# Do you prefer "tight" live bands?



## thedarkoceans (Oct 2, 2011)

so guys,do you like tight live bands? or do you prefer bands that use a lot of improvisation and modify the songs live?
i thought about that thread watching this vid.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/. ... . . . . . . . . _\. . . . . ._,-%. . . ..`\.


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## MABGuitar (Oct 2, 2011)

I like both... But it's freaking awesome when dream theater extends metropolis part 1 with a few exchange of solos!


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## ShreddingDragon (Oct 2, 2011)

I primarily like "tight" bands. Somehow my spirit isn't so much into the "guy 1 solos for x measures, cues band, guy 2 starts soloing" system, or rather, into genres of music that usually have that. Then again, doing solo exchanges with friends is great fun...

And yes - whenever Dream Theater changes up a classic of theirs with some new sections with improv solos and/or unisons, I go crazy. Even if I'm just listening from a cd.


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## ROAR (Oct 2, 2011)

I would consider Mars Volta a tight band who can use a lot of improv.
So both of those I enjoy.
Unless you can really pull off improv and some jamming elements
I don't think you can be tight as a band. Just IMO.


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## vampiregenocide (Oct 2, 2011)

Depends on the style of the band. With a death metal band I kinda expect them to just play a set, but with a more progressive act it's cool to see some jamming.


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## skeels (Oct 2, 2011)

The shame of it is I want to see progressive bands play cool shifts, bridges, stops and arrangements and death metal bands play improv jams. But that doesn't ever really happen. Does it?


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## broj15 (Oct 2, 2011)

i like when post rock bands make their already minimalistic meandering even more meandering, but i don't think it translates well for most metal bands.


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## Tree (Oct 2, 2011)

vampiregenocide said:


> Depends on the style of the band. With a death metal band I kinda expect them to just play a set, but with a more progressive act it's cool to see some jamming.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 3, 2011)

I would like more bands to improvise live, but as long as they sounded tight(cohesive) while doing it.


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## Tomo009 (Oct 3, 2011)

Definitely tight for me, improv is fine, but don't have the whole set be improv. For example I like instrumental solos between sections of songs, just for a bit of a break. But there is just such a huge difference between a band that is tight and a band that is not.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 3, 2011)

Tomo009 said:


> Definitely tight for me, improv is fine, but don't have the whole set be improv.


Unless it's an Ornette Coleman jazz show.


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## Oxidation_Shed (Oct 3, 2011)

I'd got tight: I love singing along and knowing where the song is going. That said, certain types of music do suit to having improv. But it has to be tight and everyone has to know what's going on.


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## RichIKE (Oct 3, 2011)

I like tight but I can definatley appreciate when a band is confident enough and has enough skill to mess with arrangement of their songs and/or improvise.


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## The Reverend (Oct 3, 2011)

I'm weird in that I don't like when bands don't play a song exactly how it is in the form I'm used to. If you're sort of a jam band, like The Mars Volta, then I don't mind, but for metal I expect to hear the songs on the album replicated in every detail. 

Am I the only one who thought that bass tone was disgustingly bad? For a band like The Faceless, I'm really surprised.


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## RichIKE (Oct 3, 2011)

I love that bass tone. it is a very jazz/fusion almost jaco esque mid heavy tone. i love that sound and it really cuts well. i think it works well for a tight technical band like the faceless.


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## The Reverend (Oct 4, 2011)

RichIKE said:


> I love that bass tone. it is a very jazz/fusion almost jaco esque mid heavy tone. i love that sound and it really cuts well. i think it works well for a tight technical band like the faceless.



It doesn't cut well as much as it's overwhelming like a klaxon, to my ears at least. I'd prefer a much more traditional, slightly-distorted mid/low-end heavy tone, especially for a fast band like The Faceless, but to each their own.


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## Mordacain (Oct 4, 2011)

I primarily like a band that improvises / alters the arrangement for a live show.

