Augie March - Live Concerts

Live Concerts

Augie March's live performances have been highly criticised for supposedly failing to live up to the quality of their recorded work. Interruptions are common; at a 2000 concert following the release of Sunset Studies, Richards rhetorically asked the audience "what's an Augie gig without glitches?", and Inpress' Jayson Argall described a 2001 performance as "absolutely captivating one moment, utterly frustrating the next", pointing to numerous instances of Richards halting the show due to minor nigglings. Richards will sometimes refuse to play songs popular with fans; in 2007 Williams told Beat Richards no longer played "Asleep in Perfection" as "Glenn cannot fathom to sing the words that he wrote back then ... he's moved on from that place". He is also reluctant to play "One Crowded Hour", having "played that song in every possible format and so many times it's just a ridiculous joke". Richards once forgot the song's lyrics during a live performance at Federation Square.

A 2002 live review quoted an overwhelmed Richards as telling his audience "I don't have anything to say tonight, there's too many of you". Another 2002 live review, however, stated that "the band seemed both at ease and happy to be back" when playing one of their first post-Strange Bird concerts. dB magazine's Steven Hocking, in a review of the band's 2004 Drones & Vapid Ditties live DVD, said the band are "either unable or unwilling to engage the large audience", and that they were "just not very visually engaging" live, when compared to the sound of their albums. Performances post-Moo, You Bloody Choir have earned more positive remarks, however, as Richards has focused on improving his stage presence. David Fricke of Rolling Stone lauded an Augie March concert he saw in New York, which assisted the band in making inroads in the United States.