[Dixielandjazz] Speaking of acoustically designed buildings ...

[Jeanne Brei]

Speaking of acoustically designed buildings -- I was in NYC last weekend and 
went and saw Tony Bennett perform with a four-piece combo 
(piano/bass/drums/guitar) at Radio City Music Hall. It was quite a show --  
not only was Radio City completely sold out, after the first 25 songs, Tony 
Bennett wanted to show everyone how wonderfully acoustic Radio City could be 
and asked the sound man to turn off all the microphones. He proceeded to 
sing "Fly Me to the Moon" without any sound amplification. I was in about 
the 30 row of the orchestra and I could hear every note -- and it appeared 
that the same was true for the other nearly 6,000 people in the audience as 
well.
    As fabulous as the concert was, I kept wishing that he had brought an 
entire orchestra with him and then done some songs with small combos and 
some songs with horns and other songs with violins -- there aren't too many 
standards singers who can afford a big 36-50 piece orchestra and that show 
certainly could have afforded it (the cheapest seats were over $100). It's 
always a treat to see Steve & Edyie sing with a big orchestra -- they have 
fabulous arrangements -- but they generally only do a show in Vegas when the 
casino is about to implode (they've been the closing act for at least three 
major showrooms/casinos in the last five years -- Caesar's Palace Circus 
Maximus showroom, the Stardust Showroom, etc., etc.)
    But it was a treat :)
Jeanne Brei

Jeanne Brei
Tin Pan Alley Cat Entertainment
Las Vegas, NV
702.254.3832
http://www.jeannebrei.com
NEW! I'm on YouTube! Click here to sing John & I singing!
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=tinpanalleycat
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http://www.viewnews.com/2002/VIEW-Jun-28-Fri-2002/Summerlin/19044673.html
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ministry of Jazz" <jazzmin at actcom.net.il>
To: <tinpanalleycat at cox.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:58 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Speaking of acoustically designed buildings ...


> Shalom Jazz Fans,
>
> Here in Israel we have several Roman amphitheaters that were built 2000
> years ago to hold 5000 to 8000 people. I have not yet performed in one of
> these babies, but I hope to do that before I'm through. Anyway, you can
> stand on the stage and speak in a normal voice, and be heard throughout 
> the
> seats. If you play an instrument or talk or sing with a bit of projection,
> you can be heard with no problem. And this is outdoors. No roof and no
> walls. Just the stage and the seats and the "orchestra", all stone.
>
> I don't know if people were more cooperative and polite at these places 
> 2000
> years ago. One might think that 8000 people would create quite a din 
> during
> a performance, but they won't if they sit still and shut up and listen to
> the show!
>
> I typically bring along a banjo or horn and do a brief demo when I'm 
> taking
> guests to visit these theaters. One of these days we will do a concert in
> one of them.
>
> Of course, today when there is a show of any consequence in such an
> amphitheater, they bring in a killer sound system. Aside from the fact 
> that
> this kills the experience of being in an amphitheater, in my opinion, this
> is usually probably not necessary, except that 1) Israelis think they 
> can't
> hear if whatever is going on is not blasted at them above the threshold of
> pain, and 2) they are not very good at sitting quietly and listening.
>
> I have had even small events where people never stop gabbing while I'm
> playing, and yet they complain that they can't hear me. I don't bother to
> bring sound equipment to offset this. Sometimes I play more quietly to try
> to encourage them to shut up and listen. In my book, they can't have it 
> both
> ways. Either I'm background and they talk all they want, or I do a show 
> and
> they shut up and pay attention. If they don't hire me again under these
> circumstances, it's fine with me. I'd just as soon not work for them 
> again.
> I've worked in restaurants where they keep asking me to play quieter 
> because
> they want to talk. Fine with me, if that's what they want, as long as they
> don't then complain that they can't hear.
>
> In other news, has anyone been to the Phantom of the Opera theater in Las
> Vegas? I saw the show there last year. All I heard before hand were raves
> about how the state of the art theater was built from the ground up for 
> this
> show. When I got there, I saw very elaborate high tech ornamentation all
> over the walls and ceiling, with lots of moving pieces and hardly a hard
> flat surface in the place. It seemed to me that they sacrificed the 
> theater
> to the special effects, and then tried to compensate with a sound system 
> on
> steroids. The sound throughout the show was painfully loud, but you could
> not understand the words of the songs or much of what the actors were
> saying. And I had a good seat! I would have gladly traded the fancy 
> effects
> for an acoustically functional room. The modern mentality appears to be 
> that
> if you crank up the volume loud enough, the rest does not matter. Well, it
> matters to me, whether performing or listening.
>
> Elazar
> Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band
> Tekiya Brass Ensemble
> Jerusalem, Israel
> www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
> +972-2-679-2537
>
>
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