Bands that use extra musicians live

[kopek]

I may have missed it but ------- anyone throw in Savatage/TSO yet? The number has varied from tour to tour and place to place but I believe they have always included at least some live musicians from outside the actual band except a few of the times they were the opening act. Usually local pick-ups but I think they had some sort of core group in the earlier days – say around Gutter Ballet?

[actualliberalnotoneofthose]

@Helena330

For groups prior to the era of computer “musicians”, don’t they all? If one person is playing multiple parts on their recordings whether vocals, percussion, guitars etc., of course they’d need more people to re-create the sound in a live performance. I guess I’m not seeing the issue here.

I should probably read the Rush thread.

Even “computer” musicians or people that use all machines to make recordings often use live instruments/bands for performances.

And for more traditional (at least for the mid-late 20th Century) bands, I’d agree that it’s fairly common for live performances to include extra musicians, or at least non band-members (in some cases bands might decline to replace a departed member, for example, and have members of the touring band that are hired guns and not members). I think it might be rarer to see a band perform a live set (at least a big one) that has only 2-3 members with no one else. Though I’ve certainly seen rock acts with just a lead guitarist or bassist-singer and a drummer or a pianist/singer and drummer, or whatever configuration. Then there are bands that will add a horn section, backup singers, tambourine, dude playing an iPad, etc.

And, though I’m not that familiar with Rush I’m pretty sure Geddy sings and plays multiple instruments on recordings and I assume shows, too. A lot of other musicians at least handle a couple different instruments and vocals in a show.

[Meurglys]

The Rolling Stones regularly have maybe half a dozen extra musicians and backing vocalists on tour with them to fill out the sound. This list has keyboards, saxes and bass as well as vocals on it. I guess I saw Billy Preston with them in 1976 but it was a festival and I was too far away to see much.

[bordelond]

@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness

When I saw them in 1984, the stage set up had 2 elevated risers with Alex’s drum kit in between them. During “Jump” and “I’ll Wait”, Eddie went up the stage left riser and Michael climbed the stage right one. Eddie had a guitar waiting for him at the top. Eddie would start on keyboards and Michael would play the bass lines on the other set of keyboards. During the solos, Eddie would switch to guitar and Michael would keep the synth chord progressions going. Neither song sounded as full as the studio version, so I doubt there was an auxiliary musician on that tour. I was sitting 7 rows back and above Eddie’s riser, and it sure looked like he was playing.

I don’t know about later tours. The only other time I saw Van Halen was the first tour with Sammy, and they didn’t play “Jump”. For the synth based songs on 5150, Eddie played keyboards while Sammy played guitar.

Good info here, thanks.

Alan Fitzgerald didn’t start touring with Van Halen until after Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth, as it turns out. He had played keys on Hagar’s solo albums, and the two were bandmates in the '70s hard-rock group Montrose.

Fitzgerald toured with VH when Night Ranger was inactive (late 80s - mid 90s), and then after he left Night Ranger for good in 2003.