Crowd control? A chaotic crowd is part of the show. We have tons of props/toys we loan to the audience simply for them to go nuts with. Who likes playing for a dead crowd? I had so much fun playing that show. The crowd loved our schtick. The limited music we did play was merely a backdrop for the audience to go nuts. They entertained us as much as we entertained them.
It's not like this was avant-garde prog jazz where the audience was serious audiophiles sitting still and picking out the nuances of each layered piece of music. It was me and a friend acting like buffoons and having a good time with a crowd of college kids... most (if not all) of whom would come to our shows again.
While I have been playing for a while and know my fair share of theory (I can read both bass and treble clef and was primarily jazz trained when I took lessons) it's not like I needed my jazz chops for this gig.
The other guy I played with will be the first to tell you he has zero talent (and yeah, the guy can't sing or play anything worth a damn), but his charisma and fearlessness on stage is unmatched, so we used that to its fullest.
http://www.myspace.com/sullendoor (This is Sullen Door, the band I used to play in. "Old Friends" and "I Need Hope" have my most prominent playing.)
