Members JailTime Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 I think almost everyone here would agree that 'engaging' the crowd is important, if not critical to a band's success. The meaning of it is almost implied or intuitive. But when I really think about it, is it any more than playing good songs, targeted appropriately to the crowd in attendance, and playing them well? Is more necessary? Does it depend on the style of the band? Is it different for cover v. original bands? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 Sure it depends on the style of the band. A "party" band is going to need to engage the crowd in a different way than would a jazz trio. A band playing to a younger crowd probably would do things differently than a band playing to an older crowd. A heavy metal band would do it differently than a country band. Covers vs. originals? I dunno about that. But I think that making a concerted effort to engage the crowd---HOWEVER a band may need to do so based on their style, lineup, etc---is imperitive. Bands that just play songs without really trying to reach anybody and just hoping the crowd "gets it" are blowing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeniorBlues Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 I think this video serves as a tutorial on stage presence. I like the song, but for the purposes of this thread, please skip to 5:43. [video=youtube;hRONbnyNpu8] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 The lesson I get from THAT video is this: He has the audience fully engaged and their attention on him 100% before he goes into his schtick about not smiling. If not, that schtick wouldn't have worked. Engage the audience that fully with just your music (or, in his case, his music AND his decades-long reputation, celebrity and familiar material) and you can get laughs telling any dumb jokes you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeniorBlues Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 The lesson I get from THAT video is this:He has the audience fully engaged and their attention on him 100% before he goes into his schtick about not smiling. If not, that schtick wouldn't have worked. Engage the audience that fully with just your music (or, in his case, his music AND his decades-long reputation, celebrity and familiar material) and you can get laughs telling any dumb jokes you want. Naw, he's making a joke about his inability to present himself according to expectations . . . . yet even with his limitations, people enjoy his music. Maybe he does this joke every show, but I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 Naw, he's making a joke about his inability to present himself according to expectations . . . . yet even with his limitations, people enjoy his music. Maybe he does this joke every show, but I doubt it. I get the joke. And Harris was a bit of a jokester anyway. I think he actually released a comedy album at one point. So while he maybe didn't always tell this joke, I'm pretty sure listening to his stories was always part of the show. But I think you maybe missed my point---you look at the crowd shot and they are fully engaged hanging on every word BEFORE he begins to speak. He engaged them with his music/celebrity/past history....whatever he used, but he ENGAGED them. He doesn't NEED to smile because he's got other stuff he brings to the show to engage the audience. And that's cool. But unless you're Eddie Harris and you've got people paying good money just to see YOU and you're going to have the audience hanging on your every word and every note....you're not in the same position he is to get away with relying on "just the music" to engage the crowd. (and again---he doesn't either. He's got his fame to help engage them before he even takes the stage.) No offense, but if you're trying to say "I don't need to smile on stage because Eddie Harris never did and look how much people enjoyed HIS music"---I'm not sure you're at that level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SeniorBlues Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 For God's sakes Dave, it was a joke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 7, 2011 Members Share Posted September 7, 2011 Fair enough. I didn't get that you were just joking. But there IS a lesson to be learned in this video about engaging the crowd. It's just doesn't occur at 5:43. It's all the stuff leading UP to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 I think almost everyone here would agree that 'engaging' the crowd is important, if not critical to a band's success. The meaning of it is almost implied or intuitive. But when I really think about it, is it any more than playing good songs, targeted appropriately to the crowd in attendance, and playing them well? Is more necessary? Does it depend on the style of the band? Is it different for cover v. original bands? Thoughts? As Dave said... it depends on the band and the material. The other night I saw Journey perform at a local arena. The band is nearly 40 years old and three members have been there over 30. There was not a moment when they were not engaged with the audience. Every stare, solo, sing along were given in order to garner a reaction and response from the audience. I'm also a big fan of jazz and progressive music. Music made by introverts. There's not a ton of audinece engagement in those types of performances. There's a lot of concentration in terms of nailing the performance. I play in a party band, my job is to engage that audience from the first and last note played. However if I were going to see a blues band I would not expect that level of engagement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigboy78 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 What does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Grant/David your bands obviously rock the party crowd so how exactly do you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 What does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 8, 2011 Moderators Share Posted September 8, 2011 Engaging the crowd = Sharing the experience with them My stage presence has always been about sharing the fantastic feeling I'm having right now playing this music. I'm playing it for me... and for you. A sincere smile might do it, or it might be locking a gaze with someone into it and doing the rocking mind meld with them. Or being able to express that woderful sync between a bassist and drummer by moving with your heart and soul to further illuminate just what's going on up here. Or it might be a sincere "How you feeling Cincinnati!!!" But at its core, its all about sharing your joy. Even your smileless Eddie Harris-like appreciation for the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 What does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Engaging the crowd = Sharing the experience with them . 