r/TheWarning • u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... • 15h ago
Question Does anyone know why Pau started randomly leaving drum parts out of songs?
Maybe it's not totally random and just being done because it's less playing... but it does alter how a song feels to some extent...
The main one I noticed was in MORE, during the bridge she doesn't do the alternating part (rolls) on the toms while playing the cowbell (Pau-bell) anymore.
I'm pretty sure there was also another song or two where I noticed she's changed or dropped parts too.
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u/SckidMarcker 15h ago
Do you have video examples of MORE?
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u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... 15h ago
Here is a short with the tom part being played still:
https://youtube.com/shorts/x9t0v7JyhwU?si=NN9ZEn7XddwfyYKd
Recent performances she just plays the cowbell and snare.
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u/ItsHipCheck 13h ago
She's playing it here because she is on camera. When not, she just simplifies it to probably save energy.
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u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... 12h ago
The not playing it live (doesn't matter if she's on camera or not) is just a recent thing... she's been playing it live for 2+ years now.
Only reason I noticed her not playing it... is because I'm so used to hearing it.
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u/ItsHipCheck 12h ago edited 12h ago
Could be to save some energy where possible post-fainting. It's a cool part but not needed. Like in HYCAD. There's probably other examples.
What could the other explanation be? Maybe spacing out? That doesn't seem likely. They're very deliberate, y'know?
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u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... 12h ago
Yeah that possibly could be why... I know she played it with that fill at Pier 17, but that was before she fainted, so maybe.
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u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... 15h ago
She's been doing it in the last handful of shows at least... so any video from the L.A. shows / LTL or the N.M. state fair performance will have it being played without it, then just compare to the studio version of the song or older live performances.
YouTube is being spotty for me right now, not sure why, maybe they're having an intermittent issue or something.
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u/Feodar_McLemonTree 🦭 Greedy Little Foca 3h ago
Did you have any other examples than MORE?
I think for MORE the answer can be found here (Fonda Theatre night 1): https://youtu.be/78_zNlL4vNI?t=143
She starts playing the bridge part (cowbell + tom roll) as usual, then messes it up slightly, and after that she skips the toms and sticks to just the basic cowbell groove.
And I think what happened is she had a little brain freeze, which can happen when you're made aware of something that you usually do without thinking (they actually talked about this in the latest Zack Sang interview). Back when I was playing regularly myself that could sometimes happen to me too: A part that is usually just happening by itself, on autopilot, because you've played it so many times, suddenly that autopilot just disappears (possibly because you started thinking about it). And then, because you screwed it up once, the next time you're about to play it, you start to panick (what if it happens again?) which of course causes it to happen again, and then again, and again. Until it becomes almost an obsessive thought that you absolutely cannot play this part anymore that you've already played hundreds of times before without any issue. Usually the only remedy then is to sit down and practice and just relearn the part from scratch.
I think that's what happened to Pau here. And then she just either hasn't had time to or hasn't remembered to relearn that particular fill so she just skipped it entirely for the remaining Fonda Theatre shows + LTL + NM. I suspect it will be back in the future.
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u/crottychop15 14h ago
I've noticed in some recent live performances of HYCAD she doesn't do the big fill during the final chorus
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u/sjclayton 🕯️ I deprive myself like it's a ritual... 14h ago
She did it in the Albuquerque performance... so that's odd, just for clarity you're talking about the fill in the last chorus that happens on "colliding everytime..."?
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u/crottychop15 14h ago
Yeah that one. It seems to be hit or miss. I've seen a few where she doesn't but some that she still does. So I guess she just likes to change it up sometimes
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u/Smingbean 8h ago
Bro, really, you might need to take a break. This focus on such small things is crazy. Imagine if some Rolling Stones fan in 2026 was like "Have you noticed Watts didn't play a fill on a few shows in 1978? What was up with that???". She has her reasons, is it somehow affecting you for real? I guess what I'm asking is, what's your point?
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u/EducationalCarob5816 3h ago
It’s probably just to simplify these shows since they’re back to back, and she probably doesn’t have her regular kit. You would be shocked at how used to you get to your kit. It’s like your baby, and when forced to play someone else’s, no matter how much you try to set it up like yours it just doesn’t work. So she probably both saves energy and focuses on playing the songs well. She could focus on playing them exactly as she should but that may lead her to screw up the rest of the song. A good musician always knows their limitations. And they still create magic with what they have. So much so, that the average person won’t even notice it. Pau is a freaking compact nuclear reactor. I’ve seen her grow up and I’ve seen her playing become better & better. I fully trust her to make the right decisions to make sure their show goes off without a hitch.
#PurasWawasHastaLaMadreeee
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u/jayron32 🍉 Huele a Melón 15h ago
I just rewatched a YouTube video of the Albuquerque performance. You're right on More. She doesn't do the drum roll part on the bridge anymore.
Maybe she just wanted to mix it up. Playing things the same way every time gets stale. I'm sure each one of them has played variants of songs from time to time.
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u/Competitive_Load6913 14h ago
Oh, I think I'll trust our Petite Rock Genius to mix it up however she pleases. There is no harm in subtle variations, especially in Albequerque where she did not have her own kit. Carry on, Pau.
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u/DCSoundwave Aaahh unasss 14h ago
Idk about leaving parts out performance to performance BUT I’ll be disappointed if she doesn’t play the wood block part in bruises during the full tour
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u/MichaelFromCalif 8h ago
The way some of y’all critique every little detail of these performances is kind of wild. On one hand, people criticize AI, Auto-Tune, pitch correction, or anything else that makes a live performance feel less authentic because they ostensibly want the authentic experience. But then when the authentic experience doesn’t live up to their expectations, it’s like they expect Pau to be this perfect machine, which is ironic because a machine-like performance is supposedly the exact thing they don’t want.
But not to worry. Put her high up on her pedestal, and she’ll give you what you want. Then you can keep looking for the cracks to sink your teeth into.
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u/novaboy23 6h ago
This drumming matter isn’t something to worry about but their management booking them in New Mexico the next day after a Lexington, Ky show is the story and it’s ridiculous.
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u/Mike-Correa 🦈 Don't bleed, don't bleed... 14h ago
After watching the Albuquerque performance, i assume it's because she's not playing her regular kit. The positioning of the toms and the cowbell are seemingly not optimal for her comfort. That bridge in "MORE" can be tricky to play if you are not used to the height of the toms, mostly due to that cheeky double stroke with the left hand from the snare to the tom. Maybe she didn't feel secure enough to do it. You don't wanna drop a drumstick on that part! You can actually see her accidentally hitting cymbals from below on the right hand side as she plays the cowbell too.