In the summer, I go to a lot of concerts (especially since they’re all free). After a while, you notice the same words, phrases, actions repeated over and over again. I use the word “creativity” again when I say.....can’t you come up with something new to say?

But then again, I’m the only one it seems to bother. But then again I notice at many of these concerts the people aren’t there for the music. They’re there to picnic, rap with each other, have a tailgate party, smoke pot, or just plain they don’t want to be home.

Sayings I'm tired of hearing as follows:

How is everyone doing out there tonight (standard opening line)?
It’s great to be playing here in the town of (uh….hmmm…) Pottersville?
Everybody put your hands in the air (Sweet Caroline, Old Time Rock & Roll essentials, etc).
There’s a dance floor here in front of us. Let’s see you come up and move around.
How are you all doing out there? (at mid-performance to keep the electricity in the air)
Remember this song? Remember that song? Remember this? Remember that? (no, I can’t remember anything....I’m on Prozac!)

and then that mush mush where the guitarists put their tush tush together....rub...and gaze in each others eyes…..especially when it’s two men!

So……what irks you that gets repeated constantly at every concert?

Mark the questionable music critic

Mark ... Yes, you are correct ... but I would be interested in what YOU might say to avoid these cliches ...

I do a lot of work in the theatre world. If we produce a "concert like event," a director tells the act what not to say... do... or move. The band may be great with their music but not that great in the "polish" and communication with their audience. If the music is really good, then I can let the conversation between songs slide a bit. And what's cliché to me or corny to another can be different to others. My 75 year old dad would laugh at something that I may see as very cheesy.

I hope the music was good!

Funny post, a true scrooge, like me!

I always try to be upbeat, stand and play and sing and engage the audience. One performance, I just had a chip on my shoulder for personal reasons. I played and didn't give a crap about the job. I said nothing, smiled and went on.

After the performance, I got an equal amount of lovin'.

You could argue that talk is unnecessary, if you walk the walk.

In my solo work, as well as small combo gigs, we often talk with the folks between songs. Usually quick comments about the next song, or just trivial stuff. They seem to like it. However, one retirement home resident asked me not to say anything between songs, but just play the music non-stop. Others there said, “Don’t listen to her, but continue to tell us a little about each song. We like to hear something about who wrote the song and who is known for the recording.”

I'll never forget that time I was doing a performance and talking like I always do. Some clown yelled out from the back row: "cut the chatter and let's hear some music!" You never forget incidents like that. But "every party has a pooper that's why we invited you" (sung to the tune of Pretty Baby).



Larry.......I go with #2!

Tony, as Chas often says, we all have our own way of performing. With me, it's not only WHAT you say, it's also HOW you say it. It's delivery, timing, tone of voice, knowing just when to say what and saying something appropriate to the moment. That's why I'm an advocate of knowing your music inside your head....so you can watch, every second, how the audience is responding to your music (or your patter even).

I have a motto I never stopped using since I started playing. "Play WITH your audience.....not AT them."

Make yourself, and your audience, into one big family, no matter how many people you're playing to. Invite them into your living room. Become part of them. Talk to them like you've know them for years. Share your thoughts with them. Joke around with them. Tell them stories. Compliment them. Think about how you can bring happiness into their lives with your music and how you can take their minds off their problems for the length of your performance.


Things I would say are what fit MY personality.....
first words out of my mouth......."what a great audience I have here tonight....all V.I.P's, socialites, members of the aristocracy, and....I think I see the Royal Family sitting in the bleachers. The first thing I noticed about you is.....you all look healthy, wealthy, wise, and.....prosperous .....and......interestingly enough....you all have good posture!

Dance floor.....folks, if you look in front here you can see we have a dance floor....now, this used to be an indoor swimming pool, but they filled it in just for your dancing enjoyment tonight...and....they told me I get $1 per couple extra for everyone who uses it.....so....ladies, and gentlemen......help me fill my coffers. Come up and......shake a leg! And don't forget...the best dance couple on the floor tonight wins a free trip to Honolulu. The 2nd best couple wins the trip back!

Remember this, remember that. no, no. "Folks I'm going to play song ABC and I'll bet this brings back a different memory for every one of you. I might even ask you what you were thinking of, what it reminded you of. For me, every time I hear Elvis's Can't Help Falling In Love With You I think of my first girl friend. Let's see what happens with you. Best memory gets forwarded to Reader's Digest for publication!

Put your hands in the air, move that body, tap your feet, get the rhythm going, shake your tush about, do some Karate moves....let's all make believe we're doing aerobics, but mostly.....PUT THOSE HANDS IN THE AIR...and....CLAP THE NIGHT AWAYYYYYY!

All of this could get said between songs while you keep the music going playing riffs.

In between songs, if I feel it's the right time, to break up the stream of songs, I'll stop and say....OK now I'm going to teach you to sing in Viennese and Broadway-ese. Play Blue Danube and sing La-la-la-la-la to the melody notes. Then If I Were A Rich Man (diga diga die-ga, diga, diga, diga, die-ga do).

Point being there are so many ways of saying things and breaking up the music with filler material if you spend as much time thinking things up to say as you do practicing music.

But, I think the only music I don't mind hearing non-stop is the Rolling Stones. Now there's a band that doesn't need ANY kind of patter! But until you get to play like them, you'd better have some pretty creative things to say. Remember the Donny advice: "your audience wants to get hit from all sides now......it's not just about the music anymore"

Most of the time, my comments were limited to during the song's intro. Such as: "OK, put your dancing shoes on. This one's for Fred and Nancy. YMCA. Lets go cruising. etc..." This is because my dead time between songs was very, very short. More often than not, I would transition into the next song as the first song was ending, so there was no time for lengthy comments between songs.

All the best,

Gary

I remember once being in the back room of the old 500 Club in Atlantic City when Sinatra was headlining there. He just walked out and simply said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Frank Sinatra", and the place went wild. I guess it's not WHAT is said but WHO'S saying it .

chas