Between song fan blather

Song list and bang the songs out with no down time between them. Down time between songs is the same idea as " give a fool enough rope and they will hang them self with it"

 

Yep. One of my bands has a 30 second rule; no more than that between songs. Much of the time, we do less than 20 seconds. My main band, in full form, also follows this script, but the acoustic trio version does not, and often takes a minute or 2 between songs. Different gig format, however; intimate, and there is the matter of different material, and the need for music stands involved.

 

Song to song with NO dead air!

 

I have a strong preference for no dead air, probably from being a radio jock "on air personality". Hard to do & I've found most folks don't seem able to handle this. Some of the bands I play with are horn bands & have to flip pages & take a drink, etc, no possible way to avoid dead air. Therefore, guess who has to come up with inane babble for an average of 1 1/2- 2 minutes between tunes, plus sing a bunch as well.

 

You always have to have someone talking between songs, otherwise you have to deal with this stuff.

 

Wait - please refer to rule #1:

No pics, didn't happen..

 

I find bands that talk between songs to be unprofessional. Nobody in a bar cares what the name of the song is or why you wrote it or the name of the band members (followed by brief band member solo after each name) or watch you coo your girlfriend in the audience.

I like bands that get up there, tell me their name and then rip my face off with a great show. A great show with good songs doesn't need any dialog. Extra banter is like having to explain the punchline of a joke that no one got.

CDans...This wasn't at your band...just in general.

 

And on a serious note, I agree with Pacman. We as musicians are there about the music, so just shut up and play. However the other 98% of the audience is there to be entertained, and to feel a part of the experience. This is proven somewhat by the requests for dialogue (albeit misguided) by the often gin-soaked patrons.

When you engage them, you capture them and they stay, buy more drinks and put more money in your tip jar. A little benign communication goes a long way.

My solution to when they ask us to play something that's not in our repertoire: 'We haven't learned any of that band's stuff yet, but if we have enough people ask than we'll pick it up for sure!'

This validates them so they don't feel slighted. They're also likely drunk enough that they won't remember the request.

 

I have to say that that since I play in an acoustic trio/duo the between song banter is more connecting with the audience. I don't mean full on conversations, more like "we are (insert band name) and if you are interested, we sell CDs and tshirts out of the trunk of the car like homeless people" also at some point we do a quick intro to the people in the band and interact with the crowd. The last gig we did the bartenders and promoter said they really liked how we brought everyone into the fun.

The band right after us never said a thing and no one even knew their name since they just went up, played their 45 minutes and left. it was like they just played and had to get out of there before the cops showed up- lol

On the flip side we had an awesome blues band come on after us a couple weeks ago and they were having conversations and inside jokes that had the audience lost. They blabbered so much, they actually couldn't finish their set in the allotted time. They were very talented but I don't need to hear why the guy is bald and where the alimony is going.

 

Ok, so I partially agree with you guys. I have seen great shows with great interaction and those were great shows!

I suppose I was painting with too broad of a brush earlier. So being the singer (or guitarist, etc) doesn't automatically make you a showman. Yes, they are the frontman by virtue of being in the front, but it is the lack of showman skill I'm talking about. Being a showman is the difference. Many times I see bands whose in-between song routine is worse than small talk between two people stuck in an elevator. This is why I said it looked unprofessional. Maybe this is a case of, "My friends have a band and all I have to do is get a mic and I can be the singer." My experience with showman/frontman are that they already have a vision and go out and find musicians to support their own act. It's not an afterthought.

meh...i could just be a cranky old snob awake too early on Sunday...

 

To clarify a little, from my radio jock days(CBC), I hate dead air, however, it really depends on the audience & situation. A small combo can usually slam the music hard with little space between tunes. However, some of the 5 bands I play with have up to 35 people, & have to presented much differently than said combo. I'm a casino band player too, & that's all about presentation. Some of what I do is not because I'm the best, but rather the most experienced for MC & singing. Just putting it out there, folks. Each situation on it's own merits. As long as people are stayin' & payin', it's all good!

 

The most impressive, professional show I witnessed was "Tower of Power".
The curtain opened up without a sound and they took off on a great set of song after song.
After maybe 45 minutes, then the interaction began between singer/spokesperson and the crowd.
The band didn't noodle, or talk between themselves.
The banter was kept short and I remember thinking....
"Man, that is how to put on a show". Now if I can just keep our drummer from messing around between tunes, we got it.

 

My experience in bar gigs for the past 25+ years is that your average bar patron holds to the "shut up and play a song" idea.

 

Yeah,you gotta make the audience feel like they're part of the show. I'm fortunate enough to be in a band with a "frontman" who is a friggin' master at not letting "dead air" fill the club. At our shows,the audience is just as entertained in between songs as they are while we're playing. He just has that really entertaining gift of gab that doesn't come off as being goofy. He's a true sensei at being a frontman. I'm just glad it's not on my shoulders. I'd have the "deer in headlights" reaction goin' on in between songs. I'll stand back by the drummer,thank you.

 

As a player I've always hated dead air on stage but as someone who still likes to dance to live music I dislike dead air even more. If you keep me standing around waiting and waiting for you to get your act together enough to start your next song, I'm going to sit down, do it enough and I'll likely leave. Like the length of breaks dead air always seems longer than it actually is.

No matter the size of the band, if your sets are planned out dead air should be limited to 10 seconds max between tunes. If you're playing in a big band (horns etc.) you know your entire evening is already mapped out so everyone should have their charts already arranged in the order the tunes are being played. Any thing less is a lack of discipline and professionalism.

 

SpecialBlender, you've got it, I really wish I had a pool of players that I could choose to perform like you're saying. Unfortunately, family & band politics dictate otherwise & there's only 3-4 of us with a large amount of experience, 2 of which are the only "high value stage performers". Bottom line, the 2 of us are the only ones who can do run the tunes, in any of the horn bands I'm in. Help me, please!.......I know, it's rhetorical. I kill time harassing various members of the band & cracking bad jokes to kill time. Won't get hired on my comedic ability though.