Taping vs not taping--was: Re: shameless plug for the akron show

[DustyVolume <dustyvolume at yahoo_com>]

Having seen many shows, and having heard many more through tapers. I have to
say that it's two distinct experiences.  The live recordings are a great way to
hear how the band handles shows from town to town and the different ways they
interact with each individual crowd.

I've learned something along the way though.  NOTHING beats a live experience. 
I can listen to a live show only moments after having experienced it and get a
totally different emotional response--most always a diminished one.  

There's something magical about being there live in the moment with the band. 
It's something you'll never be able to re-live again.   There's so much more to
an Over the Rhine show than the aural experience.  I've found myself getting so
emotionally caught up in the visual stimulation and the group dynamic that no
sound recording will ever capture it.  As an example, I've been to several
shows where I was dead-certain that Karin had sang a lyric in some alternative
form that just blew me away, or that Jack or Linford had played something
brilliantly counter to what I had expected, only to listen to the tape later
and find that the performance was really no different than any I'd heard
before--it was my perception of it at the time that was different.  A live
musical experience is a lot like a live play.  Karin may be responding to
Linford who is only able to elicit that exact response because he's responding
to the audience.  The audience is feeding off the vibes that the band is
putting out and in this way each individual member of the audience shares in
the ability to shape what the band will produce.  It's an exchange without
bounds.  People who have only heard Over the Rhine from a recording will
probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

It's because of this performer-listener relationship that I hate to tape the
shows I attend.  When I'm taping from the crowd, I can't say anything without
it showing up on the recording.  In a sense, this takes the taper out of the
exchange and he/she becomes a free-rider in the whole experience--contributing
nothing.  Some people don't understand what an important role the audience
plays in a live performance.  People do contribute differently, and I feel that
taping from the crowd limits my own experience.  I'm not speaking for anyone
else.

So, there is a duality in the argument.  Yes, tapes are great, but they do not
take the place of a live show and in some ways may actually detract from it.

In the moment,
Mark


--- jana blazek <bluedegas at hotmail_com> wrote:

> do any of you think it takes the thrill out of being at a live show?  i 
> don't think it makes it any less breath taking, but a friend had mentioned 
> to me thinking that being able to listen to otr live at any time just might 
> take the thrill/shiver/excitement of a live show down a notch or two....  
> thought?  discuss....


=====


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/