The BEST show ever?

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · Post by **Dr. Hugh Jeffreys** » 27 Jun 2003 2:20 pm

With no intention of creating a political conflagration, I thought this ENTERTAINMENT news might be of interest to some. It was to me. Some Ole Pros have told me that the Dixie Chicks have the best show the've ever seen. I have'nt seen them, but their stage and its components are carried withinTHREE 18 wheelers, and it is said that it is most dramatic. HJ

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Jun 2003 2:22 pm

With most respect, Dr. Hugh, I make this a general statement. (It concerns all touring acts, not only the "Chicks")...

I am not impressed at all by the size of the stage, the fireworks, the laser light shows, the fog machines, or the 50,000-watt sound systems that most modern singers find requisite to attract, hold an audience, and create something "memorable". What matters most to me is the music, and the fewer "distractions" there are, the more I can absorb and enjoy the music.

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 28 Jun 2003 2:27 pm

...you're gettin' old, Donny...hell, they could stand there and knit for 2 hours and I'd look at 'em, distractions and all...

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 29 Jun 2003 5:48 am

When I was a youngster, I saw Lonnie Donegan play on numerous occasions - he 'wrote the book' when it came to dynamics and excitement! AND... this was 1957 - there were no light shows, and precious little in the way of a PA system, either, just what was already there in the 'house' that had been installed in the post-vaudeville era.

Lonnie would have arrived by car with his guitar-case and a wardrobe bag, and the three guys in his band would have come by train - no eighteen-wheelers for those guys.

Am I suggesting that Donegan had more talent in his little finger than all of todays 'names' put together? No, of course not, but we've come to a point where promoters believe that all that hoopla is vital to a show's success, and that an artiste's status is elevated commensurate with the number of trucks it takes to get the act from place to place.

I know that venues are larger today and, no doubt, some of it IS vital - but I'm distracted by all that nonsense; happily, the real 'heavyweights' (James Taylor, Bruce Hornsby, etc - the ones who put musicianship at the top of the list) have reasonably minimalist productions. They stand or fall by virtue of their talents.

The 'Chicks' sound great to me on record, and I bet they're good 'live', too; maybe, though, their management believes that the Great Unwashed won't be taken in without all the circus-trappings.....

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Roger Rettig

[This message was edited by Roger Rettig on 29 June 2003 at 06:50 AM.]

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · Post by **Dr. Hugh Jeffreys** » 29 Jun 2003 6:10 am

Donny - I think you're exactly right! That's probably only one reason I've NEVER been to a rock concert (and never will). HJ

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 29 Jun 2003 7:49 am

In their CMT interview the Chicks said they have gotten very little from their CD sales, and so their main livelihood is the income from their shows. So why not lay it on thick. They are competing with big rock shows and Hollywood special-effects movies. Like Donny I could do with less, because I think they are great musicians as well as great looking women. But if it brings in additional fans for them and country music, so much the better.

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 29 Jun 2003 11:28 am

The Chicks Best show ever?
It's subjective as always.
Glad Robbie is playing for them!

George Rozak · Post by **George Rozak** » 29 Jun 2003 12:04 pm

Well I've never seen the Dixie Chicks... Never will either...

But the best show I've ever seen was the Stoneman Family way back in the early 60s when Pop Stoneman was still alive... And they didn't even have a steel

George

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Sho-Bud: Professional & Fingertip

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 29 Jun 2003 4:29 pm

A Best show without steel? IMPOSSIBLE & I'm not talking about the D Chicks!

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 29 Jun 2003 5:24 pm

I don't think they're in the same league as ZZ Top.

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 29 Jun 2003 6:15 pm

I just saw the Eagles here in Denver, and there was none of that stuff. Pretty straitforward-jst great music for 3 hours. KILLER show. Seeing the Dead next week, and that will be even more low key, and excellent as well.

JB

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Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 29 Jun 2003 9:57 pm

I heard that the Eagles are using pre-recorded drum tracks on a song and some canned background vocals on this tour.
The stuff that Millie Vanilli got run out of the business for doing twelve years ago is now accepted practice for live shows!

Tony LaCroix · Post by **Tony LaCroix** » 30 Jun 2003 6:04 am

I really don't enjoy big concerts. There are usually too many people, you have to stand for long periods of time, the sounds is almost always terrible, beer is at least five bucks for a cup of warm Miller Lite, the music always comes second to the "show", and I prefer the album version in nearly all instances.

I would pay good money to see the Dixie Chicks if they stood very close together in the middle of the empty stage, with microphones and guitars (and a steel player) and sang ther beautiful songs with passion. My ticket price should cover the beer, and I'd like to sit down.

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 30 Jun 2003 7:45 am

I usually stay out of the 'what's BEST' threads because the results and conclusions are necessarily subjective, but I'll tell y'all what I've been most impressed with over the 40 or 45 years I've been playing and going to concerts and shows.

I agree that bigger is not NECESSARILY better. When I lived in Houston in the early 70s I saw two shows in medium sized clubs that I'm hard pressed to come up with one I've seen since that impressed me as much.

