Derek Thompson has been going to all the wrong concerts. Kanye West? Really? This is what he is going to base his live music experience on? How lame and pathetic. Of course, overly produced music, seen live, is going to suck. The Grateful Dead (back when), Phish, Bob Dylan, Elvis Perkins, The Roots, Rusted Root, Beth Orton, The Allman Brothers, My Morning Jacket, the list goes on, are great live...Bon Iver, I dig, but that kind of music, live, is not going to be an unforgettable type experience...It's too moody and mellow. Some bands/musicians are great live and others are not worth seeing...A distinction must be made...It's too easy to just dismiss all live music. Chill out Mr. Thompson. Relax and enjoy the show.

Concerts are not Broadway shows . Your guests basic premise that he is disappointed if a band doesn't reproduce exactly what is on his sacred iPod is deeply flawed. Music is an interactive medium in concert and the musicians feed off of the energy of the audience .Also no reference was given by the host to spontaneity and music that depends on improvisation making every performance unique your guest more than once made mention of his youth as if they alone understand the iPod or somehow he's on to something new .headphones and listening to music in private has been around for a long time . I think you were too enamored with the name of his piece to ask any real questions.

Maybe I'm just going to the wrong shows, but I've been increasingly disappointed by the lack of risk that performers are taking. What makes the live show exciting to me is an artist playing a song at a different tempo or in a different style, in a different key or with new chord changes, with different instruments, etc. Those are always the shows that stick out in my mind. Maybe they flop horribly sometimes, but then other times it's unexpectedly transcendent. Where are all the musicians that challenge themselves and their audiences?

While I agree that the audiences at certain musical events take away from the experience, no one has mentioned the special quality of live music. Perhaps the type of music does make a difference. Hearing an orchestra live, a jazz combo riffing off one another in real time or a world music ensemble performing cannot be compared with listening via your headphones. I've attended life transforming concerts and shows and cannot imagine swearing off of live music. No, i don't regularly attend the blockbusters at Madison Square Garden and there are certain types of music I will NOT go hear at Avery Fisher Hall due to the lousy sound. However, the energy between a musician and a live audience is often magical and I'm sorry for those who are not able to experience this.

totally agree - went to see lucinda williams at webster hall recently and could barely hear her over people talking in the back. attempt to get close to the stage and get trampled by needlessly angry cell-phone-wielding "fans".

I love shows, but don't have patience for vague set times that vary wildly according to the venue. Sometimes I don't want to have to stand around for 4 hours in the hope of seeing 2.5 bands.