Live versus Recorded

I love Madeleine's live performances.

I have seen her perform in Europe several times now. Each time has been a revelation and sublime in every way.
I recognise some of traits which seem to disappoint some of you. Sometimes she does not sound like the recording with the CD. For me this is just fine. Sometimes she sounds less polished - there is rawness to her peformance, which gives it an edge. Each time, however, her voice has been captivating and enthralls me.

I do not go to live performances for a celuloid, synthetic reproduction of what I can listen to at home. I go for something live and organic. Nor do I go to see a diva performance which is more about the cosmetic appearance, the slick well rehearsed patter. I would admit that sometimes Madeleine seems a little awkward and would also agree that she perhaps suits smaller venues better. However, ultimately I really do love seeing her live. Perhaps I have lower expectations or demands than others, I'd like to think not. I think it is more a case as one forum member put it once, sinking in and allowing myself to enjoy the moment.

It is curious to see that reviews of the same perfomances of Madeleine's can be quite different. See the reviews for her recent Edingburgh show.

I have enjoyed reading all your views of Madeleine's performances. Keep them coming in. I hope you continue to enjoy Madeleine whether in the comfort of your own living room or live.

Happy Christmas - Seb

Kobe

Both are small(ish) concert halls - the Sage 1700 seats, the Barbican
1950.

I have read the discussion of Live versus Recorded with interest, unable to
add anything to the argument as I had not seen Madeleine live. In the
past week I have seen Madeleine's performances at the Sage Gateshead
(on the 12th) and the next day at the Barbican in London. Both were
excellent!

Madeleine's voice was superb, song selection good and delivery excellent.
In-between chat was limited but friendly. Although a somewhat tentative
start , particularly at Gateshead, she soon relaxed and gave a confident
performance both nights, clearly enjoying herself as were the group -
they all linked arms to take the bows at the end of the Gateshead concert.
At Gateshead I was front row centre and so was close enough to see
Madeleine's facial expressions (OK - occasionally she does appear to look
fed up but it was clear that she was happy to be there). I think with
Madeleine what you see is what you get. There is no pretence, false stage
manners or fake smiles.

Whether you enjoy a concert depends on a number of things, not just the
performance - the venue, where you are sitting, even the day you have
had, will all have an effect. I don't want to go to a live concert to see
some over produced glossy performance and hear a simple regurgitation
of the CDs. One reason for going to a live performance is to hear the
performer add something to the songs - this may mean that you do not
get perfection, but you hear things in the songs that you may not have
noticed and makes you go back to the originals to listen anew.

If you want to hear Madeleine sing the songs as they sound on the
recorded versions - pin her picture on the wall and play the cds. I
however cannot wait to see her again when she returns to the UK.

Maybe I was lucky. Not all the feedback from the DC concert was favorable, I think. I thought, however, that it was terrific.

FWIW, I have friends who saw several of the same artists (inc Coltrane) and complained that they felt that their performance was "mailed in". Today we might say "faxed in". I guess everyone can have an off night.

Miles Davis said two words at the end of the gig: "Thank you". I heard later that for him that amounted to an oration.

Has anyone heard any of Sam Yahel's own CDs and do they have any recommendations? or his stuff with Joshua Redman? just curious.

Edited by Jim Rosenthal

I saw the DC concert recently. Evidently starting late is not unusual; there was a 45 min gap between the warmup act, Phil Roy, who was terrible, and Madeleine's set. So the audience was in an irritable mood when she started singing.

   Thirty seconds into the opening number, none of it mattered. The last artist I remember who kept us all waiting that long was Miles Davis, and thirty seconds into his first set none of it mattered, either.

Does she occasionally miss a note? Sure- so did Miles, so did Stan Getz, so did Coltrane. Is her stage presence a bit awkward? Sometimes- clearly she'd rather sing than talk. Fine- I'd rather she sing, too. Her weight? This isn't the Playboy Channel. There's no shortage of women "singers" who are pinup girls. All of them together don't even come close to adding up to one Madeleine.

I have been fortunate enough to have seen a few artists live who could make time stand still- Miles, Chick Corea and RTF, Brubeck (believe it or not!), Danny Gatton. All of them had at least this one common quality: passion in their playing, as well as great chops and impeccable taste in what they did. None of them were free of occasional mistakes, which made what they did even greater. You would expect a god to play perfectly. You would expect one of us to be- well, one of us.

When I am lucky enough to find a great and highly individual artist, in any field, I am glad I am alive to have the experience. For an hour and a half in Washington, time stood still again, as I listened to Madeleine Peyroux. Count yourself lucky that you have heard her perform, and that she's young and will be around a long time. With all the processed and canned material passed off as music around, she is something different; the genuine article, the real thing, a real person like you or I- but a genius.

Edited by Jim Rosenthal