The interesting thing about a great front person is that I can think of many who put on a fantastic show while not playing an instrument but I can never be 100% sure that they don’t at some point pick up a guitar and it’s just escaped my memory. I agree that Alex Turner is a phenomenon whether he is playing or not and I would say the same for Justin Hayward -Young from the Vaccines who might suffer from the over theatricality Newski referred to but does it with extreme style that is just a joy to watch. Zach Lount from King No-One is another great example of this. He often performs best when he puts the guitar down. Ricky Wilson and Rick Witter are both great to watch live and I’d also add Bobby from Bad Nerves and Alex Rice from Sports Team to the list. Of course no list of vocalists would be complete without Michael Stipe. I guess maybe he played guitar sometimes? But I mainly just remember him leaning on a mic stand.
I don’t think there are many bands that I’ve enjoyed listening to their recorded music and then been disappointed with the live performance but Opus Kink are absolutely one that I would pay to see over and over again but would never listen to at home. I don’t think it is that the recording is bad, I just don’t think it conveys the energy of their live performance.
I’ve never seen a fist fight in the context of a live gig but there was a well-publicised episode last year when Kyle Falconer punched his band mate from The View on stage. There’s plenty of footage available on line.
Finally, the most nervous I’ve been about meeting someone was when I happened to be in the pub at the same time as Peter Doherty. Irrationally, and inexplicably, I went and hid in the toilets to avoid the dilemma of whether to speak to him. On reflection, it was probably a good decision.
Totally forgot to mention Brett Anderson in my list of front men. He’s fantastic. I’ve only seen Suede once, in 2021 and his interaction with the crowd was faultless. He did need a little bit of carpet strategically positioned on the stage for when he came crashing to his knees though. I’m assuming the Suede you mentioned in the podcast is a different, US band.
Anderson's strategic carpet pad reminds me of the time I witnessed a roadie place a strategic mic stand on the stage in the middle of a Razorlight song at some festival or another...simply so Johnny Borrell could knock it over at a specific moment of a specific song. The mic stand was then duly removed by the same roadie right after this specific moment. This piece of choreographed 'rebellion' has stayed with me for decades now.
I too remain unsure if there's another Suede in existence in the US. Always thought the name The London Suede sounded odd, like some dodgy fashion brand.
Apologies if I missed this in the episode, but how did you come to be at a right-leaning (from what I understood) literary event dressed as the Men in Black?
And, in case anyone reading is interested...
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
- 🤷♀️
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
- Eddie (Suzy) Izzard at a left-leaning political conference. Undoubtedly the worst conversation I have ever offered up to any human and she quickly 'did a Dave Grohl' 🫠
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
- I'll hand over to Lou T for this one 😘
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately?
- Joe Lycett's More, More, More!
- Mae Martin's SAP.
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows?
- My Vitriol (mainly since they rarely play live. But, also, their rare live shows make my eyes hurt via overuse of strobe lighting).
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
- All albums I listen to possess magic. Otherwise I wouldn't listen to them 💅
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight?
- I am often breaking up fights at gigs. Most recently at an Ash / The Subways show. As a small woman, this is annoying. But, also as a small woman, my interventions are effective.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
Close tie, but Eddie Vedder has the edge.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Meeting Jacky Ickx (famous Belgian racing driver, he's won 24 Hours of Le Mans 6 times and competed in Formula One for multiple years also) the first time, I had so much I wanted to say (I was at Goodwood Festival of Speed, a motorsport event at Goodwood, just north of Chichester in W.Sussex) but when he got to me (there were loads of people) I fully blanked and could only muster "hello" and "thank you so much" the latter to which he said "it's my pleasure" after signing his autograph and handing my notebook back to me. I almost passed out with nerves - definitely meet your heroes, I recommend it! I met him briefly the following year (surrounded by even more people) and he looked at me like 'haven't we met before'!
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I'd say Eminem!
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows? Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
The Jacksons sound better on albums than they do live. Maybe it would be different with Michael - but I saw them in 2013 at the BIC in Bournemouth and they were excellent, but I would say it didn't equate to the level of their albums.
