Re: Is dmb one of the greatest live bands ever?
I think they are, but I feel like you need to give other artists leeway. Improvisation is not the foundation of many genres or the forte of all bands/artist, so I don’t begrudge those bands that aren’t going for extended solos in various songs or change up their setlists regularly or night to night. Some touring bands, especially progressive rock bands, are not unlike chamber groups or orchestras...they are playing very complex pieces that are not made as vehicles for improv. Yet even in that format, those bands may stretch out or change up their solos a bit. Jazz big bands and swing bands have the capacity for improv, but they also save it for solos...and when they do change a set, they’re reading from charts.
Jambands are more like a small jazz or bluegrass groups. They generally have a large (maybe even huge) repertoire to choose from, from which they can and will commonly call tunes. Setlists can be written and cast aside at a moments notice. That said, they can have their more strict sets and arrangements as well. The Tedeschi Trucks Band is one of the best live bands you can see right now, but their size requires some strictures regarding arrangements in solos. DMB has gotten this way as well. Things were different when it was just the five, but once Butch and Rashawn were added their had to be a less slack given on the arrangement and soloing line. Same now that it’s Tim instead of Butch.
Peter Gabriel is not a improvising artist, but he is an amazing live act...one of the best I’ve ever seen. Same can be said of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, CSN, JT, Sarah McLachlan, Billy Joel, The Who, Yes, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and a bunch of the other acts that have blown me away live. Then there’s the bands like The Police, Clapton, King’s X, Dire Straits, Nickel Creek, Eric Johnson, ZZ Top, Joan Osborne, Zappa Plays Zappa, Third World, Ben Harper (& the Innocent Criminals), Punch Bros, Dr. John, John Hammond, Jr., and (again) more that will potentially change up a set a bit from night and add extended solo features to random tunes and/or improvise within their solos.
Then there’s a show like Hamilton that my son and I got to see on Broadway last summer, and that’s non-stop music from beginning to end. Holy shit, it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen of anything and their is ZERO room for improv. Yes they do this show six days a week, twice on Weds and Sat, and it’s strictly performed and choreographed. But fuck me if it wasn’t absolutely amazing to experience live. My younger son and wife are actually going next Sunday. We know the brother of the lighting designer and got an AMAZING pair of seats for significantly less than the cost of one face value ticket for the section.
Anyway, yes DMB is one of the best, but there are a lot of amazing live acts, they are all different, and none are better because of the different things they do and don’t do like the others...UNLESS they can’t actually sing or perform without sequencers, lip syncing, or auto tune. You know who we’re talking about there. I expect live music to be live and performed by artists/musicians that actually have musical skills/abilities and talent. I’m not interested in a lip synced and auto tuned dance show w/ costume changes...that’s fucking useless from a musical perspective. Music can stand on it’s own and I prefer that it does...all the other shit is gravy (and I’m not a big gravy person).
Good day all.
Last edited by grilldanmo; 02-11-2018 at 07:32 AM.
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