David Lee Roth challenges new bands

[AboutAGirl]

I can respect that 100% LG, but for me that's a complete deal breaker. If it's going to sound like the album then that's not a show that will be memorable for me. Even when it comes to Pink Floyd, I've always felt they should leave the sound effects at home for the live gigs. To me a live setting and an album are ripe for a different kind of sound & performance. Would love to see Floyd just cruise on the strength of their instrumentation at the live shows, but I'm probably in the small minority on that one.

If Dave is looking for modern stagecraft... Heck, last year I saw Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears. Each show was more elaborate, complex and impressive than Rust Never Sleeps or when Neil Young staged a play every night on the '03 tour, complete with a faux band that knew every movement Crazy Horse would make. They were huge productions, and sure it was cool to see that.... but what was really cool was the fact that all but a couple of the songs Britney did were completely brand new modern versions, definitively better than the originals and you'll probably never hear 'em ever again after that tour.

But that's merely my preference, I understand that. If I didn't already like the studio versions I wouldn't be going to the show, so it's not like I'm going to riot if it sounds the same. But I'd say for most types of band you should at least throw some extended solos in the mix at a live gig. For prog artists, and certain types of metal, I can understand certain types of music lend themselves to a more faithful rendition. Even though my preference would always be for some new flourishes therein.

 

[LG]

^^Pink Floyd definitely has some extended parts in their concerts. I don't think you'll hear the exact same version of Money in any two concerts for example. Many other bands will have a few songs they experiment with and in some instances will really stretch out on even their most famous hit songs.

I do agree with Dave about one thing though, keeping it as real as possible. No Lip-syncing and no auto-tune please and thank you. Using technology to reproduce effects that add to a song to keep it close to the album version I have no problem with that. ZZ Top's "Manic Mechanic" is a prime example, saw the Deguello tour and they used a taped effect to reproduce the background part of that song which made it fun.

 

[Powerage]

I've seen Rush a few times, one of my favourite bands actually, and their studio albums are so complex that there's no way on earth that a 3-piece like them could come close to replicating them on stage without a lot of help - even though they do some of it themselves with keyboards and peddles etc. But nobody blames them as you go to a Rush concert expecting to hear something close to what they gave you on the amazing records, so if you have the technology then imo you should use it to put on the best show you can. The nightmare I had with Bob Dylan last year was the other extreme, I thought I knew most of his stuff but I have no idea what he was playing or what he was singing half the time, in fact nobody around us in an audience of 15,000 did, it was the all-time most deafening racket I have heard in 30 years of attending concerts, and him and his band just seemed intent on moving about as far away from the studio recorded original sound on his songs as he possibly could, to the point where they were unrecognisable from the album tracks.

I've not seen Rush, so forgive me if I'm wrong, but from what I've heard, Rush do a hell of a lot of midi triggering during their shows for various audio samples etc. The fact all 3 members are playing instruments, Geddy Lee playing bass AND singing... The broad opinion is that they pull it off so well and should be applauded.

I struggle to sing anywhere near a tune and play guitar at the same time, let alone be triggering samples.

Van Halen, like so many other bands, cut their chops live, which is what the X Factor and American Idol generation will never know. 1 live show a week in a cosy Wembley Arena is not the same as thrashing your van up and down the M1 in piss poor weather, getting ripped off and playing to 5 people, 200 miles from home.

 

[TheSound]

I've not seen Rush, so forgive me if I'm wrong, but from what I've heard, Rush do a hell of a lot of midi triggering during their shows for various audio samples etc. The fact all 3 members are playing instruments, Geddy Lee playing bass AND singing... The broad opinion is that they pull it off so well and should be applauded.

You aren't wrong, as a trio there can't honestly be a more flexible and multi-tasking group of musicians anywhere, and they do a certain amount of that themselves, but it's only 3 guys, guitar, bass, and drums, so without the pre-recorded effects and stuff they couldn't hope to reproduce their studio sound, and Rush are one band who put a lot of stock on being able to sound as close on stage to the records as they possibly can. Their instruments are hooked up to all sorts of gizmos, including Peart's drum kit, but of course it all still needs to be activated at some point, and I don't know how much of it they physically do themselves, or how much is done by the guys at the stage sound control desk, that's probably a very technical question and I have no idea. I know these days that a lot of stuff you see and hear at gigs is computer controlled, bands have elaborate light shows where every song is synchronised with a pre-programmed light/video sequence and it just plays out automatically with no light technician physically doing anything, unlike the old days when there were people controlling everything on the light rigging themselves. Some techo bands like Orbital and Chemical Brothers have almost everything you see and hear on stage pre-programmed into a computer, which is a bit of a con, as much as I like their music.

 

[METALPRIEST]

I've seen many live clips from this tour and the previous tour, and while it's quite awesome, I don't think the fans who like it raw will ever worry about Van Halen right now sounding exactley like the record.