I agree with Hayley on the second queation, all albums I listen to have magic, otherwise I wouldn't listen to them.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
At the only Pearl Jam concert I've been to, Eddie was drinking bottles of wine and kept emptying them into cups for folks in the front row. This seemed like a great hang pre-COVID, but a little less so now. So I guess the answer is time and space relative.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Okay, dorky answer, but Chris Cain. After last year's Lobes release show, I realized I'd have a chance to actually say hi to the band, and I was *terrified* because I had absolutely nothing interesting to say. I was going to avoid the whole thing. Then Chris came out, and my husband - who at that point had only managed to retain the fact that "Keith Murray is the one with the hair" and had no idea how funny this sentence was - yelled, "Look, it's the one who's not Keith!" and physically pushed me in front of Chris. I think I said how much I loved the show and asked for a picture, and Chris was incredibly kind and gracious even though I was a horrible awkward goblin. Then I fucked off as quickly as possible, which was probably the right move.
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I'm going to make the extremely Canadian nomination of Gord Downie. The man was out of his mind. I watched him get into an extended argument with his mic stand. I've seen him call out the prime minister in an audience and tell him he needs to do better. I've heard him improv a six minute story about a killer whale biting his arm off in the middle of song. Pure entertainment.
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately?
No, but this is a good reminder to look some up - thanks!
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows?
I was actually really unimpressed with Arctic Monkeys when I saw them, but that was ... oh my god, 14 years ago? And it's not their fault the sound was so godawful. I ought to get back into them and give it another try.
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
I couldn't name a whole album, but the studio version of Josh Ritter's "Kathleen" is utterly forgettable. The live version is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard in my life.
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight?
I really want to learn on the Canadian thing here, but I've never actually been to a hockey game. 🤷♀️
Ah, I knew I forgot something. He was with The Tragically Hip, who are very dad rock, but also such a national icon that everyone likes them at least a little bit.
Hayley Williams--lead singer of Paramore--is someone I believe is the best front person. She knows how to handle a crowd and keep us moving. Similarly, I’m TERRIFIED of saying anything to her.
It was 2007, RIOT! had just come out, and they were playing the Avalon in Hollywood. Hayley steps out of the tour van and instead of rushing to say hello, I let another fan say hi first. I had to muster up the courage to say something. Whoops! Didn’t get my chance because she was ushered off to sound check.
Similarly, Frank Turner, a beautiful lovely soul, scared me. I was invited to an after party with him and the band, and he came to say hello and I...did words come out?
This type of fright tends to happen when I deeply admire someone. You all were once these people I didn’t speak to. I’m very sorry you have to deal with me now.
Otherwise, one band I also used to follow night after night, Fall Out Boy, is a bands I believe are best in the studio. They release some fun records, but there were too many intimate and venue tours where I was not feeling their performance.
(My sister helped me with some of these answers as 1) I forced her to watch this with me and 2) we started asking ourselves these questions.)
Oh gosh! When you add the cost of tickets into the equation it gets way more complicated. I normally go to little venues and pretty much never pay more than £20/ £25 a ticket. The bigger the venue, the greater the cost and other than sheer spectacle potential, I don’t see much benefit to a larger venue so I’m not sure I would base how much I would pay on my enjoyment of a band - maybe how far I would travel is a better measure for me.
There aren’t many bands that I enjoy that are cost effective. At some point, every small band I loved (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Frank Turner etc.) did gradually become bigger than the $20 venues I met them in. I’m very upset about this. As a broke emo kid in the day, $40 for a show was incredibly expensive. And those were “smaller arenas.”
I enjoy intimate venues, sure, but the people I love simply don’t always play those small buildings of my past. So, cost is the new factor. Travel? I go up and down the CA coast, which is about 7 states itself 😂
Arguably, I should listen to more music, yeah. Just when your entire life is words and reading and grading, as a musician I don’t have the attention span to listen and write, listen and grade, etc. I’ll forget the grading and the reading and writing. Like WAS did on the Lobes Tour, I sit in silence unless I’m making my own music.
