Tracks.. at what point do you draw the line.

[tangentmusic]

For decades RUSH would trigger sounds on stage. I was ok with it.
The vast majority of the sounds were them live

 

[JRA]

i've played in acts that used tracks: it always worked (i.e., the paying audience was entertained and they always showed their enthusiasm).

i've watched acts get booed and laughed at when it didn't work.

I couldn't really tell if the audience went for it either.

really? didn't they react at the end of a tune/segment? TIA


re: the thread title: tracks or no tracks = a well-produced show works. all the rest get different results.

 

[pbassnut]

Saw a band the other week and they lined up as a standard 4 piece. However, the genre called for a LOT of augmentation.
Keys, horns, Sax and backgrounds and a fair few gtr solo's too.

The tracks themselves weren't that great but they made a big difference to the overall band sound.

I couldn't really tell if the audience went for it either.

I'm not down for backing tracks, sampling, or any kind of electronic musical augmentation at live shows ... as an audience member or as a player. To me, there's live and then there's studio and never should the two meet. I realize that it's done quite a bit these days and my view of it has a bit of a crusty old man "get off my lawn" vibe ... but I am a crusty old man and I'm just not entertained by backing track augmented music.

 

[john_g]

In my cover band, we have a handful of songs with backing tracks. Only for things we cannot perform ourselves like horns, keys, etc. No guitar, bass, vocals, ever. Years ago in my previous band i really struggled with it at first but if you use it like this, it augments the songs and makes it possible to play songs that would sound empty without it. I also play keys so i switch off and play with my feet too while playing bass but I cant do everything at once. Ive seen bands where everything is in the track except vocals and people are miming on drums bass guitar...thats too far.

 

[5StringBlues]

Never ever on a blues gig, I'd hope.

 

[jtg]

Live music is made by live people. If you want to play tracks, hire a DJ.

 

[Mastermold]

My band will never use them. If we can’t play it, we don’t fake it.

 

[Marc valero]

In a full band situation, I am generally less enthused about using tracks to fill up the sonic space. OTOH, I am in a duo project with just guitar and bass, and a few tunes with me playing keys, and both of us singing. We use a drum machine on some material and I have built tracks for some others to give us more depth/options depending on the gig, and I feel that we use the tracks judiciously, without over doing it.

So, I have kind of a mixed view of tracks. I think they can have their place. Players gotta do what they can to get gigs. I would also agree that audiences don't seem to care. In the duo, the main draw is the singer, who has an outstanding voice and delivery. That's what people come out to hear, and they don't seem to care how we back up her voice.

I am in a bass and guitar duo and we use programmed drums, but there are some duos in my area, with a girl singer and a guy playing rhythm guitar and full tracks or a solo guitarist or solo girl singer with tracks. It's like karaoke.

 

[gln1955]

There's a guy around here that sings and plays guitar over whole band backing tracks. At least I think he's singing and playing guitar. Who knows, he may be faking that too. It's lame as hell, but he stays busy.

 

[pfschim]

I am in a bass and guitar duo and we use programmed drums, but there are some duos in my area, with a girl singer and a guy playing rhythm guitar and full tracks or a solo guitarist or solo girl singer with tracks. It's like karaoke.

yeah, I totally get the karaoke reference. The tracks we do use, I have built myself, and we have not done the karaoke thing where you basically buy the full recorded song and just sing over it.

 

[Topkat13]

Next time try an exit poll.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

"dAh iF tHeY'Re mAkiN mUnNy iT mUst bE oKaY"


It's lame as hell. Why doesn't anybody have a spine anymore? People are so lazy everyone might as well stay at home and watch ai slop on tiktok because music might be hard

 

[pepj]

I'm of the opinion that no matter what you do in the studio, you have to be able to cut it live even without whatever is added in the 'studio as an instrument' phase of exploration. In short, the bones of the song/arrangement/instrumentation must be solid enough to sound good WITHOUT additional backing tracks. I'd rather hear a solid 4-piece do songs tightly, stripped down, versus a duo triggering or relying on all kinds of added backing tracks. To me, it just starts to feel more like karaoke than a performance with too much added stuff, no matter how many people are on stage. YMMV.

4 Piece, vox, gtr, bass and drums.

Yep, not capable of sounding good without what I would say is a heavy reliance of supplementary sound.
Its odd when you hear a sax or keys solo when there is no one to be seen let alone backgrounds and gtr parts.

The tracks themselves are not great but I'm impressed the drummer can play to them without derailing..

 

[pepj]

Is the crowd there to see the band? If that's the case, I'd say minimal and preferably no tracks. If you're background noise for dinner or brunch, as long as the vocals are live it's fine. Not ideal, but fine.

The crowd was there to see the band... around here bands are not background, they are there to see the band as a musical event ..by various degrees.. in itself.

 

[pepj]

There's a guy around here that sings and plays guitar over whole band backing tracks. At least I think he's singing and playing guitar. Who knows, he may be faking that too. It's lame as hell, but he stays busy.

Funnily enough, at a friends gig on a beach front..so very popular event.. the halftime act was a sax over tracks..miming, and had a tip jar out.

 

[pepj]

Never ever on a blues gig, I'd hope.

No, 80,s pop.

 

[pepj]

i've played in acts that used tracks: it always worked (i.e., the paying audience was entertained and they always showed their enthusiasm).

i've watched acts get booed and laughed at when it didn't work.



really? didn't they react at the end of a tune/segment? TIA


re: the thread title: tracks or no tracks = a well-produced show works. all the rest get different results.

Muted...but that might have been because they werent very good anyway.
I've seen video which is better than a single point and shoot and someone has spent a lot of time editing..as opposed to a solo phone. I think they put audience noise on those.

 

[pepj]

For me, we run with sax and keys so an 'expensive' 5 piece. We have to be brutal as to whether we can carry the sing off.

We also jam an outro or mid part and throw an extra solo in etc, so could not entertain tracks anyway.

Would love a Hammond player though...they are like hen's teeth though.

 

[DaBigBadaBoom]

I play with tracks in an original context. Have done for years. No one in the audience cares. Just did a run of sold out headline gigs. The tracks aren't stopping anyone from buying a ticket.

I won't work with a musician unless I can pay them/pay their way, and so tracks are a necessity.

So much easier to tour as a three piece as well.

 

[DaBigBadaBoom]

For me, we run with sax and keys so an 'expensive' 5 piece. We have to be brutal as to whether we can carry the sing off.

We also jam an outro or mid part and throw an extra solo in etc, so could not entertain tracks anyway.

Would love a Hammond player though...they are like hen's teeth though.

Tracks don't stop you from repeating sections, it's just a little harder to set up initially.