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You can find them as you walk the avenues of any large urban area. Plastered on bulletin boards, walls, and light posts are handbills announcing shows put on by live bands. What they call themselves may change from city to city, but each flyer is essentially the same: come to our show and experience the local music scene. These are the musical representatives of your city. This is the sound of your town.

Usually, the bands advertised on these handbills are as local as you can get. On a Tuesday night, for example, maybe half a dozen bands will perform sets at the bar down the street. On Fridays and Saturdays, there will be a smaller number of performers, but more popular and well known acts will do their shows. In either case these musicians make for one of a kind events.

Watching a band play at some local venue, however, is usually a different scene than seeing the same band play at a party or hosted event. In a nightclub setting, neither the band nor the audience can really tell what to expect. Will the crowd be excited to see them play? At the nightclub, no one can really tell until the show starts. At parties and hosted events this is different because the band and host have had a chance to work things out in advance. The crowd is guaranteed and everyone involved can be more relaxed.

Going to see a live show is always different than a DJ experience. While DJs can pump up a crowd and get everybody dancing, the experience is usually more self-centered. DJs only provide an audio experience, rarely is there anything to look at. Dancers only have themselves to see and sometimes this can make for insecurity. With actual performers however, the best bands actually put on a show, they provide a focus for our attention, and because they are on stage, we in the audience can dance along without feeling so self-conscious.

Local musicians are also better examples of what is actually occurring creatively in the cities where they play. With DJs, the experience is largely a national one. They play the latest pop songs that are hits across the country. The DJ experience is less unique than actual musicians because the songs are usually ones produced by people outside of the local scene. With local musicians on the other hand, they usually write their songs based on things happening around them. Local musicians are more familiar with the tastes and interests of the people they perform for.

For variety of musical tastes, a live ensemble is also a good choice. Many bands can play in a number of different styles whether it be rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country and western, or some other particular type of music.

For parties, bands are great because they tap into something essential to human consciousness. Making music as a group is a primal activity left over from our earliest ancestors. When bands play and create music on the spot, it can move people in a special organic form.

All in all, live bands are an asset for any party. They can make every event an enjoyable one.

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