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These days it is hard to come by an individual who does not own, or has not at least at one point owned an Ipod or another version of mp3 player. Portable devices, now about the size of a snack cracker or smaller that can hold 1000s upon 1000s of songs with the click of a button. Convenient yes, but fatal if and when they may crash…
Mp3 players make up the majority of today’s society’s music collections. We have shown in project 2 that mp3’s have diminished CD sales and one of Musos’s scholarly articles cited made claims to live performance sales increasing with the increased popularity of mp3’s…but what lies in our future?
Possibilities are endless with the virtual reality world just beginning to be dabbled in. At this point you can already download and watch any recorded music experience on you portable device. Will the Ipod or similar devices eventually lead to the demise of live performances all together replaced by convenient hand held personal pocket concerts?
This piece is geared towards engaging others into a conversation on what direction you think the live experience is headed with the pathway that technologies are currently on? Is there a future in live shows?
Let me know what you guys think?
Madonna, arguably one of the best, if not most eccentric performers of all time. i have compiled here a few videos of Madonna’s live performances to depict how shows have changed over the years…
Madonna live at the Grammy’s with the Gorillaz
It’s interesting to see the progression in these shows. How Madonna almost looks younger in the most recent videos then the ones from 20-30 years ago. The dancing skills have immensely improved, the effects, the lighting, the smoke, the props and the show in general are all together much more comprehensive and utterly just more entertaining. She continuously puts on a show that attracts millions all over the world.
In regards to the live experience i think Madonna is a hall-of-famer. This post on the live experience is dedicated to an artist who provides a unique and creative experience for all of her audiences…
Well Novacastrians worry no longer. Simply refer to the: Newcastle Music Directory
A comprehensive website of the Newcastle music scene including everything from music news, to venue information, band profile pages, music videos, and even a GIG GUIDE for the area (my personal favorite).
The website opens with a black and orange (rough but still warm) setting inviting visitors to explore it’s many facets and heaps of information. The first lines on the site read as “Welcome to the Newcastle Music Directory. This site features thousands of links to music related websites from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley. The Newcastle region is situated on the East coast of Australia about 200km north of Sydney and has a thriving music scene.” Describing to venturers what it’s all about and where to find this magnificent little coastal escape that hosts a variety of live shows on a nightly basis. The Newcastle Music Directory has been “online continuously since 1999 and [is] updated daily.” The website claims to have “over 8000 pages of information about the local music scene.”
As a journalist for live music pertaining to the needs of this blog, this has been my main resource in freelancing where to head off to do my fieldwork. The two local shows I have attended, Sacred Stereos and Cybercrystal, I have investigated on Newcastle Music Directory prior to my attendance.
I think it this website has a very positive impact on the local live music scene here due to the convenience and simplicity it offers to its users. Any time, day or night, a resident, or nonresident for that matter, can pop on the site and read up on one of the plethora of bands featured and or plan on gracing some shows with their personal presence.
Without Newcastle Music’s website I think it would be much more difficult for local bands to be seen and heard and to get their voices out there…
Thanks Newcastlemusic.com, for enhancing my live music experience whilst here in Newie!
The Rolling Stones Magazine hosts a forum on live music and people post comments accordingly. It is similar to a live version of Musos’ blog question put to the general public. The cite manager/or moderator’s proposed question is: “What was the last great show you saw? What band needs to get a reunion jaunt together post-haste? What festivals will you be attending this summer? Let us know your thoughts about bands on the road.”
The responses span over a variety of music genres. I found it very interesting how after going through a number of responses there was very little repetition in what people enjoyed the most and what they would like to see more of. I guess it just goes to show how vast our music tastes are and that there is something out there for everyone to enjoy.
Also in reading the Forum I drew the conclusion that although there are many claims that live music is on the decline, i believe the general public would beg to differ. In a quick opinion poll I conducted with my friends, every single person responded to the question would you rather see a live show or own a CD with a resounding “LIVE SHOW, no dout!” But that could just be the people I hang out with as well…
In Conclusion, in response the the Rolling Stones Editor’s question, I would say the last great show I attended was Coldplay at the united Center in Chicago, with a close second to Umphrey’s McGhee at a street festival in Chicago as well. Coldplay had the whole United Center, the venue where the Chicago Bull’s (basketball) play during their season, as well as the Chicago Hawks (ice hockey), on their feet and singing along. Umphrey’s comes in next because the show was just a great atmosphere. It was at a street fair in Chicago and Umphrey’s being from Chicago, the band went all out…the police actually ended up breaking up the show due to noise laws late at night. I might also add on the previously blogged about Tiesto show I attended in Sydney, it was the only pure DJ show I’ve ever been too and I think he did an amazing job performing to a packed house, at one point in the show the entire crowd was chanting Ti-es-to! Ti-es-to! to the beat that he mixed. Overall I would say these three things were some pretty powerful live music experiences.
