Another gig where we quit early because the crowd left.

[FRoss6788]

^^^ This ^^^

19/ 20 times or better your audience is made up of regular folks, not musicians. They want to dance, eat/ drink and party.

Exactly!

Our band plays a mix of danceable rock from the 60's to the 2010's. Our goal is to keep the dance floor full and drinks flowin'.
I, of course would prefer to be playing more hard/prog rock but that would not achieve the intended goal here, and there's nothing like playing to a crowded dance floor digging what you're doing.

We play songs that are known but not the usual fare, actually get positive feedback because of that.

 

[40Hz]

But again, you're blaming the audience, because, the band couldn't possibly be wrong, right?
The bands I'm in have had no issues keeping younger people dancing all the way to last call - you just have to play the music they want to hear and dance to. A lot of dad-bands just don't play that stuff.

Where did I say the band couldn’t be wrong? Or that dad bands aren’t guilty of playing music younger club audiences don’t want to hear? My mom always used to tell me and my two sisters that nobody is ever going to hand you money so you can just be you. And I never once doubted it.

I’ve been in several unsuccessful originals bands over the years. But I never once considered anyone other than the band itself responsible for its failure. It’s common to want to attribute artistic failure to bad timing or audiences not “understanding” what you’re trying to do. But that’s just coping AFAIC. The reason the bands I was in failed was because we failed to connect with our intended audience. Simply put, not enough people actually liked what we were doing, or maybe just didn’t like what we were doing enough, for the band to gain traction.

If someone doesn’t like something, how can that be their fault? Nobody is obligated to like anything regardless of their reasons or even lack thereof. So Why would I ever fault an audience for not liking a band? My entire point earlier was that people are more distracted and bombarded than they used to be. So it’s much harder to connect with them and hold their interest for any length of time. As a result, we’re now in a psychological arms race to bombard them with our own sensory stimuli hard enough to drown out all the other stimuli competing for their attention. And we need be able to do that long enough for them to enjoy our performances. In a nutshell, the music itself is no longer going to be enough. And, not that it matters, I think something very special got lost as a result.

But that’s me. Others will no doubt feel differently.

 

[Heiwa]

Just leave this band already. You’re not doing yourself any favors by playing further with these guys, if these gigs aren’t a great hang or great for you financially. You’ve already said their music stinks.

Didn’t you just complain about these guys last week?

Pretty sure it’s been every few weeks for several years. One would assume some sort of “don’t spam submit the same posts” rule would kick in, at some point.

And its always someone else’s fault…

 

[40Hz]

There was a time when making a living at music was not as difficult as it is now. Consequently, the overall quality of entertainment has deteriorated as pros are replaced by hobbyists. I still think there is no need for theatrics if the music is top notch.

With a small and focused audience into a specific musician, band, or genre it isn’t. Parlor concerts and private shows still take place. And there’s still a few viable jazz clubs and blues bars around. And some musicians are actually making a go of it in those specialized venues. But I think what people here are mainly talking about are what’s referred to as general audiences and “all music” venues.

 

[Bass Viking]

With a small and focused audience into a specific musician, band, or genre it isn’t. Parlor concerts and private shows still take place. And there’s still a few viable jazz clubs and blues bars around. And some musicians are actually making a go of it in those specialized venues. But I think what people here are mainly talking about are what’s referred to as general audiences and “all music” venues.

Yes, like the jazz concert I attended last night in a small venue. No light show or pyrotechnics but the band blew the audience away with their musicianship. It was a reminder of how mediocre the average bar band is.

 

[Bass Viking]

We play songs that are known but not the usual fare, actually get positive feedback because of that.

I'm glad to hear that and we need more of it! Not "We play Brown Eyed Girl because it's what the audience wants".

 

[pepj]

Yes, everyone who stands up and performs has some ego. There's a difference between that and being so out of touch that if an audience doesn't like what you do, they are somehow not listening right.

Yep, agree, I'm not blaming them.

 

[Bass Viking]

An audience is often very wrong and that's because they only often know what little they know.

In Frank Zappa's autobiography he said something to the effect that the average radio listener in America has experienced a musical universe so small they cannot even begin to know what they like.

 

[TommyGunz]

Normally I would suggest talking to the sound guy, but it sounds like he may not be the best. So I would highly recommend talking to people like the bartenders and servers to see if that is typical of that particular venue. You can usually get great info from these people. Because even if it was the sound guys fault, then all the shows should be similar, and it wasn't your fault. Also, consider what day of the week it is, and also if there were any other events going on that may have been the reason for people leaving. I have heard stories of venues clearing out because of special episodes of certain TV shows.

