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What excites you about a band?

The Chameleon

By The Chameleon
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The Chameleon Newbie

The Chameleon

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Question:

[color:blue]When seeing a band live, or "getting into a band" by reshaerching them and listening to thier music, what excites you abotu the process and hence the band?

I can recall being excited about the Grateful Dead, becuase of the improvisation involved, the rich history and the feeling I was part of that history and I was witnessing something unique, as no two setlist are the same. I was also excited by the unique voices each player int he band brought to the table.

With Phish I was excited by the technical expertise of the band, the detailed arrangements and the fun atmosphere and humour that permiated a show, and the promise of seeing a really cool or rare cover song..

how 'bout you?....

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guigsy Newbie

guigsy

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i think one of the things i like the most about seeing a band jam, improvise, take it out there, whatever you wanna call it, is when you can kinda tell that they've fallen off the rails a bit, or lost some of that syncronicity, and how they respond to it... do they have the patience to work through it together and get it back on track and finish what they started HUGE, or do they let it peter out and move on, or just abandon it all together? seeing a band work through something like that with patience and skill to bring it all back is awesome for me - and a testament to them as a cohesive unit.

otherwise, im mostly about raw convicted emotion... whether its in the hands pluckin' the strings, beating the toms, or hammering the keys, or in the pen that wrote the words, or the voice that is booming it out. make it real, and mean it.

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bradm Newbie

bradm

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Seeing the members of a band enjoy hearing the music that's being played by the band is a big one for me. I'm not talking about them enjoying the act of playing, just them enjoying the music.

I've seen it a couple of times, notably the first Bela Fleck & The Flecktones shows I saw in the early 1990s (anybody remember Cafe Deluxe in Ottawa? :) ), and Phish in Ottawa in 1994.

Knowing a band is OK with being recorded is a positive sign to me, too, as it really signals that the band has trust in both tapers and fans who get recordings.

Aloha,

Brad

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Dr_Evil_Mouse Newbie

Dr_Evil_Mouse

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It's all about the songs and to a great extent, the band's honesty.

Hear hear. If I get the remotest sense that a band is trying to pull something over their audience, then all I can say is Fuck 'em. If they're pushing themselves that little bit past their comfort zone for the sake of bringing something new to everyone there, then they're my heroes of the day.

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mattm Newbie

mattm

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For me guitars play a large part but most importantly is improvisational ability. Being able to experiment while on stage and deviate a bit from the norm so that each show is a bit different from the last.

The other thing that really allows me to enjoy a band is dynamics between the members and as brad said above, liking what they're playing. A good example is a band that will have loads of fun even if the room is empty and it's a bad night since the music is about the music (yup, I understand it's hard to do and the crowd really helps lift the band up but if they can lift themselves up, all the better).

There's also the fun factor. Some bands just go up on stage, play some music and then stop. Some other bands will actually talk to the audience, try to get them up and moving and pay attention to what's happening.

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mister slippery Newbie

mister slippery

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its the release. release of what, doesnt matter.

its waking up on a february morning, minus 350 degrees, freezing while waiting for the bus and then, BAM, a smile crosses yer wind-swept face as Suzie Greenberg (with horns, 7.21.91) comes on the headphones.

its waking up, hungover like death, and really not wanting to go to work, realizing that if you do go to work yer gonna snap at something.

then, suddenly, the double-time kick of "Black Serenade" from the new Slayer album gets all the agression out of you.

2 examples, but hey i dont smile much anymore, and music lets me. i dont beat the crap out of anyone either, but some good thrash/black/death metal makes me feel like i did.

this make sense?

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Dr_Evil_Mouse Newbie

Dr_Evil_Mouse

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This thread is turning into improv vs songs and it's sad and predictable that the improv side is winning.

I dunno, that might be a bit premature.

What caught me about the title was not "What excites you about a songwriter," but "What excites you about a band," and when I think about bands playing together, I think of shared performance, which in turn makes me think of the limb that performers go out on whenever they play anything, however scripted. And, if I can milk the analogy, limbs sway in the breeze, and the people trying to stay on them, if they're doing what I enjoy listening to, will do what they can to keep their balance, in that dancelike way that I associate with an improvisational spirit - be there a song in progress or not.

Maybe that's just an inverted way of saying that I don't like wooden performances out of bands. I hope it says nothing about songwriting per se. Lord knows we always need more good songs.

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