Jazzcaster21
Tele-Holic
I am not old (48) but I have feel that I have the right to ***** about certain things that just boggle my mind/frustrate me when I see it so, here goes.
My wife and I went and saw Bob Dylan last night, which was great. It took a few tunes to get the mix dialed in but when they finally did, it was fantastic. Bob's voice sounded better than I've heard it before (including on record). Maybe he's aging in to it? He is 80 (or 81) now. Lyrics were crystal clear and the new material is just fantastic, with a killer band.
Now, the rant. WTF is it with people paying money to see a show and sit there and talk through most of it? In a club or bar I can see it but, at a Dylan show? You paid decent money to see him and yet you are going to sit there and chit chat about stupid things that have NO relevance to what is happening in the moment. Have the fact that we are constantly looking at screens in our day-to-day lives really shortened our attention span that much? Are people that self-absorbed? Can't anyone just sit still and enjoy live music which we haven't had for almost 2 years? Now, this was limited to just a few seats around where my wife and I were sitting but I am sure it wasn't just there.
Kudos to Bob too for having a strict no phones, period policy. I saw a few people sneak a few pictures during the show but the venue ushers were on them ASAP. "Sir if you take your phone out again, you will be asked to leave the show". Now that, I like.
My wife made a good point about the benefit of seeing an outdoor show, with lawn seats which is: if you don't like the people who are sitting around you for whatever reason, and the show isn't super packed, you can move away from them. Unfortunately in an auditorium show, like last night, you can't.
I know I am not the only person who has experienced this at a live show so, let's hear it.
I should also add that this one of the things that can be really distracting for me as a musician, when playing a bar/brewery/coffee shop gig: the constant background noise. It's hard blocking that out, hearing yourself and trying to make good music at the same time.
My wife and I went and saw Bob Dylan last night, which was great. It took a few tunes to get the mix dialed in but when they finally did, it was fantastic. Bob's voice sounded better than I've heard it before (including on record). Maybe he's aging in to it? He is 80 (or 81) now. Lyrics were crystal clear and the new material is just fantastic, with a killer band.
Now, the rant. WTF is it with people paying money to see a show and sit there and talk through most of it? In a club or bar I can see it but, at a Dylan show? You paid decent money to see him and yet you are going to sit there and chit chat about stupid things that have NO relevance to what is happening in the moment. Have the fact that we are constantly looking at screens in our day-to-day lives really shortened our attention span that much? Are people that self-absorbed? Can't anyone just sit still and enjoy live music which we haven't had for almost 2 years? Now, this was limited to just a few seats around where my wife and I were sitting but I am sure it wasn't just there.
Kudos to Bob too for having a strict no phones, period policy. I saw a few people sneak a few pictures during the show but the venue ushers were on them ASAP. "Sir if you take your phone out again, you will be asked to leave the show". Now that, I like.
My wife made a good point about the benefit of seeing an outdoor show, with lawn seats which is: if you don't like the people who are sitting around you for whatever reason, and the show isn't super packed, you can move away from them. Unfortunately in an auditorium show, like last night, you can't.
I know I am not the only person who has experienced this at a live show so, let's hear it.
I should also add that this one of the things that can be really distracting for me as a musician, when playing a bar/brewery/coffee shop gig: the constant background noise. It's hard blocking that out, hearing yourself and trying to make good music at the same time.
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