Anyone here admit to preferring "replay" to "live"

[MikE]

In your collective experience with live music [of all varieties] and recorded music [w/your system or other "reference"] which do you prefer? I'm sure the music type, venue or artist would impact your choice as would, perhaps the quality of playback. As a sidenote, I'm guessing that most of us have been exposed to greater examples of "live" performance but that [even more so with the general public] less of us have had the pleasure of SOTA playback.

Do you see more similiarities or differences in the two mediums? Do you "look" for different rewards from each? And if applicable, how does your active involvement with Audio [vs our passive "live" involvement] contribute to your satisfaction? How much REALLY is Audio about "music", "sound" or the "assembling"? And if the latter, is it only a natural progression to go from "selecting" to "tweaking" to eventually "constructing" components? Anyone in this process now, or do you view this as some sort of bastardization?

MikE

[millerdog]

MikE,
When I'm at a live performance, I could care less about the sound unless it really sucks. I am there for the performance. Seeing Basia live is something I'll always remember. So do I expect the same sound from her album? no.
Recorded live performances are different. I usually dont like them. I feel a loss of overall detail and sonics. Exception being Chigaco at Carnegie hall. I like that album.
Overall, I think I am making my system seem like a concert hall or small club presentation. I want Beth Orton to seem like she's singing right in front of me. I want the Manhatten Transfer to be right there.
Am I trying to make my system sound like a live performance?
Yeppers:)

[THOR]

I hate it when I go see a band or an artist and they sound terrible compared to their alblum.

I saw Def Leppard a few years back and they sounded terrible.

Joan Jett, Melissa Etheridge, Motley Crue, Kiss, Metallica, Bad Company, Damm Yankees, Van Hagar were all great tho!

[reyneman]

For music enjoyment, I prefer recordings:eek:

Play on my schedule, at the volume level I prefer, the music of my choice, with the performance the artist chose as his/her/their best rendition.

However, for 'entertainment', live performances give a package. I enjoy the night out, and normally attend four or so symphony performances each year, along with multiple live performances (usually small club ensembles).

I find many live rock performances to suck, with poor audio facilities and volume levels well above what I prefer. Still need to go to a couple each year, just for the overall experience:)

[Thatch_Ear]

I like concerts as it does create an emotional state that becomes part of the audio memory with the addition of visual memory. I dislike concerts because you are at the mercy of the hearing and equipment of a road company. Rock concerts are the worst for this.
Main reason I go to shows are for the visual and emotional memories that enhance the playback enjoyment when I listen to my system.
This does not always work out. I saw Jane Monheight at the Bass Hall in Ft. Worth. Her tech screwed the sound up so badly that I seldom listen to her any more and felt ripped off by the amount of $$ it took to make the trip, buy the tickets, eat out etc. I could have bought a piece of gear for the money laid out! I exchanged a few emails with the engineer in charge of the sound system in Bass Hall and he laid the whole thing at the feet of the folks that work for Monheight, and I believe him as I have attended other performances there.

[House de Kris]

I have found that if it is live music, I thoroughly enjoy it no matter what the genre. Heck, I even like listening to high school marching bands, if it is live. Live music is also usually accompanied by lots of stuff for the eyes to soak up as well. The Diesel Queens or Grind Crusher have visuals that far exceed the audio content. But, live has its drawbacks as well. Like parking or standing for hours through the opening bands to reserve your spot right up front for the real band. Worse yet, around here everyone thinks the only way to dance for a live band is to make as huge a mosh pit as possible. I remember seeing Ozz. Tent. and right away the mosh pit opens up. The people I was with headed for the back of the auditorium, but I hate listening back there so I had to fight my way to the front. Then, I was unable to fully enjoy the music because I always had to keep one eye on the crowd to keep from getting too bruised. I can understand and appreciate mosh pits for punk, but not for every genre.

