A few weeks back I was at BB King's in New York City to catch the seminal acid-jazz group Incognito, led for a quarter century by guitarist/leader/songwriter Bluey. The stage was packed with musicians--drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, a three-piece horn section and four--count 'em!--four lead vocalists, who also sang back-ups along with Bluey and others in the band. These days it is, sadly,rare to see an R & B, rock or pop act with a real horn section, rather than a keyboard player replicating horn parts on a synth. From the very first tune, Incognito was grooving, creating that vibrant, surging groove that only really good live musicians who play together regularly can create. The most striking thing was how often the band members were smiling....not a show-biz smile but simply a spontaneous smile of enjoyment. Bluey, in the center, playing guitar and directing the proceedings, looked like he was in heaven. The man simply loves to play music with other musicians onstage and his love is infectious. The crowd was right with them, responding with shouts and smiles and many dancing in place; there was a healthy interchange between band and audience. Two hours in, they were still going strong; in fact they seemed to be just peaking at that point, feeding off the energy of the crowd and each other. This is what the live experience is all about and it is something that cannot be replaced by YouTube, Pandora, iTunes or even listening to discs at home. Live music will be the repository and salvation of music's vitality.
But good live music played by real musicians is not so easy to come by these days. Disco and then Hip-Hop spawned DJ culture, where one man playing recorded sounds was the center of attention. The DJ/dance/electronic scene is huge currently. Club owners found it is a lot cheaper and a lot less trouble to hire a dee jay than a live band. So from the late 70's on, the number of venues featuring live music began to decline. Music video--via MTV and BET--began to present music as more of a visual than auditory experience, where the musical content became less important and fashion, choreography, special effects, sets, dramatics etc became more important. In the age of video, an artist's looks became far more important. One wonders if Aretha Franklin would have had the success she did have if she had emerged as a young singer in 1985 instead of the Sixties. This emphasis on image, effects, costumes etc became even more a part of large-scale concerts, as the artists in concerts were now competing with high-budget videos for impact. Technology made it more possible for marginal artists to get by in concert, with pre-recorded parts taking a bigger part of the proceeding. So larger concerts have become--by and large--more like visual spectaculars than musical experiences.
As a result of all of the above a generation or two has grown up with significantly less live music experience provided by real musicians. This is especially a trend in the R & B world. At this point, there is only one significant, prominent, active R & B band that has emerged in the past two decades--Mint Condition. You could also add The Roots, though they are a hip-hop group. Contrast this with the 1970's and early Eighties where you had many tremendous self-contained R & B/funk bands: War, Kool & The Gang, The Meters, Earth Wind & Fire, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Ohio Players, Mandrill, Slave, Atlantic Starr, Lakeside, Cameo, and many more. Some of them created the most innovative music of the decade.
The decline in the number of venues and the decline in audiences' appetite for live music has meant that bands get paid less to play in clubs, when you take inflation into account. Sometimes even if you don't take inflation into account. In fact, "pay to play", which started becoming common in the EIghties, is widespread now; bands often have to guarantee club costs or guarantee a certain number of tickets in order to play a venue. But even if it isn't "pay to play", often it is "play for the door", or more accurately "pay for a percentage of the door." Increasingly club promoters don't feel any need to actually promote shows. They may run a strip ad in local media and have their concert calendar on their website. That's most often the extent of their promotion. Many don't even promote to media, beyond sending a simple listing of who's playing when; they expect the acts to promote. When there is a guarantee--unless the band has a proven really strong draw--it is commonly in the range of $50 - $75 per man., for a club gig. When I started out playing in bands in 1966, $25 a man was typical--50 years later, musicians are only getting $25 to $50 more for a gig. Allowing for inflation (gas was 30 cents a gallon in 1966--now it is more than 10 times that), musician's pay for club gigs is far less than what it was when I started out. But musicians need to play in order to grow as musicians; heck, musicians WANT to play so there are plenty of young musicians willing to accept this low or no pay.
For me, as both a musician and listener, the greatest musical experience is live music in a small to medium-sized club. At that size, you can see the audience up close and they can see you. There is intimacy and you sweat together. The scale is small enough so that you can take all kinds of chances without worrying about looking ridiculous on a big stage with a big set-up. The sound, if done with any sort of competence, is way better than larger venues where it is way too boomy. I don't often pay the kind of ticket prices that large venues and arenas charge but I was willing to pay that kind of price to see Roberta Flack at The Blue Note. My wife and I had seats right by the stage, just a few feet from Roberta seated at the piano. She was wonderful; every note was clear and beautiful; the expressions on her face alone were worth the price of admission and seeing her hands move on the keyboard was an added pleasure. Contrast that with a large venue where the performers are in miniature due to your distance to the stage and the sound booms around the room, all subtlety lost. So it is the small venue experience that is crucial for musicians and listeners alike. It is the key to young musicians learning how to play, how to perform. As a result, when my wife and I go out to see music--which we do fairly often--we like to go to small clubs. It is cheaper, a better experience and we have the satisfaction of supporting musicians at this level. And yet many people complain that there's no good music any more. It is there if you make an effort to seek it out and don't turn up your nose at a club that might not be plush. Your wallet will thank you but so will your heart! So turn off the t.v., step away from the computer, and go out to hear some good live music. You might be surprised just how much you enjoy it!
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