Keira WitherKay wrote
yeah well i seen martin Taylor (british solo jazz guitarist) a few times and he's still one of my favourites and i would see him every show i can......
paco de lucia the flamenco virtuosa and vincente amigo also flamenco and i think the next to take paco's crown when he retires............. i have not seen them yet ........ and would dearly love to ..............
but i must say i do prefer good live dvd's of my favourite artists rather than concerts...... i mean dvd's that are not music video's but footage of live shows........ guess i feel i miss too much in crowded stadiums and can't rewind to catch the 'good" parts ..... technology is amazing and i do prefer the band in the comfort of my own home.........
so for me definitely see em live if i can but i think a great live dvd is sometimes more beneficial as a musician tho
There's something to be said for that. My days of wanting to go to big stadium shows are long gone. I'll add that I think some artists can make this kind of show work and some can't - I saw Springsteen in Harare in '88 on the Amnesty International "Human Rights Now!" tour and he was amazingly good and could take his show to an audience that size. On the same bill there were Sting (the guy I really wanted to see but who turned out to be quite boring) and Peter Gabriel (like watching a firework show from a distance).
But these days I like my musical entertainment to be more comfortable and intimate. This works out well because my current listening tastes seem to fit in with a circuit where venues at a stretch are 1000 seats, where there's usually a fair sprinkinling of grey hair on and off the stage, and where they have civilised things like seats. The ultimate as regards scale was, for me, the Carthy gig I went to a couple of years ago. Tiny place, smaller than TJs. 90 seating and they had a special permit from the fire brigade for the night to allow an extra 30 standing. We ended up sitting about 4 meters away from Carthy. Amazing! If Brent gets to see Martin Simpson it will be in the same room, so he could be in for a real treat.
DVDs can be great as well. And you can replay them, lend them to your friends, make a bowl of popcorn first etc etc. But they don't always work in my opinion. I think it takes certain camera and production skills to really get a live performance on DVD. I have one at home which features Richard Thompson, Paul Brady and Nancy Griffiths playing at a venue somewhere in America. It really doesn't work well and I don't think it's the performer's fault at all (Thompson and Brady have big reputations as live performers). Everything seems so dull and uninspiring and distant. I have another with Jackson Browne playing an acoustic show with David Lindley - great songs and playing, but the camera work is pretty amateurish and that distracts (or distracts me at any rate). OTOH I have two DVDs from the Austin City Limits series and they really are excellent, catching the performance and bringing it to you.
