Choreographed (U2) vs Improvised (Dead and Company) vs middle ground (David Byrne)

This summer I’ve seen some great live music including Eminem, St. Vincent, Beck, Aerosmith, and Ryan Adams (covering the entire Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street album). Two bands I saw stuck me as a fascinating contrast of performance styles: U2 and Dead and Company. It got me thinking about how we work no matter our profession.