Cheating on Myself

I've been cheating on my own blog by posting significantly more frequently at midnightpoutine than here. My apologies to myself for my own infidelity.

Speaking of cheating, let's talk about the use of pre-recorded tracks at concerts (rock specifically). Pre-recorded tracks may be an extra drum track, some backing vocals, or an entire guitar melody. They are usually triggered by a synthesizer or computer either on or off-stage. It's common at pop shows and some might call this cheating, or inauthentic with respect to rock. I've covered off the reasons for this dismissal in my posts about the digital delay pedal. But, as much as we might like to believe in the fantasy that the sound we hear at concerts is being produced by the people we see at concerts; the reality is that many rock groups are now using pre-recorded tracks at their shows. This isn't to say that they aren't playing their own parts, but they certainly aren't playing ALL the parts LIVE. This is hardly an insight though, and as I've argued before, it's hardly cheating. What I am more interested in is what effects these extra tracks have on the band's performance.

I have been to three shows recently that made use of pre-recorded tracks. Emily Haines' solo show, Snow Patrol and Ratatat (links lead to reviews). Ratatat was the most obvious use of extra tracks as the band's signature hip hop beats were all played without a drummer. The keyboard player also triggered samples for additional guitar parts and other effects. Snow Patrol's use of extra tracks was more subtle, a backing drumbeat here, a sampled string section there. Emily Haines had a laptop which provided sparse accompaniment and she relied on it far less than the other bands.

3 realtively different bands, with widely different performance styles but all relying on a similar technological innovation. The most disappointing was Snow Patrol since the added tracks added little to the live show (other than a metronomic function); the show felt like a louder rendition of the album and not much else. Ratatat, on the other hand played with their sound and their technology to deliver a different experience. In the end, I think it's not the that a show needs to be live (as in every instrument played live) but that a show needs to be lived (as in a different entity than the recording).

Unfortunately, the horrible video footage I took of Ratatat doesn't do them, their music, or their technology justice. But, for anyone interested, click the image above, or the link below

Ratatat: Seventeen Years Vid