The Books live, sadly so so so boring

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Does anyone else agree? All they did was pop in a DVD, and sing/play a bit of guitar over the backing tracks. Zero improvisation. Zero energy or soul. I ended up seeing them twice, the second time as a favor to a friend and they even had the same stage banter. Probably the most rehearsed uninspired live show I've ever seen. I'd rather listen to the CD at home, since that's what I was listening to at the show

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:09 (nineteen years ago)

You were listening to a DVD, chump.

― lord pooperton (ex machina), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

I saw them twice and dug them quite a bit. I may even go so far to say that I liked them live better than on album. Why is "most rehearsed" an insult? I think it's actually pretty impressive that they can recreate the songs note for note in a live setting. I'm not so sure I'd want to see them improvise either.

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:27 (nineteen years ago)

DVD, CD, who cares, 90% of the show was prerecorded

which is why jacobo rock, it's n ot very impressive, they aren't recreating anything, rather just playing it back for you

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't mean "rehearsed" as in "tight" I meant it in the way that both shows, the songs came on in the same order, were the same length (hence the DVD), the stage banter was the same, everything was lifeless and over planned...

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:30 (nineteen years ago)

I saw a Paul de Jong live show in Berlin (he's 50% of The Books) and it was almost completely improvised on his cello.

― Momus (Momus), Monday, 12 June 2006 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

i guess I should go see him solo then, sounds more fun

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 15:02 (nineteen years ago)

It depends on what you look for in a performance, I guess. I thought the (admittedly sparse) live instrumentation came off well and actually made it seem more like a performance and less like a play-along, but I can see where opinions vary. I think any show that has visuals projected behind the artist is a mixed bag. The Books had one of the better static visual presentations (meaning no one is VJing the video) I've seen lately and I think there's something to be gained by seeing the show live. If it was a crappy soundsystem and the visuals weren't right behind them, maybe not so much. I've seen shows where the artist had visuals to complement the music and I wouldn't be able to tell you a single thing that was on the screen due to the stage presence being much more than they may have anticipated. The Books were somewhere in-between.

― mike h. (mike h.), Monday, 12 June 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

Zero energy or soul

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 15:30 (nineteen years ago)

This sounds really appealing to me, for some reason. Like the anti-Lenny Kravitz.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

Boonah, I know whatcha mean, but I liked them, even though they broke a couple of my cardinal rules for live shows. For example, I knew that the show I saw was the show they played throughout their whole tour. That being said, I still thought that it was enjoyable and well put together. My wife, who is usually very picky about music, went with me to keep me company, and she brought a "book" to read because she expected it to be dull. But she thought that it was "charming and clever". She didn't need to read hers.

― peepee (peepee), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

well, their live show certainly wont ruffle anyone's feathers in terms of it being grating. I suppose if it were sit down and I was just watching the visuals, it's sorta nice, (the visuals were neat) but I just find it to be such a cop out. I wish they'd at least come up with new ways to play the songs. Ok, so they can't afford a million people to play all those tiny samples and things going on, however, they could have done a cool cello/acoustic only set or something different. Dunno, I just find it to be really lazy and rather surprising that people love it so much considering how little talent or work it actually takes to put together.

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

I thought that it took a lot of talent and work to put it together, except that the work went mostly into the visuals.

― peepee (peepee), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:14 (nineteen years ago)

Has the live lineup changed?

I saw them not too long ago and they were a four-piece. It was the two main guys with a woman, and Mikey Bass on bass.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:19 (nineteen years ago)

I thought they were awesome live. Were you expecting Wango-Tango guitar solos?

― BlastsOfStatic (BlastsofStatic), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

i love how everyone is up in arms. Obviously I wasn't expecting "wango tango" guitar solos, but thanks for taking it there

I just meant it would be nice to see them attempt at putting something together that was entirely live, and if their music made it hard for them to do that, then perhaps a reinterpretation or a new rendition of the songs would have been cooler. The whole thing was just so robotic. yes the visuals took time as I'm sure making the album did. but the actual performance itself was totally uninspired

I'm going to guess those that avidly defend their "non show" are die hard books fan, where they could do no wrong.

Kareoke or not, it's all great if it's the books

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

This reminds me somewhat of a Fennesz show I saw a while back. I was anticipating live guitar processing and an unparallelled integration of guitar-electronic interaction. I got a man playing backing tracks and strumming along (somewhat aimlessly). With no visuals!

― gekoppel (Gekoppel), Monday, 12 June 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

I'm just wondering what such sample-based music would even be like "completely live". You'd have to get lots of dead people to shuffle onstage for their three second cameo then go back to the graveyard. Could be scary.

― Momus (Momus), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:08 (nineteen years ago)

perhaps one person could do more than one sample? perhaps the live version doesn't need to sound EXACTLY like the recording? nix a few samples, add other textures, sounds, create something new and unique to the performance? a bit of imagination and it could be really cool, that's originally why I was so excited to see them because I surely thought they would do something really wonderful

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:11 (nineteen years ago)

but the actual performance itself was totally uninspired

This is such a redundant statement. Just say you don't like robotic performances and be done with your whining already.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:36 (nineteen years ago)

if you don't like it stop reading this thread. it's that easy!

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:48 (nineteen years ago)

I quite enjoyed The Books when I saw them. That said, I saw them in a sit-down theatre setting (given your comments boonah, I get the impression you had a different experience?). For me, the venue was appropriate for the show. I thought juxtaposition of music, speech samples and visuals was very entertaining, although I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if I'd seen The Books in a different type of venue.

