Showmanship

[stickster]

Originally Posted by drpepper

This

I think the simple formula (obvious as it might be) is to feel what you're doing, be comfortable in yourself, be free with yourself, and, like Phalex said SMILE.

What a great response. Recently I lost an old friend and mentor (SCREW YOU, CANCER), and as a result came back together with some old bandmates after having drifted apart. Now when I'm on stage with them, I remember how lucky I am to do something I love, even part-time, and entertain other people at the same time. So that helps me smile.

I've had numerous audience members come up to us after shows and say, "You guys are just having such a good time up there, it makes us have a good time too." Happiness is contagious!

[Kryptos]

We normally sit, tap feet, make self-deprecating jokes.

Play often with a fiddler in his mid-70's who is a well known clogger/buckdancer/flatfooter, on occasion he is moved to do some dancing which always meets with much audience approval.

All of us have been known to take a turn around the floor at square dances and céilidhs while others play breaks.

We also arrange foot stomping/clapping rhythm
accompaniment by sections of the hall/auditorium and use different sections of the audience as a vocal drone note for tunes (hum an A please, thank you). We are instrumentalists (no vocals) but normally close with some song everyone knows and encourage the audience to sing.

Audiences seem to enjoy being engaged, participating and helping the performance.

[TRichardsbass]

Originally Posted by BigRedX

Need I say any more?

I LOVE THOSE BASSES! I have never seen anyone rock the first one live, and the Yamaha is also cool!

[pacojas]

our band loves the music we play and it shows. we go to sound check dancing, we dance to the bands before and after us, we dance to what the DJ is spinning, and we definitely dance while we play! it loosens the crowd up and it sure attracts the females because we know how to have fun. even the shyest members in our band get amp'd. the youngest one comes up to me before our set and says, "this band always gets me excited because we love the music and it shows.

as a side-note, we have never discussed "Showmanship". it's just how we are. we love to dance as much as play.
BTW,... it's hard as hell not to move to reggae music!

[craig.p]

I'm gonna have to make an exception what I said about neotraditional country. I forgot about Eddie Perez, one of the best showmen anywhere. Look at the mando swap here. And he DOES hit the 3 harmonics just before the swap. Pete Anderson was equally good imo, and did move some, but didn't steal the spotlight the way Eddie did.

I think it can be distracting/confusing when everyone's showing off. I think there's a middle ground. One of the best examples of the latter I can think of (and imo one of the best rock songs ever written if not THE best) is this live performance by the Divinyls of Lay Your Body Down. Drummer and bass player are more or less in the background spotlight/movement-wise; the focus is on Christina, then a close second is the lead player, then lastly the rhythm player. I think it works great. (BTW, listen to how they absolutely nail those harmonies.)

[TBird1958]

Personally I enjoy moving around a lot when the stage allows for it, I'm not about standing in the shadows hoping someone will notice. For me, it's a genuine thing so I never feel like I'm "forcing" anything, playing a Thunderbird all dressed up in front of a lot of people is one of the most joyful things I get to do in life, I don't mind if it shows

[pklima]

Originally Posted by craig.p

I think it can be distracting/confusing when everyone's showing off.

It can be. If everybody's showing off then you have to be coherent and coordinated about it. That can mean synchronized headbanging, a lounge band in matching powder blue suits, or a full-blown show like TBird's or BigRedX's bands in this thread.

I haven't been that lucky yet... usually most of the "showing off burden" falls on me, LOL.

[Russell L]

One of the best compliments I ever got was when I was sick as a dog onstage, and didn't move at all while I played. A guy comes up at breaktime as tells me I was SO COOL. He had no idea.

But, I don't do showmanship. I move a little sometimes, smile once in awhile, but basically I'm just playing and getting very much into what I play, even though I don't move much. Went to see the Allman Brothers, and none of them moved much except for percussion, and they were awesome. Saw Dave Brubeck way back, and they didn't do showmanship. Just awesome music. The seriousness in their expression was all the showmanship they needed. I don't believe in the addage that you have to smile or jump around. Just watch Clapton, nothing needed but the music.

[pklima]

LOL. Didn't Tony Levin tell a story of people complimenting him for really moving with the music when he was so sick he was doubling over and puking into a bucket on the stage?

[pedro]

Originally Posted by bluewine

I struggle with showmamship. I haven't given up yet.

Blue

Ditto. My daughter keeps telling me I got to move around more but as I've gotten older it seems more and more difficult to me. Somethings that were natural as a teenager just don't come so easily as a 57 year old.

[ChrisB2]

Shouldn't we just be ourselves? The gamut of stage behavior is represented here, but it strikes me that we should just be ourselves and act naturally, whether that be standing still or moving around, even going wild if the music, venue, atmosphere, etc. calls for it and you have the ability pull it off gracefully.

The front man in my group wants to move around more, but he's rather stiff about it; looks like me the one time I tried to fast dance. Not sure that's helping our effort...

