October 24, 2004
I never want to meet Richard Wagner
Seeing Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky last night got me thinking about how there is much much more to a live show than the music. Now this might seem obvious to most of you, but please don't stop reading just yet.
If you recall, I saw CAKE a few weeks ago and complained a bit about John McCrea's arrogant attitude on stage. I haven't listened to any of my CAKE cds since then. Nor have I recommended them as frequently as I did before. Has the music changed? Am I simply over-CAKE'd? Have my music tastes shifted? No, no and no. The reality is that I was just so turned off by him as a person that it has tainted my interest in listening to his music. I'm actually not very happy about this, but there is little I can do.
So then I go and see a folk show with two folk stars - who are definitely not rock stars - and I feel myself liking their music more and more as I like them more and more as the people I perceive them to be. I feel happy supporting such solid and good people and want to promote their success.
From a purely musical standpoint, the CAKE show and this show were comparable; talented musicians, good songs, professional performance. But I think that the main reason this show was better was because they just seemed like normal people up on stage doing what they love to do. They engaged the audience not by making fun of us (a la McCrea) but by telling jokes, giving us background on the music, and by generally being their humble selves. Hooray for folk musicians!
At the end of the day, I actually like CAKE's music more than most folk, including Richard and Lucy, but if I ever have to decide between who to miss Game 1 to see (go SOX!!), I will certainly choose the latter.
Live folk music on the whole seems to be geared towards audience interaction in the way of a conversation, almost. Perhaps it is the simplicity of the music and instrumentation that requires this approach, or perhaps it is simply reflective of the musician's personalities. I don't know, but I do know that I have never seen a folk musician perform one song after the next without any extensive verbal digressions, and I am happy for this. Not all are as voluble and comedic as, say, John Wesley Harding, but the good ones know how to connect with an audience and make us feel like we are old friends at a reunion.
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I'd like to get some opinions on a related topic here. What do you guys think about the whole 'song explanation' thing? You know, when a performer starts telling the audience what the song is about and where it came from and when he/she wrote it etc etc etc. Part of me really likes this, as the additional context can add lots to the experience of hearing a song. But part of me sometimes would prefer to have it be more of a mystery and would prefer to be allowed to interpret the song for myself in my own personal way. Which side do you guys come down on?
Posted by halsey at October 24, 2004 02:52 PMFunny, but I've been on a bit of a folk/rootsy music kick in the past week (having just seen Tim O'Brien, Richard & Lucy, and Willy Porter), and was musing about why I sometimes feel so drawn to this genre of music, particularly right now. To me, the dialogue the performers have with the audience (both between and through the songs) is an integral part of the folk music experience, and a significant component of what I find so appealing. There's a connection between the musicians and the audience that makes the whole thing seem cozy, friendly, welcoming. We laugh together. Often we're invited to sing or stomp or chant along. The performers tend to be humble and approachable, and refrain from putting themselves on a pedestal that would create distance from the audience. This "togetherness" is especially welcome right now, when our country is so divided by politics, views on the Iraq war, etc.
To get to the question you've posed about the "song explanation" thing, I think it's fair to say that it generally enhances my experience of a performance, especially in the folk music context. More often than not, I've already become familiar with the music before I see it performed live, so I've already had a chance to interpret and visualize it without guidance or imposed constraints. It's kind of like reading a book *before* you see the movie based on it... except that, unlike with a movie, the elucidation provided by the performers tends to be minimal, and mostly enhances perceptions that already exist. So, when Lucy Kaplansky gushes about her 22-month old adopted daughter Molly before she sings a song about her, it can bring out the sweetness and tenderness of the music (at least for me) without, say, forcing us to see actual images of Lucy with Molly.
I think there are parallels here to music videos, which you've touched upon (at least briefly) on this site in the past. After all, music videos can be a form of "song explanation"... Even with the most expressive and unique music videos, I prefer to experience the music on its own first, before being shown how the performers visualize their music. But I have really appreciated seeing, for example, a jaw-dropping video (with dramatic and imaginative scenes of a post-apocalyptic world) by Sigur Ros, or the clever/aesthetically enticing one by Tortoise that you highlighted on this site not so long ago. Of course, these are in such stark contrast to typical videos that just show a band performing and showing off (like the ridiculous BOND video you linked) or even, say, the weird video display of spiders that Wilco has used during at least one recent performance. But the truly excellent ones definitely have a positive impact on my experience with the music.
I'm obviously rambling here, but I've got to add one more thing: I, too, haven't listened to any of my CAKE ever since McCrea put his disgusting self-adulation on display Boston. That's a visual I'd really like to disconnect from the music...
Posted by: Twiga at October 26, 2004 11:20 AMI found this site by googling "asshole john mccrea" and was wondering what happened at the Cake show? The one Cake show I've been to they were fine, and McCrea was only slightly mocking of the crowd. I have heard over the years that McCrea has a steadfast reputation as a cranky asshole.
Posted by: Jamie at October 30, 2004 10:42 AMhey jamie-
you should check out my initial post on the Cake show:
http://www.aevidence.com/aeblog-archives/000134.html
basically mccrea mocked the crowd, complained about the performance space and generally traipsed around stage arms outstretched in a manner that reeked of self-adulation. other than that, it was a great show.
Posted by: halsey at November 2, 2004 05:06 PM