So, people are really upset about the idea that backing tapes were used during Jennifer Hudson’s and the E Street Band’s (separate) performances at the Super Bowl on Sunday, huh? I guess the idea that the biggest annual event in America is a heavily planned event that leaves very little to chance is still something that outrages Americans who need to be mad about something between election seasons. Anyway, yesterday I was trying to find a professional to weigh in on why these live performances might need a little enhancement—honestly, who here hasn’t bitched about the crappy sound quality of, say, a Saturday Night Live musical performance this year?—and I was alerted to a post by Fall Out Boy‘s Patrick Stump on the subject:
I’m hearing a lot of flack going the way of Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, and now Bruce Springsteen‘s legendary band for not performing live but miming their performances to pre-recorded music. And while I myself have made it a point never to lip-synch for any reason I have to say that, like the Christian Bale/Director of Photography debacle, uneducated people should mind their own business. Why is this trivia? Cause I’m gonna get vaguely technical:
Stadiums are built in large ovals or in circles and in some cases are built with the express purpose fo amplifying the crowd to dangerous volumes (this is said to “Inspire” sports players). Indeed, American football players have a high instance of hearing loss due to daily exposure to loud noise. Now add into that the shape and location of the speakers for stadiums. The problem is that in the case of music, any performer is going to be contending with the “Slapback,” or natural delay of the sound.
Think of sound like a distance runner. Now imagine that you’re playing music in a small club and the little runner has to sprint from your guitar to your amplifier to the mixing board to the PA speakers to the walls of the club and then run back to you. Sound travels very fast so in a small club this happens almost instantaneously and isn’t noticed by the human ear. But think of how big a stadium is. Now imagine that same runner having to perform that same sprint on the scale of a football field. The runner will be arriving later than they would if they were in the small club i.e. the sound is getting back to you well after you make it. As I’ve said before, this is called delay. Now, in some stadiums delays can be whole seconds which can seriously throw off a musician’s rhythm. Plus pitches can arrive late as well, making it hard to hear what key you’re in or even what note you’re singing. Plus you may be hearing two sounds at ones, the note you’re playing and the note you played. That can be confusing. Of course you could use “in-ear monitors,” like headphones that pipe in your mix to you. But even then, the isolation you’re getting isn’t enough to counteract the dangerous volumes bouncing from the crowds. The plain truth is that stadiums aren’t built for musical performance and are not suited for it…ever.
At any rate, these artists were asked by the Superbowl to “Perform,” for something they’re probably support (what were the Nielsen ratings for the Superbowl? Yeah there’s a good chance they’re football fans) and they wanted to give a good performance. Having heard the horror stories in the past of stadium shows going terribly wrong, they probably opted to be pre-recorded or partially pre-recorded. It was likely a tough decision to make but they decided to pros outweighed the cons and they went for it. And they are not alone. Most half-time shows performed by pop artists are pre-recorded whether or not attention is drawn to it. To blame Bruce Springsteen and his pit perfect band for the acoustically feeble architecture of a stadium is unfair and childish. The internet would be just as mean if they performed it off track, couldn’t hear themselves, and sounded bad. Springsteen is a legend and deserves a little respect. I know the internet was only invented so you can talk about how much you hate things in a disconnected attempt at scene points, but lighten up.
Not that this will necessarily put this particular nontroversy to bed, and I’m sure a just-as-technical counter-counterpoint to this counterpoint will come up soon (whee, arguing on the Internet)—but you have to admit, he does have a point about the whole “someone out there would steer the narrative about Bruce’s performance toward some sort of complaint, because being negative on the Internet always equals pageviews” argument.
Patrick Vaughn Stump [Official site; HT icecreamhdaches]
Bruce Springsteen is a legend? See that, a negative comment.
@MhS: never let it be said that the internet can’t outdo itself!
Naturally, it pleases me that PS would have a very diplomatic and smart response to this “controversy.” (However, baby needs a copy editor.)
@Maura Johnston: Amen!
I remember when Ashlee Simpson got caught lip syncing on SNL. I think it was the next week where she did a halftime show in a football stadium and, because the wounds were so fresh, she couldn’t get away with any “help”. Suffice to say, she sounded awful. I’m sure some of it had to do with her own incompetency and lack of talent but I bet the stadium didn’t help things.
