Chatty audience

sev112

roundthebend said:

About half way into a fairly rocking set they slowed it down and the singer started a mellow song intro on his own. After about 2 lines he stopped and said "Could you guys shut the fuck up" to a couple that were loudly chatting to each other to the side of the crowd. 

Must admit, I thought you were going to say they replied “ why don’t you guys shut the fuck up instead”

(I’ve heard similar when bands are playing in a locl pub full of regulars)

roundthebend

BillDL said:

Had the audience paid to get in, or had the band been booked to play at a small venue that maybe doesn't normally host bands and is actually the "local" of some of the audience members?

This was a proper music venue, hence being promoted by the Music Venues Trust. However, there were 3 bands on the bill and it wasn't a case of the headline act bringing their own support - it was 2 local support bands. I believe the chatty folk were friends of one of the local bands so they weren't necessarily there to see the headline act. It was actually the first band on that had the biggest following.

merlin

Stuckfast said:

............came and sat on the front of the stage playing very quietly and singing without a mic, so that no-one could hear him at all unless everyone shut up. To my surprise it worked a treat. 

This is one of the techniques that Victor Wooten writes about in his book "The Music Lesson". 

hollywoodrox

merlin said:

Stuckfast said:

............came and sat on the front of the stage playing very quietly and singing without a mic, so that no-one could hear him at all unless everyone shut up. To my surprise it worked a treat. 

This is one of the techniques that Victor Wooten writes about in his book "The Music Lesson". 

That’s a good read ,I’ve got that 

ToneControl

At the Jeff Beck gig recently, Sharon Corr was playing her slow quiet ballad, and everyone was chatting at the bar at the back.
She stopped and said "Sorry, am I disturbing you?" Which worked for a while

I think I understood the problem later that evening, the crowd was seeded with female Johnny Depp fans, who all left en masse after he left the stage, I assume that they had little interest in the main or support act

ToneControl

Stuckfast said:

Back in the dim and distant past when I ran a singer-songwriter night we used to get all sorts of audiences because it was free to get in. One night a whole bunch of foreign language students came in and sat at the front talking all the way through. One of the acts dealt with it brilliantly. He unplugged his guitar and came and sat on the front of the stage playing very quietly and singing without a mic, so that no-one could hear him at all unless everyone shut up. To my surprise it worked a treat. 

no issue with crowd noise, but at the start of a large venue gig, Ben Harper picked up his chair, carried it to the front of the stage, and played and sang with no PA. You could have heard a pin drop, it's an excellent trick if the crowd want to hear you 

prowla

A while back I went to see a band and there was a couple of blokes in front of me just shouting a conversation in each others ears; it was bloody annoying.

springhead

prowla said:

A while back I went to see a band and there was a couple of blokes in front of me just shouting a conversation in each others ears; it was bloody annoying.

I had that happen a while back at a Kirk Fletcher gig. They kept going even while he was playing a quieter slow blues. I told them to go and stand at the back if they just wanted to talk. They did, much to the pleasure of other people standing nearby.  

TheBigDipper

I don't like it when people chat during a performance. It's rude to the performers and the other people in the audience. OK, so the singer might have handled it better, but I approve of the sentiment. If you don't want to listen, you over-entitled chatters, why are you even there? And why do you think your conversation is more important than my attentive listening? Or sensitive playing, for that matter... :-) 

TheOtherDennis

hollywoodrox said:

merlin said:

Stuckfast said:

............came and sat on the front of the stage playing very quietly and singing without a mic, so that no-one could hear him at all unless everyone shut up. To my surprise it worked a treat. 

This is one of the techniques that Victor Wooten writes about in his book "The Music Lesson". 

That’s a good read ,I’ve got that 

Apparently Alex Harvey used to do that early in his career. He went on with the band as the support act to a much bigger band, the audience took one look at them and started howling abuse. He made a smart crack back and they went fucking ballistic, screaming all manner of abuse.

So he started whispering.

Within seconds, the crowd was silent and eating out of his hands.

As for the OP's view, I think it's a case of context. There are times when telling people to stfu is the only approach. In this gig, it wasn't, and it's about judging the right way to do it.

I have to say @Merlin's approach was genius, though.

merlin

stickyfiddle said:

@merlin that's excellent  

axisus said:

You are my hero!!!!!!!!!!

TheOtherDennis said:

I have to say @Merlin's approach was genius, though.

