Contrasting performance analysis.
The contrasting live performances I will be comparing are two versions of the song Everlong by foo fighters one is a full band performance at radio 1’s big weekend and the other is a solo acoustic version performed by Dave Grohl on the Howard Stern show.
Foo Fighters - "Everlong" (Acoustic) Live at Howard Stern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-89uZOIFok
Foo Fighters - Everlong (Live 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHcuCb9xN4A
Everlong (Acoustic):
This performance is very stripped back featuring just dave Grohl with an acoustic guitar sat behind a desk in a tv studio. The performance is very relaxed and unstructured with dave saying “this will be interesting, I’ve never really done this acoustic” showing that its an impromptu and improvised version of the song.
There is no interaction with a live audience as it’s recorded in a tv studio but dave interacts casually with the other members of the panel as he introduces the song and explains the version. Although dave is playing a solo version of the song he still communicates throughout the song and mentions how he’s going to shorten the bridge.
In this version, dave is dressed very casually wearing a plain back long-sleeved jumper with a shorter hairstyle leaning into the relaxed and laid back version of the song and the setting
Everlong live at radio 1’s big weekend (2015):
This performance is much higher energy and uses heavier and more distorted tones along with the full rock band setup heard on the recorded album creating a wall of sound more appropriate for the festival main stage setting.
The band are spread out with lots of space between them but still only take up the centre portion of the sate with it being so large. Dave, the bass player and the second guitarist are positioned at the font of the stage with there own bank of monitors in front of each of them and the drummer in on a tall riser at the back of centre stage so he can be seen behind dave. Throughout the performance, the musicians move around to interact with one another with Dave spending most of the time at centre stage to sing into his mic, in the pre-chorus instrumental sections and the bridge he moves away from his mic stand to come towards the front edge of the stage and interact with the crowd.
The band have the classic 90’s rock band style on stage with backline stacked behind them and a relatively complicated stage setup featuring a constant light show and large video screens behind them they also have the band branding well represented with the logo present either side of the stage.
These two performances have very little in common other than being performances of the same song but they are both effective performances for there setting with the fist being relaxed and stripped back performance fitting the casual setting of the tv show with a small studio space whereas the festival performance is a well-rehearsed commercial product fitting of a high energy environment like a live broadcast music festival where the band has to work to win over a larger audience and have enough space and resources for more equipment and to put on more of a show.