Originally Posted by DonnieWitt
My first year ever performing... I did a solo gig at a packed sports bar in Cincinnati. At the last second I was invited to do a set to open for a local band who did half covers and originals. I didn't have time to let anyone know I was playing up there so I went blindly into a place where no one knew me. When I first walked in the door, the bar patrons were blaring "Nickelback" over the jukebox and the place was extremely loud. People were playing pool on two different pool tables, the bar was full of people and there were people packed into tables basically everywhere I could look. There were easily 30 televisions on, throughout the bar. Various sports, some MMA event going on. People randomly screaming at TV's, etc. My first thoughts were... do they know I'm a folk singer who does mostly originals?

I legit wanted to walk right back out the door after walking in. When I first went on the stage and played... the entire place got quiet and started watching me. It felt like a comedy movie or something. It was like this rowdy group of people didn't know what to think. As I started my 2nd song, some guy sitting at the table right in front of me screamed "you suck" at me. I was playing to a room full of strangers. I kept playing. After being silent and paying attention through that first song, the place got slightly louder the longer I played, until I played my last song and the crowd got quiet again. They clapped when I finished. I remember thinking to myself "Are they clapping out of joy that I'm getting off this stage or because they liked that last song?" The guy in the front who yelled at me kept starting at me like he wanted to punch me. He did this after I got off the stage, for the next hour or so while the band played after me. It started creeping me out.

After the band finished playing, the guitar player came over and bought me a beer and thanked me for coming at the last second. I asked him who that guy was that was sitting up front and staring me down and he told me that it was the father of the lead singer of his band. I realized it was not a random bar patron but someone who had a vested interest in the band who played after me. Going through that whole thing, actually helped me grow as a performer in a ton of ways. First of all... not everyone is going to like what you are doing. Specific types of people and crowds like this, are just simply unlikely to enjoy a quiet solo folksinger who writes his own songs that they do not know. I also learned something about competition as well. After I thought more about that moment... I began to wonder if he was just trashing me to try and make his son's band sound or look better in the moment, etc.

I thought a bit about potential solutions to that situation. Maybe I should have added some songs to my repertoire, that would have gelled better with a Nickelback loving crowd. Then I realized that I would probably be less genuine if I did that, so I just continued to work on my craft, write songs and play gigs. You can't please everyone, but you can't be afraid of people in the crowd like that. Even when they seem to want to punch you.



Thanks for sharing your experience Donnie.

It is the age old quesyion sbout whether you should please the crowd or yourself. I think it depends. Is it a paid gig? Who paid you? Likely the club in most instances. If so, you owe it to them to provide the service they hired you for. If they wanted you to keep a crowd (since they knew you weren't bringing a crowd unless you convinced them otherwise) your role that evening was to keep the crowd until the headliners came on. You do that by being interesting enough to not make more people leave than would otherwise have left if you hadn't played at all. In your case, you were supporting the main act. Your job there is to loosen up the crowd and get them ready for the headline. That means be good, but not better than them. (reality). There are countless stories where it went the other way. Usually those bands/acts didn't stay the opener long. But you do want to be aware of your role. If you don't know, ask. For a venue, it is all about getting people to stay and keep or strt drinking. In a noisy club, you just need to make noise sometimes and you've done your job. You don't want to piss people off because as they keep drinking, by the time the headliners go on, they may be pissed off and disruptive. Good for Punk crowds, not so good for others.

I could go on but you need to learn how to read a crowd, you should DEFINITELY entertain them, learn some songs for each crowd. At least one truly "on point" song that makes them happy is a must for professionals. In that case, a funny version of Nickleback would have served you well. You can do a folk version of any song from a rap to a metal song, pulling that out is a great weapon to wield. It doesn't mean you have to "sell out" it means you want to help the venue "sell." Bottom line: Are YOU having fun and are you helping your audience, your boss (the venue or headliner) have a good time? Bar gigs are all about that.

Brian

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