As others have said, I too think live music is a bit loud. I think every band I've heard indoors in the last 10 years I've used earplugs. I even listened to my stereo with earplugs a couple times to get the same perspective, but then you've got to step back and ask, "what's the point?"

To sum it up, live music presents me with a "thrill" that I have never experienced with recorded music. But, the music appreciation is much greater with recorded music. I strive to have my music reproduction system present me, the listener, with a similar aural experience to live without the physical discomfort of a live event (back ache, ear ache, swollen lip).

[THOR]

The few rock performances I have seen that sucked ass were not because of faulty or bad equipment it was from the muscians themselves sounding bad, lead singers who seem to have lost their voice, guitarists and drummers missing riffs, if you are a fan of a band and love certain songs and have listened to them over and over again, you can easily tell when someone misses a note or sings off key, the song played right through a loud and mebbe not so great PA system I can live with and consider it part of the "experience" but the muscians themselves blowing songs when they have played it hundreds if not thousands of times (mebbe they just don't care?) is unacceptable.

[MikE]

Without question the most magical moments occur live; when the right artist has everything [or enough things] come together and even if that statement is more craft than art it is so seamless it is mistaken for inspiration. Obviously, these are moments that can not be predicted or as with many of our favorites, no longer possible. This leaves those moments that have been preserved [recordings]. And when the right material is showcased on the "right system", and the listener allows for the suspension of disbelief that too can be memorable. That it is possible to affect the intended result is addictive and the allure of our passion. Live music is more like seeing a rainbow, while replay reflects the passionate pursuit of showcasing our vision of sonic truth. YMMV.

MikE

[Yamahaluver]

Live any day and in case I am not there I go to my system and pretend that it is Live or at least close to it.

A bit optimistic but then that is all we can do.

[botrytis]

.

Remember that line? Actually, I saw Sade live, 1.5 years ago. What a great concert and then I bought the concert DVD - it was pretty darn close to what I heard at the concert - very vivid. It helps that I have a Pioneer 433CMX plasma screeen for the video.:D

Tangerine Dream was a concert I saw in 1986-87 and you couldn't reproduce that at home if you tried!! The sound was so crisp and loud - it made your hair stand on end.

Another group that was interesting to see was Tuxedomoon (very obscure avant garde group - in the Residents vein but more musical). That was another concert you would be hard to replace.

My wife took me to see the Cincinnati Opera's performace of Aida - WOW - that was impressive - horses on stage and all. I don't think I would want a horse in my living room to help recreate that moment;) .

I forgot about the band Cake - fun concert and a little wierd. A fun band for a concert!!

Dave

[sasaki kojiro]

I rarely compare the two. I enjoyed Hillary Hahn live last year at a different level than I do off a silver disc. I accept my recorded music for what it is, and it's all good to me.

Of course, once I move to a bigger place and get some big horns, that might be a different story. For now, I happily accept the limitations of my modest system and try to achieve excellence in a few categories only.

[Shain]

I think sasaki kojiro makes a good point, about what your using to reproduce the music.

The better the equipment you have to play the recording, the more accurate the reproduction.

I prefer the studio recording. I think the audience noise (in recordings) usually detracts from the tunes.

On the other hand, if you've been to a concert, and have seen the band in person, the concert version can be sort of fun to listen to again.

Likewise the live concert version, many times sucks, compared to the studio recording.

There are a couple of concert type LP's/CD's that I like, but in gereneral terms, prefer the studio stuff.

Really just what you might prefer.

[grumpy]

To many Kiss , Nugent , ACDC, Alice Cooper, Judas priest concerts along side of 20 years of printing presses has made it impossible for me to withstand the sound levels at live shows anymore. I miss seeing BB King and others live but its to painful for me now to with stand for an entire show. :( I definitely prefer music live but one thing that I cant stand is Live rock recordings. Most are just to damn horrible. What I wouldnt do to get back just a fraction of the hearing I lost at years of concerts and Printing......

grumpy

[THOR]

When I saw Def Leppard/Joan Jett a couple of years ago I wore earplugs, my GF kept calling me a pussy :( Also when we go to the local stock car track and see the big cars (pro stock division) I wear earplugs also, and my GF still calls me a pussy :(

Curiously my ears don't hurt when I crank tunes at home, I believe it is the "shrill" noises that bother me, like at concerts it is more of the crowd screaming noise that I find bothersome more so than the music. And those big stock cars are just screaming by and are shrill as hell.

