quoted 1 line First time I saw Lexaunculpt he was performing sitting Indian>First time I saw Lexaunculpt he was performing sitting Indian
style in the middle of a big empty stage with only his computer in
front of him. Is that slacking off? Of course not- the music was
amazing. Same goes for Autechre a few years ago with the only
illumination was from their computers and them hunching down
almost under the table on stage. The music is the highest priority.
i agree. but as this answer seems to be a theme among some
responses, i then pose the counter-question: why bother going to
a show? why pay $8-20 more when you already own the CD (or
could, for the same amount of money)? and if someone is sitting
stock still in front of their laptop, where is the proof they're actually
doing anything for the money you paid to come see them?
i'm not disputing the musical and programming genius of some of
these artists. but if all the work is done at home, save perhaps
turning a few plugins or tracks on and off, what are we paying for?
someone mentioned nick forte. i was very impressed by him.
anyone could say his performance was just as boring as any
laptop artist, after all it's "just a guy playing guitar". while he was
not the most stellar or riveting person to look at, i could see the
cause and effect of his work. he played, he tweaked, he mixed, he
played a kaoss pad with his foot. of course, if the music was
boring, none of that would have mattered much, but the music was
good. i bought his CD based on that show, and as i expected, it
sounded almost nothing like what he did, because his
performance was at least 90% improvised. but the CD is good
too.
quoted 1 line Besides, it seems that most of the 'rock show' vibe at electronic> Besides, it seems that most of the 'rock show' vibe at electronic
shows is just silly rock star poseurs trying to generate some sort
of excitement (or interest) that the music itself should be
generating.
well, the "rock show" is not the cure-all answer of what to do
onstage, for any kind of artist.
one thing that came to mind for laptop musicians was a video
camera behind the artist, showing what's happening on the laptop.
at least another angle would make things more interesting. or
even a video feed from his monitor, in addition to some other
visuals.
but frankly, i'd prefer more people onstage, and/or assigning
different parts to various types of controllers, such as keyboards,
or theremin-like devices, electronic drum pads, contact mics run
through processing, midi triggers hooked up to just about any
object they might work with.
if this sounds too "rock show", and the artists are really against
this, trying to create a whole new paradigm for music and the way
we experience it, then they need to come up with a new way of
presenting their music live as well, instead of showing up at a rock
club and sitting onstage. i don't know what the answer is, but to
me, that isn't it.
d.
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