1). is it a new band, or a familiar band?
A). Familiar, are they able to recreate their recorded tunes live? Does the “mix” work, can you hear the instruments / vocals clearly? It doesn’t have to be note for note, but is the song instantly recognizable? Is the sound (tone, timber) of the music different that what’s on the recording? Do the instrumentalists improvise solos or do they play the exact recorded solo? Is there a mixture of both during solos? Take into consideration the vocalist’s instrument (their voice), can the singer hit the notes? If not, does their voice sound clear, harsh, or with possible illness (coming on/going off), is it lightly or heavily processed, (mic filters, delays, etc)? In other words, if they can’t or don’t hit (purposefully lowering the register) “most” of the recorded notes, perhaps they were only able to do that in the studio. More importantly, did that change of note bother you or did you find it didn’t really make that much difference in your listening enjoyment? In other words, either way it was good. This can be a sticking point to different listeners. I myself am more interested in what I refer to as “exclamation points” of a song, i.e. the climax of a guitar solo, that last vocal note of the chorus or song ending. Did the instruments or vocals take you to the proverbial happy ending live that they achieved on the recording? This is a fine line that only the listener can define.
B). New Band, never heard or heard of before. This one is interesting as one doesn’t know what to expect. I personally enjoy the “new”, now I have to really pay attention to this first impression. A couple of things right of the bat, is the mix good, do they look like they are enjoying themselves or bored? How are the tunes, catchy, thought provoking, funny, etc? Do the vocals / instrumentation match the music? I.e, David Gates or Gordon Lightfoot vocal / lyric styles with Norwegian death metal tuneage, or vise versa? The crowd, can you tell if the audience is full of fans or like you this is a new experience, how are they reacting? Are YOU enjoying yourself, this is a big question you have to ask yourself. Did you like any band member in particular, i.e. the guitarist, singer, you get the picture. They don’t have to blow you away, of course, but did they appear to be struggling to keep up. You have to measure each piece of the puzzle.
C). Styles and your review, first if you don’t like the style of the music, you may want to ask yourself why you are going in the first place. Back in the 70’s when the newspaper regularly did concert reviews, it always killed me that the reviewer obviously didn’t like the band, style or just didn’t want to be there. It showed in his/her review. If you know you are going to hate it, DON’T go! You do this all the time when it comes to food, so apply this same mindset to music. I personally don’t listen to disco, show tunes, or electronic dance music, but I have seen K.C. and the Sunshine Band live, I’ve been to several musicals and son ufa gun, I enjoyed myself. The big rule here is do not give a bad review simply because you yourself didn’t like the band or style! I’ve done a bunch of reviews and I can only remember two bad reviews, and those were because the artists made it painfully obvious that they did not want to be there. Speaking of the crowd, yes they are up for review as well. Were they friendly, were they enthusiastic or was it a bunch of obnoxious drunk morons that bordered on dangerous? How was the wait staff, bar tenders? The venue and its patrons are always a significant park of one’s review. I always mention the venue/staff when I patronize them for the first time.
Now in conclusion, and here’s your assignment: Go to more shows, see more live music, go when you may not completely feel like going, it will cure what ails you. You don’t have to make notes like I do, take this as a guide rather than rules, impress your friends and family with your knowledge the next time they ask you “how was it?”
Make a JoyFul Noise,
Mr Dave
Even knowing you as long as I have Dave and knowing you’re a talented musician, I loved your article and the “openness” pointers you offered.
As musicians we often tend to be biased and base our like or dislikes against our own styles of music which isn’t always true and fair to the music we are pit listening to.
Your reviews and how to listen to the different variables of a show were great and spot on.
I enjoyed this article. Keep on writing, your on point my friend.
Thanks Dave!