[grumpy]

Thor

You reminded me. 20 years of going to the drag races and standing 25 feet from 5000-6500 HP cars prolly damaged my hearing more then anything ! I didnt start wearing protection until a year ago.

Grumpy

[bully]

I vaguely remember going to hear Ten Years After. Just because I could, I ended up leading my date and my bud and his date right up front, stage right. I was about 4 feet from the main bank of speakers. Alvin and the boys were crankin' and yeah we were all pretty well lit, too. I always thought the band liked our consuelas, cause they really played to our side! Back then I had some friends that played, and were very good, and I'll tell ya that Alvin Lee had the fastest fingers I'd seen. His hands would blur. Oh, hey, mebbe it was just my eyes? No, seriously, that man could just blister that axe.
Sheesh, tell me I wasn't driving that night! Glad that was more'n a few years ago.
I like tuners, and I use 'em, and my receivers. Sometimes I just let it flow, y'know? And other tunes come on, and I have to sit back and just listen. I've rambled on about that in a few other posts. Then, there are times I just MUST get the big stereo rollin' and rearrange the pictures.
Ah, I like it.

[DingusBoy]

I have been to a lot of rock concerts. Live music is untouchable for the magic it can create. To see artists hit a groove and ride it comes close to forcing involuntary bodily fluid explusion :puke2:

That being said, it's a moment that can't (and shouldn't be) repeated. I've seen the same band (usually the Kinks) on consecutive nights in different cities and the moments that drive one show may come off flat in another.

Recorded music is just the opposite. Most of my favorite stuff doesn't do much for me the first time around. In fact, I've found if I really like a release on the first listen, I probably won't end up listening to it very long. I can't explain it.

Either way, music is all about the emotion response. Both evoke them but live does it with more intensity.

Alvin Lee is impressive!

[Lefty]

Lots of great comments and probably all accurate in their own context.

Live music:
I saw many great shows in Hawaii in 1969/70, Jimi, Janis, doors, eric burton, CSNY, 3 dog night, etc. However the actual music varied a lot depending on my seat location, the crowd size, etc. The important thing was the experiance of being there and seeing them live in person, not the quality of that particular playing of a song.

Recorded music:
An artists best chance of getting it down how s/he wants it to be placed down. As many takes and mixings as is required. So many great songs just can't work as well live in my opinion. For many artists the recording studio is where they do best works.

So I would feel a loss if I was restricted to just live Vs studio recordings. I like both for different reasons.

Like good sex, there are many ways...:p:

Lefty

[millerdog]

Lefty,
Did you go to any of the Crater Festivals?...my Mom wouldn't let me go... I was too young:old.
Any chance you were at the Shell when Jimi played and they knocked the fence down?
We used to have cool concerts here.:rolleyes:

[jerrymrc]

Back in the 70's alot of bands that came to portland (or) played at the paramount instead of the Rose Garden. 2800 Vs 12000

Reason?? The sound. Some fantastic concerts there. Never missed a Santana or J. Giles band show from 71-80 Rush used to play 2 shows a night for 3 nights:eek: Used to go to alot of "Catch a rising star" shows for $2.50! Went to wings over America in 76 at the Kingdome. Sound was ok.

Saw Robin Trower here in the springs about 6 years ago and it was a fantastic show. I will not see a concert in a fishbowl or Large place. Spoiled By Red Rocks now.....

There are some good live albums that i like alot.. But it is not like being there.....