I'm a huge Devin fan and have seen both By A Thread and Retinal Circus several times. Yes, he plays with significant backing tracks. And for most acts, that would definitely bum me out. But Devin is a different story - his tracks are HUGE... there's a youtube of him showing his track build-up in his DAW (forget which one), it's just insane how many tracks go into one of his songs. Truly insane amount of layering. It's every bit as complex as say a Skinny Puppy song and I don't think anyone would expect Skinny Puppy to reproduce ever sound live (really this is just a way for me to slip in another favorite band of mine). Here's the thing though, even with a ton of backing tracks, Devin himself brings more raw emotion, talent, passion, effort into his live performances than most 5-piece live acts. The backing tracks only enhance Devin, they do not replace him. Some acts use backing tracks to hide their flubs, their pitch issues, timing issues, etc - Devin uses them to go above/beyond what he could reasonably be expected to do live. Oh, and then there's Anneka. <3
I think this response was meant to be directed at me. I was the one issuing the complaint, and lern2swim presented a position similar to yours.
I understand what you're staying, but don't agree. And of course, it's just a really subjective thing. I used to be into the whole idea of what I call "The Dream Theater Performance" which, at best, is an accurate execution of what's on the record. I aimed to do the same for years. My fervor for it has since waned. Any more, I'm buying more into the "what's the point of seeing a band just redo the record note-for-note live when I can just listen to the record" position. Seeing bands like Mike Keneally and Me'Shell Ndegiocello swayed me. They and their bands have the musical wherewithal to use the recorded compositions as a reference and starting point, and then take it to another, moment-based level live. (Mind you, most of Keneally's compositions are exponentially more difficult and intricate than Devin's. Not suggesting better or worse, just more musically dense.)
Then again, some music, for example orchestral, for the most part is performed note-for-note. I don't think Stravinsky left much room for improv in "The Rite of Spring". So what's the delineating factor? I think it's whether the music is more composition-based ("The Rite of Spring", "The Black Page", etc.) or performance-based (blues, jazz, etc.). And to me, Dev's music is basically pop. Fancy pop sometimes. But still, pop. As such, I think there's room for moments.
I think what bugs me most about Dev's performances is that it does indeed seem the majority of what we're hearing on the DVDs is piped in. For example, when they play "Addicted!" (the song) live, the chromatic guitar line is played by...no one. Dev and Dave both are just sitting there chuggin' on low B (or whatever note it is). But beyond the total reliance on the piped in tracks, there's more. In the commentary track for
Retinal Circus he talks about how he overdubbed the tapping sequence in "Planet of the Apes" because he botched it live. The choir(s) in both
LBAT and
RC - as far as I can tell, they're not even mic'd. And what I do hear of the choir, is clearly the recording from the album. And then there are quite a few moments when the beloved Anne's parts are clearly not her live. I think it's in "Supercrush!" (can't remember if it was in
Live By A Thread or
Retinal Circus), where you can visibly see she totally misses her entrance, but you can hear her perfectly. I don't try to notice these things either! I think the crux of my point is this, it seems a large part of what's presented seems an "air guitar" act. I'd rather see him play the stuff with a capable band -- live without the net.
ride: