>
>
> On Sun, 27 Apr 1997 feesh@asu.edu wrote:
>
> > Why pay eighteen bucks if all Im going to do is listen to the album?
>
> This has been discussed before, but I think it's a problem that hip-hop/
> house/techno/etc has yet to address. Are live performances as important as
> they used to be? When you're dealing with electronic-based forms of music,
> that doesn't leave you much room for improvisation, since so much of the
> stuff is programmed. That's why I rarely go out to live shows, they can't
> do anything that is too different from the record. I might as well save my
> money and enjoy the music in privacy.
>
This may be the case for techno or house, but that is definitely not the
same story for live hip hop. I have been listening to hip hop ever since
I can remember, and have been to countless shows. There is an unlimited
amount of improvisation that can be done, and a lot of acts play with a
live band. Case in point, The Roots. There stage show is completely
original, and was not in anyway identical to listening to their album.
They played old school covers, and played a 3 hour set.
It is not hip hop in general that is the way you say, but a few,
unoriginal acts, that have not learned what live hip hop is about yet.
I missed the Jeru show, but I love Jeru, and am upset to hear that he
has not been putting on that great of a show. Guess I'm glad I skipped
it.
-Mike