Live versus Recorded

Hello All,

The previous discusion about Ms. Madeleine's live performances was very lively. You who have been forum members for a while have listened to many a posted performances both live and recorded. There is a difference and in some cases it has been pretty distinct. Whether this is caused by the many suggested problems (venue, stage fright, etc) who knows? Also it has been discussed how in some cases her live performances are so much better that the recorded music because of the spontaneity and personal contact she has. Once again who knows. We know that her recorded material is fabulous and we also know that alot of her live material is also fabulous. I cannot understand what happens when she speaks between songs because for a number of reasons that seems to turn people off. I can also understand that you put down considerable money for a ticket. There was one time I heard her on the Mountain Stage radio program and I had trouble recognizing that it was her. It could have been expactations that I had but I was glad I had a tape in when the show came on because it allowed me to listen to it a number of times and also grow to like it. We also know that some people hear different things than others. I remember not to long ago we had a guy who mentioned the names Dylan and Barry Manilow in a disscussion about Ms. Madeleine. Who knows what he heard? So, whether you like Ms. Madeleine live or recorded I hope we can agree that HTPW is a great CD. It superbly showcases Ms. Madeleine's voice and ranks right up with her other CD's. Yes the backup musicians she uses are top notch and I would like to think that playing with Ms. Madeleine is as much a great experience for them as it is for us. So keep up the discussion. Let some of the newer forum members catch up on her live performances (by the way Thanx Lulu for the KCRW live spot).

Thanx - Kobe

 

 

Here is my frame of reference. One of my favorite artists is Van Morrison.  If you haven't followed his career the past ten years, you would not know that he now more of a Jazz singer with an excellent and tight backing band (his last country foray, notwithstanding).  His vocal phrasing and voice is why you go hear him. His music defies definition. The uninformed thinks he is a nostalgia act and sings Moondance and Brown eyed girl every night - he doesnt -- he loathes those songs.

Back to the point. He is moody, fickle, and mumbles between songs. He has no stage presence.  But he is a musical genius. YOu can see him on Friday, and its the best concert you have ever seen. On Saturday, he is mailing it in, and even though the voice is in fine form, you leave pissed, wondering why you paid ticketmaster $150 for each seat. But you know what, next time he comes to town, you will be first in line because if he is on, you are in for a treat.

Some of the comments I have seen written about Madi make me think of Van. Some people want her to sound exactly like the cds.  Some wish she was something she wasnt. Some nights she mails it in, and sometimes she hits it out of the park, and the beauty is on any given night me and the person sitting next to me will disagree on whether it was an "A" or a "C" performance.

To me, such volatility of perceptions means something very special is going on on stage, and while not every moment may be perfect, perhaps they are half perfect.

Intersting viewpoints. Your Insight is great. What really are our expectations? Certainly we do not expect the rock musicians to give the same personal attention that we expect out of folk artists. These expectations differ due to the genre of music performed. We all can agree that the price of tickets are not cheap so we certainly expect our favorite artists to produce their material in some kind of recognizable form. You do not want to hear "I paid $50.00 for this ticket and only got a $15.00 performance".  Then again Ms. madeleine does perform jazz and traditionaly jazz is a little more free form that other musical genre's. I go to live concerts in hopes that the moons align with the starts and the sun and I will hear the one performance that will stay with me forever. It dosen't happen very often and I have walked out of a few concerts in my lifetime. I will continue to go to Ms. Madeleines concerts with those hopes whenever her performance schedule and the contents of my wallet coincide. My concern is how will this effect Ms. Madeleines future. Will it move her to smaller venues and will there be less concerts. I'm not sure that will happen. Here CD's are great and if CD sales are good usually concerts follow. But maybe they will be affected just enough to send a message. Either way as Saramandi says " Just keep singin, girl"

Also, In my previuos forum message above I mentioned a forum member who compared Dylan and Manilow with Ms. Madeleine with the suggestion that they heard things differently. Where I disagree with that forum members opinion of Ms. Madeleines talents I know that we all hear things differently and using that statement in that manner was a cheap shot and I apologize.  

Thanx - Kobe

 

I am very new to this forum and have been reading a lot about Madeleine's live performances as i am going to see her for the first time in december. After reading what everybody has put it seems that the main concerns are awkward stage presence, appearance etc. I must admit that not of these things bother me as i only want to hear her beautiful voice and am a bit disturbed by a post i read which commented on her weight!
I have seen her in interview and heard some live material from radio recordings and she does indeed seem nervous and awkward which is exaclty how I would be in that situation. All in all I am very excited about going to see her as I adore her for her voice and Queens Hall Edinburgh is a beautiful venue.
I will be sure to come back to this thread and post my thoughts after!

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