You know, it’s fine to want to stir up controversy, but I think this Springsteen kid is known for being a pretty decent live act so maybe we should cut him some slack…
You probably won’t get a technical counter-counterpoint, because Stump has it exactly right.
You may recall this infamous Ashlee Simpson performance at the Orange Bowl four years ago:
If you watch this clip carefully (and I encourage you to do so for the humor value), you’ll see that she has pulled out her earpieces. She would later explain that they weren’t working, and she *needed* to hear the stadium sound just to try to get close to the rhythm. Obviously, she didn’t quite make it. This incident was also later explored on an episode of Newlyweds, in which Jessica is shown horrified for her sister’s predicament, because she knew exactly what happened, because it’s obviously happened to her (and Ashlee, and Patrick Stump, and…) many times before.
@sicksteanein: D’oh! Stupid internet lag…
A lot of artists simply aren’t great live. Fans go expecting to hear basically the same thing they hear on the album and the artist wants to give them that experience all wrapped up with a pretty light show and some impressive showmanship. As a general rule, somethings got to give even for artists who can do it live. It ranges from click tracks to prerecorded backing vocals to the singer lip synching to the entire performance being on tape.
While I appreciate artists who put on a kick ass show with an emphasis on musicianship (Prince, King Crimson, Zappa) I don’t have a problem with the ones who balance out the musicianship with some sort of safety net to ensure a minimum level of musical quality while they focus on the overall spectacle (Janet Jackson springs to mind, where she sang some parts live and other parts were lip synched because there was too much choreography going on for her to do both).
You’re paying to see a good show. Was it a good show? Did you enjoy it? That should be what matters.
And as others have noted, this was for a pretty high profile show. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if it was dictated by the contract that they use some degree of assistance.
The REAL controversy is that the Puppy Bowl is so painfuly pre-recorded and edited. I want that LIVE! No human interaction. TO THE DEATH! Puppy Bowl cameras clogged with dog poop by the 3rd quarter… etc.
I love this guy.
Problem is that the Springsteen and Co. have been playing stadiums since he went supernova with Born in the U.S.A…
So..he and the band are well versed at reverb issues that occur when playing in one…
But really this is TV and TV is fakery of the highest order…
@sydbarrett05: From what I’ve read elsewhere, the setup is a little different for the Superbowl halftime show, in that the “audience” on the field do not actually get to hear the music, as it’s blasted directly towards the stands – that probably means making some pretty serious adjustments compared to your normal stadium show.
Quick question though – if they were playing to a backing tape, how did they manage to go overtime and play for 13.5 minutes instead of 12? Wouldn’t they organizers have made sure that they played for exactly 12 minutes?
I am still confused…don’t concerts happen in stadiums all the time? One of the best-sounding shows I ever saw was in a stadium and it was very clearly being sung and performed live.
@MikePo: An excellent point. I’ve watched PB over SB for several years running. And the cat halftime show is usually better than the one at SB :)
@Lax Danja House: Seriously…Stump might be the only person in pop music right now who I like and respect more after reading things they post on the internet.
@Thierry: Oh I see…that still sounds really odd. Viva la tele, I guess. I despise televised “live” performances. They sure know how to amp up the awkwardnessness/fakery.
@Al Shipley: Agreed. I don’t like FOB at all, but he seems to have a level head. A rarity in any industry.
Bring back marching bands!
@revmatty: Same here. I like FOB okay, but the guy seems like a real down-to-earth fella.
@ObtuseIntolerant: Those shows have had hours of preparation and a very precise sound check. For the super bowl, they’ve got to set up a stage on the field in about 10 minutes, then have it off the field in another 10. Whole different beast, brah.
and..cough cough..not to name drop but I’ve hung with Patrick on a few different occasions and he’s just as intelligent and nice as he comes across on the internet. Totally good dude.
Also, according to an AbsolutePunk interview, dude totally loves Steve Reich.
Which is just really cool to me.
@Weezy F Baby: Not to mention that the sound requirements aren’t for an arena show aren’t exactly the same as those of a televised event.
And as a former marching band geek, let me assure you that the “slapback” is no joke!
Uh, aren’t I ashamed that I used one too many “aren’t”s there…
@MikePo: Wait, you mean the puppy bowl is staged?
At least Springsteen and Little Steven didn’t have wardrobe malfunctions.