[Dixielandjazz] Million Dollar Question
Rob McCallum
rakmccallum@hotmail.com
Tue, 16 Jul 2002 01:50:23 -0400
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0100_01C22C6B.2671A4E0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Hello all,
It's interesting that some bands seem to "sound" right but may come off =
as somewhat uninspired. I would suggest that this can happen to most =
any group. Each performance has certain variables that an audience is =
not (and shouldn't be) aware of. It could be that someone's not feeling =
well, or that all the band members are fighting with each other (of =
course we know that never happens!), or the monitor's not working or =
whatever. Maybe they need to inject something fresh into their =
repetoire and are just going through the motions. The level of =
professionalism of the group impacts how well they can pull off a =
concert and produce a swinging performance under less than ideal =
circumstances. I remember seeing one of my favorite groups perform (not =
okom so I won't mention who) whom I go to see whenever they're in town. =
Anyway, the leader, who plays sop sax and flute, came out on stage =
limping with a cast on her foot and obviously suffering from either a =
bad head cold or severe allergies. The show was outside at night by the =
river and the wind was blowing. Despite all that, the band really =
played and the audience (the place was packed) just loved it. Had there =
been a roof it would've been blown away. I saw the same group a couple =
of years later (same festival) minus the cast and, seemingly, full of =
health, and the energy of the performance wasn't nearly what it was the =
previous show. Go figure.
Perhaps some of these perceptions are actually how we feel at any given =
time. There are records that I can throw on that I think really swing =
one day, that won't move me nearly as much on another day. The record =
hasn't changed, just my mood. The same thing is true of live =
performances. I may think a band isn't really swinging but the guy =
standing next to me may think they're great (or vice versa). =20
All the best,
Rob McCallum
------=_NextPart_000_0100_01C22C6B.2671A4E0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2722.2800" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hello all,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>It's interesting that some bands =
seem to=20
"sound" right but may come off as somewhat uninspired. I =
would=20
suggest that this can happen to most any group. Each performance =
has=20
certain variables that an audience is not (and shouldn't be) aware =
of. It=20
could be that someone's not feeling well, or that all the band members =
are=20
fighting with each other (of course we know that never happens!), or the =
monitor's not working or whatever. Maybe they need to inject =
something=20
fresh into their repetoire and are just going through the=20
motions. The level of professionalism of the group impacts =
how well=20
they can pull off a concert and produce a swinging performance under =
less than=20
ideal circumstances. I remember seeing one of my favorite groups =
perform=20
(not okom so I won't mention who) whom I go to see whenever they're in=20
town. Anyway, the leader, who plays sop sax and flute, came out on =
stage=20
limping with a cast on her foot and obviously suffering from either a =
bad head=20
cold or severe allergies. The show was outside at night by the =
river and=20
the wind was blowing. Despite all that, the band really =
played and=20
the audience (the place was packed) just loved it. Had there been =
a roof=20
it would've been blown away. I saw the same group a couple of =
years later=20
(same festival) minus the cast and, seemingly, full of health, and the =
energy of=20
the performance wasn't nearly what it was the previous show. Go=20
figure.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Perhaps some of these perceptions are =
actually how=20
we feel at any given time. There are records that I can throw on =
that I=20
think really swing one day, that won't move me nearly as much on another =
day. The record hasn't changed, just my mood. The same thing =
is true=20
of live performances. I may think a band isn't really swinging but =
the guy=20
standing next to me may think they're great (or vice versa). =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>All the best,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Rob McCallum</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_0100_01C22C6B.2671A4E0--