This is an interesting discussion. As someone who played live "traditional" guitar in various rock bands for 25+ years, I've struggled to wrap my brain around a way to perform my own ambient electronic music in such a way as to make it compelling and worthwhile for an audience to listen to and watch in a live context. I actually just wrapped up an interview with John D where we touched on this very subject. My point to him was that perhaps ambient electronic music is simply not suited for live performance. Yes, you can perform live and many do, but as you can see from this thread, the results are often unsatisfying for both audience and performer.
I likened the experience of listening to electronic ambient music to that of curling up with a good novel. That experience is often most satisfying and enjoyable when done in a quiet setting, in a comfortable chair, maybe by the fire with a cup of tea etc. Watching the author read from his novel in front of an audience will most likely result in a less satisfying and compelling experience than simply curling up with his book in a quiet, comfortable place.
I feel a strong urge to perform music in general, because I love playing with other musicians and in front of a live audience, but unless I can conjure up some kind of compelling experience to justify live performance, I'm thinking more and more that I should just resign myself to the fact that this particular genre of music is not really suited for live performance. Just my .02 cents, YMMV as they say :)
I likened the experience of listening to electronic ambient music to that of curling up with a good novel. That experience is often most satisfying and enjoyable when done in a quiet setting, in a comfortable chair, maybe by the fire with a cup of tea etc. Watching the author read from his novel in front of an audience will most likely result in a less satisfying and compelling experience than simply curling up with his book in a quiet, comfortable place.
I feel a strong urge to perform music in general, because I love playing with other musicians and in front of a live audience, but unless I can conjure up some kind of compelling experience to justify live performance, I'm thinking more and more that I should just resign myself to the fact that this particular genre of music is not really suited for live performance. Just my .02 cents, YMMV as they say :)