Performance Creativity... LIVE Music Make Me Lose Control

I attended a concert Saturday night at the House of Blues-Parissh Room in New Orleans. The headliner was Copeland, an indie band from Florida. I have seen them play once before in a much bigger venue on a tour they were not the headliners for. It was such a huge difference in their performances. My friends and I were front row and this was the best show I had been to. I am starting to think that smaller venues are better for certain types of music. I know that even if I was in the back of the Parissh room, I still would have had the same "musical" experience as if I were in the front. It's possibly the visual stimulation that made the difference. The stage is extremly tiny... possibly only two feet high and ten to twelve feet wide. I prefer that because I felt as though I were on stage myself. Being that close, you can witness many choices made during live performance. There were three other groups who performed- Brooke Waggoner, Paper Route, and This Providence. During Brooke's performance, she hit a wrong key on the piano. You would never have been able to tell just by listening but because I saw her face and the way she quickly moved her hand to cover it up. The back up singer for Paper Route also played the guitar and harmonica simulatenously which was very impressive. The keyboardist and guitarist for This Providence kept going back and forth from instrument to instrument. Something went wrong with a distortion pedal and he quickly danced around, fixed the cord, and went back as if nothing had ever happened.

Smaller venues offeer a better connection with performer and audience. When the walls are not too far apart and instead of the music having to extend all the way out in a big venue, only to be absorbed by the walls. I feel in a small venue, the sound bounces off the walls and the audience can feel it run through them.

Something else I found to be interesting.... The keyboardist from This Providence (I mentioned him earlier) is not one of the "four members" a fan would see on the cd cover or posters. He goes on tour and sells their merch and only plays live. I wonder if this is because he just doesn't want the fame? I wonder to what extent and capacity does he engage in, if any, during the music making process. Maybe one of the four actually played all of the parts he plays on the cd and they just need someone to play it live? I also hear that Green Day has a guy like this, who goes on tour and plays in a corner the music one of the three members is unable to play since he is playing something else. I am not sure how truthful this is and am trying to google it.