In Praise Of Tiny Concerts

About 20 years ago, my friend Roman Bodnarchuk was doing some cutting-edge digital marketing for a band called NSYNC. He took me to their concert at the SkyDome. It was huge and flashy and bombastic. Afterwards, we went to the Westin and hung out with some of the band members and their crew, which I believe included their moms.

Several years later, my business partner at Wickware Communications took me to see Morrissey at the Palladium in Los Angeles. That was a totally different scene. He sang songs that had shaped my adolescence, and the venue was so intimate, it felt like I could reach out and touch the man himself. I loved it.

A few years after that, my friend Jack Bakker invited me to see Meredith Hall sing at the Heliconian Club, which is in a quaint little former church building. The gifted soprano’s unadulterated voice reverberated not only through the room, but through my soul. It was absolutely incredible.

I think when it comes to concerts, the smaller, the better.

My mind was blown when I discovered NPR Tiny Desk. These absolute geniuses film artists ranging from the famous to the obscure peforming live in the intimacy of an office cubicle. They’re beautifully recorded too.

Behold The Tiny Bug Concert

I was so turned on by Tiny Desk, that I wanted to give it a try. Here was my pitch to the other members of The Ugly Bug Band: we play three songs live in my condo. No edits. I set up some minimalist microphones and a friend of mine films it. I have coffee.

So we set a date and made it happen! Here’s the result.

This is what I learned from the experience:

I learned not to position the microphone directly in front of the singer's face. * face palm *

I also learned that I like this a lot better than recording the usual way. That would mean each musician playing their parts one at a time, layering one part after another, each of us doing as many takes as needed to get it perfect. Then you stitch multiple perfect takes together to make it even more perfect.

Then you layer even more stuff on it like background vocals, subtle keyboard pads, trombone solos or, full disclosure, me on tambourine. Then you mix everything together and add equalization, compression, reverb and other sonic tools to refine it even more.

What you end up with is a collection of polished moments that never really happened as presented. They took place at different times, sometimes different places, and often with different moods. It’s a composite that can never be reproduced live.

From my experience, it has a weaker pulse than what happens when you just let it rip like Meredith in a church hall.

Don’t get me wrong: pretty much all of my favourite albums were made this way. I also realize that most of us are not Meredith-level talents. We need a couple of takes to not screw up. I’m just saying that, right now, I’m interested in capturing real moments, warts and all.

The video format is also great. I recognize that when my friends and I record ourselves playing music, it’s not for millions of fans. It’s mainly for ourselves, our friends and family members. I think someday we’ll value being able to see what we looked like in 2018.

Despite my love of tiny concerts, I do hope that the Ugly Bug Band will play some larger stages. We’re interested in performing at folk festivals and other gatherings that would be amenable to our small-scale, old timey music. If you have any ideas, drop me a line.