SMALL and DEDICATED better than big and popular

Robbie Williams will be playing two huge live shows in Denmark in the summer of 2006. So will the Rolling Stones. And so have a lot of other BIG names done in the past.

The truth is - I don't really care. I have never been into large stadium concerts where you spend 4-5 hours standing in a big crowd fighting to get a good view and subject to often suspect sound quality. It seems, however, that going to these concerts is the thing to do - being able to say that "I went and saw Robbie". At least that must be the case since almost 90,000 tickets can be sold in just a couple of days.

Well, I'm much more into the smaller, more intimate concerts where you spend 1-2 hours indoors in the company of maximum a few thousand dedicated fans. And then that's it and you go home with a short and sweet experience - hopefully. At least I think these kinds of things tend to become more focused and dedicated shows with a better sound.

Recent examples of this kind of great live experience have been shows with French pop rockers PHOENIX and Norwegian electronica gods RÖYKSOPP. Both shows were short and sweet (75 minutes) and characterised by a great atmosphere, sound and contact between artist and audience. In other words, the kind of show that puts a smile on your face and does not contain distracting elements like with the big concerts: getting there, queing with thousands and thousands of people to get in, waiting for 1-2 hours standing before the show, being frustrated because outdoor shows tend to invite people who are there more for the beer than the music, getting away from the concert again........

I've tried to think of all the artists and bands I love and which of them would be able to draw me to one of these huge outdoor concerts. I really can only think of a few.......Tried it with R.E.M. this summer. It was great but still contained the distracting elements listed above. And I more or less agreed with myself that I've just grown too comfortable to do that again.

Anyway, if you get a chance to experience PHOENIX or RÖYKSOPP live, I recommend you check it out. They're awesome!

Le Mec