Quote Originally Posted by Swish
I posted about this last year I believe. A local musician who is quite talented (very good acoustic player, singer, harmonica, sax, trumpet) was chatting with a guy from Clair Brothers Sound, a company in nearby Lancaster PA that does the live sound for many major acts. He told my friend how they have these click tracks that basically take over if any of the musicians forget a note or whatever. So they could basically screw up all they want and you get a mistake-free show. My friend was crushed by that revelation, especially since does a ton of live performances and doesn't have that luxury (he makes few mistakes though), and was basically ticked off that they use them. We're talking the Who, Led Zep...the big boys.

I think that's nearly as bad as a lip syncing.

Swish
Yup, Yup. My buddy Sahar did some time on the last Shania Twain tour, specifically syncing the click tracks with some of the other MIDI stuff...makes it easier on the drummers, eh. From my understanding it's not "Mistake free" per se, but pretty damn close. The guitars and bass can still wander from the pack but to get the gig at that level you have to be pretty damn good to begin with.

If you want a basic example, think Aerosmith and horn sections...ooops, sorry for the over-simplified, penny ante version....ye ol' curmudgeony jackass.