The Official April 15, Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia Thread

Yeah, if it only would happen

Besides that, Jon used already a teleprompter on the These Days tour.

I can see no problem with the teleprompter. It is no important what means you use to make the performance professional/the best you can. What is important is the effect. If the effect is that Jon does not mess up lyrics if he uses teleprompter, why not using it?

The only problem I'd have with Jon using a teleprompter is that if he's reading off the lyrics he's not likely to be that into the song. In other words, he isn't likely to genuinely capture the emotion of the lyrics as much as he would be if he knew them by heart.

Imagine the difference of reading the lyrics to the second verse of Dry County, I cursed the sky to open/I begged the clouds for rain/I prayed all night for water for this burning in my veins/It was like my souls on fire/And I had to watch the flames/As my dreams went up in ashes and my future blew away, as opposed to actually "speaking" those lyrics with true feeling.

Jon having a teleprompter available is no different than a professional musician in an Orchestra having sheet music in front of them. It's not a matter of not knowing the lyrics by heart.

It's also quite possible to get so wrapped up in the emotion that you forget the lyrics.

For that matter, it's not like Jon is relying heavily on the teleprompter. He sang most of Only Lonely with his eyes closed, a song he's not very likely to know by heart..yet didn't fukc up.

I think that's a valid argument, but it all depends on how much he's relying on it. If he's standing there reading word for word, it will suck. But, if it's a safety net, it shouldn't really matter.

Oh yeah, I mean I totally agree with what you and BP said. As a safety net there's no problem whatsoever as far as I'm concerned. But hell, remember when Jon started playing Dry County again as far back as '06 and even when he had the lyrics right in front of him he still got them wrong.