One was Jim Messina and Kenny Loggins. It was just after their second album was released and the quality of their band -- Messina's guitar wizardry, Al Garth and Jon Clarke doubling on more instruments than you've ever seen, and an excellent bass player (may have been Larry Sims) -- plus the incredible vocals -- was hard to beat.

The second in Houston was Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders. THAT WAS AN R&B BAND TO MATCH ANY I'VE EVER SEEN -- Motown or wherever. They just kicked butt for four sets with the most complex horn arrangements and the tightest band I've ever heard. And Wayne's voice complemented everything perfectly.

The only thing I've seen recently that touches those two performances was not a show I attended live, but one I have on video. Dire Straits' "On the Night" has been discussed often on the Forum, but I'll have to mention it again. The interplay between the musicians and the quality of the tunes was just superb. Mark Knopfler is one of the most amazing producers I've ever heard. He just knows what sounds good and how to get that across to his musicians. This is all in addition to his guitar playing, which I feel is as solid and moving and elegant as any I've heard. Couple that with a performance that just knocks your socks off and it's right up there with the best I've ever heard. Of course, having that Franklin guy flailin' away at those electric cheese slicers didn't hurt.

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 30 June 2003 at 08:52 AM.]

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 30 Jun 2003 9:53 am

If you want to make a lot of money, you have to get a lot of people to go to your show. The people who are "handling" the Chicks might appreciate their artistry, but I suspect they want a good return on their investment. If the general public, who probably aren't musicians, and thus aren't there for the musicianship, are there to see a spectacle and given the success of some of the recent pop acts, who aren't very musical, but put on a spectacle. Then it makes sense to give them a good show. If you have an opportunity to reach a larger audience, why wouldn't you want to do that?

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 30 Jun 2003 12:32 pm

...I agree, Chas, especially when any musicians fortunate enough to be in a position to command large audiences and large gates will have a small window of opportunity to do it..

They need to make the money while they can. They'll still be good musicians for the rest of their lives, but this opportunity won't last long, and won't come again...that's just the way it is...so if I was them, I'd do it too...it would be better to play music when you're old because you want to, not because you have to..

Tony LaCroix · Post by **Tony LaCroix** » 30 Jun 2003 12:52 pm

Of course, you guys are right that bigger show=bigger audience, but bigger show+ bigger audience rarely = long career.

Once a group designs itself around the idea of getting as big as possible, they effectivelly undermine their artistic integrity. This leads to disinterest in their own careers, and trouble within the group.

I'd rather earn an apple a day for the rest of my life than have a huge basket of apples thrown in my lap today. And I'll grow my own darn apples, too. No big record label needed to take a buch of bites and throw me the core.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 30 Jun 2003 5:15 pm

I'll take the huge basket today, you never know how long you're going to live.

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 30 Jun 2003 5:44 pm

..me too..worse yet, I might live a long time and find that I can't get an apple a day, all I can get is the pits..

..Tony, the positive side of the Chicks getting big is that they had the clout to get rid of their big label...and without the big label, they have artistic freedom...I thought their CD "Home" was artistically head and shoulders above anything they had done before, and I attributed that to their freedom to choose their material and their production..

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 30 Jun 2003 5:47 pm

If you play music for a living you take what you can get when you can get it.

Bob

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 30 Jun 2003 6:52 pm

Amen...

Jeff A. Smith · Post by **Jeff A. Smith** » 30 Jun 2003 7:05 pm

They've sure changed their image from when they were coming up in Texas. Any kind of theatrics or technical enhancements would have been the furthest thing from their original presentation. I watched a recent documentary on them, and they started out with a very straight, traditional western image; essentially a bluegrass group I think.

They decided to part ways with their original lead singer, whom they didn't feel would fit with changes they wanted to make musically. Lloyd Maines had been doing some work with them, and arranged for them to meet his daughter Natalie.

The story was interesting here, because they then had a similar situation to when Pete Best "left" the Beatles. The original lead singer had a tremendous regional following. This, together with the fact that Natalie came with a new musical direction, caused a fair amount of animosity from their fan base.

After they got signed by a major lable, they assigned an image professional to totally redo their look.

b0b, I didn't see the ZZ Top tour when they had the long-horn steer and all that.

I did see them a few times before they got really huge, when all they had were two white spots and four Rio Grande (custom Marshall) stacks. They really put it on the line then!

Ah, Billy Gibbons...one of my all-time faves.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 30 Jun 2003 10:08 pm

The label assigns the image professional to redo their image as part of their contract, whether they like it or not.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 1 Jul 2003 9:42 am

There are a lot of rock acts that carry a huge stage from city to city. The Dead, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top and Paul McCartney come to mind. I'm sure there are more modern rock bands that do the same (I'm not really up-to-date on rock), as well as some country acts like Brooks & Dunn, Garth & Trisha, etc. and the big pop stars like Britany Spears and Shania Twain.

It doesn't surprise me that the Dixie Chicks are at that level. The size of the production doesn't necessarily make the "best show ever", but it does create a memorable experience for the stadium concert audience which is, after all, what they paid for.

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