Musician appreciation

[Corporial Bodies]

When I was young, I used to be a massive metallica fan, I learnt everything could about them, learnt to play there songs, went to see them live loads of times and thought they were the best band In the world.
However, i found, as i got older, learnt more about and studied music, I found myself appreciating bands less when I saw them live. I was picking faults with playing and generally losing interest in bands as it seemed to me they couldn't pull it off live. My point is that it seems to me the more I know about music the more i criticise and can't help but feel its spoilt my appreciation for live performances.
Anyone else feel the same?

 

[Supernaut]

I felt like that when I had been playing for a few years but I've come completely full circle now, I massively appreciate nearly every player I hear now because I can instantly pick up "their thing" - be that their unique phrasing or vibrato or whatever.

 

[Demiurge]

Can't really say I feel the same. A recording can feature multiple takes, punch-ins, and can be tweaked and edited to hell. A live performance is almost a perfect storm of sub-optimal conditions: pressure of being in front of an audience, bright/hot stage lights, probable exhaustion, guitars going out of tune, having to memorize your repertoire yadda yadda yadda. The conditions are imperfect and musicians are imperfect, so there will be fuck-ups.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

@Demiurge yeah I agree, I just think basically the better guitarist/musician I became the less i enjoyed seeing bands live due to being able to see more faults with there playing. I've played a hell of a lot of gigs over the years and can hear when a band fucks up, and I've been there to. Every band will have there off days, but when a band is consistently loose and or make the same mistakes, It makes me appreciate them alot less and makes me think "can anyone else heard this".

 

[GRUNTKOR]

Metallica isn't exactly a good yardstick for live musicianship...

 

[USMarine75]

Mr Big will always be the best live band I ever saw. Eric Martin has perfect pitch so his singing is album quality. Billy is an amazing backing vocalist and nails all his parts. And then there's PG who is a masterful showman as well as fantastic live.

Richie Kotzen and Larkin Poe are better live than on the album IMO.

Metallica isn't exactly a good yardstick for live musicianship...

I always thought their live concerts back in the day were good? They really got the crowds into it, played all the hits, and sounded good IMO.

 

[Corporial Bodies]

@USMarine75 yes totally agree, they did get the crowd into it, played all the hits and Hetfield is an awesome frontman IMO, but when you go back and listen, the playing isnt that great at all

 

[USMarine75]

@USMarine75 yes totally agree, they did get the crowd into it, played all the hits and Hetfield is an awesome frontman IMO, but when you go back and listen, the playing isnt that great at all

Probably so lol.

 

[GRUNTKOR]

I'm not knocking them as a live act but they're pretty sloppy

 

[tedtan]

A live metal show is just that - a show. It’s different from a classical performance where the performer(s) are seated and playing music. Everything that goes into the show, from the hot lights to running around like a fool, makes it more difficult to play the difficult parts of the music correctly.

 

[Seybsnilksz]

Sometimes there's a tiny detail that I love about a song that they play wrong live, and it's not even mistakes or to do with technicality, it's just wrong. The besserwisser in me screams, but I try to focus on the good stuff instead.

I also feel like a lot of those things were better in the studio not because of editing or "tricks", but that a band had a producer that directed them. That's just speculation though.

 

[c7spheres]

Metallica live really kicked major ass back in the 90's. But..
James Hetfield did this to me-Ah!. Everytime I hear them live now I think to myself that he doesn't even try or care about his vocals any more-Ay-ay-Ay! He's been phoning it in with vocals for like 20+ years now since he caught on fire that one time-Ahh! Sometimes it gets really annoying-Ah! OOOOOO-yah-heh! hey!-hEY!-HEY! , AHh! AHH! F#ck! I'm gonna start hitting myself in the head again now-AH! Stop! Stop it!

 

[works0fheart]

Early Children of Bodom. Young Alexi in his prime was and still is some of the best damned live playing I've ever heard. Strange to think that he was also one of the sloppiest for a good while after too. Still, some of those old performances in support of Something Wild and Hatebreeder were incredible. It didn't seem like he was super drunk all the time yet, and he actually put an effort into his vocals unlike what he started doing around HCDR where it seemed he was becoming embarrassed of his own vocal style.

 

[sleewell]

It's so easy that everyone in this thread ridiculing others is either in a band no one has heard of or they play alone. Bravo internet!

 

[USMarine75]

It's so easy that everyone in this thread ridiculing others is either in a band no one has heard of or they play alone. Bravo internet!

I’ll tell you what, you can get a good look at a t-bone by sticking your head up a bull’s ass, but I’d rather take the butcher’s word for it.