Does a full orchestra ever actually improve a live set?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the "grandeur" trend in live music. It feels like every artist eventually hits that stage in their career where they feel the need to go big—I'm talking massive string sections, cinematic arrangements, and enough reverb to fill a cathedral.

Don't get me wrong, there is something undeniably breathtaking about hearing a familiar melody stripped of its grit and rebuilt with a hundred violins. It can turn a catchy song into something almost religious. But I can't help but wonder if it sometimes washes out the very thing that made the music hit hard in the first place.

I remember seeing a certain indie artist a few years back who traded their raw, jagged energy for a lush orchestral backdrop. For me, the soul of the performance just... evaporated. It felt polite. It felt like it was trying too hard to be "important" rather than just being honest. I miss the sweat and the tension that comes from a small, tight group of people pushing against each other on a stage.

Is it an evolution of the art, or just a way to make a tour feel more "prestige"? Does anyone else feel like the more "epic" a concert gets, the less personal it actually feels?