The Maillard Reaction
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 31918
- Joined: 2004/07/09 20:02:20
- Status: offline
Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
It was on last night. Live? I don't know. I was into U2 *back in the day* when we thought they we're a punk band with a cleaner sound and an angry message so it sure seems different now... still it was cool to see a full on rock star grab the mic off the stand and work the crowd. He had the audience on their feet... How many times has that happened in the Ed Sullivan theater? ;-) As an aside, I did notice three drop outs in the audio... which made me wonder if it was the wireless mic or something along the transmission... my picture was stable and clear... so I'm curious what others heard. best regards, mike
|
bapu
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 86000
- Joined: 2006/11/25 21:23:28
- Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 10:47:29
(permalink)
How many times has that happened in the Ed Sullivan theater? ;-) Feb 9, 1964.
post edited by bapu - 2009/03/05 10:54:11
|
RLD
Max Output Level: -55.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1990
- Joined: 2003/11/06 10:11:26
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 12:21:26
(permalink)
|
tarsier
Max Output Level: -45 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3029
- Joined: 2003/11/07 11:51:35
- Location: 6 feet under
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 15:35:40
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: bapu How many times has that happened in the Ed Sullivan theater? ;-) Feb 9, 1964. Yeah, Frank Gorshin and McCall and Brill were awesome!
|
bapu
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 86000
- Joined: 2006/11/25 21:23:28
- Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 15:42:06
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: tarsier ORIGINAL: bapu How many times has that happened in the Ed Sullivan theater? ;-) Feb 9, 1964. Yeah, Frank Gorshin and McCall and Brill were awesome! Ok, let's get it straight: Frank, McCall, Brill & Ed. Frank, McCall, Brill & Ed. Frank, McCall, Brill & Ed. Frank, McCall, Brill & Ed. Frank, McCall, Brill & Ed.
|
Marah
Max Output Level: -71 dBFS
- Total Posts : 975
- Joined: 2009/02/04 21:56:41
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 17:36:47
(permalink)
I saw them. They'll be on all week.... tonight and tomo too. I wasn't too impressed with the song on Tuesday. Last night's was better. Monday night I thought was quite good. Soundwise, they sound really good (bands generally have fab sound on Letterman; PS's house band always sounds stunning), but I wasn't listening too critically... not ALL that sound is coming from just the 4 of them live... is it??
|
jacktheexcynic
Max Output Level: -44.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3069
- Joined: 2004/07/07 11:47:11
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 18:02:28
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Marah not ALL that sound is coming from just the 4 of them live... is it?? wouldn't put it past "the edge". their arrangements have always been top-notch. less is more...
post edited by jacktheexcynic - 2009/03/05 18:08:34
|
RLD
Max Output Level: -55.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1990
- Joined: 2003/11/06 10:11:26
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 18:26:39
(permalink)
not ALL that sound is coming from just the 4 of them live... is it?? I'm pretty sure I heard keyboard parts in one of the tunes...maybe Paul is playing along?
|
jacktheexcynic
Max Output Level: -44.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3069
- Joined: 2004/07/07 11:47:11
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 19:02:57
(permalink)
that's what i thought, but the next time i heard it i was pretty sure it was the guitar.
|
The Maillard Reaction
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 31918
- Joined: 2004/07/09 20:02:20
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 19:28:57
(permalink)
on tonight and tommorow? thanks for the heads up.
|
RLD
Max Output Level: -55.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1990
- Joined: 2003/11/06 10:11:26
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 19:34:31
(permalink)
|
jacktheexcynic
Max Output Level: -44.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3069
- Joined: 2004/07/07 11:47:11
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 19:50:48
(permalink)
yeah you're definitely right now that i watch it again.
