Basil C. Thurston III

I think the artist should care because the fans are the ones who pay for and support their opportunity to perform live. And keep in mind, as originally posted, I'm not talking about bands who normally jam, or have a proclivity to spread out the songs somewhat (Dead, Matthews, Widespread, etc)- I'm talking about a band who had a hit song but no longer perform it as it was- for whatever reason. I know when I saw Floyd back in the day, I was stunned mid-show to realize that they sounded pretty spot-on to the recordings, and seemed to take great steps to ensure this. I think with the basic rock band, there is a difference in sound between live and recorded performances- that HAS to be accepted- but that isn't what I am speaking of- I am suggesting the total dismantling of a very familiar sound- If Zeppelin were to reunite, do a tour, and end the show with Stairway To Heaven but do it in a 1980's new wave band synth style, people would go nuts, and not in a good way. The Miller performance on The Jools show stood out to me because of the way that he kind of mailed in the vocals, improvising on the spot hopefully, as it wasn't great. The Forbert performance was a solo acoustic gig, so it's going to sound different, but for the most part, he was faithful to the originals, both lyrically and sonically, until he got to Romeo's Tune, where he played entirely different chords and an altered rhythm for the first 2-3 minutes- and it resulted in many not knowing what song he was playing, until he got to the chorus, which he did straight on.
I understand that an artist is going to improvise somewhat, and I get that playing the same song the same way for 30 years is boring-but isn't that part of the job- almost every job?

Frownland

Alrighty then.

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Exo

Yeah, I only go to shows to get laid so I don't really care much.

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Franco Pepe Kalle

It all depends on the band. Whether they have proper preparation or not. That is also another important element to this situation.

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Trollheart

The general consensus seems to be that you're right re Rundgren, but again that's one artiste. What about all the others that do acoustic, uptempo jazz (perish the thought!) or soul versions of their music? Surely they're allowed to do what they want with their own compositions. I mean, look at Springsteen; his versions of many of his songs, including "Rosalita" can vary wildly from concert to concert. It's the old adage: you pays your money and you takes your chances.

Basically, like I said in my wall of text, it's not that they're doing the songs wrong but differently, and some people like that and some don't. There's no real way to get too much common ground here, so I'm not entirely sure what (Rundgren aside) point you're trying to make here? You go to a gig, you may not enjoy it, but it doesn't entitle you to (like yer rich wan in your story) leave what amounts to an insulting note for the performer. I think that was bang out of order. I mean, nobody forced her to go to the gig at gunpoint, did they? Did they? It wasn't Texas, was it?

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Basil C. Thurston III

You're making an assumption on the crowd due to a locale- I was at the show and I'm not rich, nor were the people I knew there that live locally. Just because it's held in a particular area doesn't define the audience- our arena is downtown, does that mean only the poor folk go to shows there? Nah.The old lady that left the note looked two steps from homelessness, IMO, which makes her concern over the music even more valid. Maybe that was the only show she could find the funds for for an extended period of time- she'll want her money's worth, I would expect.

It is indeed one artist but even you have to admit that a similar situation could occur with any band that dramatically changes a well know song. The general public just doesn't get into the details of an artist like we do- they just go for the songs and to have fun. With Rundgren, if they know him, they know his hits. With Zeppelin, some are only going to hear Stairway- and if they don't get it, or get an altered version of it, this can possibly hurt their opinion and enjoyment of the show, and even worse, change their appreciation of the band forever. With incomes now dependent upon touring revenue more than ever for many, many bands, this is risky, IMO. I think they have to balance the artistic side of their performances with the expectations of their audiences to ensure long-term viability.

I'm not making a point- I'm having a discussion about it. But if I was making a point, it would be that for ANY artist, for perhaps some members of the paid audience, there is an expectation of how the songs are going to sound, and any variation on that may please some but displease others. As to your Springsteen statement, you're not really correct. His base catalog is rarely played differently than originated- what has happened is that they have subtly shifted over time with the added instrumentation of the band. Rosalita, as you cite, has been played the same way for decades- the only part that really changes is the middle section, where he will ad lib sometimes with commentary, not the music. Having seen the guy play 72 times now, I feel I'm pretty qualified to comment on this, lol. Look at Born To Run- his Stairway To Heaven, his Hey Jude, his Satisfaction- he has exactly two versions of it- the show closer electric version which has never changed, and the acoustic-electric version that came about from the Unplugged era, and was in full changed form on the Tom Joad tour, and a couple of benefit shows- even that version hasn't changed much. and he rarely ever changes lyrics, he rarely changes the form of the song from one style to another, making it unrecognizable, unless it is for a special project. I saw the solo Joad tour in West Palm Beach and the crowd was restless, waiting for him to play something they knew-at one point he told them to shut the f up and listen to the songs- something he took great heat for from the fan base. Bruce ad libs sometimes but that isn't the same thing as changing a song, in my mind.

Akyho

I am usually a little annoyed when I hear different/unfamiliar versions of songs when I am none too familiar with the band. However with Devo I know everything so to hear something different is always a treat, I can find new versions of songs I have heard a million times purely because in 1981 they had on kind of synthesizer and in 1988 they had a different one and in 1998 they just gave up and use something else.

Each one lending something different to the ears.

Frownland

A band like Led Zeppelin wouldn't need your money on a reunion tour, so that wouldn't really matter in that example. Bob nailed it when he said that it's their property and their choice is the only one that matters. Some bands will regurgitate their old material live until they croak, but that doesn't invalidate those who choose not to.

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Exo

Looking at you Rush...

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Chula Vista

I was going to mention them. The reason why I collect a lot of Zeppelin bootlegs is because they never did the same show twice. A song like Dazed or No Quarter could be 20 minutes one night and then 30 the next. And during jams they'd insert bits of other songs by anyone from Simon and Garfunkel to Bob Marley to Elvis.

Listen to how they did Ramble On during the O7 reunion show, or In My Time of Dying. Very different vibe from the album versions.

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