#garage notes

I don’t know if you caught the recent Gary Clark Jr. SNL performance. If you missed it, its worth a few minutes of your time to track it down on the web. Mr. Clark is an Austinite and as any true ATX homer will tell you he is the bomb. Good songs, hypnotic vocals and stinging’ guitar.  He stands out in stark contrast to the usual musical guest on the show. There were no dancers, no backing vocal tracks, no extravagant costumes or any of the trappings normally seen on the SNL set. Five people playing a song with emotional content. It held my attention and energized me without all the customary and ubiquitous pomp and circumstance I now associate with live shows.

 Understand this not a post about the “good ole days” before Milli Vanilli showed the record industry that style is more profitable than substance, the addition of conical bras and giant shark suits to stage gear or even autotune vocals became the way of things. I don’t begrudge artist finding what makes them economically viable. I used to think outrageous stage shows were a sign of artistic bankruptcy. I’m not quite that pompous anymore. Can you here the “but” coming? However, as an audience member I feel a little left out and perhaps underestimated. I don’t need a live performance to sound like the record. In fact, I’m expecting something a bit different otherwise why spend the money on live show tickets. If the band isn’t real and there is a safe track for vocals, then I’m mostly paying for costume changes and video direction.

It’s really a simple proposition. Write a song, record the song, go play the song then repeat. That last task has fallen by the wayside. I really want more bands to play the songs live. I know the stadium shows need certain recorded pieces to run smoothly over hundreds of shows but if the Rolling Stones can play the Super Bowl Halftime show live then obviously it’s possible. Musicians all over the world practice live performance in clubs of all sizes. They can’t afford choreographers and wardrobe experts. They simply play the songs. They learn to capture an audience and bring them into an experience. If they had dancing sharks, it would only be a distraction. Everyone coming up through the ranks learns this skill. It’s mandatory and useful. Most of all it’s entertaining. It seems a shame that when you step out of the clubs and on to larger stages the skills you worked so hard to acquire are considered a liability. More than that the audience may never have a chance to see past the exaggerated persona into the extraordinary gift that led an artist to the stage in the first place.