And it holds up on its own when I'm cranking their CDs without the benefit of all of that.
I'm not disagreeing. I could say the same thing about Alice Cooper. But that's the thing, if they just stood there like a bunch of trees, just playing that simple and catchy music, without interacting with the audience and without their immense stage presence, then you might as well just sit there and listen to the CD.
But in DT's case, even if JP just stands there playing the music, without engaging the audience at all, his musical dexterity and skill is still entertaining to watch. And it's not like that's the case anyway. DT still does engage the audience and each other and bring more to the show than just the music itself.
Yep, it is possible to be great musicians and entertain at the same time. One need only look at Queen for proof of that.
Hell, Rush's music is pretty difficult, but you often see Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson interacting and goofing around on stage with faces and whatnot, which entertains the crowd. Whenever you see JLB or Myung try to interact with JP, he always smiles, but he sort of has that "What is he doing over here?" look on his face, like, "Damn it, he is gonna distract me from playing!"
Queen was a very special case. With Queen, they really approached their live shows "punk rock" style. They just went up there and did their thing and yes, Freddie brought tremendous stage presence and showmanship. But their catalog was diverse enough that they DID have their simpler, catchier songs to do that with.
Although honestly, there were some live performances by Queen, where I'm watching and eagerly anticipating that high note from Freddie, and instead, he opted not to hit it, and instead settled for an easier note, and personally, I was a little disappointed when things like that happened.
As for Rush, yes, they do entertain the crowd quite a bit, but it's not like DT just stand there doing nothing. I'd say DT shows pretty much the same amount of showmanship as Rush. Not necessarily in the same ways, but in terms of engaging the audience and each other, I'd say they're about equal. I love those moments when JP, JM and JR all come to the front of the stage and do their thing. It's always a highlight of the show.
And when JP does his long, extended guitar solos, such as the one in BAI, he always takes center stage and gets all epic and godly with his performances.
Give them some credit.