Super Bowl Halftime show

[westen44]

To each his own. I've seen Bruno Mars on network TV a couple of times and to me, he's just a circa-1980 Michael Jackson impersonator, right down to the little fedora. To be fair, I didn't see the halftime show, but I wouldn't have watched him even if I had been watching the game.

As interesting as watching karaoke.  You didn't miss much. 

[Hörnisse]

Flea was so good he didn't even have to plug in his bass!



If he has teenage kids they'd be embarrassed to see him do this pose.  Looks like an old fart still trying to act 18.

[gweimer]

Flea was so good he didn't even have to plug in his bass!



If he has teenage kids they'd be embarrassed to see him do this pose.  Looks like an old fart still trying to act 18.

Yeah.  Not like James Hetfield.  Or Whitesnake.  Or a ton of '80s metal bands.   

[Dave W]

...

If he has teenage kids they'd be embarrassed to see him do this pose.  Looks like an old fart still trying to act 18.

At least he was wearing more than just a sock.

[westen44]

At least he was wearing more than just a sock.

And I thank God for that. 

[uwe]

Flea was so good he didn't even have to plug in his bass!



If he has teenage kids they'd be embarrassed to see him do this pose.  Looks like an old fart still trying to act 18.

Were they truly just miming?   Or are wireless components by now so small, Flea has them in his bass unseen?

[Blackbird]

I only saw this on youtube, but Uwe...the bass player for Bruno Mars seemed to have a wireless unit in his Jazz

[westen44]

Here is what Flea had to say about it.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/red-hot-chili-peppers-super-bowl-2014-2

[Psycho Bass Guy]

I know when I saw the Chili Pepper co-headlining with the Foo Fighters in 2000, that Flea might have not been plugged in either. It was a very clear illustration of how a good band is more than the sum of its parts, because Flea, John Fruciante, and Chad Smith were individually visually awe-inspiring, but when that posing prick Anthony Kiedis actually deigned to leave his friends and the deli tray backstage (I had a clear view) and half yawn/half warble his way through whatever songs they played, it was just BAD. I went specifically to see the Peppers and wasn't expecting much out of the Foo's, but the Foo Fighters blew me away completely and Dave Grohl was THE definition of a consummate showman, giving just as much intensity as any hungry club warrior. He even took a lap all the way around Thompson Boling Arena through the cheap seats while playing (complete with wireless) his Explorer and later publicly shamed one of the sluts out front who were barely dressed for Kiedis and Flea's attention and were sitting an chatting during a Foo number that had everyone else in the arena rocking hard. I despise Anthony Keidis and his entitled, lazy attitude. It may have been a backwater arena in Nowhere, Tennessee, but those tickets weren't cheap.

[Pilgrim]

I can't believe that people had such a hissy that their instruments weren't plugged in.  As their press release says, a zillion things can go wrong and it only makes sense to minimize the chance that something will happen.  I thought the press release was very nicely worded and gave a very reasonable explanation. 

It ain't a concert, it's halftime fill at a Super Bowl.  The priorities are clear.

[gweimer]

In years past, hasn't there been a big to-do over how bad the sound was?

[Psycho Bass Guy]

As someone whose job it was to mix bands on live TV and who COULD take a band like the Chili Peppers and give them a studio quality live to air mix at the Superbowl, I call bullshit.

[John Schoen]

I can't believe that people had such a hissy that their instruments weren't plugged in.  As their press release says, a zillion things can go wrong and it only makes sense to minimize the chance that something will happen.  I thought the press release was very nicely worded and gave a very reasonable explanation. 

It ain't a concert, it's halftime fill at a Super Bowl.  The priorities are clear.

A tape failure would result in no sound at all, I would spread the risk out over three or more instruments.

[66Atlas]

I think I read somewhere that the puppy-bowl was fake this year too 

Given the time they have to set up, tear down get people in/out etc. all for a <10 min "show" it doesnt really surprise me that they take the easy way out. Nor does it really bother me, it's just a big commercial after all is said and done.

That said, I'd never really seen Bruno Mars perform before and liked his part of the act.  At least he was more interesting to watch than the game.

[gweimer]

It's not as if we're not already used to performers supplementing the live shows with canned additions.