Why do we go to concerts?

[admin_exported]

Does the hifi, that we are aiming for, sound like the time when you heard "that" perfect concert?

And if so;

A) what sounds do you remember first hearing that you became interested in music? 

B) what instrument or combination or instruments do you relish hearing on your system? 

C) does your system need to sound good at low volumes? 

 

[Anonymous]

for me it was:

A) my radio. I was about 10 and remember thinking that when I changed the MW channel on my radio I got a squeltching sound that sounded really coolÿ(back and forth).

B) i'd like it to be full percussion, though the female voice sounds amazing!

C) Always! I have the missus to placate.ÿ

 

[Mike_Schmidt]

Why do we go thats easy to see Tool and Metallica over and over again and the visual experience you get when listening

 

[Anonymous]

IMHO Hi Fi does not get close to a live concert. You can't replicate the atmosphere of a live gig. To me my best hope is that when I close my eyes the music evokes a strong memory of the concert I saw. I tend to have a very un-scientific goose-bump test, To me Hi Fi is good enough if I play a track and while remembering the live performance I get goose bumps.

As to first sounds - a real mixture of stuff from big bands to hard rock but if I had to pick one thing then I'd say the solo on the Baker St track.

I'm quite into Irish folk music so voilin and penny whistle always sounds good to me.

Yes it does - we rarely play music too loudly.

 

[Anonymous]

I love the sensation when a piece of music 'tickles' my ears.

I have a very wide choice in music...from classical to hip hop to dance to R&B to Jazz....etc.....however I absolutely love listening to a decently recorded orchestral script, where you can literally visualise where the instruments are positioned ...I used to play in a large band (100members) and an orchestra and it takes me back to those days....although now the music is all the opposite way around to when I sat in amongst it.....I could always swap the speakers around to get the feeling of being part of the production.......

 

[Thaiman]

Strange question!

I normally go if I like the bands/artist. nothing else!

 

[Anonymous]

Tribal instinct... and the atmosphere.

 

[Anonymous]

If you live in glasgow it would seem to be so that you can look like an ar*e while talking all over the performers and ruining the experience for the people who actually want to hear the show.

No wonder i hardly go to gigs anymore.

 

[Anonymous]

I go to concerts because there's a concert, i wanna see my favourite singer on stage and feel the live show environment with the crowd.
Are you comparing concert with hifi?? its unfair.

 

[Anonymous]

Simple for me - beer and good times.......

Seriously, that 'experience' cannot be replicated by a recording.

The best concerts, I find, are those you are not expecting much/blase about but are blown away.

Rush = Manchester 2007
Kings of Leon; Arcade Fire = both Newcastle 2007
Tool = Manchester 2006
Roger Waters = Manchester 2007
Mew = Manchester 2006
Athlete = Newcastle 2006/7
Ludovico Einaudi = Gateshead 2006
Tangerine Dream = Newcastle/Glasgow '87?/1997

to name but a few.........

 

[plastic penguin]

Thaiman:

Strange question!

I normally go if I like the bands/artist. nothing else!

TM is right - it's an odd question. However, for me, there is nothing comparable with a live gig, the atmosphere, the lights, and I believe, the crowd emotion that sweeps through your body when your fav act come on stage, with lights dimmed. The only other venue that has such a personal effect, and compares with a concert. And that's seeing your favourite football team play a home match.

If a hi-fi could generate that sort of excitement then live gigs would be rendered obsolescent. . . .

 

[Anonymous]

plastic penguin:And that's seeing your favourite football team play a home match.

Unless you support Newcastle last season like me.....

 

[Anonymous]

The first concert I went to was King (i lived in Cov and they were a Cov band) when I was 17, and what struck me most was the quality of Paul Kings voice. 'Love and Pride' was sung with a reality that surpassed the quality of the recording and I couldn't understand why. It gave the gig an edge (that only hindsight can embellish) because music is emotive and in a crowd this is magnified.

Concerts are about rawness. You forgive the missed note (or the lead vocalist falling off the stage as in the Stereo Mcs 1989) for the feeling of being close to that music hitting your ears anew and alive. Nobody hears 2 gigs the same. There are changes and nuances that are particular to each performance and its how they..'Don't play what's there, play what's not there' (Miles Davis) that makes it. Only you and 300 people will hear it that way ever and that makes it personal and memorable.... Oh and there are chics there !!

I sit listening to Eva Cassidy and, no matter how great it sounds now, I know I'd have payed huge amounts to have heard it live. To sit in the front row in some small bar and feel the resonance of each note would have been awesome. The ideal would've been to have the CD of the concert to stimulate those memories.

