Just a question.... Options

[promiseIma Livefan]

For those who believed that The Turn should not have been considered a Live album, should the current lineup- which consists of a second drummer and a new guitarist that both plays lead and contributes to the writing process- also not be considered Live? I am just interested in others' views on this. Granted all four original members are together again, but with the new cast it feels more like Live 2.0. Maybe they could rename themselves Living

This post has been edited by promiseIma Livefan: Jul 2 2018, 10:35 am

[Bob]

I'm curious: For hardcore fans of other bands, what do they do differently that Live doesn't do? Let's use the Counting Crows as an example, since they've been around almost as long as Live has, and they're currently touring together. What about Pearl Jam? Candlebox? I'd love examples just for reference.

I guess I don't know what I'm missing. I am seeing PJ this summer for the first time ever (though I've been a "fan" since Ten, but haven't liked anything after Vitalogy), and I have seen Candlebox perform many times and can say that they play their asses off and really try to be present with the audience, which I think is part of what bothers me about present-day Live.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with other bands on the minutiae of their inner workings, so I can't answer this, but I'm very curious.

I too wonder if "The Turn" would have been a Gracious Few album, if we'd even be having this conversation. They released an album and toured together for awhile and no one on this board thought anything negative of it. Was that simply because it wasn't "Live" that they got a pass? Does a name matter that much to some? I too am in the camp of believing The Turn was the Best Live album we've gotten in a long time.

As far as Gracey goes being being the plexiglass, that was happening even when Live was playing on larger stages; that wasn't just an intimate thing. I think Ed was being petty on that one. They all use in-ear monitors. Ed could have kept them in the entire time and been none the wiser to how loud the drums were, or had the drums lowered in his mix if it was really a problem. If you have a dedicated sound engineer on the mix, you can tweak it to your liking instantly. That's also what soundcheck is for. If you're concerned about not being able to hear the crowd, you aim a mic out there. There are solutions to these issues. Thankfully, at least for now, those days are gone.

My biggest issue with the plexiglass days was that you couldn't hear it when CG was using his lighter sticks on songs like LC. The mix never increased his mics, so you couldn't hear much.

I don't mind Zak on guitar because he's adding a missing layer to the rhythm that Ed (or Railton or Adam; take your pick) used to add to really thicken the sound. He's also a damn good player. He's also had years to perfect his playing since he was with Ed on the road for months playing all of TC every night.

Regarding Robin on drums, I'd be fine with him being up there (mmm... less angry, maybe) if he was using more of a percussion-based setup instead of a full drumset that happens to have timbales on it. He doesn't need to be playing along with Gracey all the time. That's what drives me crazy, because it's always a smidge off and sounds like a nasty echo, and, let's face it, he's no Gracey.