a recent post on the clapton concert (guys not into it, no fun to watch, etc) and a past post on the whole showmanship thing got me thinking again about the subject.  and what it takes to get an audience to pay attention.

im going to be talking about bar/club/cafe concerts almost exclusively here as thats where the majority of preformances in my world seem to happen.  

one reason i rarely go to shows anymore is because shows are basically a way for me listen to music uncomfortably.  standing for a couple hours, in a smokey bar/club, too late at night, with mediocre sound aint as exciting as it was when i was younger.  as opposed to the comfort of my home, my decent stereo, my food and drink, and clean air.  

but there are some shows i like to see.  and not necessarily flashy bells and whistles gigs either.  but those bands that have the presence to command an audience.  a friend and i were discussing it once and came to the conclusion that the artist either needs to make it impossible for the audience to do anything but listen, or they need to be good enough to command the audience.  

seattle is known (by me and everyone i know at least) for its apathetic audience.  people that pay more attention to the girl/guy next to them and thier drink than the music.  sometimes with cell phone and other conversation being louder than the band.  but this one band ... Low ... they are an incredibly quiet act.  very slow, very subdued.  and everytime they play, the audience shuts up.  they seem to be able to "own" the audience.  no matter how little there is to watch.  its truly impressive.

ive invoked volume as a partner in my electronic act before.  turning the music into an unavoidable physical presence (with a good soundman).  while some were troubled by it (and left), most were smitten.  they were totally into the fact that noone in the venue could converse if they wanted to.  that the music was it in the room.  i managed to "own" the audience that once.  

the rest of the time i try to "own" them via presence.  and i swear ... its not easy.   and its often discouraging.  but if you are an act that isnt really of the showmanship school (masks, gimmicks, jazzercise, etc) then it has to be in your sincerity, your comfort with what youre doing, your belief in what you are presenting on stage.  and thats asking a lot.  

you may get people like the younger me, who are just into the whole experience.  but unless you can claim them with your music, they wont be back, they wont remember, they wont care.  i cant count the number of shows i went to that i LOVED and yet couldnt remember who the band was a week later.  

i guess this is all to discuss the different sides of "showmanship" and to discuss how everyone else goes about it, and even how much it really matters.  

the floor is open  

I think showmanship is extremely important. You need to give your audience SOME reason to actually want to SEE you play. Otherwise, all anybody needs is MTV, or a club with a DJ.

But showmanship can be many things. It's not just the stick-twirling, fire-spitting rock histrionics. It's watching a performer playing like he could die tomorrow. It's seeing a band smiling at each other as they almost telepathically go off on some brilliant musical tangent together. It's the drama that some moody lighting and serious facial expressions or spoken introductions can add to a somber piece of music.

I've played in punk bands where we came out wrapped in Christmas lights and basically trashed the stage while we played. And I've played in tuxedo-clad big bands, where we made a point of looking at each featured soloist when he played, to help draw the audience's attention to him. I've played one-handed solos while chugging a beer, or done entire solos or songs standing up behind the kit. It's all showmanship. It's up to YOU to have the sense of what is appropriate, and it's up to YOU to determine what YOUR kind of showmanship is.

Personally I think stick twirling is cheesy. It got to a point in the  80's where EVERY video on MTV had one quick close-up of the drummer, where he'd pout at the camera and twirl his sticks. I never need to see that again. But some people LOVE that stuff.

I was more into the showmanship of guys like Bozzio, who just played with such ferocious committment that it was utterly amazing to watch him. No gratuitous stuff, just a guy "playing for the kid in the last row of the hockey rink" as he said in a Modern Drummer interview. When I saw Peter Erskine with Stan Kenton, he'd get so excited he'd rise up off his stool for a particularly powerful cymbal crash. I love that kind of stuff.

So it's all a matter of taste. I'm a VERY emotional drummer, so I love to watch drummers who show a lot of emotion. I remember seeing John Riley - an amazing jazz drummer - and being baffled by how bored he looked while he played. But the stuff he was playing was tremendous. So there's a completely different approach.