Future Music plans will be Lollapolooza, a 3-day music festival hosted in Grant Park Chicago when I get back to the states, it’s a large gathering with a number of big names right beside lake Michigan. I will surely be there if I don’t spend all my money while I’m in Australia!
A Local Newcastle band Review: How the live experience effected my night. Last Friday a group of Friends and I ventured off into the streets of Newcastle looking to engage into some fun festivities for the evening. we happened upon the Hotel Delaney and came across the band Cybercrystal. Cybercrystal, a local band from Newcastle, New South Wales. The group plays almost entirely cover songs of historical rock and roll songs.
“CyberCrystal is a four piece kick arse covers rock band that plays classic rock to the latest rock n’ roll offerings. The boys pride themselves on playing a song the way that it should sound and there is nothing that these guys like doing more than getting on stage and paying homage to the greatest rock bands that have ever existed – and having a shitload of fun along the way.”
In experiencing this group first hand I don’t think I would have it any other way…
I got to jam out with a member of the band and just dance all out and enjoy the party. In this particular instance I do not think any other medium would suffice. The Newcastle music website displays gigs of local and national bands that play in the area every night of the week. I found that a great place to goto when looking to engage first hand with our topic of live music.
The guys played a great show and i would definitely advise checking them out if you would like to listen to some new perspectives on old hits and have a good time with serious rock and rollers. Cybercrystal enjoys playing their instruments, the live experience is what they’re all about.
Simon’s travel theorem and the demand for live music (Article Link, PDF version available on website as well)
Review:
First off I will define what Simon’s travel theorem is: “Anything that can be learned by a normal American Adult on a trip to a foreign country (of less than one year’s duration) can be learned more quickly, cheaply and easily by visiting San Diego Public Library” (Simon, 1991, p. 306). The paper in question “generalizes the Travel Theorem to the music business: much of the demand for live performances of musical works is similarly mysterious if the enjoyment of live music is framed only in terms of gathering and processing information” (p. 336).
The travel theorem stems directly from a negative outlook on getting out there and doing things. It is geared towards a culture that would rather stay inside then experience things first hand. The author is conflicted on how to frame live music, he suggests the stupidity of it and describes a misunderstanding for why people attend, yet expresses the enjoyment he gets from attending.
The author points out that “Music is a structured flow of information and is readily stored for flexible and convenient use” (p. 335). With this he is questioning why people would spend the extra money to attend live shows when it is seemingly unnecessary. If one is listening to music to gain knowledge of the flow of information it is much cheaper and easier to obtain this through the purchase of CDs or mp3s or other mediums. This opens the doors for the questions of why people go to see live music then, perhaps not just to gain knowledge of the flow of information, but to just enjoy the experience. “Live music performances involve many costs that can be avoided by listening to recorded music, yet a significant market for live music still exists” (p. 335). This point was also expressed by the research for Musos newspaper article, the Vignoli article was cited saying, ““…the patterns in the data suggest that while file-sharing may have eroded profits from CD sales, it also increased the profitability of live performances.”
Overall I enjoy going to see live music and I think that is the reason that most people find in attending. It’s all about the experience.
Other points from the article I thought notable:
“Jazz is a genre that is relatively immune from the Travel Theorem since it is based so strongly around improvization: each performance is intended to be unique” (p. 341).
“A concert ticket typically costs at least as much as a compact disc or video cassette and, unlike the latter, can be neither shared nor used over and over again” (p. 342).
Concerts “allow the opportunites for social behaviour that ma be precluded in a domestic setting” (p. 350).
“The demand for live music should be understood as something other than a demand for the music itself. Moreover, to the extent that consumers bother to attend live performances, their reasons for doing so may be very deeply rooted in their personal histories and/or reflect the social contexts in which they live” (p. 354).
“The one reason I go to see musicians live is that I;ve never seen them before [...] I SAW the guy!” (p. 356).
Presenting music live, audio-visually or aurally ± does it affect listeners’ experiences differently? (PDF of Article ) Website (can retrieve the article direct from website as well) If the links do not work, the article is easily obtainable on google scholar, just search Leif Finnas, the author and it’s the piece with the title above)
Review:
This article pertains to whether presenting music live, audio-visually, or aurally makes any difference for listeners’ experiences.
