At the end of the day

In this edition of At the end of the day, I have to go with live performances from the perspective of the audience.

A concert audience may not know the set list beforehand, but will know every song played from that set list finalized to the minute.

The Billy Squier audience knew "The Stroke."  The Peter Frampton audience knew "Do You Feel Like We Do."

In the Live from London concert (Duran Duran), the audience knew "Save a Prayer" with one note by Nick Rhodes.  One would think that the band could provide instrumentals and the audience could sing the lyrics.

In the Live in Boston concert (Chris Botti), the audience knew "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" with an instrumental note.  The Live in Boston concert was formal in attire and Chris Botti's primary contribution to every song did not allow the audience to sing along to songs they recognized.  However, Sting is so profoundly established in the music industry that I am sure the audience sneaked in a lyric or two aloud.

A concert audience is proof of a musician's fame and success.  A concert audience knowing the lyrics to every set list song by heart, whether with one word or one note only, is enough proof of a musician's success.  Credit may be given to the musician or band, but equal credit should be given to fans and concert goers.