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Author Topic: Performers using a teleprompter  (Read 10625 times)

Offlinetwm

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Performers using a teleprompter
« on: April 03, 2012, 10:16:28 AM »
How would you feel if Mark used a teleprompter on-stage, to avoid forgetting the lyrics to his songs, to recall the various between-songs "stories" and even to recall the name of the city he's playing?

My question is prompted by this article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/bruce-springsteen-uses-teleprompter-in-performances-does-it-matter/2012/03/30/gIQAQTXGlS_story.html

And would your view change if he merely used pre-printed cards (like the notes for a speech)?

OfflineJules

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2012, 11:19:11 AM »
No problem, if he needs it, its ok for me.
So Long

Offlinedmg

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2012, 12:27:43 PM »
He doesn't need one because he plays the same songs all the time.  Even the jokes are the same!

No problem for me either.  It would make changing the set easier for him... :-\
"...and I blew up the radio in pretty short order."

OfflineFletch

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2012, 01:55:27 PM »
In the love-or-hate it Where The Light Is video (John Mayer) I was surprised to see clear evidence of the prompter used.

It must be much easier to remember lyrics if you actually wrote them yourself, much more of a pain if your just learning someone else's poems...
Hey, i`ve got a truffle dog - finally a song the ordinary man can relate too!

OfflineDIFFICULTTOBELIEVE

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2012, 03:01:47 PM »
I don't think he needs one just yet but he may be nearly there! I think Mr Saggers bringing a particular guitar to him, with the capo on a particular fret, jogs his memory and keeps him flowing. When he did a promo at Bush Hall and Mr S wasn't able to come on the stage, he only knew where he was in the setlist because Guy kept telling him! Teleprompt will be ok if/when the time comes.

Offlinedmg

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2012, 03:21:56 PM »
I don't think he needs one just yet but he may be nearly there! I think Mr Saggers bringing a particular guitar to him, with the capo on a particular fret, jogs his memory and keeps him flowing. When he did a promo at Bush Hall and Mr S wasn't able to come on the stage, he only knew where he was in the setlist because Guy kept telling him! Teleprompt will be ok if/when the time comes.

I think he just does that as a bit of a joke to be honest.  Maybe his dry delivery doesn't pull it off too well but he is very well organised in my opinion.
"...and I blew up the radio in pretty short order."

Offlinedmg

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2012, 03:55:59 PM »
In reply to the original question, on reflection I suppose I do have a slight reservation with it, unless the performer has real difficulty through medical grounds or old age.  They may amount to the same thing actually.

The performer should have the show and it's songs well enough rehearsed for the fans so that they know all the lyrics.  It shows a disrespect to the fans using a teleprompter as they've obviously neglected to learn the lyrics in any serious way for them.
"...and I blew up the radio in pretty short order."

Offlinesuperval99

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #7 on: April 03, 2012, 04:10:25 PM »
I think MK does a pretty good job of remembering the lyrics - he very rarely fluffs the words and the between songs banter is all good fun eg John McGoldrick/Mike McCusker "sorry I've forgotten your name" stuff!   ;D    

I don't think he needs a teleprompt for a long time, if ever, but if the worst happens and he really needs one, I won't mind - it's better than him being unable to perform! :)   LOL!  Sometimes I can't even remember the names of members of my own family!   :lol
« Last Edit: April 03, 2012, 04:32:25 PM by superval99 »
Goin' into Tow Law....

OfflineMaxx

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2012, 08:00:51 PM »
Well, I can see the need of promter in Springsteen's case, as he changes the setlist quite a lot. What amazes me is that Dylan doesn't use one (or does he?) with the extreme setlist changes that he does.

Love Expresso

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2012, 08:18:02 PM »
Well, nobody is really understanding what he is si.....

oh yes, when I think about it, with Bob it's awesome! Just imagine how many songs he has in his catalogue... Mark once had this real moment where he
lost the path in Telegraph Road... I have some little words missing or changing here and there on CD, but not too much. So MK still has it, too.

(Hamburg 2008: Cannibals : instead of And then the radio was playing and the weatherman was saying he was clearly singing
and the weatherman was saying and the weatherman was saying...  ;)

LE

OfflinePixelPerfect

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #10 on: April 04, 2012, 08:49:40 PM »
Anyone remember What It Is at the Edison Music Awards 2003? No matter how many times I hear it, I can't figure out what he's saying @ 2:03!
It was a nice save though.
 

OfflinePottel

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #11 on: April 04, 2012, 10:28:51 PM »
Well, I can see the need of promter in Springsteen's case, as he changes the setlist quite a lot. What amazes me is that Dylan doesn't use one (or does he?) with the extreme setlist changes that he does.
but also bobby tends to loose his words...(rare but it happens)
any Knopfler, Floyd or Dylan will do....

OfflineJules

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2012, 10:46:16 PM »
I insist that I dont mind. If he has to read his lyrics, thats ok for me, its not a lack of respect, its just something helpful to sing the songs as more accurate as possible.

So Long

Offlinedmg

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #13 on: April 04, 2012, 11:16:26 PM »
The worst time was when Mark completely lost his way during Everybody Pays in a Brussels radio showcase in 2004.  Sessions In Flanders or something I think it was called.  I think the host was called Ned!  Anyway, Guy kindly obliged and helped out but there was a few seconds without any lyrics at all! :disbelief

There was anothere time during the Princes Trust concert in 1988 when Elton John lost his way during I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That.  It was near the start of the song and he just mumbled some rubbish instead of the line.  Sounded quite funny actually.  Some fine playing by MK on that one too.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2012, 11:22:11 PM by dmg »
"...and I blew up the radio in pretty short order."

Offlinetwm

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Re: Performers using a teleprompter
« Reply #14 on: April 05, 2012, 12:42:49 AM »
Gosh, a few comments about Dylan. I can't resist.

Dylan does fluff lines from time to time. Indeed, even his studio albums contain the occasional fluffing of words. He goes for the feel of the recording as much as anything and lauds the raw feel of those early rockabilly/r'n'r recordings he loves so much, irrespective of technical issues. In concert, there have been many lyric lapses. When he changes the words from those on the album, there are occasions when this is clearly deliberate and an involve complete new verse. Other times, it may just be covering a memory lapse. He also omits complete verses or changes the verse order.

The only Dylan show where I've seen a teleprompter being used was at the 30 Year Tribure concert in Madison Square Garden in October 1992. I believe that you can see it happening in the official video. Lou Reed was obviously doing so but then he chose a long, fairly complex and not that well-known song. I paid for my ticket there, avoiding "street prices", but it was arranged through a musicbiz contact, so I was sitting amongst a number of musicbiz/media types and one asked loudly what the song was called. I answered, not quite as loudly, but loud enough to be heard by several folk around. That and my English accent, I guess, resulted in my being quizzed (pleasantly) by a few people at the end of the show.

In more recent years, Dylan has been seen, between songs, shuffling laminated papers resting near the keyboard. Some have suggested that these were the lyrics of songs he sings less frequently in concert. I once tried to read them through binoculars from an elevated position and, to me,they looked like individual lines rather than whole lyrics, but I can't be sure. My theory is that he has some opening lines there (either of the song or of the verses within a song) and this jogs his memory, when required. He obviously doesn't do it when he is centre-stage.

 

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