not quite live:

Thanks to relatively recent advances in digital processing, using prerecorded tracks is merely one of myriad tricks that musicians from Britney Spears to Aerosmith to U2 rely on to give live performances the same slick sheen as their albums. Much of the digital derring-do that used to be accomplished in recording studios — vocal tuning, cutting and pasting guitar licks, adding multitrack layering — can now be done onstage.

"There's a surreal, cartoonesque perfection that people expect today," Hamilton says. "Everything is being manipulated."

i know that some of my favourite bands have been known to use backing tracks, but i'd still like the live event to be really live and different than the recording. whenever i see shots of some band with an overblown show(ie huge sets or a team of dancers) it seems like they are just trying to cover up for music that can't stand on its own.