It has to be natural, and also appropriate for the music, the venue, etc. I remember watching a small time cover band in a local small town tavern, set up in the corner and playing on the floor. When the bass player set his foot on his monitor and started head banging like a Genuine Rock Star- Arena Grade, he lost the small amount of complimentary respect I had advanced him.

A true SHOW, in the right place at the right time, is great, but some of the antics I've seen described in this thread, performed in the average bar or club, would have me stumbling for the door overtaken by convulsive laughter. Okay, let's have fun, let's entertain our audiences, but are we musicians or clowns?

Edit to P.S.; TBird's and BigRed's posts above are excellent examples of SHOWS. The average guitarist in the average bar band doing silly antics, or bands dressed like Marge Simpson or in chicken suits, is just sad...

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

I'm the same way.

Part of it is because I think showmanship is overrated. Too many people look ridiculous when it's obvious that they are trying to "force" the showmanship. In my opinion, the quality of the music is much more important. If the music is great, showmanship isn't an issue. I think many bands rely on showmanship to compensate for poor musicianship. For years most bands just stood there and played. It really wasn't until the late 1960s and 1970s that showmanship became so prominent. In many bands, Aerosmith and The Who for example, its the front man who provides the showmanship. The rest of the band doesn't move much. John Entwistle hardly ever moved and nobody ever criticized him.

I have to disagree, a great band that just stands there and does nothing is boring.

Example;

Donald Fagen, great music but boring live act.

Blue

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by ChrisB2

Shouldn't we just be ourselves?

No, because most of us are boring.

One if the fun reasons for me to do this, is for 4 hours I get to be somebody besides me.

Blue

[BryanM]

Originally Posted by Mtnman

I'm usually the one in the band that moves around the most. I play wireless for the extra freedom... Sometimes I'll go out onto the dancefloor and dance with the girls. I've even been known to run into the girl's bathroom and play. (be warned: if you try this move, you'll be stuck in there until the song is over. The door is usually a pull!!!)

When I stay on stage, I do kind of a Steve Harris thing; running around, foot on the monitor, eye contact with the crowd, etc... Its all about exuding energy. Remember, you're not just there to play music. You're there to entertain the crowd.

What band do you play in? That sounds entertaining and I'm in the Pittsburgh area.

As for my band we all have our own antics. One of our guitarist/singers hams it up real good and it works. He's got a musketeer beard and handlebar mustache and hair to the middle of his back and he'll go all out with theatrics on the guitar and the mic.

Our drummer also plays accordion on some songs and is 6 and a half feet tall, so he'll stand up and play the drums or come out front with the accordion and dominate the stage, stomping and shouting and whatnot.

Our other guitarist is not very big and she has bright red hair, so she'll dance and vibe with the music but nothing outrageous.

I vary a lot depending on what song I'm playing and what instrument I'm playing. On the one or two that I do just vocals I'll go all out, jumping into the crowd with the microphone, standing on the bass drum or one of the amps, making a fool of myself. When I have my bass in my hands I'm usually tethered to a microphone so I'll groove in place, but stand my ground mostly.

We also articulate our showmanship with our wardrobe, nothing but suits and dresses or nice skirt ensembles on stage (non-gender specific, cause why not) and we'll also play off of each other a good bit with banter, jokes and hollow threats. On top of all that, I'll occasionally set a stuffed giraffe on top of my microphone.

[JumboJack]

Originally Posted by bluewine

No, because most if us are boring.

One if the fun reasons for me to do this, is for 4 hours I get to be somebody besides me.

Blue

Ever seen Pink Floyd in concert? NOT a boring live act.

[mellowinman]

Originally Posted by JumboJack

Ever seen Pink Floyd in concert? NOT a boring live act.

They have a fifty million dollar light show, and to many, they are still boring.

I love them, but I know people that wouldn't last five minutes.

[bluewine]

Originally Posted by pklima

I play a lot of notes in an exaggerated-looking manner, move around, sweat like a pig, make stupid jokes, strike poses between songs, look like I'm singing along with the lyrics even if I don't know them and they're in a language I don't speak...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2U1ysIEyqc

But showmanship stars well before I get on the stage - I shop for shirts so loud I won't need an amp, eat a lot of meat, lift weights, ask pretty girls what bass to buy, always shave my head before the show, hang small stuffed animals from my basses and so on. Showmanship isn't something you just do during your sets. It's an entire lifestyle.

I'm getting old, question does anybody play Rock & Roll anymore?

Blue

[JumboJack]

Originally Posted by bluewine

I'm getting old, question does anybody play Rock & Roll anymore?

Blue

No. Nobody plays rock and roll anymore.

[4001]

I let the singer do all of that. I play bass. Thats it. After seeing just a couple of clips of Janek Gers from Iron Maiden running around the stage it made me even more against being a complete goof and rather would let the music speak for itself. My band is about MUSICAL entertainment not a "show" where things have to happen onstage to distract from crappy musical passages.

[BryanM]

Originally Posted by JumboJack

No. Nobody plays rock and roll anymore.

We try to play rock and roll, though it's obviously got some additional influences:

http://www.reverbnation.com/buffalomakemusic