Re: backing solo performances

["Alan Imberg" <alan_i@sprynet.com>]

It pleases me to be able to throw out a topic to the members of this list
and get such varying opinions and experiences. I've gained much food for
thought as I continue to shape the way I present my music in a live
situation. LD truely rules.

This discussion has jogged my memory of a recent experience I had as a
spectator to someone else's performance. I recently saw the Ambient Brunch
Tour in San Francisco. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and inspiring show (By
the way, I highly recommend the new Banco De Gaia CD). I arrived at the 
show
early and got a table seat in front of the stage. Pre-recorded music by the
various performers was playing through the PA while visual images flashed 
on
screens behind the stage. About a 1/2 hour later, two gentlemen who I
thought were roadies started milling around the stage. The pre-recorded
music, which was, at this point, a subtly rythmic ambient piece, was still
playing through the PA. The two guys talked amongst themselves, plugged in
various equipment, lit incense, and looked very unassuming. Much of the
crowd seemed oblivious to what was happening onstage. Then the two 
"roadies"
sat down behind some keyboards and sequencers and starting playing along
with the pre-recorded music. It was only when the music began to morph into
something else that I realized that the two guys were Dogon, the 1st act of
the night. At first, I thought this was a very anti-climatic way to start
the show but after reflection, I came to feel that Dogon's entry was rather
appropriate for the evening. It was quite clear that they were performing
live. Yet, they had the sonic capability to take the pre-recorded music,
which I must assume was theres, and use that as a launching pad for their
sonic presentation. The emphasis of the entire evening was on the music 
with
augmentation by visual graphics. The physical presence of the artist was 
not
presented as the point of emphasis for the night, which I thought was 
rather
cool. It was a live experience but the personalities on stage was almost
incidental. There was something ego-less that I liked very much.