― Andie B (andie b), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:52 (nineteen years ago)

I saw what may have been the band's first big live show (Boston MFA, Spring 2005) and the band was a quartet. And while they didn't move around a lot, I'd hardly say the performance was robotic or uninspired. It was very passionate. I thought the visuals added that other interpretation you may have been hoping to experience. The version of "Twelve Fold Chain" was pretty moving' albeit in its own meditative fashion.

― BlastsOfStatic (BlastsofStatic), Monday, 12 June 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

They play more than Kraftwerk.

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:00 (nineteen years ago)

yeah I saw them as a duo, at a rock club, both of them sitting. it was hard to see them, but when I did, I'd notice, wait, neither of them are singing or doing anything for long stretches. this was why i was so annoyed. big periods of the show were just them sitting there in front of a DVD playing their music and clips.

obviously I need to see them at a sit down venue, as a foursome
perhaps that would be an entirely different experience

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

The thing is that with sufficient kit/expertise/personnel this kind of stuff CAN be done live-ish and with a much greater feeling of looseness and freedom than merely playing a set backing track. Obviously not literally live, but with an ability to manipulate the samples in real time, to extend tracks where necessry and to do live post production and editing of the live instrumentation elements-- ie to do a live version of how this kind of music sounds on record...

― gekoppel (Gekoppel), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

if you don't like it stop reading this thread. it's that easy!

I like reading this thread. I'm just trying to get you to not waste words and cut to the chase.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

would you like to further explain why I found their live show so boring? doesn't seem like it

have you seem them live adoring?

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:14 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not saying The Books are the best live band ever. But I wish you, and other people, would be more willing to admit that something does not work for you/one, as opposed to being "uninspired" or being described using other phrases or words that are just empty negatives.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:15 (nineteen years ago)

gekoppel OTM

if you TRY it's POSSIBLE!

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:15 (nineteen years ago)

Like I said above, I saw them once live as a four piece.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

if I had a band, we'd do a live, unplugged version of "Pump Up The Volume"...it'd be so stupid it's be cool...(or not)...

― hank (hank s), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

well obviously I'm not saying universally the books are an uninspired band, I thought it was obvious I was saying IN MY OPINION , at the TWO SHOWS I SAW, I PERSONALLY found their show to be uninspired....

obviously people will disagree, hence the whole point of this site, to debate/discuss music

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:17 (nineteen years ago)

would you like to further explain why I found their live show so boring? doesn't seem like it

Well, that's difficult since a) I can't go back in the past, and b) can't go back in the past and possess your body and brain.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

???????

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

oh i forgot the "me", it was humor!!! i knew you were going for something I just couldn't tell what, now I see....

you're good!

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

I PERSONALLY found their show to be uninspired....

Well something must have inspired them to play the show. Maybe the phat guarantee and all the hot groupie action?

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:21 (nineteen years ago)

that might be. my friend said that when she interviewed them they said they don't like to tour but the label pressured them to

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:22 (nineteen years ago)

(pssst, "I personally found their show to be lackluster" would get you off the hook in no time)

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:22 (nineteen years ago)

that might be. my friend said that when she interviewed them they said they don't like to tour but the label pressured them to

TOMLAB PULLS ZE STRINGS!

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

ok, lackluster

but they did look like they were bored and going through a routine, the second time sealed the deal when he told the exact same jokes, WORD FOR WORD

either he has stage fright, or he really is a crap performer

― boonah (boonah), Monday, 12 June 2006 18:24 (nineteen years ago)

Send a message to The Books explaining your problems with their live show, and you might not only get an appreciative response, but you might change the way they perform live!

Why complain when you can take action?

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

I've never seen the Books live, but I like their recordings. I've seen DJ Spooky three times now live, one of which was in a seminar session where he explained some of his techniques.

Although his show takes on a similarly structured format each time (as in the Re-Birth of A Nation,) the samples and duration of the samples change from show to show.

I understand completely what boonah is complaining about. I've seen live rock shows where the banter is the same and the song order is the same and so on and so on. The epitome of bo-ring. And again, I like what I've heard from the Books--I would have been disappointed to have had that experience. Let us hope that they grow in confidence.

― J Arthur Rank (Quin Tillian), Monday, 12 June 2006 20:27 (nineteen years ago)

I was so bummed that the Books encored with "Cortez The Killer" at BOTH shows.

Instead of doing "Cortez" and "Free Bird" at the first show's encore, then doing "A Beautiful Song" then "Cortez" at the second show's encore... they should have replaced the latter version of "Cortez" with "Master Of The Universe", instead of wasting my time repeating the SAME SONG!

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

And I even noticed that they overlapped by FOUR SONGS in both their main sets, too. HELLLOOO, I heard those four songs the first time! You have THREE albums from which to choose songs, dudes!

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 20:38 (nineteen years ago)

Kraftwerk would never do this.

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

One question. Were you high when you saw them?

― q (smartypants), Monday, 12 June 2006 21:26 (nineteen years ago)

only when you touched me

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 21:44 (nineteen years ago)

'Cause you know, if you weren't high then I don't even know what you were doing at a books concert.

― q (smartypants), Monday, 12 June 2006 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

that right ain't shit

― aDOring NUTbians (donut), Monday, 12 June 2006 23:09 (nineteen years ago)

i saw the books in SF (last date of their tour) and they brought the house down. i don't think i've ever heard so much applause/yelling for such a quiet introspective group.

― breakfast pants (disco stu), Tuesday, 13 June 2006 00:57 (nineteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.