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I prefer having folks dance rather than just sitting and listening. Am I wrong?


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I just did a multi-band show/jam and, while I enjoyed it all, the most fun I had was when the floor was full of dancers.


Is that bad?!?

 

No thats not bad. I do think that you also have to understand that not all crowds are dance crowds. We play a house gig in a bar/food joint. Not a lot of people dance but we do get some dancers. For me what does it ,, is when the room erupts in applause and hoots and the like after we get done playing a song. For me thats more of a show of appreciation than dancing. Dancing people do for them. When they clap and hoot and stuff ,, its somthing they do for us. :idea:

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I'll admit that I do like to see girls hit the dance floor but I don't necessarily take it as an indication of how well the band is performing. Really it's more of an indication that people have enough drink in them to loosen up a bit.

 

It does annoy me to witness band members urging or pleading with people to come dance.

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No thats not bad. I do think that you also have to understand that not all crowds are dance crowds. We play a house gig in a bar/food joint. Not a lot of people dance but we do get some dancers. For me what does it ,, is when the room erupts in applause and hoots and the like after we get done playing a song. For me thats more of a show of appreciation than dancing. Dancing people do for them. When they clap and hoot and stuff ,, its somthing they do for us.
:idea:

I kind of hard to tell how hot the women are when they are sitting on their asses.:)

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I kind of hard to tell how hot the women are when they are sitting on their asses.
:)

 

I am married ,, in fact today will make it 19 years.

 

As for the dancers ,, a DJ can get dancers up. How many people clap for a DJ> dancers to be tend to more of a self absorbed crowd. The top entertainers tend to play concerts. Dont get me wrong a crowd thats on their feet dancing is cool , but its not the end all when it comes to rock and roll. 5 or 10 thousand people out front seems like it would be far more rewarding.

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Some of the best gigs I've had, and some of the best till ringouts as well, were gigs that were more like concerts than dances. I prefer an audience who responds over one that doesn't. How they choose to respond is up to them. But I never feel like I'm failing because I don't have dancers.

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It does annoy me to witness band members urging or pleading with people to come dance.

 

 

Yeah. The only exception we have for that is when we make fun of hotties "dancing in their chairs" and follow it up with "all it takes is one or 2 of you beautiful ladies to come out there and the floor will be packed" or whatever. If we make someone blush we only point it out and escalate it. It always gets a smile and a laugh. It's a good ice breaker to get people out there early on.

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Sack up and ask your wife if it is Ok to at least look at the talent.
:lol:
Or at least to quit putting Saltpeter in your oatmeal.

 

I live on south padre island ,,, trust me there isnt any shortage of eye candy down here. Prolly none that would go out with you though lol. You prolly would just go home with blue balls lol. Nothing worse than a red assed bass player with blue balls..... they are worse than drummers.

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As for the dancers ,, a DJ can get dancers up. How many people clap for a DJ> dancers to be tend to more of a self absorbed crowd. .

 

 

This uncanny knack of managing to both miss the point and insult entire segments of people at the same time is just staggering.

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This uncanny knack of managing to both miss the point and insult entire segments of people at the same time is just staggering.

 

 

You need to read what I said. people dance to satisfy them,, people clap to show appreciion for the band. Its fun when people dance and if thats the kind of place you are playing ,, you can judge your performance by dancers. If you are playing a different type of place ,, you look for applause. It not that hard to get drunk people dancing especially if they are younger. average bar bands do it every weekend. So do DJs. There are more than one way to judge success on a bands performance. For me its a lot of applause on an original song. Thats when it makes me feel the best about a show. We play covers , we play originals we play all kinds of different crowds. Its just how I see things. Your milage may vary.

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I live on south padre island ,,, trust me there isnt any shortage of eye candy down here. Prolly none that would go out with you though lol. You prolly would just go home with blue balls lol. Nothing worse than a red assed bass player with blue balls..... they are worse than drummers.

 

 

Well I'm sure your wife is glad you're gone most nights.

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Some of the best gigs I've had, and some of the best till ringouts as well, were gigs that were more like concerts than dances. I prefer an audience who responds over one that doesn't. How they choose to respond is up to them. But I never feel like I'm failing because I don't have dancers.

