A Disappointing Valentines Day
There were few places more exciting to spend
this past Valentine’s Day in Vancouver than at Rogers Arena for Justin
Timberlake’s Man of The Woods concert. This show, featuring the charismatic
personality and effortless vocals of the singer, was everything you’d expect from
a pop concert and more. The stage was adorned with screens, elaborate sets, dancers,
musicians and at one point even a campfire. From start to finish, strobe
lights, lasers and projections flooded the arena creating an exciting but
potentially overwhelming atmosphere. Lip synching and pre-recorded vocals were
used prominently to allow for intricately choreographed dance numbers to take
place. In fact, these dance numbers, often eliciting deafening howls from the
audience, seemed at times to be of more importance than the vocals. There is
absolutely no denying that Timberlake knows how to entertain a crowd, but is
that all that we expect as concert goers? Todays’ technology allows for nearly
infinite possibilities when it comes to producing art but does this make the
art any more valuable to us as viewers? It seems to me that as a population we
are much more interested in being entertained for a short period of time rather
than experiencing art in a thoughtful and potentially critical way. Does a
production of this magnitude, seemingly geared towards entertainment, take away
from or add to its artistic value? As an audience member, I thoroughly enjoyed
the production but couldn’t help feeling that while entertaining, each added
layer of stimulation took away from the artists vocals and subsequently the authenticity
of the show.
If you attended the Justin Timberlake concert
for the sole purpose of hearing the artist sing it’s likely that you left
somewhat unsatisfied. While there were moments of outstanding vocal prowess,
they were disappointingly few and far between. For most of the night, the vocals
took a back seat to the high energy and elaborately choreographed dance
numbers. Dances of this magnitude have become an important component of many live
concerts and a staple in pop music. Not only is Timberlake a surprisingly strong
dancer, he dances with such charisma, enthusiasm and sensuality that the
audience can’t help but swoon. Unfortunately, these impressive, non-stop dance
moves come at a price. And in this case that price happened to be an
astonishing lack of live vocals.
Lip Syncing and the use of pre-recorded vocals
are in no way a new addition to the music industry, so it comes as no surprise
that Timberlake would use these technologies to his advantage during the show.
What was surprising however, was the overwhelmingly high frequency in which
they were used. Timberlake would sing a line or two in between dance breaks however,
the vast majority of the show was pre-recorded. Not only was there very little
live singing, but there was absolutely no effort made to even act as though the
vocals were live. When the microphone wasn’t being thrown in the air as a
gimmicky trick it was usually found swinging meaninglessly by Timberlake’s
side. If I am spending half of my very small university student paycheque to see
an artist in concert, I want to at least be able to pretend that they are
really singing. Like anything, I believe that lip syncing can be effective when
used tastefully and in moderation. It becomes problematic for me only when used
in complete substitution of any live vocals.
Lip
syncing has ultimately been around since the beginning of recorded music but it
became much more prevalent and public in the 1960s because of its use on the
show “American Bandstand”. Since then it has become more and more commonly used,
particularly after the explosion of MTV and the music video. The emergence of music videos added a whole new
layer of entertainment value to music and “heightened the importance of
spectacle during live and televised performances”.(Lubet, 2017,
para. 8) It is now exceedingly common for music to be adorned with dancing,
acting, costumes and concepts, in a way that was not seen in previous years. However,
in order to achieve these added layers of entertainment it became increasingly necessary for
artists to utilize lip sync technologies. Many artists have been the subject of
controversy due to enraged fans who feel cheated by the use of lip syncing. While
many music lovers have now accepted the seemingly unavoidable need for lip
syncing others remain adamant that it is fake and refuse to accept it. Chris
Nelson suggests in his New York Times article “Music; Lip syncing gets real”, that
the reason many people are so quick to accept lip syncing, despite its fake
nature is that “perfection is more desirable than authenticity”. (Nelson, 2004,
par. 4) This phenomenon of human nature is precisely how artists like
Timberlake continue to top the charts and sell out arenas. We crave
entertainment, stimulation and excitement, even if it comes at a cost and that is
exactly what Timberlake provides.
As technology has evolved over time it has
become increasingly popular for artists to utilize these evolving technological
elements in concert. Some practical innovations such as amplification and video
monitors have made the concert experience more accessible for larger numbers of
people. However, other elements such as vocal distortion, pyrotechnics and
flashy lighting do little to enhance the concert experience. These elements are
a great way of adding to the desired excitement noted earlier however they also
serve as a distraction. Not to say that the only valuable concert format is for
artists to sing acoustically to the audience with little to no use of the aforementioned
components. But, what do these added components really do to heighten our
experience? Lighting for example, can be a powerful tool used to enhance mood,
evoke emotion, highlight musicality and intensify the overall concert
experience. But there is a point at which being consistently blinded by strobe
lights becomes not only repetitive but agonizing. The same goes for
pyrotechnics or other explosive features, they serve as an exciting way to
heighten dramatic moments but when overused, they become less impressive and
more aggravating. Imagine reading a paper with exclamation points at the end of
every single sentence. The Timberlake concert is an example of a show that used
these elements in excess and in doing so diminished the attention given to the
artists performance.
This overabundance of stimulation coming from
the use of technology was only exacerbated by the overwhelmingly chaotic
environment of the arena. The atmosphere produced by the concert promotes the
experience of being entertained rather than appreciating the art of music. Yes,
the audience was having a seemingly good time, singing at the top of their
lungs to every song that was played. But in an environment filled with alcohol,
drugs and rave-like behaviour how could you not feel the effects? Even the
artist and band were joining in the fun by taking shots on stage. The problem
is that this memorable concert experience then becomes a night that most only
remember through shaky iPhone videos. I was not unlike the rest of the audience,
singing along and enjoying myself. However, it crossed my mind that this
experience was not much different to that of a night club. Could I have simply
attended any pop music-playing club and saved myself $100? If so, what draws
people to spend their hard-earned money on a concert ticket? Chris Nelson again
offers the explanation that “these concerts are about spectacle and sheer star
proximity, not the miracle of live music production”. (Nelson, 2004, para. 6) This
seems to be a near perfect description for what I felt after attending the
concert. But I have to wonder if others, despite having a good time, left the
concert with a certain emptiness and disappointment.
As an artist Timberlake’s goal is clearly
to entertain and he is extremely successful in this endeavour. He is an undeniably
talented vocalist, dancer and performer who is able to put on a high energy and
flashy show. I believe lighting, dancing and other mentioned elements do have
the ability to add value to a performance however there is balance that I don’t
feel was achieved in this show. As Timberlake is most well known as a singer I expected
that to be the focus of the show but instead I felt it was overshadowed by
everything else. So much artistry goes into each element of the show. Lighting
designers, choreographers, technicians, singers and many others are putting
their artistic visions into fruition to make this show come together. Each
element has its own value and should be appreciated however, a show of this
magnitude takes away from each artistic medium. That’s not to say that art
should not or cannot be interdisciplinary, but when each component overshadows
another the overall value is diminished.
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