|
Cromberger
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1057
- Joined: 2006/08/26 19:44:29
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 20:24:35
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: RLD not ALL that sound is coming from just the 4 of them live... is it?? I'm pretty sure I heard keyboard parts in one of the tunes...maybe Paul is playing along? Hi, RLD, I didn't see the Letterman gig but I can tell you for sure that U2 have a keyboard player. His name is Terry Lawless and he plays live gigs with U2 on keys and also programs the keys for them. He also appears on some of their albums. On their last tour, they even let him play onstage at some of the gigs. Otherwise, he plays off-stage or under the stage at the live gigs. He even made the cover of U2's last album. I know this because Mr. Lawless plays in a band with a very good friend of mine when he's not on the road with U2. I even got him to play some demo stuff on some of my own tracks last year. He was going to sit in with the band I played with at last year's High Sierra Music Festival but U2 called and needed him in the studio in Dublin. Bummer. I'd hoped to get to play with him, live. My guess is that he played the Letterman gig from offstage. Best regards, Bill
Sonar Platinum Windows 7 x64 Home Premium Studio Cat DAW Intel I-950 Processor 6 Gigs RAM M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R Audio Interface Mackie HR824 Monitors
|
RLD
Max Output Level: -55.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1990
- Joined: 2003/11/06 10:11:26
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 20:30:28
(permalink)
he plays off-stage or under the stage at the live gigs. He's got a face for radio eh? Just kidding...that's too bad he has to be offstage, but hey, they know what they are doing and that would be a sweet gig, on stage or off!
|
ed97643
Max Output Level: -59 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1610
- Joined: 2005/06/27 10:21:39
- Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/05 21:22:15
(permalink)
It's a little known fact that none other than Black Sabbath had a full time keyboard player who would record on their albums and tour with them - always off-stage. (Geoff Downs, maybe, was his name? Maybe some other Sabbath fan can confirm.) "Silent fifth member", kind of like above.
Registered Cakewalk user since 1995
|
keith
Max Output Level: -36.5 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3882
- Joined: 2003/12/10 09:49:35
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 00:45:18
(permalink)
The whole keyboard-player-that's-not-really-an-official-bandmember thing is ridiculous. I really don't understand it. I mean, you look at the guys that played keyboards for bands like The Who and the Stones, and they've played on decades worth of recordings and tour dates, but they're generally never mentioned in the same breath as the "real" band members...
|
Marah
Max Output Level: -71 dBFS
- Total Posts : 975
- Joined: 2009/02/04 21:56:41
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 01:27:00
(permalink)
It seems kind of dishonest actually. More so than when artists lipsync or use autotune in live performance. Especially for an act... oops... I mean, for a band like U2, where realness and authenticity is part of what the band is supposed to mean. Artists that use... or are usually suspected of using... artificial enhancements in live performance and hardcore gimmickry on their recordings tend to be the "manufactured" ones with a higher image-to-substance ratio, where image is what it's all about. Like, say, Madge or Brit-Brit. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606244/20090304/spears_britney.jhtml But for U2 to hide a keyboard player off-stage, where the audience can't see, and where the band itself will have no live bandy interaction with a key source of their sound, can't really be about anything BUT image. Jeeze, next thing you know we'll find out they're playing to a click track. I'm like so disillusioned.
post edited by Marah - 2009/03/06 01:33:36
|
Cheeto
Max Output Level: -88 dBFS
- Total Posts : 118
- Joined: 2008/09/30 03:57:39
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 04:18:36
(permalink)
Not a real big U2 fan, but I think their album "The Joshua Tree" was an extraordinary album. Just happened to catch them on Letterman, wasn't too impressed I'd give them a... 6=for performance (ok but nothing special) 3=for the song itself (started out sounding like a rap tune, nothing catchy nor memorable about it) Guess once you made a bazillion bucks already, you don't need to write good songs anymore.
|
The Maillard Reaction
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 31918
- Joined: 2004/07/09 20:02:20
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 07:54:28
(permalink)
There's still a legendary story here in town of the night U2 played one of our local practice rooms that is hidden in an industrial section of town on their first trip to USA. This room was about 1200 square feet and while it did have a new fangled concrete floor... (unlike some of the bars in town which still had dirt floors) the heating system was a small fire in a 55 gallon drum. It was a real life roots flannel punk scene... there wasn't no keyboardist back then ;-) They've come a long way... and done a lot of good deeds. They're no longer my style but I sure am proud for them. :-) best regards, mike
|
mumpcake
Max Output Level: -59 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1609
- Joined: 2004/06/16 16:27:42
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 10:52:19
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: ed97643 It's a little known fact that none other than Black Sabbath had a full time keyboard player who would record on their albums and tour with them - always off-stage. (Geoff Downs, maybe, was his name? Maybe some other Sabbath fan can confirm.) "Silent fifth member", kind of like above. Geoff Downes played for Yes and Asia. Don Airey played for Ozzy and on some Sabbath. Rick Wakeman also played on a few Sabbath tracks. Geoff Nichols also played for Sabbath during the Dio years.