Hey, whatever works for you is obviously the right thing. There shouldn’t be any rules on what or how much you listen to. Which bands would I continue to go and see if the venues got bigger is a great question but I think it is more complicated than whether they put on a great live performance or not. And of course, the nature of that performance will change with the venue. I have no knowledge on this, but I do wonder if all bands/ artists inevitably grow with their audience so that the live experience is still as good. I guess it also depends on your personal preference. I imagine some people much prefer an arena or stadium show.
Loved the stoop chat and to be quoted in the text of SDIR has made my week. I’ll need to give the stoop another listen though since I was listening at work so may have missed some of the finer points.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better? – Pass since I was only introduced to Sarah McLachlan via your recent cover.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet? – JimBob from Carter USM, he was doing a tour for one of his solo albums at a small venue in Lancaster. I’d been a fan of Carter since I was 14 and was 31 at the time. I was shaking like a leaf when I plucked up the courage to talk to him before the gig. I’ve spoken to him loads of times in the years since then but I still get nervous when I do.
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument? – Struggling to think but I suppose I’d have liked to have seen Ian Curtis on stage when Joy Division were a thing but that would require some time travelling.
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately? – Sadly not, I love stand up but prefer it live so anything on TV isn’t the same. I also agree with the comment in the stoop that some comedy doesn’t age well.
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows? -
I suppose to answer this one I’d want to be able to compare like for like, as in hearing the whole album in full live. I’ve done that a couple of times, the last being Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go 20th anniversary tour in 2016. Seeing it live just reminded me that I went to see the tour in 1996 so I just felt old. So the album wins in this particular case.
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for? - For me, seeing a band I like is part of the magic. Live music has an atmosphere that albums lack. Conversely, albums have nuances that you don’t get in a live performance. So they serve different purposes. Live music always wins, you get the atmosphere of the crowd, usually the band interacts with the audience (the best bands do) and you get to hear songs that you might not necessarily play if you were choosing the tracks yourself. There’s also something about sharing the experience with people who, on the whole, are there because they like the music as much as, or more than you do.
As a contrast, I saw Fontains DC a couple of years ago and remember being unimpressed to the extent that I’ve hardly listened to the album since. So from that angle, I suppose a live performance can adversely impact the enjoyment of an album.
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight? – Yes, a few years ago at Highest Point festival in Lancaster. The festival is in Williamson's Park which is very hilly (and also the highest point in Lancaster hence the name I guess), two guys started fighting and ended up rolling down a hill as the scrapped. Everyone laughed at them and laughed even more as they were dragged off by security.
100% with you on the magic of live music! Nothing beats it. (Unless you are watching Fontaines DC, presumably 😉) I do know what you mean though, a less than stellar performance can absolutely have a detrimental effect on your subsequent enjoyment of the music.
Perhaps I'm being unfair to Fontaines DC, but to me, the lack of interaction just detracted from the experience. The songs were played well but I left feeling a bit disappointed. Maybe they'd be different on another occasion.
Late to the party but fantastic stuff as always guys. It felt very topical being (despite living an ocean away) a Milwaukee Bucks fan and having genuinely only heard of Candlebox as of a couple of days ago and actually liking some of their stuff (sorry!).
- In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Between two for me.
Chris Cain - You were on the merch stand at Glasgow Garage in 2018. Being my favourite band since 2006/7 I KNEW who you were but I was startled to see you on the stand and in my nervous befuddled disarray I called you Keith. You laughed it off and corrected me very magnanimously but part of me died that day.
The other was the British comedian Jimmy Carr. He is always very generous with his time and enjoys talking with fans but I think with that comes a little pressure to say something he will find funny/hasn't heard before. I spent 5/10 minutes preparing and whatever I said was definitely not positively reflective of that time.
- Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I don't know about BEST but two of my personal favourites that jump to mind are Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches, and Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine. Both just have THAT presence and great energy.
The interesting thing about a great front person is that I can think of many who put on a fantastic show while not playing an instrument but I can never be 100% sure that they don’t at some point pick up a guitar and it’s just escaped my memory. I agree that Alex Turner is a phenomenon whether he is playing or not and I would say the same for Justin Hayward -Young from the Vaccines who might suffer from the over theatricality Newski referred to but does it with extreme style that is just a joy to watch. Zach Lount from King No-One is another great example of this. He often performs best when he puts the guitar down. Ricky Wilson and Rick Witter are both great to watch live and I’d also add Bobby from Bad Nerves and Alex Rice from Sports Team to the list. Of course no list of vocalists would be complete without Michael Stipe. I guess maybe he played guitar sometimes? But I mainly just remember him leaning on a mic stand.
