Hold It Right There!
I don’t know if it was Johnny Ray, Elvis Presley or some overheated divine stomping the floorboards of a rural church who first decided a singer could deliver his lyrics more effectively by throwing his whole body into the act. Whoever it was, I wish he’d kept it to himself. Fifty years or so after the unfortunate birth of rock ‘n’ roll, it still annoys the hell out of me when singers shimmy, strut and prance about the stage instead of letting me focus on the content of their songs, which, presumably, is why they put those utterances on record. Should I ever be in the mood for extravagant motions set to music (a yearning from which I have so far been spared), I’ll watch a DVD of Riverdance.
Although concert contortions have long since taken root in country music, the greatest and most durable acts -- stylists like Eddy Arnold, Ray Price, Marty Robbins, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty, Vince Gill, George Strait, Alison Krauss and Alan Jackson have all managed to enthrall millions by the sheer expressiveness of their voices. They didn’t and don’t require a half acre of stairs, ramps, runways and risers to convey strong and sometimes complex emotions. The same goes for opera stars who can bring onlookers to tears without heaving their considerable tonnage hither and yon.
Being a champion of free expression, I have absolutely no desire to impose my preference for immobility on others, even if I could. If some tone-deaf, nuance-starved wailer wants to drape himself in live ferrets and swing from the rafters by his eyelids, he can rest assured that I’ll go to the wall to defend his right to make a galloping ass of himself. But such gymnastics eclipse the subtle art of delivering a lyric. Worse still, they goad the audience into joining in the mindless revelry. There’s no uglier sight than that. Tell you what, why don’t I trade you my ticket for your CD? That way I can at least find out what the songs are about.
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jenny says:
Boy would you hate a Rascal Flatts show. Riser and stairs everywhere. And a word of advice, never see Kenny Cheesny, Sugarland or Keith Urban–they jump around all over the place.
hotelmotel says:
The blog says “the greatest and most durable acts…have all managed to enthrall millions by the sheer expressiveness of their voices.”
Not true! First, while those acts were great, the blogger noticably leaves off durable and popular Acts that don’t fit his agenda(Porter Wagonner and his outrageous suits; Garth Brooks and his death-defying stage antics; Reba and her broadway-type production). So durability seems to have little to do with presence or absence of stage gimmickery.
Worse, the singers mentioned do have stage gimmicks other than the “sheer expressiveness of their voices.” Willie Nelson is always bringing family members on stage, George Strait’s fanboard has a lot of posts discussing his buttucks, suggesting that it isn’t just George’s voice that brings in the fans (and Strait’s voice is more stoic than expressive, anyhow. Personally, I think that’s a good thing, too many singers engage in over-the-top shows of emotion); Alan Jackson has used gigantic video monitors to project images to the crowd; Dolly Parton herself is a walking sight-gag (in a good way!), half the fun of a George Jones show used to be hoping that he won’t show up, thus providing the crowd an excuse to behave poorly.
Virtually all of the singers listed above perform concerts at venues where a good number of the fans are either drunk or buzzed — its sometimes unclear if the fans like the booze or the voice more. Sometimes they perform in venues where people dance along with the music. In either case, booze and dancing, and not just “sheer expressiveness of the voice” are part of the attraction.
And most of these singers offer fans the opportunity to “sing-along” at various points during the show. These sing alongs tend to be very popular, but they drown out the singer’s voice; one sometimes wonders if some country fans go to concerts to hear themselves, and not the artist, sing.
Look at the Opry — stage gimmicks galore. Faux-folksy advertisments, stage set, and banter between audience and performer. And yet the ads for “Jogging in a Jug” always seem to interest the audience more than the “expressiveness” in “Whispering Bill Anderson’s” voice.
Kelly says:
I am with hotelmotel above. I am from texas and have seen Jack Ingram for years, before his current breakthrough. No one commands a stage the way he does. he belts out his songs and throws in the occasional rant while he stands on speakers, raises his gutiar while he strums and even bangs his head to the rythym a bit. while the folks who try and overcome talent with gyrations are silly and obviously fraudulent, there are performers who showcase the song while they actually provide a show. also, i love willie but have you seen him in a while? if he ever stops unfurling the large texas flag behind him, that’ll take away the one thing that is applause-worthy from his show. the man stopped actualy singing live (he instead likes to “talk” the words now) a long time ago, that is hardly focusing on the material, that is called being a show pony and cashing checks while you can.
B.W. LaRoy says:
Posers? Hey, if it weren’t for Posers…it wouldn’t be SHOW BUSINESS. In real life, George Strait just might be a dude who dances nekked on the herculon pit group sofa while he juggles a chain saw, a bowling ball, and a kitten. The thing he does on stage IS just another SHOW in the BUSINESS. B.W. LaRoy
hotelmotel says:
If George Strait can juggle a chain saw, a bowling ball, and a kitten then that is a SHOW I’d love to see (so long as he keeps his clothes on).
OutlawSteph says:
You would think Shakesphere was writing a review of a Garth Brooks show when he wrote MacBeth: “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
I’m glad I don’t go to Nashville’s idea of country music concerts, which is glorified arena rock, if what hotelmotel said is true regarding drunk fans and inappropriate references. That sounds as trashy as rock and roll’s worst offenders, and reflects a mentality of the fans that is about as deep as a bird bath.
BTW, I love rock and roll… SIXTIES rock and roll. The Beatles and Byrds still rule. Find some western swing from the 40s too.. it rocks!
B.W. LaRoy says:
I have a friend who says that todays country sound and look is yesterday’s Night Ranger. Mark my words…Kenny Chesney or Rascal Flatts will do a cover of Sister Christian. B.W. LaRoy
hotelmotel says:
OutlawSteph; I’ve cut back on my concert going a lot in recent years, but I think I was pretty accurate in describing a lot of things that go on.
Your bird-bath comment is right on; these kinds of acts are brain-dead. Smashing guitars, running up and down stairs, throwing beach balls into the audience, this stuff might be minorly amusing, but at the end of the day it is majorly moronic.
Feathers says:
Mr. Morris, if you ever get your hands on a Keith Urban concert ticket, I’ll GLADLY trade it with you for any or all the CD’s in my collection.
If you want to see someone who can deliver vocally without moving around, watch Keith sing “You’ll Think Of Me” in concert (you can use his “Livin’ Right Now” DVD since you’ve given me your concert ticket - you’ll get the gist). A man, a guitar and a spotlight. Isn’t that what you’re talking about?
But I guess if “no movement” is your gold standard, then artists should never show their excitment in their own music, shold never break out into a little jig because they’re enjoying themselves, or anything. There are probably a few bluegrass and moutain music professionals who might disagree w/ you on that. (so much for square dancing and the Cotton-Eyed Joe…)
kassidy bailey says:
dear,you
My family loves you speishale.