 

:thu: Pat, you bring up a very respectable and valid point. Our goal is to keep people engaged with the band no matter the song and material being played. If dancing is an indication of that then great. Our show are more concert-like... sure we have people dancing, but their attention is firmly locked onto the band, not two-setting it across a dance floor. Of course every band is different but we're not really considering ourselves a success if people are just dancing (except at perhap a wedding). We want people's unconditional surrender for the evening. In fact we had a motto in the early days... by the end of the night 'we are going to MAKE them love us".

 

[video=vimeo;33582420]

 

It's hard to drink when people are dancing all night. And trust me... having that concert like engagement is the real difference when they count that register.

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Some of the best gigs I've had, and some of the best till ringouts as well, were gigs that were more like concerts than dances. I prefer an audience who responds over one that doesn't. How they choose to respond is up to them. But I never feel like I'm failing because I don't have dancers.

 

Yeah, I feel the same. It's really fun when people are compelled to dance by the music, but I've done shows where we got a really positive response but people were actually mostly seated.

 

And of course, some music just isn't really dancing music. :idk:

 

The is thread made me think of when I was The Church at the Triple Door here in Seattle... it was kind of weird because we were sitting down and eating for a rock show. It seemed like it would be slightly awkward for them but they totally brought it anyways, and the crowd, seated or not, was really into it.

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If you want people to dance you have to have danceable music. Ever notice salsa bands always seem to get people dancing? That is because it's almost impossible to sit still when a hot mambo or salsa rhythm is playing AND it is good music. Salsa, Mambo, Samba, Rumba, Swing/Jive, Merengue, Cha-Cha-Cha, even disco beats get people moving. Even a waltz beat (yes, lots of rock is in 3/4) can move people. Also I think most people who go to hear Latin bands can probably Mambo, Salsa, or Rumba at a minimum.

But changing tempos, pauses, changing rhythms mid-song, straying far from dance beats, or just playing everything at a constant rhythm, like DJs playing a never-changing disco best, puts people back in their chairs talking in no time.

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Yeah, I feel the same. It's really fun when people are compelled to dance by the music, but I've done shows where we got a really positive response but people were actually mostly seated.


And of course, some music just isn't really dancing music.
:idk:

The is thread made me think of when I was The Church at the Triple Door here in Seattle... it was kind of weird because we were sitting down and eating for a rock show. It seemed like it would be slightly awkward for them but they totally brought it anyways, and the crowd, seated or not, was really into it.

 

Well I guess we'd have to define 'dancing' and 'concert experience'. In my mind 'dancing' usually indicates there's a dance floor and a partner and plenty of room to tango. Concert experience for me is standing and being fully engaged with the band. Everyone making their own personal connection with the band. So I guess there are differences speaking broadly.

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I've always generally focused on the band being a "party band" which entails socials, heavy drinking, and lots of dancing. Generally if the crowd is having fun, we're having fun.. it really seems great on all levels.

 

BUT....

 

We've played shows where we packed the place and the tills at the end of the night are still weak.. People up dancing all night aren't drinking nearly as much as people who are socializing or just watching the band from their bar stool.

 

Then one night we play and it's notable that the place just doesn't have much of a dance vibe, and that particular night, the majority of people in the crowd were musicians (the last people in the universe to dance, ironically).. They all just sat there and watched.. There was applause after each song, but honestly- I wasn't measuring .. it was all very intimidating.. once we realized the dance stuff wasn't hitting, we pulled out our alt sets, which is mostly hard rock, classic rock, less dancable but rockin tunes.. So at the end of the night, I was pretty weirded out, not being used to that type of crowd and all.

 

The Mgr approached us and said it was one of the best beer and liquor sales they'd ever had on a Sat Night.. gave us an extra $100... First time we ever got a bonus / tip!!

 

So now, I have an all new appreciation for the "performance bands" out there.. I personally don't like the spotlight, I love to gig, but I hardly like to draw too much attention to myself, so I would have a hard time coping with that type of band, but there IS a place for that in local bars. I've seen it.

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