I don’t think there are many bands that I’ve enjoyed listening to their recorded music and then been disappointed with the live performance but Opus Kink are absolutely one that I would pay to see over and over again but would never listen to at home. I don’t think it is that the recording is bad, I just don’t think it conveys the energy of their live performance.
I’ve never seen a fist fight in the context of a live gig but there was a well-publicised episode last year when Kyle Falconer punched his band mate from The View on stage. There’s plenty of footage available on line.
Finally, the most nervous I’ve been about meeting someone was when I happened to be in the pub at the same time as Peter Doherty. Irrationally, and inexplicably, I went and hid in the toilets to avoid the dilemma of whether to speak to him. On reflection, it was probably a good decision.
Totally forgot to mention Brett Anderson in my list of front men. He’s fantastic. I’ve only seen Suede once, in 2021 and his interaction with the crowd was faultless. He did need a little bit of carpet strategically positioned on the stage for when he came crashing to his knees though. I’m assuming the Suede you mentioned in the podcast is a different, US band.
Anderson's strategic carpet pad reminds me of the time I witnessed a roadie place a strategic mic stand on the stage in the middle of a Razorlight song at some festival or another...simply so Johnny Borrell could knock it over at a specific moment of a specific song. The mic stand was then duly removed by the same roadie right after this specific moment. This piece of choreographed 'rebellion' has stayed with me for decades now.
Lou, I think Suede got referred to as The London Suede in the US but my memory could be hazy.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, leading me to believe there must be another Suede band somewhere in the US. I’d never come across them before.
I too remain unsure if there's another Suede in existence in the US. Always thought the name The London Suede sounded odd, like some dodgy fashion brand.
Apologies if I missed this in the episode, but how did you come to be at a right-leaning (from what I understood) literary event dressed as the Men in Black?
And, in case anyone reading is interested...
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
- 🤷♀️
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
- Eddie (Suzy) Izzard at a left-leaning political conference. Undoubtedly the worst conversation I have ever offered up to any human and she quickly 'did a Dave Grohl' 🫠
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
- I'll hand over to Lou T for this one 😘
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately?
- Joe Lycett's More, More, More!
- Mae Martin's SAP.
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows?
- My Vitriol (mainly since they rarely play live. But, also, their rare live shows make my eyes hurt via overuse of strobe lighting).
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
- All albums I listen to possess magic. Otherwise I wouldn't listen to them 💅
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight?
- I am often breaking up fights at gigs. Most recently at an Ash / The Subways show. As a small woman, this is annoying. But, also as a small woman, my interventions are effective.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
Close tie, but Eddie Vedder has the edge.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Meeting Jacky Ickx (famous Belgian racing driver, he's won 24 Hours of Le Mans 6 times and competed in Formula One for multiple years also) the first time, I had so much I wanted to say (I was at Goodwood Festival of Speed, a motorsport event at Goodwood, just north of Chichester in W.Sussex) but when he got to me (there were loads of people) I fully blanked and could only muster "hello" and "thank you so much" the latter to which he said "it's my pleasure" after signing his autograph and handing my notebook back to me. I almost passed out with nerves - definitely meet your heroes, I recommend it! I met him briefly the following year (surrounded by even more people) and he looked at me like 'haven't we met before'!
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I'd say Eminem!
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows? Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
The Jacksons sound better on albums than they do live. Maybe it would be different with Michael - but I saw them in 2013 at the BIC in Bournemouth and they were excellent, but I would say it didn't equate to the level of their albums.
I agree with Hayley on the second queation, all albums I listen to have magic, otherwise I wouldn't listen to them.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better?
