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What do you do to create a "party atmosphere"


eddieboston2

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Hi guys. I used to post a lot on the Songwriters forum, and lately I've sort of reinvented myself as an all-purpose solo performer, playing a lot of covers and whatnot.

 

Anyway, I have a gig coming up that could turn into a steady engagement if it goes well. It's 5-8 on a Saturday on an outdoor patio. The booking guy said he wants me to make it a real party atmosphere so people will stick around and drink.

 

Obviously, song choice has a lot to do with that. I'll play all the happy fun stuff I know. But other than that, what are your best tips for making that kind of atmosphere?

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Engage the audience....you are not a jukebox, you are a human, and you need to add some personality...think of it as YOUR party...have some 'party favors' too: see if the house will give you a 'one free drink' ticket for every hour, and get a sign up list and get some 2 part tickets and give out a card every hour in a raffle. Be creative...but a lot will depend on the crowd/venue, 'best t-shirt' contest, most piercings/tats [can get a bit kinky], most uncomfortable shoes...

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First Eddie welcome to the dark side.

To have a a party atmosphere as DM says you need to engage the audience by encourage their participation through any combination of singing or clapping along and dancing. In order to elicit singing along you need to be choosing the right set list to include not only popular songs but ones that have a call and response like for example Hi Ho silver lining. I use King of the Swingers from the Jungle Book amongst others as they can't resist the Ooh Be Doo in the chorus.

To get folk dancing you need a beat provided by BTs or maybe a Beat Buddy or similar.

The venue needs to help by advertising the event as a "party night" and as DM says above provide favors. Maybe make it a seventies night with free drinks for those who come dressed accordingly.

But most of all its on you to be the catalyst.

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I want to add a small warning here. The owner might want a party atmosphere but the patrons might not. I can't count the times management wanted me to do something like "get them dancing", only to find out that nobody wanted to dance, they just wanted to drink. I would concentrate on your material first, and then make sure you look like you're having a good time. You'll find out in pretty short order if the owner is in step with his clientele or if he's just dreaming. If it looks like they want to actively party, pull out the party tricks - if that's you. No use doing something you aren't good at or can't sustain.

 

BTW when I say concentrate on your material I mean making sure you're got some sing-a-longs (no not BINGO), maybe a novelty song.... Also have BEG, Hotel California and Mustang Sally, and/or whatever else works in your market, on speed dial.

 

Most importantly, if there's a pool or sprinklers keep your gear away from the water, and use a GFCI outlet. Should be code but check if you can.

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Thanks guys. It would be nice to be able to give away some drinks. Maybe I'll try and broach that topic to the manager.

 

I really have no idea what kind of crowd there will be there. I do have a selection of "sing-along-able" songs that I usually save for the end of the night in a bar gig (Sweet Caroline, Build Me Up Buttercup, Wagon Wheel). Maybe I'll try coming out guns a-blazing and go full cheese right from the get-go.

 

I noticed there are a couple of recent threads about mixing in some comedy. Perhaps that's good timing. :)

 

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Interesting post. Welcome!

 

I did some gigs this summer as a trivia host. I've been thinking about adding a trivia element to my solo gig. It's really more of a vehicle for engagement than a show. I usually don't engage much unless the crowd seems to want too. I'm rethinking this tact. The tip jar usually does well just from playing hard and smiling, but I'm always looking for more way to engage. My only thing is it has to make sense and it's not some gratuitous and cliche engagement method that is so tired as to create alienation... think that guy who continually says something like, "Allllriiighhtt! It's a party NOW!" all night long. The one thing that I learned from hosting trivia is that crowds seem to appreciate a more subdued approach. As someone mentioned earlier.... you are the catalyst.... you are not "the scene".

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I used to host quiz nights which would last maybe a couple of hours, the last element would be me playing some guitar riffs in a name that tune sort of thing, then after marking and giving the results would play my normal gig for again about two hours. And ....it doesn't really work. The quiz went great and then folk just wanted to get on with all the chatting they hadn't done while the quiz was on.

So whilst I still do the occasional quiz it's on a different night to me playing and now ... Yes that right people say after the quiz "when are you going to start singing" you just can't win.

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Hi guys. I used to post a lot on the Songwriters forum, and lately I've sort of reinvented myself as an all-purpose solo performer, playing a lot of covers and whatnot.

 

Anyway, I have a gig coming up that could turn into a steady engagement if it goes well. It's 5-8 on a Saturday on an outdoor patio. The booking guy said he wants me to make it a real party atmosphere so people will stick around and drink.

 

Obviously, song choice has a lot to do with that. I'll play all the happy fun stuff I know. But other than that, what are your best tips for making that kind of atmosphere?

 

Nothing..I'm not a monkey and the gigs I've had where a DJ like expectation of making a party was on me were MISERABLE. My advice. Don't take the gig. Seriously. Life is too short. I've been there done that with this type of situation and it NEVER ends well for a solo.

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There is definitely that ridiculous expectation that some venue owners have that a solo act is no different than a DJ. DJs, frankly, are strictly there to create a party atmosphere, as they have no artistic [please, let's not go into 'hey, mofo, mixin' an' scratchin' is an art' thing] skill set, and their performance is all about working around the music, so their ability to hype is what makes them stand out. But that doesn't mean that a solo act can't create the atmosphere, it is just done in a very different way. You also have to have the right kind of personality to make it work, though, and certainly not everyone does.

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Once, several years ago, a venue owner asked if we [my blues band!] could do a 'sing-along' and without hesitation I started singing 'the-e-e-ere.... was a farmer, had a dog...', and the entire room responded 'AND BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O'...I left it at that...the owner was laughing, I figured my work was done....

Later on i the show, just to demonstrate how it really works, we did 'Minnie the Moocher', where I exhort [or extort] the audience into a 'question and answer' as I scat a couple of verses.

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i do things to set atmosphere, however... its not uncommon to find a pair of 3 foot tall amethyst cathedrals on either side of my stage. those alone require more care to move and are heavier than my gongs. tibetan temple candle stands, a hundred or so peacock feathers forming an umbrella over a two foot tall stone Ganesh smiling over his stone orbs and orchids. i am very particular as to the incense i use and tailor that, the stones and even the instrumens used on whatever feels right to me at that particular moment. ( which could just as easily be shorts, t-shirt and a single singing bowl. either way i promise i'll give you your moneys worth and then some...

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I know a solo that gets the party going by drinking! He also does a lot of Buffet, Reggae - what he calls upbeat. His personality is also upbeat and kind of loose since he drinks at every gig! I don't know much else about his act but he seems to get lots of work wearing beach clothes and did I mention he drinks?

 

As for myself, I agree with Shaster about what the crowd really wants. Conversation is free, and many people just wanna do that, which means keep the volume at a comfortable level.

 

Comedy? Go for it if you have what it takes. There used to be a solo around here that did dirty songs, dirty jokes etc. and had a good following. 30 years later, I don't know if that go over.

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the drinking thing is a double edged sword, methinks. In a bar atmosphere, that might play okay, but anywhere else, likely not. Upbeat? Maybe, loose? Probably, but one has to wonder how this person gets home at the end of the night....if he is selling the 'no worries' style, a la Buffet, I can see that working up to a point.

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