Prior to reading the article, I would say that the medium in which music is experienced most definitely effects the way the listener experiences the goings on. It is one thing to enjoy a band while listening to their CD, or mp3 (as we have denoted through project 2 as the most popular means), yet a completely different understanding is gained through attending a live performance. Finnas’s article brings up the point that there are “three fundamental forms of music in our modern musical culture, live music, ausio-visually presented music, and aurally presented music” (p. 55). And all three bring about different experiences and reactions to the music itself.
Live music denotes that both the artist and the fan, or listener are present at the performance. Live performances “clearly [have] a particular immediacy and vividness” (p. 57). The music surrounds you and is up front and clear. When all of your senses are heightened by whats is going on you are more likely to “attend to the situation confronted and to retain the information about it” (p. 57). At times a listener may feel connected to the performer. There is the opportunity for eye contact, for intimacy, for direct communication of the message. “This implies a situation making the musicians especially disposed to communicate their messages expressively to an audience especially disposed to listen with attention and receptivity, trying to experience the music in empathy with the musicians” (p. 57).
Audio-visual presentation is a form of media used to “transmit or reproduce music simultaneously with visual material, generally moving pictures” (p. 56). Examples of audio-visual music experiences would be watching a concert on tv, music videos, youtube videos, dvd’s that accompany cd’s, or any other form of pre-recording of music that is accompanied by visual elements. Although on still experiences the music by listening to it and viewng what the artist intended, they can never comprehend or re-create the atmosphere felt, or the feel of direct communication obtained while watching a live performance.
Aural presentation of music is “simply listening to technically transmitted music without particular visual stimuli” (p. 56). In listening to music the listener is in charge, they control the atmosphere, the flow of the piece, the beginning and ending of listening. In the past the quality of sound of aural performance may have been a significant factor but “modern reproduction techniques have radically reduced these differences in acoustical fidelity” (p. 56). There is no physical connection or communication involved. it is a one way street. Benefits of aural music presentation reside in the idea that “visual stimuli may interfere in a negative way with listening to music” (p. 57). It make distract the listener. When visual stimuli is included, whether live or pre-recorded, the listener/observer may become distracted by the aesthetics, what the performers are wearing, the lighting involved, the positioning of the instruments, the dancing that may accompany the performance, etc. These are not factors in the aural performance analysis of music.
Although, “Aetheticians, musicians, music educators and psychologists have drawn attention to the possibility that some visual features accompanying music may not only leave the listener’s experience undisturbed, but may even influence it positively” (p.57). I guess it all depends on how you are judging the music experience, if it is solely on the music or if you’re including the “extra-musical elements” as well (p. 58). In some of the studies reviewed students who attended live shows expressed greater overall interest in furthering their knowledge and attendance of music experiences.
To conclude, ” the results [of these studies] clearly suggest advantages of an increased use of live music for enhancing affective and attitudinal reactions” (p. 74). To research the topic further it was suggested that studies be conducted of “the effects regarding less ‘concert-like’ live presentation[s]” (p. 74). Possibly isolating the experience to a room with a band verses a room with a tv playing a song of the band with visual representation verses a radio playing the band’s music.
The Sacred Stereos myspace page
The Sacred Stereos play tonight, Wednesday the 13th of May in Newcastle at the Cambridge Hotel at 9pm. They are a local New South Wales Band composed of 4 guys, josh, harry, pat, and joe (as depicted on their myspace page). The sound they claim to resemble is “a ghost riding a rusty bike”. I’ll head to the show tonight and report back.
Quick description of what you would say your band is about and how you plan to go forward with your music?
-The band is about making music. We just like to play and come up with new ideas and new sounds.
-We plan to progress with how we are formulating our sound. We’re all about originality.
What type of live experience/ atmosphere you are looking to create for your fans?
-An unforgettable experience where we can connect with our fans and they can connect with us on some level.
All together I think the Sacred Stereos are an up and coming local band. Their promoting themselves through their shows and advertisments via the web and other similar venues.
Rock on guys! Best of Luck!
DJ play that song!
Pictures from the show… enjoy!
This past Sunday I attended the DJ Tiesto show in Sydney. Tiesto puts on some of the very few sold out dance shows in the world. I have never been to anything quite like it. I have seen a few DJ’s live (RJD2 and other opening DJ acts) but their shows were simple and based on the music and much more mellow. Tiesto’s show was a performance. He danced with the crowd, the lighting was interactive, the smoke machines were going nuts, the fans were dancing and chanting and soaking it all in. I really enjoyed attending Tiesto’s show. He put on an exciting performance. I do not feel that I would like to listen to trance or house music much just hanging out. In this case the live experience was everything. All the components of the experience made it worth while and enjoyable and I don’t think it could be replicated by means of file sharing or CD purchase…only the true blue (and red and green and yellow and purple) experience!
