How often do you listen to live music?

Detloff, I find it funny that it would take each of us about the same amount of time to get to Vienna to hear the VPO, although it would cost you a little less! Actually, I'm going to be there next June for a private concert in a nearby castle, so I'll probably exceed my 3/month quota while out there. Abstract7, I heard your orchestra under Maestro Zinmann, if it's even better now I've got to take the 3-hour drive down I-95 to attend a concert or two!

Between four and six times per month.

Detlof, the opening sentence of your post is IMO one of the most important, if not the most important consideration for an audiophile who is truly serious about becoming a more astute and sophisticated listener. Well said; I particularly appreciated your "no matter what kind of music" comment. Bravo! Many audiophiles try to ignore this reality, but there is no getting around this fact.

I have ranted and raved about this issue several times in previous threads so I know that this is a sensitive issue for some. So, to set the record straight, I will also say that this reality does not imply that any given audiophile, who for whatever reason can't or won't attend live performances, can not be a good, critical, or appreciative listener. Or that a person who does, is necessarily one of extraordinary listening ability. It does mean that without this kind of exposure, a listener (audiophile) can not achieve the highest level of ability to discern the finest and most subtle nuances that music is full of, or to be a good judge of what "accuracy" in sound reproduction really is.

I listen to live music, on average, at least twenty hours a week; not counting personal practice time (about that much over again). I am a professional musician.

Check out "The Fifth Element" by John Marks, in the current (September) issue of Stereophile. One of the finest pieces that I have ever seen in that mag. Happy listening and thank you for bringing up this subject again.

detlof: i average maybe 3 concerts/performances per month. tho i'm about your age, most of the concerts i attend are in the rock genre. the symphonic concert hall in denver is, unfortunately, modeled after berlin's auditorium-in-the-round. the acoustics drive me nuts, which is my excuse for abstaining from most classical performances. i do, BTW, sing in the shower most every day. does that count? -kelly

Back when i was young ... : )

I used to see live performances sometimes 3 - 5 times a week. A lot of times, i'd end up working the sound board even though i showed up as a "civilian". Of course, this depended on who was playing, where it was at, etc... In some ways, this might have been part of the reason why i lost interest in going out as often as i used to. It became too much like "work" instead of "relaxing". That and "getting old" : (

Nowadays, i'm lucky if i make it out once or twice a month. Quite honestly, i was supposed to go to a show tonight but didn't make it out of work until too late. Kind of a bummer, but the weather isn't being very cooperative either.

With the background that i have, i tend to "analyze" a lot of various aspects of the performance i.e. the job that the sound man is doing, how the sound system is set up, the equipment that the bands are using, etc... While it is RARE that i am able just to kick back and enjoy a show, i think that is because many performers are NOT geared towards performing live. Compared to their studio efforts, a LOT of live performances are quite lacking in feeling and emotion. Road burn-out i guess....

There are a few shows that i've seen that really stand out though. One local band consistently "kicked" every time that i've seen them. One of those bands that could take a 3 - 5 minute tune and turn it into a 12 - 15 minute "groove" or "jam session" without things ever getting stale, predictable or dry. Unfortunately, they broke up due to "ego & money problems" just after getting signed.

Since my girlfriend doesn't really dig the "high volume" shows all that much, we've been meaning to start hitting the local Blues and Jazz clubs but just haven't gotten around to it. Being in the Chicago area, we should have PLENTY to choose from. I'll have to check into this tomorrow ( have the day off ) and maybe we'll go see some "shuckin' and jivin" on Saturday night. I'm also interested in finding out about some classical performances, but don't know exactly what i'd like to see / hear. Sean
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