What the fuck is it with bands that don’t seem to give a shit that they have a hundred (or more) punters in the crowd, in front of them?
I went out to a show tonight that shall (for the time being) remain nameless, and nearly all of the vocalists – but especially the first support, who, by the way, were very bad – had a tendency to face the back wall, or their drummer, for something like 80% to 90% of the set. It irritates me beyond measure, because when I go to a show I like being acknowledged as one of many (or, in tonight’s case, the very few) who bothered.
Whether you are a young band with very little confidence, or a more mature band with greater experience on stage, it doesn’t matter. Ignoring the crowd is a really bad move – punters like some sense of being at a gig and not in a mate’s back shed. If you can interact with the crowd then your points skyrocket.
So – while I was excited about the gig tonight, that excitement died very quickly. Maybe someone out there can let me in on it, if it’s a secret, about why some bands do this. There were no idols on the wall; some of the punters were even incredibly enthusiastic. For all some of the bands cared, we could have not turned up at all!
Even small crowds need some acknowledgement, some sense of being involved – perhaps more so. It has the potential to turn a shitty little crowd into an intense, intimate gig that would otherwise have died in the arse, as tonight’s very nearly did.