As for volume......how long is a piece of string ? If you are 'listening' to music you don't need volume ( I find a glass of something cheeky helps more) but if you want to 'experience' it then thats a different story. If you're experiencing XRay Spex, then its LOUD and if this is a prob then headphones are the way forward.

Edit: Wow , how pompous does that sound ? Sorry.

 

[chebby]

Concerts for raw musical exctitement, atmosphere, proximity to the actual performers and social/human contact, sharing an event, memories and the 'I was there' factor etc.

Hifi for high quality home music replay.

Sorry if that is simplistic.

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:Concerts for raw musical exctitement, atmosphere, proximity to the actual performers and social/human contact, sharing an event, memories and the 'I was there' factor etc.

Hifi for high quality home music replay.

Sorry if that is simplistic.

Exactly what I said but more succinctly. Cheers Chebs and hows the photography going ? Mate at work very impressed !

 

[basshound]

welshboy:
IMHO Hi Fi does not get close to a live concert. You can't replicate the atmosphere of a live gig. To me my best hope is that when I close my eyes the music evokes a strong memory of the concert I saw. I tend to have a very un-scientific goose-bump test, To me Hi Fi is good enough if I play a track and while remembering the live performance I get goose bumps.

As to first sounds - a real mixture of stuff from big bands to hard rock but if I had to pick one thing then I'd say the solo on the Baker St track.

I'm quite into Irish folk music so voilin and penny whistle always sounds good to me.

Yes it does - we rarely play music too loudly.

I have a similar goose bumps test or hair on the back of the neck stand up test,that is when you know your system is right for you

 

[chebby]

andyb190:
chebby:Concerts for raw musical exctitement, atmosphere, proximity to the actual performers and social/human contact, sharing an event, memories and the 'I was there' factor etc.

Hifi for high quality home music replay.

Sorry if that is simplistic.

Exactly what I said but more succinctly. Cheers Chebs and hows the photography going ? Mate at work very impressed !

Thanks Andy.

Photography on hold for 4 - 5 weeks of 'builder hell' starting next week :-(

Sorry to duplicate your thoughts. I must admit I had not read every contribution when I typed due to collecting dirty clothes, putting fish in oven, topping/tailing enough green beans for 4 people and making a cuppa.

 

[Anonymous]

I was highlighting the fact that your statement was more efficient than mine, rather than you repeating me. My OH says I waffle a bit but that's an understatement.

Thought about a photographic portrait of builder hell ? With your eye for structure and for working people it may prove to be interesting.

 

[chebby]

andyb190:Thought about a photographic portrait of builder hell ? With your eye for structure and for working people it may prove to be interesting

No, I will be covered in rubble, praying and handing out large cheques most of the time in between actually trying to work from home so I know who is coming and going during the job.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok make that a self portrait of builder hell !

 

[chebby]

Well the wife is paying for all the building work so it is not all bad. I am paying for the kitchen units, new boiler, new bathroom fittings, tiles and a big new fridge. (That fridge was the reason I 'settled' for a P2 instead of a better turntable so it had better be the bestest fridge in the land!)

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:Well the wife is paying for all the building work so it is not all bad. I am paying for the kitchen units, new boiler, new bathroom fittings, tiles and a big new fridge. (That fridge was the reason I 'settled' for a P2 instead of a better turntable so it had better be the bestest fridge in the land!)

Mmm, you are married and yet pay for things seperately, whilst my fiancee has gone away with my cards for the weekend ? Someone sitting here has got it wrong and... he's the one without his cards !

my Samsung fridge only cost 500 quid and its great. Ice, crushed ice and water, so if yours doesn't have wifi and a tv, you'll be upset !

 

[chebby]

Very early on we saw three couples we were friends with divorce/split up over joint bank accounts. We vowed never to get into all that. (That was 1981 so it's working so far.)

Honesty and openness and sharing everything is hopeless in a serious relationship. Lies and secrecy and privacy really work. I dread to think how 'impressed' she'd be at how much I have spent on hifi in the last 27 years!

 

[Anonymous]

chebby:

Honesty and openness and sharing everything is hopeless in a serious relationship. Lies and secrecy and privacy really work. I dread to think how 'impressed' she'd be at how much I have spent on hifi in the last 27 years!

I always lied in the past and thats why my longest partner lasted 1 year ! 8 yrs together now and open honesty works for me.

After 27 yrs you deserve to thrive (truth or minor fibs) but I must be honest...after that time I can't believe you haven't converted your blushing bride ?