@lumpblockclod said:

@barter said:

I'm not sure that couchers should be reviewing 'shows'. recordings sure, but shows? seriously. I've been to MANY shows that were horrible in person and fantastic upon re-listen. so much more goes into a 'show' review than the music played. what about the crowd, the lot, enforcement, ticket availability, vending success, that one hot chick you met page side high.....a recording is just a show with the subjectivity removed.

LOL. A lot of people would actually prefer a review "with the subjectivity removed." Look, I understand why people say that you can't review a show unless you were there. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. I would rather hear an honest appraisal of the music they played than a lot of the other stuff you allude to (which will be different for pretty much every person in attendance).

Note that I am not at all saying that listening on couch tour is any substitute for the experience of being at a show. It's not even in the same ballpark. But we're talking about reviewing the music and, for that, a good stream and/or recording will generally suffice. $.02

I think the most important thing he left out is the SOUND. SBDs and AUD recordings alike simply do not accurately recreate the sound of being there (AUDs obviously do a much better job than SBD, but still not close enough). Those guys on stage are playing within the context of the live sound. I listened to both the AUD and SBD of this show, and neither of them do the actual sound inside the building hitting my ears justice. Dynamics are a huge part of improvisational music (correction - all music), and recordings to a great job of flattening out the dynamic nuances in the sound.