Bottom line: showmanship is a chance for you to express yourself, and - more important - your opportunity to do SOMETHING to try to engage your audience. It's up to you to decide what that something is.

But please don't just play like you're alone practicing in your basement. That'll bore them to tears.

Gwar ... more than once actually ... they came up around the same time i was old enough to go to shows and care.  and since we're from the same area i had the opprotunity ... THAT is a freakin show.  

thing about gwar is that they are more closely related to blue man group, that sort of thing, than your typical metal band.  but thier kind of show doesnt really go over well in theaters, so they play the club circuit.  but those guys are all artists first, musicians second.  they were art school students basically putting together a performance art show in a metal format.  they are more theatrical, vaudville kinda stuff than bands like slipknot or mudvayne.  so its whole other beast.

I'm not much of a showman, although when I really get into it I look like it, apparently.  So, I guess my level of showmanship has a lot to do with my level of enthusiasm.  Good or bad, I'm usually totally focused on the music, and I don't spare much attention to the audience until the tune's over.

As for owning the audience,  I think a select few musicians really have a gift for that.  Those that do are usually very successful, so you'll probably see them when they come through on tour.

As for playing local bar gigs, I do agree that you have to be loud enough so the audience has to pay attention to you.  If you're real quiet, people will sit and talk and ignore you.  You'll become background Muzak.  You don't want to blow their heads off, but you do want to be louder than they are.   Then, you can hold the audience.

A recently popular guy who makes the "musical/fun to watch" thing work is Abe Laboriel, Jr. I have a bass player friend here in L.A. (he's a monster) who says Abe, Jr. is the best drummer he's ever played with - and my buddy's played with some major fusion guys (Steve Vai is one).

Fast forward to Abe Jr. with Paul McCartney. If you saw the television special you saw this guy bashing away on Beatles and McCartney songs having the best time of anybody in the place.

Thanks cavanman. I've been preaching this guy for two months. Not that I want to harp on the Mccartney show (because i'm a Beatle freak) but Paul and Abe and the rest of the band was full of piss and vinegar for three straight hours while playing great music. I took people with me who didnt care for Paul that much that left the show amazed. Those are my kind of concerts. I like to sit back and enjoy jazz musicians with a drink also but not at rock-n-roll concerts.

Phew. Abe Laboriel. That guy is a BEAST. He just comes out and kicks the crap outta those drums. I LOVE watching him play. Like bigfoot!

Pdrums-I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  A lot of guitar players position their amps at about knee height, and maybe a few feet over to one side of where they're standing.  Then they can't hear themselves.  To make matters worse, cone speakers, due to their shape, tend to focus the sound in front of the amp, so the problem is even worse close to the speaker.

So, encourage your guitar player to get at least one of his speakers aimed at his head, either by raising the speaker cabinet or tilting it back.  After that, he'll be a lot more likely to keep his volume reasonable, and he'll be happy because he'll hear himself well.

I guess what I've noticed in my years of attending concerts is the guy or gal behind the kit has to work a little harder to win the crowd over. Not being able to move around the stage to get the audience's attention, difficulty in making eye contact with the audience (your generally "hidden" behind the kit AND the rest of the band) and normally being set to the back of the stage, it's hard for a drummer! So we make up for it by playing harder and throwing or spinning sticks, putting our kits on hydraulic risers, or elevating and spinning the whole kit around (i.e. Tommy Lee's infamous falling from the kit and busting his head open!) Of course the "on stage antics" can't take the pace of a truly awesome player. But the flame throwers and strobe lights help accentuate the performance. I've found that playing "to" the crowd with eye contact as well as "for" the crowd usually make for a good show, and I can draw them in by doing so. But as a whole, the band has to "work it" together. Unless you're doing a solo act "It's not a one man show". That's my 2 cents! Rock on!

David Byrne definitely has some charisma.  As for the rest of the band.... well, not so much.  Overall that is one of the finest Concert videos ever made though.  Very creative.  Especially how they bring each person/section out separately throughout the beginning songs.

If you're asking me, I think the additional percussionists is what makes "Stop Making Sense" work.   That movie is the only Talking Heads music that I can actually enjoy.