Audience Connection

 

The best shows that I have ever been to are the ones where there is a connection between the band and the audience.  The band really needs to engage the audience, to create an atmosphere and a moment.  How can this be done one might ask? 

The first point that should be made is that everyone has different tastses. For my tastes, I dislike it when bands go off on tangents and speak about unrelated items during a show.   Some people however may enjoy this as part of a concert.  It can be very difficult if not imposible to please everyone.  Beacuase of this I though I would discuss in no particular order a few techniques that can be successful in engaging an audience.

1. Look up!  Never ,and I mean never look at the floor or at your instument for too long.  Every member in the band needs to look at the audience.  Look at a specific person and don’t stop until they look back.  You have then make a unique connection with this person.  You can then look at another audince member and continue to make individual and personal connections.

2. Have fun.  People know when you are enjoying yourself on stage and are more likely to have fun if you are too.  Remember by being on stage you have a degree of power and can shape the atmosphere of the show. If you want people to have fun at your shows then you need to have fun too.

3.  Things as trivial as the way the stage is setup or the way the band conducts themselves on stage, to the way the band is dressed can all play a  significant factor in creating audience connection. Physical barriers are a no no for stage set up.  Having a clear line of sigh and being able  to be in close proximity to the band can really increase the changes of making that special connection with an audience member.  People are more likely to be drawn to a charismatic band.  With members that are interesting and compelling.  Not everyone has these qualities, but many  of the best musicians and performers do.  Lastly, the audience has to look at the band the entire show.  Because of this, the way a band looks can play a part in creating connections.  The audience should be drawn to the band and their eyes should be stuck to the performers.

4. Sometimes bands try to use tricks like getting the crowd to clap their hands to the beat or to sing along in certain parts in order to engage the audience.  In my opinion, if these types of show items are forced upon an audience they may not  be well received. The best is when they happen spontaneously without the band proposing them first.  No one can argue that 40,00 people singing along to Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’ isn’t a connection.

Before I end this blog, I just want to leave you with one final point.  A band can follow all these guidelines and countless others and market themselves perfectly, but if the songs are not good they are doomed to failure. Never loose sight of why you are a musician.  It is always about the music.

Have a connection with Tom Petty:

-Heavy