At the only Pearl Jam concert I've been to, Eddie was drinking bottles of wine and kept emptying them into cups for folks in the front row. This seemed like a great hang pre-COVID, but a little less so now. So I guess the answer is time and space relative.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Okay, dorky answer, but Chris Cain. After last year's Lobes release show, I realized I'd have a chance to actually say hi to the band, and I was *terrified* because I had absolutely nothing interesting to say. I was going to avoid the whole thing. Then Chris came out, and my husband - who at that point had only managed to retain the fact that "Keith Murray is the one with the hair" and had no idea how funny this sentence was - yelled, "Look, it's the one who's not Keith!" and physically pushed me in front of Chris. I think I said how much I loved the show and asked for a picture, and Chris was incredibly kind and gracious even though I was a horrible awkward goblin. Then I fucked off as quickly as possible, which was probably the right move.
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I'm going to make the extremely Canadian nomination of Gord Downie. The man was out of his mind. I watched him get into an extended argument with his mic stand. I've seen him call out the prime minister in an audience and tell him he needs to do better. I've heard him improv a six minute story about a killer whale biting his arm off in the middle of song. Pure entertainment.
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately?
No, but this is a good reminder to look some up - thanks!
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows?
I was actually really unimpressed with Arctic Monkeys when I saw them, but that was ... oh my god, 14 years ago? And it's not their fault the sound was so godawful. I ought to get back into them and give it another try.
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for?
I couldn't name a whole album, but the studio version of Josh Ritter's "Kathleen" is utterly forgettable. The live version is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard in my life.
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight?
I really want to learn on the Canadian thing here, but I've never actually been to a hockey game. 🤷♀️
I’ve never heard of Gord Downie. To which band is he attached?
Ah, I knew I forgot something. He was with The Tragically Hip, who are very dad rock, but also such a national icon that everyone likes them at least a little bit.
Hayley Williams--lead singer of Paramore--is someone I believe is the best front person. She knows how to handle a crowd and keep us moving. Similarly, I’m TERRIFIED of saying anything to her.
It was 2007, RIOT! had just come out, and they were playing the Avalon in Hollywood. Hayley steps out of the tour van and instead of rushing to say hello, I let another fan say hi first. I had to muster up the courage to say something. Whoops! Didn’t get my chance because she was ushered off to sound check.
Similarly, Frank Turner, a beautiful lovely soul, scared me. I was invited to an after party with him and the band, and he came to say hello and I...did words come out?
This type of fright tends to happen when I deeply admire someone. You all were once these people I didn’t speak to. I’m very sorry you have to deal with me now.
Otherwise, one band I also used to follow night after night, Fall Out Boy, is a bands I believe are best in the studio. They release some fun records, but there were too many intimate and venue tours where I was not feeling their performance.
(My sister helped me with some of these answers as 1) I forced her to watch this with me and 2) we started asking ourselves these questions.)
I’ve only seen Fall Out Boy twice but I have to say both times I thought they were outstanding.
They’re fun, but I wouldn’t pay the amount I pay for Harry Styles to see them.
Which--Harry Styles is an incredible front person. Dreamy, yes, but also fantastic show. Would pay a good sum to watch him again.
Oh gosh! When you add the cost of tickets into the equation it gets way more complicated. I normally go to little venues and pretty much never pay more than £20/ £25 a ticket. The bigger the venue, the greater the cost and other than sheer spectacle potential, I don’t see much benefit to a larger venue so I’m not sure I would base how much I would pay on my enjoyment of a band - maybe how far I would travel is a better measure for me.
There aren’t many bands that I enjoy that are cost effective. At some point, every small band I loved (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Frank Turner etc.) did gradually become bigger than the $20 venues I met them in. I’m very upset about this. As a broke emo kid in the day, $40 for a show was incredibly expensive. And those were “smaller arenas.”
I enjoy intimate venues, sure, but the people I love simply don’t always play those small buildings of my past. So, cost is the new factor. Travel? I go up and down the CA coast, which is about 7 states itself 😂
Arguably, I should listen to more music, yeah. Just when your entire life is words and reading and grading, as a musician I don’t have the attention span to listen and write, listen and grade, etc. I’ll forget the grading and the reading and writing. Like WAS did on the Lobes Tour, I sit in silence unless I’m making my own music.
