.

Another big part is if the music is written and recorded to be performed live or if it's overdone in the studio. Layering all kinds of instrumental tracks to fill the spaces can result in a very flat or empty sounding performance live if it's just 4 guys and their instruments.

From a set-list perspective it's always good to be in touch with the unrealesed tracks that fans like - don't always close with the ones that made you the most money. You still play them - and hopefully can still put good energy into them and even change them up a little - but don't always position them at the climax points in the set.

I'm also a huge fan of covers. Seeing popular bands interpret and perform songs from the bands/artists that influenced them is fascinating.

Finally - have a room-filling presence in your performance but still let the music do the talking. A good example of how not to do this is Green Day - they're lucky if they fit 5 songs into an hour because they do so much kiddish, crowd-interactive bullshit that the show isn't abou their music (which isn't neccessarily a bad thing I suppose because they suck a lot of ass).
 
Basch Von Rosenberg said:
Finally - have a room-filling presence in your performance but still let the music do the talking. A good example of how not to do this is Green Day - they're lucky if they fit 5 songs into an hour because they do so much kiddish, crowd-interactive bullshit that the show isn't abou their music
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I agree.

I like high energy performances, with crazy stage antics and stuff but it needs to be impulsive and genuine otherwise it's just gimmicky and lame. A band should first and foremost be about the music. This is why I'm not that big a fan of crazy lights and elaborate stages because I think a lot of the more popular bands use these things as a crutch instead of giving their performances 110%.
 
Basch Von Rosenberg said:
Finally - have a room-filling presence in your performance but still let the music do the talking. A good example of how not to do this is Green Day - they're lucky if they fit 5 songs into an hour because they do so much kiddish, crowd-interactive bullshit that the show isn't abou their music (which isn't neccessarily a bad thing I suppose because they suck a lot of ass).
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Indeed, thats what they did when I seen them and when my guy seen them. So its 2 different gigs. And all they did was chat to the crowd about shit and just fucking about on stage, getting fans up and letting them fuck with the equipment. People were shouting at them to play music and stuff, but instead of paying £40 for a gig, you got these 1-1 sessions for some fans with the band. For God sake, play a damn song, and meet them after the gig!!
 
A connection to the audience isn't necessarily the most important thing, I think. Muse barely interact with the audience at all, except to introduce a song every now and then, and they're constantly being recognised as one of the best bands to see live.

That said though, the best gig I've ever been to is probably Kasabian and they were fantastic with the crowd. It's always good when the band tries to involve the crowd in the song in someway, and Kasabian had us singing the ahh's in LSF at the end for a good ten minutes.

I think gigs are better in smaller venues, because they're much more intimate and you get a better atmosphere from everyone. The size of the venue is what made Florence + The Machine so good.
 
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