Is Watching A One-Man-Band Live Compelling?

Chula Vista · 01-22-2016, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwnWthVwls

That reminded me of Andy McKee

Hedges inspired so many to go down that road.

Hendrix, Jaco, and Hedges all belong in the same discussion - dudes that turned the instrument completely upside down.

**Janszoon** · 01-22-2016, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

You bring up a really good point. I'm a huge NIN fan and I know Reznor decided to get a band when he started playing live as opposed to just being alone with a guitar and a backing track. But, like you said, it's not always financially feasible, especially when musicians are starting out.

I'm personally more interested in what you guys think of that sort if idea: trying to recreate songs with dense arrangements, kind of like what Grimes and other electronic artists are trying to do, as opposed to the Ed Sheeran type of one man band.

I've never actually seen an act like that live, so I'd be interested to get perspectives from those of you who have. Is the energy high? I've watched a few videos of Grimes playing live and it just seems very, very awkward. The crowd seems to enjoy it, but if you compare it to artists that have backing bands it seems like doing it alone loses impact as it becomes more of a technical type of performance (as you see with Grimes doing a lot of microphone tricks and so on) as opposed to necessarily focusing on the songs.

Thoughts?

Dosh performs fairly dense arrangements as a one man band, and having seen him before I can attest that he's pretty amazing live. Of course it depends if you enjoy low-key, jazzy, instrumental music or not but his performance floored me. A lot of the appeal is seeing the way he constructs the pieces of music bit by bit, layer upon layer, right in front on you, until it takes the shape of beautiful, dense compositions.

Here's one example (start at 1:30 if you want to skip his banter and cut right to the music):

oscillate · 01-23-2016, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Dosh performs fairly dense arrangements as a one man band, and having seen him before I can attest that he's pretty amazing live. Of course it depends if you enjoy low-key, jazzy, instrumental music or not but his performance floored me. A lot of the appeal is seeing the way he constructs the pieces of music bit by bit, layer upon layer, right in front on you, until it takes the shape of beautiful, dense compositions.

Here's one example (start at 1:30 if you want to skip his banter and cut right to the music):

That was pretty interesting. It reminded me of a John Cage piece in a strange way...not so much in sound or style but in terms of approach and the vibe I was getting while listening and watching him.

Trollheart · 01-23-2016, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

You bring up a really good point. I'm a huge NIN fan and I know Reznor decided to get a band when he started playing live as opposed to just being alone with a guitar and a backing track. But, like you said, it's not always financially feasible, especially when musicians are starting out.

I'm personally more interested in what you guys think of that sort if idea: trying to recreate songs with dense arrangements, kind of like what Grimes and other electronic artists are trying to do, as opposed to the Ed Sheeran type of one man band.

I've never actually seen an act like that live, so I'd be interested to get perspectives from those of you who have. Is the energy high? I've watched a few videos of Grimes playing live and it just seems very, very awkward. The crowd seems to enjoy it, but if you compare it to artists that have backing bands it seems like doing it alone loses impact as it becomes more of a technical type of performance (as you see with Grimes doing a lot of microphone tricks and so on) as opposed to necessarily focusing on the songs.

Thoughts?

Some of the guys here perform their own music (YorkeDaddy, Machine, Plainview, Frownland, Plankton ...) and I wonder if they have played, or intend to play live, or think they could? I know Plankton does, but the other guys?

grindy · 01-23-2016, 06:03 AM

Check this out.

**Frownland** · 01-23-2016, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Some of the guys here perform their own music (YorkeDaddy, Machine, Plainview, Frownland, Plankton ...) and I wonder if they have played, or intend to play live, or think they could? I know Plankton does, but the other guys?

I have many times, but since it's free improvisation it's always wildly different. I still do have a general idea of what I'm doing when I'm going to perform, though. A couple of tracks off of Distant Relative of Nihilism were live tracks.

Haino performs solo quite a bit, does one man band mean that they have to incorporate loops?

I think Evan Parker can make it sound like a horn choir is playing during a lot of his solo performances so that might count. On this one it sounds like he's also being mindful of his space.

Neapolitan · 01-23-2016, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chula Vista

Hedges inspired so many to go down that road.

Hendrix, Jaco, and Hedges all belong in the same discussion - dudes that turned the instrument completely upside down.

Don't forget Keith Emerson, he turned the instrument completely upside down too.

Chula Vista · 01-24-2016, 12:29 AM

California Jam baby.

Plankton · 01-24-2016, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oscillate

You bring up a really good point. I'm a huge NIN fan and I know Reznor decided to get a band when he started playing live as opposed to just being alone with a guitar and a backing track. But, like you said, it's not always financially feasible, especially when musicians are starting out.

I'm personally more interested in what you guys think of that sort if idea: trying to recreate songs with dense arrangements, kind of like what Grimes and other electronic artists are trying to do, as opposed to the Ed Sheeran type of one man band.

I've never actually seen an act like that live, so I'd be interested to get perspectives from those of you who have. Is the energy high? I've watched a few videos of Grimes playing live and it just seems very, very awkward. The crowd seems to enjoy it, but if you compare it to artists that have backing bands it seems like doing it alone loses impact as it becomes more of a technical type of performance (as you see with Grimes doing a lot of microphone tricks and so on) as opposed to necessarily focusing on the songs.

Thoughts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Some of the guys here perform their own music (YorkeDaddy, Machine, Plainview, Frownland, Plankton ...) and I wonder if they have played, or intend to play live, or think they could? I know Plankton does, but the other guys?

I've done some small gig's using just setup backing tracks on my phone that I play guitar over. Everything is input into an amp or PA. Last summer I did a few of those types of little concerts out of my garage and at a few parties for my neighbors and friends. Recently I bought a Digitech Trio that has built-in drums and bass that will duplicate any rhythm you input into it with a few chord strums, but I doubt I'd ever use that live since it's a bit random. As for the impact of those kinds of performances, it's really more of a showcase for the individual artist, and if you're going into something like that with the mindset that you only care about that artist, then it can be a meaningful experience for the listener. Buckethead and Paul Gilbert are two examples that come to mind.

oscillate · 01-29-2016, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plankton

I've done some small gig's using just setup backing tracks on my phone that I play guitar over. Everything is input into an amp or PA. Last summer I did a few of those types of little concerts out of my garage and at a few parties for my neighbors and friends. Recently I bought a Digitech Trio that has built-in drums and bass that will duplicate any rhythm you input into it with a few chord strums, but I doubt I'd ever use that live since it's a bit random. As for the impact of those kinds of performances, it's really more of a showcase for the individual artist, and if you're going into something like that with the mindset that you only care about that artist, then it can be a meaningful experience for the listener. Buckethead and Paul Gilbert are two examples that come to mind.

That makes sense. Approaching it as a separate experience from a full band performance or a pop star/dancer/whatever performance seems to be key. It's not an intimate acoustic performance, either, in most cases (especially in the videos you posted).

Whether or not it's a viable long-term live performance strategy, I'm doubtful. But for one-off performances or short tours, it makes sense. Context is key, it seems.

01-23-2016, 06:03 AM	#15 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Check this out. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

01-24-2016, 12:29 AM	#18 (permalink)
Chula Vista Toasted Poster Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: SoCal by way of Boston Posts: 11,332	California Jam baby. __________________ “The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.”