I was very lucky. We were playing an instrumental version of a very sacred Jewish prayer, Eli Ato, which is usually sung at the end of Passover. Luckily, no-one was offended. 

 

warhead

It depends on circumstance....I mean, it IS rude if audience members just talk loudly while someone's playing. And it is weird that someone might have the urge to do it on a "proper" gig. 
But if it is a pub gig, with bands playing covers. It might be expected in a way, dunno? I mean, people are going to those kind of places to have fun, not because the band playing is some kind of a highly sophisticated art.

chickenbonejohn

Playing in a noisy venue can be problematic, sometimes you just have to put up with it and accept that it comes with the territory, especially if you are simply paid to perform at a venue as "the entertainment". I've done everything from noisy biker rallies to intimate groovy loft clubs, and truth be told you may find that you've been booked just as aural wallpaper for people to drink along to, whether it's with a full electric 5 piece blues rock outfit or a mellow jazz combo. You have to weigh up what's needed and deliver in the most appropriate manner. You also need to have the attitude that you simply can't play "at" the audience, you have to play "for" them, even if that means it's just a background for their conversations, you need to wind your ego and neck in and tailor it to the situation. If you really want to get the audience to quieten down and pay attention, then dropping the volume and going for a more intimate approach is always a good move, but not everyone can do it successfully. I've seen some performers who are really good at this, and it is a technique that needs to be worked on and properly thought out in order to get it to work.

Lewy

You can't demand "pin drop" moments of any live audience, you have to earn them through communication and engagement. and by being the most interesting thing happening at that moment. Humility and humour go a long way, and you start building from the outset, not just when you want them to shut up and listen.

And sometimes nothing works in which case you pick out whoever in the audience is engaged and you play to them, and you play the numbers you know you can deliver in a noisier setting.

PolarityMan

This sounds like you might need a bigger amp. 

lustycourtier

merlin said:

I was doing a trio gig with a bassist and a pianist once. Someone answered their phone and said loudly and very audibly "I can't talk now I'm at a gig". 

I immediately turned the words of the tune we were playing and sang

"he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig,
and he can shove his fucking phone up his arse". 

Audience went ballistic, guy bought me a pint, I got more hugs and hand-shakes off audience members after that gig than ever before or since. 

Swearing on stage is a massive no no. 

Snags

lustycourtier said:

merlin said:

I was doing a trio gig with a bassist and a pianist once. Someone answered their phone and said loudly and very audibly "I can't talk now I'm at a gig". 

I immediately turned the words of the tune we were playing and sang

"he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig,
and he can shove his fucking phone up his arse". 

Audience went ballistic, guy bought me a pint, I got more hugs and hand-shakes off audience members after that gig than ever before or since. 

Swearing on stage is a massive no no. 

So are blanket statements ... damn. But even so.

Very much depends on the gig and the audience.

chrisj1602

lustycourtier said:

merlin said:

I was doing a trio gig with a bassist and a pianist once. Someone answered their phone and said loudly and very audibly "I can't talk now I'm at a gig". 

I immediately turned the words of the tune we were playing and sang

"he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig,
and he can shove his fucking phone up his arse". 

Audience went ballistic, guy bought me a pint, I got more hugs and hand-shakes off audience members after that gig than ever before or since. 

Swearing on stage is a massive no no. 

Unless…

fretmeister

lustycourtier said:

merlin said:

I was doing a trio gig with a bassist and a pianist once. Someone answered their phone and said loudly and very audibly "I can't talk now I'm at a gig". 

I immediately turned the words of the tune we were playing and sang

"he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig,
and he can shove his fucking phone up his arse". 

Audience went ballistic, guy bought me a pint, I got more hugs and hand-shakes off audience members after that gig than ever before or since. 

Swearing on stage is a massive no no. 

I think that depends on the gig, and the individual audience make up.

mrkb

lustycourtier said:

merlin said:

I was doing a trio gig with a bassist and a pianist once. Someone answered their phone and said loudly and very audibly "I can't talk now I'm at a gig". 

I immediately turned the words of the tune we were playing and sang

"he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he's at a fucking gig, 
he can't talk now he's at a fucking gig,
and he can shove his fucking phone up his arse". 

Audience went ballistic, guy bought me a pint, I got more hugs and hand-shakes off audience members after that gig than ever before or since. 

Swearing on stage is a massive no no. 

Agreed - Dave Grohl didnt get where he is today by swearing onstage.....

45 seconds onward....