Re: All the sudden, everybody's PHISH!
Originally Posted by
Marty Henrickson
Balance is nice.
Exactly. One of the best aspects of live concerts is the unexpected, the spontaneous creation of music that never existed before that moment and whose path cannot be predicted. Even carefully scripted forms like classical and big band benefit from spontaneity (and nuances that can't be reproduced satisfactoriiy by recording and reproduction). The two worst shows I've seen were a club gig by The Cranberries (each song was sung the same way, backed by strum strum strum from 3-4 rhythm guitars), and a stadium gig by The Cars opening for The Beach Boys. They were just hitting the big time, and though they were very polished, every song sounded exactly like it did on the album. It was a big "why bother?" for me.
What I like about good jamming is the exploration of possibilities, and what makes it good is the level of imagination, or perhaps how well that imagination is realized. I understand this can be very subjective. Personally, I prefer jams that remain a bit grounded, at least to a point where the source material is still recognizable, or at least relevant, even while the music is taking you places. That is, you should be able to tell what song is being played, and each one should be distinctive - each song has its own characteristics, and shouldn't be just an opportunity to cycle through each band member's collection of riffs each time. Another show on the above list is a club gig by War from the late 90s. Over an hour into the show I realized they had done only four songs. You really don't need to give every guy a chance to stretch out on each song.
For me, a good performance incorporates both approaches in good measure, and I try to incorporate this into my own playing. I like it when a jam, or even just a solo, is worked so that it returns to the song and resolves to the melody. I keep this in mind at shows, and try to reel it in within some sort of set time frame. Sometimes the singer lets me run a little wild, especially if the spirit is upon me; sometimes I bring it back a bit sooner, if that's how I feel it. I also derive a lot of satisfaction from how well I play the little riffs in the middle of a song, or create ambient textures that fill out songs and give them distinct characters. These may be much shorter than extended solos but can offer as much opportunity for creative expression. In my other band, in which I am playing all original blues and rock, I have to keep some sense of how far to stretch out and when to turn the instrumental section back towards home. However it goes, just as in gymnastics, it's important to stick the landing.
Like Casey Kasem used to say, keep your feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars. 
Originally Posted by
Marty Henrickson
After about 25 years of listening to the Grateful Dead, one of my favorite parts of any their lengthy psychedelic jams, is the moment when Jerry and the boys would re-enter earth's atmosphere and I can once again recognize the song that they were playing.
You know, back in the swing era, there was a lot of improvisation, often so far-fetched that it's hard to tell what song is being played if you drop the needle in the middle of the track. My favorite example is a version of "Tea For Two" by a Benny Goodman small combo off a Charlie Christian compilation, in which they play the first two bars, then off they go, never to return. You can hear the chord structure now and then, but the melody is left in the dust and they don't resolve to it at the end. I think a rendition like that will only work if the audience is sophisticated enough to be able to recognize the composition without the band having to play down to them. I doubt that either the material or audiences are at this level of sophistication currently. I get the impression, from the scores of movies and clips I have seen from the 1930s and 1940s, that audiences then were very much clued in to the music that was being played, and knew the material well enough to recognize chord progressions in general and songs in particular. I don't think that is the case so much these days. And it may well be that, in response, bands don't feel a need to touch on that. But I did usually feel that Dead jams led to the next song with some sort of purpose, and that you could tell what song was coming up. Perhaps it helped that I knew most of their songs (which I wouldn't at a Phish or other jam band's show), but then again, there are plenty of songs I heard first at Dead shows and still somehow understood that a song was coming up. You know, they really were pretty good, and smart, and talented, even if they were a bunch of old hippies. 
Originally Posted by
Steve-o
I suspect another reason for the jam band scene is the fact that it's an outdoor festival where people can get up and dance and wander around, so musicians cater to that atmosphere. An indoor concert hall is a totally different venue.
Well, OK, but don't these bands play indoor venues, too? 
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
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