I love George Strait's music but his live shows are about the worst thing I've ever experienced. He sits on a stool and plays his guitar and the backup band plays behind him and it's all note-for-note identical to what you hear on his albums. Which is fine, of course, but since I already have the album, why would I need to see the live performance? I've seen him live twice, both times because the girl I was dating at the time really wanted to see him.
I've seen him once, because the girl I was planning to marry, and now am married to, really wanted to see him [again].
Personally I don't mind when an artist sounds like they do on their album. I saw Rush once and they were so amazingly precise and technical that it could have been their album version and nobody would have been able to tell. I credit that to their proficience as musicians. I also am
really impressed when an artist sounds better live than their album version. That tells you they're the real deal.
What bothers me is when an artist sounds worse than they do on the album. It makes you feel like you've been cheated as a fan and they're only as popular as they are because they had a good producer.
The rock and country concerts today seem to me to be half SHOW and half MUSIC, maybe.
Well it's like going to a football game [which I do] or a political rally [which I do not]. There's an area of it that is about the show and communal experience. There's a different energy in a large crowd like that. The artists can feed into and then intensify that energy.
That's what I thought I'd be getting with Kenny Chesney. He's sorta the Jimmy Buffett of country. His show is supposed to be an experience, a
party. Maybe it just wasn't my kind of party, I guess...