|
Cromberger
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1057
- Joined: 2006/08/26 19:44:29
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 20:14:57
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Marah It seems kind of dishonest actually. More so than when artists lipsync or use autotune in live performance. Especially for an act... oops... I mean, for a band like U2, where realness and authenticity is part of what the band is supposed to mean. Artists that use... or are usually suspected of using... artificial enhancements in live performance and hardcore gimmickry on their recordings tend to be the "manufactured" ones with a higher image-to-substance ratio, where image is what it's all about. Like, say, Madge or Brit-Brit. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606244/20090304/spears_britney.jhtml But for U2 to hide a keyboard player off-stage, where the audience can't see, and where the band itself will have no live bandy interaction with a key source of their sound, can't really be about anything BUT image. Jeeze, next thing you know we'll find out they're playing to a click track. I'm like so disillusioned. Hi, Marah, I agree. I was totally blown away when I found out that U2 was touring with an offstage keyboard player. Not only does it seem cumbersome from a technical standpoint, it seems just plain dumb to not have a live player on the stage, even if they are way at the back behind a Marshall stack or something. But, from what I've heard, in the case of U2 it really is an "image" thing, as you said. And, to their credit, they did have Mr. Lawless play onstage on their last tour. Why he didn't make the cut on the Letterman show, I have no idea. Maybe he wasn't even really there and they were using canned tracks. But the whole idea of it is kind of strange, to me. I remember seeing the Rolling Stones back in the day and they had the sense to have Billy Preston and Bobby Keyes playing onstage with them. Can't understand what is to important to other bands, image-wise, that makes them put their fellow musicians off-stage. I mean, if the players are good enough that they are picked by the band to play the parts on albums and live, why aren't they good enough to be on-stage? Who knows? The music biz is a very strange thing..... Best regards, Bill
Sonar Platinum Windows 7 x64 Home Premium Studio Cat DAW Intel I-950 Processor 6 Gigs RAM M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R Audio Interface Mackie HR824 Monitors
|
CLEAN
Max Output Level: -47 dBFS
- Total Posts : 2842
- Joined: 2003/12/07 14:51:04
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/06 20:37:18
(permalink)
|
i8ipop
Max Output Level: -79 dBFS
- Total Posts : 568
- Joined: 2008/06/14 18:18:16
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/07 03:09:05
(permalink)
(Geoff Downs, maybe, was his name? Maybe some other Sabbath fan can confirm.) "Silent fifth member", kind of like above. Close...Geoff Nicholls was the guy, Geoff Downs played in Asia
Still raining...still dreaming!
|
Fog
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 12302
- Joined: 2008/02/27 21:53:35
- Location: UK
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/07 04:57:57
(permalink)
Did I see them on Letterman? hhmm I was tempted to say "yer yer yer yer" (from vertigo) , but nope.. like it or not synths / samplers etc. are used regardless of the music .. it's a bit like the Rhodes mk 2 . it depends how subtle it is, loads of songs use it in the background. does any band play 100% live ? very few I guess. heck if you had a whole strings section etc at hand in a box, you'd use it.. as much as they use synths, people do dance music use guitar fx / distortion on breaks etc etc.. it's music at the end of the day.. My friend used to be very anti sub bass "oh I only use bass guitar"... until he layered a sine subtly under the bass guitar part..hehe
|
KenB123
Max Output Level: -66 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1229
- Joined: 2006/08/16 12:02:50
- Location: Illinois, U.S.A.
- Status: offline
RE: Anyone see U2 on Letterman?
2009/03/07 08:25:25
(permalink)
Saw them last night (Friday). Not a fan really, but they were good. Lettermen was pitching their new release which looked the size of an old LP (vinyl). I assume a CD was inside. Is this the new format? Can be nice because I might be able to read the liner notes again. I wouldn't' doubt if part of Shaffer's house band was even doing some vocal backups, as well as some playing (keyboards). Who knows. Maybe even some guitar. They are top-notch musicians that even U2 would probably respect working with.
|