My partner got us tickets to see Riverdance in Plymouth for last week. I dont think I had looked foreward to a show as much for years, all those drums, pipes and low whistles and of course the dancing. The reality was as big a let down as I can remember. Piped music not pipes. Two violins ( the only instruments there) who the mixer forgot to turn on at times, playing against a dreadful sound track. The dancing was OK but the show as a whole was not a patch on the tape I have of the original show. May be this was a sub show for the rural community but we were totally disappointed. It was not that the performers didn’t do well, more that we felt we only got half what we went for. I saw on an earlier posting of a piper who was touring with Riverdance. Are there several versions at any one time. At £27 for the cheaper tickets it was not cheap so what must one pay for the real thing. On a brighter note my Martin Preshaw practice set should arrive next week. I can hardly wait.
Tim H
So you missed the Las Vegas, Nevada “Creek Hopping Show” as well!
This Beautiful and gifted fiddler / violinist named Athena Tergis from San Francisco, was telling me about MIME-ing playing the fiddle to the tape recording, for a year there. The money was so good, so many $$ per week.I
can’t remember if she told me exactly how much. Athena did it for as long as she could, then stopped, so she could actualy play her instrument again.
She was tired of “Milli-Vanilli-ing” up the place.
I also understand that the taps and trebling of the dancer’s footwork is also taped as the tech people got tired of "mike-ing’ those effects, so the dancers are, ina-sense, MIME-MING to their own pre-recorded Tapping.
This is nothing new for “Streamlined Touring Shows” get in, get on, get out, and collect the money… honey !
Don’t Forget my NUMBER, Number, number, PLEASE Don’t forget,my number
Sean you forgot my Number ! …Folsom how could you !!!
Yep.. The tapping/stomping is all recorded as well. Partly because they were sick of doing the microphones over and over, and partly because they could create the exact (synthetic) effect they wanted and have it be perfectly repeatable. If you watch the dancers feet, you can see sometimes that they don’t strike exactly when you hear them and over time you can see that it’s not due to delay or any such thing. It’s sad.
Just think, though, how hard and disappointing it must be for all the artists involved. The money’s okay, but think how much it must wear on them to not have all of their talents showcased.
Dionys
I saw Riverdance in Millstreet in 1996. They still had the pipes “solo” at that time. I got the impression that at least that part of the show was genuine. I can’t remember who the piper was (Davy S was off that night). Anyway the piping solo during the show sounded entirely different to the version recorded on the album.
…You mean it was good?
I had a similar experience when Afro-Celt Soundsystem came to Portland several years back. All the “trad” instruments were pre-recorded samples…Horrible gig. The only gig I’ve ever walked out early on…And I’ve seen some pretty lame punk bands, let me tell you.
hi tim julie & i went with our daughter on the tuesday , i concur, daylight robbery springs to mind, you got yer preshaw set yet ?
albert