If that is not a reason, and the workers there do not give you the impression that what happened isn't uncommon, then yeah the band needs to have a serious discussion to find and fix the issues. The only other alternatives are to leave the band or just accept being a crappy bar band.

 

[60bass]

This IMO IS the classic example of a band that's way too loud. It doesn't matter if it's the band or the FOH cranking it too loud. Based on my over 54 years of playing and most of it in clubs. The FOH being too loud is almost ALWAYS caused by a band being too loud on stage for the venue they're playing at. If the venue serves food early on, this creates a BIG problem. People like to be able to converse while they're
eating.

Towards the end of the night when people are drinking, dancing , and partying, they won't care if the music is loud as they got a buzz on. Another thing to remember when you're playing clubs is you want to keep people on the dance floor for a certain amount of time, that way they work up a thirst. You want to do your songs and make sure that they are grouped together 3 or 4 at a time. That means making sure that you are doing songs that don't have extended solos in them. You want people to get out there and dance so you run those three or four songs back to back boom boom boom and then you do some slower stuff or what we used to call filler material, to give the people a chance to get back to their table drink some more of their drinks or order more drinks and then, you hit them again with a 3 to 4 song blast. It's a tried and true method for bands playing in clubs. It's worked for decades and it still works today. The music may change but the way a band presents it in a club is still pretty much the way it's always been.

People want to dance and the absolute quickest way to kill that is with guitar players who want to stand up there and battle each other to see who can do the longest solo. Literally that went out decades ago for playing in clubs. At a concert you can get away with it but only if you're a major recording act and not a local band.

Anyways, that's my .02 YMMV

 

[DJ Bebop]

In Frank Zappa's autobiography he said something to the effect that the average radio listener in America has experienced a musical universe so small they cannot even begin to know what they like.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Nobody has a clue what’s really going on here IMHO.

 

[frankie5string]

In Frank Zappa's autobiography he said something to the effect that the average radio listener in America has experienced a musical universe so small they cannot even begin to know what they like.

Except I don't think that was directly the point of that statement he made. His book spent a lot of time criticizing music distribution and the executives that acted as tastemakers - including radio execs and radio DJs. Streaming services have opened up the variety of music greatly.

I don't think he was blaming the listener, rather, the business.

 

[Bass Viking]

Except I don't think that was directly the point of that statement he made. His book spent a lot of time criticizing music distribution and the executives that acted as tastemakers - including radio execs and radio DJs. Streaming services have opened up the variety of music greatly.

I don't think he was blaming the listener, rather, the business.

Right, top 40 radio playing the same songs over and over in rotation. And I think that bands who play the same stale songs are contributing to this.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Except I don't think that was directly the point of that statement he made. His book spent a lot of time criticizing music distribution and the executives that acted as tastemakers - including radio execs and radio DJs. Streaming services have opened up the variety of music greatly.

I don't think he was blaming the listener, rather, the business.

 

[FRoss6788]

Love that!

 

[friskinator]

Yes, like the jazz concert I attended last night in a small venue. No light show or pyrotechnics but the band blew the audience away with their musicianship. It was a reminder of how mediocre the average bar band is.

Musicianship does not equal entertainment. To be honest, I strongly dislike jazz, and I’d rather do almost anything than watch an evening of live jazz. I can respect it as an artistic endeavor, but keep it away from me, please.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Musicianship does not equal entertainment FOR ME. To be honest, I strongly dislike jazz, and I’d rather do almost anything than watch an evening of live jazz. I can respect it as an artistic endeavor, but keep it away from me, please.

There. Fixed it for ya.

You're welcome

 

[Pocket Dave]

Re: long guitar solos, really, ANY long instrument solos...

Playing live music, we're telling a story.

Not an epic or novel, a short story.

As with such, where every word should support the story, so it goes with every note, phrase and tone.

When it's done right, some in the audience will respond well; Worst case, they won't be distracted or annoyed.

 

[MegaSwing]

In Frank Zappa's autobiography he said something to the effect that the average radio listener in America has experienced a musical universe so small they cannot even begin to know what they like.

Honestly, and I apply this on a local level as well, the last thing the world needs is another self-important musician telling the audience it doesn’t know what it’s talking about. Just play a song your audience can connect with. Think small victories, not momentous statements.