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Big Show, Little Show

Big Show, Little Show

Date: Oct 30 2006

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

We all have our favorite bands. And it is fun to see them in concert. But bands like Coldplay and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are so famous, they draw giant crowds in cities all over the world.

Unless you have front row seats, seeing music at a large venue like a stadium can feel impersonal and be a little unsatisfying. The musicians are so far away, you end up watching the show on a giant television screen.

There is nothing like seeing your favorite singer in a small club. Imagine seeing Beck with just a few hundred other fans, seeing the sweat run down his face, even having eye contact with him, or better yet, chatting with him after the show. No such luck. Beck is huge now.

But most cities offer local talent that is worth checking out. Who knows, you might discover the next Green Day. And you’ll be able to say, “I saw them before they had a video on MTV.”

Listen to Mason and Toby talk about why they like small shows.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Toby

Toby

Mason

Mason

Toby:  Um, I went to a big show recently. I actually went to see Tom Petty ‘cause I was a huge fan in high school and…

Mason:  Oh yeah?

Toby:  It was really great but I don’t generally go to big shows like that. There’s so much great local music at small venues in this town.

Mason:  Seriously. I mean, it’s… for me it’s about connecting with the performer. You know, like… so much more personal. You feel connected. You can actually get to know the musicians. You grab ‘em a … you know, buy ‘em a beer after the show. How cool is that, you know?

Toby:  Plus, it’s a way to keep, um, the artist community alive in your own town. And I think that people get all caught up in, like, “What’s the latest video on MTV,” and “Oh, what’s on pop radio? If everybody else likes it, I should like it too.” But the fact is, there’s a lot of untapped talent in every town.

Mason:  Uh-huh. But what I think is kind of underlying all that and is exciting is that it’s so accessible for musicians to put their stuff out there now through myspace, you know, just making their own CDs, going on little independent tours in some brokedown van, that like, overnight, if the right person listens to it, your little band that you saw could be on MTV tomorrow or whatever.

Toby:  Yeah.

 

Quizzes

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Discussion

Toby went to see Tom Petty at a large venue, but she prefers smaller shows.

Mason likes smaller shows too. He likes to interact with the musicians.

Toby says that people are too concerned with what’s popular. She thinks that most towns have good local acts that are worth supporting.

Mason agrees. He likes how easy it is for bands to make CDs and promote themselves on the Internet.

Have you been to any concerts lately? Do you ever go hear live music in small clubs?

 

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