Live?

[David L]

Just watched this and then saw tpw's comment on pitch correction on another thread. How do we feel about this sort of thing?

[Thenop]

Without watching I can tell you I detest the Eagles so I wouldn't go near it even with a ten foot pole.
Having said that I assume it is about the tech used by many major artists these days. Live auto pitch correction, use of backing tapes etc. It is not black and white for me.
If it is about complementing the music to make it sound like the album (orchestral parts, added keys or a guitar part, even vocal choirs), sure why not. A caveat should be issued though, would only be fair.
But if it is about replacing or correcting something the artist can simply not reproduce live anymore, well it depends for me.
However this is coming from someone (like many of us here) that actually go to a show for the music. I suspect a great deal of people go to see the likes of the Eagles to hear what they want to hear. And with that in mind I can imagine this is done, to ensure people don't leave with a bad taste in their mouth from the performance. As much as we all would like the artists to perform flawlessly until the end of days, it's simply not the case. 
I could mention Kiss here, much of the vocals on the last tour(s) were pre-recorded. Did it bother me? Not in the least. Would I have been let down by a very subpar vocal performance after the show if they hadn't? Probably.

[Nickslikk2112]

I like my live music LIVE. That's the whole point of a live show. If you need to get extra musicians in to fill your sound out so be it. I want it to sound LIKE the album, not the SAME as.

Queen used to bugger off stage when the Operatic bit of Bohemian Rhapsody came round, which is as it should be. Mind, they're causing a ruckus now because Queen I is being reissued and Freddie's vocals have been autotuned. FFS why?

[Slim]

I do think a live band should perform without cheating. I'm dead against instrumentation or vocals being pre-recorded. It just sucks out the joy of live music.

As an example I'd be OK with sound effects like the clocks going off in Time or the brief samples from Cygnus X-1 in Hemispheres but I don't find rhythm guitar tracks, backing vocal tracks or (especially) lip-synced lead vocals acceptable.

Music recorded in the studio is fair game, though. Producers and engineers have cheated for decades. Singers record a vocal eight times and a producer stitches the final track together from the best bits. Same with long guitar solos. The sense that it's a single take is an illusion. So what? it all goes toward a better product and for that reason I'm fine with Freddie's vocals being retuned as long as it still sounds natural, although I gather it doesn't.

[Slim]

I've just remembered that a colleague of mine went to see Madonna about 12 years ago. Some of the tunes were lip-synced, some weren't. He said that he enjoyed the lip-synced tunes more because her voice sounded strained from all the energetic dancing on the other tunes.

But if you go to see Madge it's about more than just the music. It's more of a big showbiz extravaganza. Although I haven't had the pleasure myself.

[Thenop]

I've just remembered that a colleague of mine went to see Madonna about 12 years ago. Some of the tunes were lip-synced, some weren't. He said that he enjoyed the lip-synced tunes more because her voice sounded strained from all the energetic dancing on the other tunes.

But if you go to see Madge it's about more than just the music. It's more of a big showbiz extravaganza. Although I haven't had the pleasure myself.

Exactly my point when talking about Kiss. And I believe many concert goers feel like this. They don't care, even if we do.

[David L]

A rock band should play live, with the caveat, expressed above, that any (minor) embellishments may be pre-recorded in order to best replicate the recorded work.
The main instrumentation, as defined by each band member's role, should be performed live with the use of triggers controlled by the band if necessary.
I draw the line at miming to pre-recorded vocals. For me that is the differentiation between a rock show and theatre.
Rush have used technology to 'enhance' their live show for years but I am confident that they strived to achieve their live sound with an integrity that many bands (or their management) in this day and age choose not to concern themselves with.

[Thenop]

A rock band should play live, with the caveat, expressed above, that any (minor) embellishments may be pre-recorded in order to best replicate the recorded work.
The main instrumentation, as defined by each band member's role, should be performed live with the use of triggers controlled by the band if necessary.
I draw the line at miming to pre-recorded vocals. For me that is the differentiation between a rock show and theatre.
Rush have used technology to 'enhance' their live show for years but I am confident that they strived to achieve their live sound with an integrity that many bands (or their management) in this day and age choose not to concern themselves with.

So I guess you won't be flying out to go see Motley Crue then

[David L]

A rock band should play live, with the caveat, expressed above, that any (minor) embellishments may be pre-recorded in order to best replicate the recorded work.
The main instrumentation, as defined by each band member's role, should be performed live with the use of triggers controlled by the band if necessary.
I draw the line at miming to pre-recorded vocals. For me that is the differentiation between a rock show and theatre.
Rush have used technology to 'enhance' their live show for years but I am confident that they strived to achieve their live sound with an integrity that many bands (or their management) in this day and age choose not to concern themselves with.

So I guess you won't be flying out to go see Motley Crue then

I wouldn't walk to see Motley Crue if they were playing at The Elm Tree (nearest pub)!

[Slim]

Exactly my point when talking about Kiss. And I believe many concert goers feel like this. They don't care, even if we do.

I can't apply the same principle to Kiss as I might to Madonna, because for me the fire-breathing, the extravagant stage sets and props, the makeup, the costumes, the smoking guitars, the blood, the axe-shaped basses and all the rest of it are just icing on the cake. When I went to see them 41 years ago I was going to see a performance, not a show. To me that's their real raison d'etre. Their ethos was rooted in rock'n'roll, and lip-syncing is (for me) powerfully antithetical to that.