Hey, whatever works for you is obviously the right thing. There shouldn’t be any rules on what or how much you listen to. Which bands would I continue to go and see if the venues got bigger is a great question but I think it is more complicated than whether they put on a great live performance or not. And of course, the nature of that performance will change with the venue. I have no knowledge on this, but I do wonder if all bands/ artists inevitably grow with their audience so that the live experience is still as good. I guess it also depends on your personal preference. I imagine some people much prefer an arena or stadium show.
Loved the stoop chat and to be quoted in the text of SDIR has made my week. I’ll need to give the stoop another listen though since I was listening at work so may have missed some of the finer points.
Is Sarah McLachlan a good hang? Is Eddie Vedder better? – Pass since I was only introduced to Sarah McLachlan via your recent cover.
In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet? – JimBob from Carter USM, he was doing a tour for one of his solo albums at a small venue in Lancaster. I’d been a fan of Carter since I was 14 and was 31 at the time. I was shaking like a leaf when I plucked up the courage to talk to him before the gig. I’ve spoken to him loads of times in the years since then but I still get nervous when I do.
Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument? – Struggling to think but I suppose I’d have liked to have seen Ian Curtis on stage when Joy Division were a thing but that would require some time travelling.
Seen any good standup comedy specials lately? – Sadly not, I love stand up but prefer it live so anything on TV isn’t the same. I also agree with the comment in the stoop that some comedy doesn’t age well.
Which bands’ studio albums are unequivocally, without exception, better than their live shows? -
I suppose to answer this one I’d want to be able to compare like for like, as in hearing the whole album in full live. I’ve done that a couple of times, the last being Manic Street Preachers’ Everything Must Go 20th anniversary tour in 2016. Seeing it live just reminded me that I went to see the tour in 1996 so I just felt old. So the album wins in this particular case.
Which bands’ live shows possess a magic that none of their albums manage to capture, or even make up for? - For me, seeing a band I like is part of the magic. Live music has an atmosphere that albums lack. Conversely, albums have nuances that you don’t get in a live performance. So they serve different purposes. Live music always wins, you get the atmosphere of the crowd, usually the band interacts with the audience (the best bands do) and you get to hear songs that you might not necessarily play if you were choosing the tracks yourself. There’s also something about sharing the experience with people who, on the whole, are there because they like the music as much as, or more than you do.
As a contrast, I saw Fontains DC a couple of years ago and remember being unimpressed to the extent that I’ve hardly listened to the album since. So from that angle, I suppose a live performance can adversely impact the enjoyment of an album.
In the context of live entertainment, have you seen a fist fight? – Yes, a few years ago at Highest Point festival in Lancaster. The festival is in Williamson's Park which is very hilly (and also the highest point in Lancaster hence the name I guess), two guys started fighting and ended up rolling down a hill as the scrapped. Everyone laughed at them and laughed even more as they were dragged off by security.
100% with you on the magic of live music! Nothing beats it. (Unless you are watching Fontaines DC, presumably 😉) I do know what you mean though, a less than stellar performance can absolutely have a detrimental effect on your subsequent enjoyment of the music.
Perhaps I'm being unfair to Fontaines DC, but to me, the lack of interaction just detracted from the experience. The songs were played well but I left feeling a bit disappointed. Maybe they'd be different on another occasion.
Late to the party but fantastic stuff as always guys. It felt very topical being (despite living an ocean away) a Milwaukee Bucks fan and having genuinely only heard of Candlebox as of a couple of days ago and actually liking some of their stuff (sorry!).
- In your life — excepting the family of a potential spouse — who were you most nervous to meet?
Between two for me.
Chris Cain - You were on the merch stand at Glasgow Garage in 2018. Being my favourite band since 2006/7 I KNEW who you were but I was startled to see you on the stand and in my nervous befuddled disarray I called you Keith. You laughed it off and corrected me very magnanimously but part of me died that day.
The other was the British comedian Jimmy Carr. He is always very generous with his time and enjoys talking with fans but I think with that comes a little pressure to say something he will find funny/hasn't heard before. I spent 5/10 minutes preparing and whatever I said was definitely not positively reflective of that time.
- Who’s the best frontperson that doesn’t play an instrument?
I don't know about BEST but two of my personal favourites that jump to mind are Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches, and Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine. Both just have THAT presence and great energy.