100%! Well said I might add that to my sig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 100%! Well said I might add that to my sig! There are also many ways to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 You know, these threads are getting stupid. Somewhere along the line, people seem to think there's a check list to being a good showman. There isn't. Want to put on a good show? Do everything you can as good as you can - that's where you START. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Engaging the crowd = Sharing the experience with them is pretty much what we go for. Years ago there was a clear "barrier" if you will between crowd and band. What I have noticed is the bands that break down that barrier do better. It may be getting people on stage to sing terribly, getting the crowd to participate by singing along, getting a conga line going like Grant's band does (we have done this several times too) tossing out free stuff, whatever makes the crowd enjoy and remember the band. We always try to be more than 5 guys in the corner playing music. Especially because the songs we do are dance/party tunes mostly. To me it would suck if we played Dynamite and people were sitting politely at their tables. I have noticed that people like not only to be entertained but be part of the entertainment. A few of our former members had a hard time with this concept, especially our former female vocalist who though the crowd should just dance, clap and be in awe of her. She would let no one close to her and would talk to no one between sets. It isn't a one size fits all kind of thing but it is how it works for us. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MikeyParent Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 Engaging the crowd = Sharing the experience with them is pretty much what we go for. Years ago there was a clear "barrier" if you will between crowd and band. What I have noticed is the bands that break down that barrier do better. It may be getting people on stage to sing terribly, getting the crowd to participate by singing along, getting a conga line going like Grant's band does (we have done this several times too) tossing out free stuff, whatever makes the crowd enjoy and remember the band. We always try to be more than 5 guys in the corner playing music. Especially because the songs we do are dance/party tunes mostly. To me it would suck if we played Dynamite and people were sitting politely at their tables. I have noticed that people like not only to be entertained but be part of the entertainment. A few of our former members had a hard time with this concept, especially our former female vocalist who though the crowd should just dance, clap and be in awe of her. She would let no one close to her and would talk to no one between sets. It isn't a one size fits all kind of thing but it is how it works for us. YMMV. I just hit the "Like" button on that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Canadian Jeff Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 I (try to) engage the crowd for the same reason I put my car in gear before (attempting to) drive off: If I didn't, nothing meaningful would happen - we'd essentially be up there making noise the same way my car would if I didn't slip it into gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted September 8, 2011 Members Share Posted September 8, 2011 people seem to think there's a check list to being a good showman. I'm pretty sure there's a checklist to being a bad showman... and a lot of people are following it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 Also, the bride is best friends with the late Clarence Clemons' wife, and he was supposed to be playing at her ceremony and sit in with the band before his sudden death a few weeks ago, so we've tried to figure out the best way to respectfully address that.Since we don't have a sax player and nobody could replace the Big Man even if we did.....my thought right now is we'll play "Pink Cadillac" and have everybody in the room "sing" the sax part in a tribute. Could be a cool moment if done properly? Hope so. I think that's a very cool idea. I'm sure his wife will think so too. Kudos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 May sound arrogant, but when we ask a crowd to scream, or jump, or whatever and they don't, we still have work to do "reeling them in" Not arrogant at ALL, IMO. In fact, I think it's the opposite. I've often been in bands where, when you ask the crowd to scream (or whatever) and they don't respond some guys in the band take a "{censored} these guys...this crowd sucks..." attitude. THAT'S the arrogant attitude, IMO. My attitude has always been like yours: we've just haven't done our job yet. Whether you're playing to one person or a thousand, grabbing their attention and engaging them---by whatever means works for your band and that audience---is the BANDS job. Not the audiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TrickyBoy Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 Not arrogant at ALL, IMO. In fact, I think it's the opposite. I've often been in bands where, when you ask the crowd to scream (or whatever) and they don't respond some guys in the band take a "{censored} these guys...this crowd sucks..." attitude. THAT'S the arrogant attitude, IMO.My attitude has always been like yours: we've just haven't done our job yet. Whether you're playing to one person or a thousand, grabbing their attention and engaging them---by whatever means works for your band and that audience---is the BANDS job. Not the audiences. So we always play Living on a Prayer in the 3rd set. And most of the bars we play are smoking. I mean like you leave smelling like you slept in the ashtray. Meagan has basically said, I can't sing the key change. Truth be told, she can hit those notes in her sleep but after sitting for 5 hours and singing for 3 hours in a smoke filled room, that last chorus trashes her. Most of the time she doesn't have to. She just turns the mic around and the crowd handles it. I told her she needs to make sure ALL THE TIME she doesn't have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheRinger Posted September 9, 2011 Members Share Posted September 9, 2011 So we always play Living on a Prayer in the 3rd set. And most of the bars we play are smoking. I mean like you leave smelling like you slept in the ashtray...... I'm so glad we play in Ohio where they outlawed indoor smoking. It's so much more enjoyable to play now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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