Many Elon students have returned from spring break and are back on campus for the second half of spring semester: a time of finishing classes and good weather. But at Elon, we have another amazing thing to look forward to this semester – the Spring Concert April 19. DJ 3LAU and rapper Big Sean will be playing music on the stage in Koury Gym for what is sure to be an awesome show.

Because I get to cover the night, I am particularly excited for the Spring Show, but not everyone is easily thrilled by live performances. Live performances have an equal chance of greatness and failure because there isn’t a perfectly conditioned sound studio behind the artist. In light of this, I’ve collected what I think are the pros and cons of a live performance.

Pros

  1. The Atmosphere – The mood of a song is something you create, based on when you’re listening to a song, where you’re listening and how you’re feeling when you’re listening. In a live concert, the artist sets the atmosphere. His or her enthusiasm may make the energy in the room quadruple. This, in turn, increases the excitement of the audience and all of a sudden, a show that could have been a drag is a huge crowd-pleaser.
  2. Improvisation – A track from an artist is only one interpretation of what a song could be. The verses, chords, riffs – everything is a static melody from play to play. However, live performances give artists the freedom to experiment with their prerecorded songs. They can sing a verse differently, improvise a rap or even change lyrics to fit the location of their performance. Personalized individuality is something you can’t get from a static record.
  3. Audience Participation – With a live performance, the concert is a conversation, not a monologue. The artists can talk to the audience to get a feel for what they want and how they’re feeling. They can ask the audience to join in on a song or give suggestions. This personalizes the performance and makes the audience feel like they are a part of the performance, not just a bystander.
 

Cons

  1. The Studio-Heavy Artist – We live in the age of auto-tune and studio-savvy producers. We have learned the hard way (Rebecca Black, for example) that you don’t have to be particularly talented to become a musical sensation. While this isn’t true for everyone, some artists don’t sound as good live because they don’t have a studio polishing their sound before it hits the audience.
  2. Crowds – It’s the truth: some people are “crowd people” and some people are not. It is a lot of people crammed into a small space (even smaller as everyone fights their way towards a better view of the stage). If you’re claustrophobic, a live performance might not be your scene, but even for the average person, it may be too close for comfort. Sweaty strangers on top of sweaty strangers. Plus, there is the risk of getting an elbow to the face.
  3. Standing – At Elon, our performances normally do not have seating. For a three-hour show, it can be uncomfortable to stand in one place for the whole time, especially squished as sardines in a show crowd.
  4. Waiting – It is more than the artist performing on the stage. These performances need sound checks, warm-ups and lots of equipment. It takes time to get every intricacy of a performance together correctly.
 

Each one of us experiences live performances differently, and more important, no live performance is ever the same. We may see one artist live who was the be-all-end-all of live music, and then another who was just so-so. It all depends on your preferences, who you go with and how you’re feeling. However, give the live performance a chance, especially the 2013 Spring Show, because if anything, it is a big name concert for half the price of a normal concert. Tickets are available in the SUB office.