Personally, I feel they are separate entities (the albums vs the live shows). Limiting your recording to only what you can play live can hurt your studio production. Inversely, if you only play the studio recording exactly live, what's the point in playing live? I could just as soon save myself the money and stay home and listen to the album again.

Perhaps its just my jam band education when I started playing, but if you are not offering something new and interesting to the audience, what's the point in playing live? I personally would rather have sometimes radical revisions on the same songs, it gives an incentive not only for people to see you live, but to see you live again and again since you're making the live show unique and its own, special experience.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 5, 2011)

skeels said:


> The shame of it is I want to see progressive bands play cool shifts, bridges, stops and arrangements and death metal bands play improv jams. But that doesn't ever really happen. Does it?



I'd love to see a "metal" version of a jam band.


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## ZEBOV (Oct 5, 2011)

I'm really not sure what my answer is. The best I can think of is to put up a youtube example of what I like.
Album version


Live version (surprisingly good sound quality)


The overall song structure isn't changed, but it's still better than the album version.


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## Andromalia (Oct 7, 2011)

It depends more on the band than the style, really. I'd be disappointed seeing Mark Knopfler play his songs by the book.


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## Ancestor (Oct 10, 2011)

i prefer a band with energy over one that only considers the technical aspect of the performance.


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## Oxidation_Shed (Oct 10, 2011)

Ancestor said:


> i prefer a band with energy over one that only considers the technical aspect of the performance.



+10000

That's exactly what I should have said before. Tech is all well and good, but I may as well watch a video or listen to the album. I'd prefer it if the playing was super tight, but I also want energy from the performance. That is why we go to shows, after all, to be part of that energy.

Tech metal forms my favourite music, but live, hardcore leaves it in the dust in terms of raw energy. They're not even really hardcore, more pop-punky but a bit more aggressive, but Title Fight are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. It was as good as seeing Meshuggah, but in a very different way.

Meshuggah were mind melting to behold, but Title Fight was just jumping off a stage in a small room onto people's heads every few minutes. For me, the energy makes a gig what it is.


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## Mprinsje (Oct 26, 2011)

Ancestor said:


> i prefer a band with energy over one that only considers the technical aspect of the performance.



so true, i attended a festival once where the dillinger escape plan and messugah were both on the bill, and although Meshuggah was face-melting tight, i preferred TDEP live, even if the sound was shit. damn that energy live.


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## Stealthtastic (Oct 29, 2011)

I love when bands play tight, but I can't deny I also love when bands improv something.


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## Jesse Zuretti (Oct 31, 2011)

Definitely a subjective issue.

Tight live bands that have great energy: East of the Wall, Textures, Gojira, Friendly Fires

Tight live bands that have no energy: Between the Buried and Me, the Acacia Strain


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## pearl_07 (Oct 31, 2011)

There is a balance of energy and tightness when a band performs. Although a band that stands still the whole time is boring, I'd much rather hear a spot on performance than seeing a guitarist throw his guitar all over the place and sound sloppy. Not going to throw any names out there, but I saw a very tight and technical band that had a guitarist who spun his duct taped Carvin  every 30 seconds or so, and they ended up sounding very sloppy.


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## breadtruck (Oct 31, 2011)

I think a mix is good, but would prefer more tightness than energy to be honest. It's pretty lame if there's no energy at all during a show, but at the same time if the band are going nuts and messing up parts of the song/the singing because of daft little tricks then that detracts from the experience for me. Especially if I am waiting to hear my favourite solo, and the guitarist starts going ape shit headbanging and hits a bunch of wrong notes. At the end of the day I want to hear a professional band.

That's just my opinion though. I know some people wouldn't give a shit that the performance musically was pretty meh, if the band were having a good time and really getting the crowd involved. Sure that would be fun too but in the back of my mind I would be thinking "damn...he isn't nearly as good as he sounds on the album".


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