Audience banter when you're gigging

Over the weekend I had a couple of emails from guitarists with widely different experience of playing gigs.

One was in his forties and had been playing in various bands since a teenager. Firstly in the hope of landing a record deal and then over time, as a married guy with family playing covers for a hobby as much as anything. The second emailer was still a young guy and had only played 2 gigs with what is his first ever band.

Both email were on the same topic. They described it as "feeling comfortable talking to audiences" and "getting the crowd to warm or respond to you".

The older guy had countless gigs under his belt but still struggled with what he called indifferent audiences.

Judging by the bands I work with and my own experience, getting your audiences really involved when you're playing (as opposed to them chatting amongst themselves with their backs to you let's say) happens best when the "foundations" are solid. By this, I mean, when everyone on the stage knows their parts inside out and when you have no other concerns about you're sound or look. As boring as it might sound, this often comes down to preparation. Enough time for a reasonable sound check for example, and reliable equipment. Nothing is make an audience uneasy than when they can tell a performer is nervous - even if it is about whether or not his mixer will last through the night..

So I told the 2 guitarists concerned to do their preparation fully. (After all, what is rehearsing if it's not preparing? )

Being prepared is a big deal as far as giving you confidence is concerned. Preparation can extend to the methods you use to connect with your crowds. There's no shame in having a few stock phrases, comments or questions you ask or use from gig to gig. These are a good fall-back if you dry up. Over time you'll find you'll add to these as you get ideas or watch other bands and (most satisfyingly) as things occur to you spontaneously on the night. Just make sure you remember them ad use them to try to engage some members of the crowd. No matter how briefly. Ask the occasional question, tell a fact or two about a forthcoming song. Start small and slowly to build your confidence.

I also suggested to the guitarists, that if crowd reactions really were a problem they could structure their set lists in ways specifically designed to encourage crowd interaction. Set lists are often drawn up for very different reasons...

audience banter at gigs