No matter how much or how little you play live, you show will get stale after a while for both the audience and yourself. You don’t get the same rush when you play a song for the 200th time as you did the first time, yet the most famous groups play their songs thousands of times during their touring careers. If you’re a smaller act but have fans who follow you religiously, even they will get bored eventually if you never change up your act. This isn’t just changing your song list like I discussed in a previous article, Building A Well-developed Setlist. There’s more that you can change to liven your show back up and reinvigorate your performance.
Change Up Your Songs
I’m not telling you to change your song order. That’s easy. Instead, think of this as a complete overhaul. If you play a very structured set, then try adding some places where you go with the flow and pick songs on the spot. If you normally play a very rocking high energy set, then try doing a slow more relaxed set or even going acoustic. Take songs you are just about sick of and join them to create medleys.
If you read my article Building A Well-developed Setlist, then you already know about the idea of flow within a set. If you normally start your show high-energy, then do the opposite and start with slower more relaxed songs and build from there.
Play Someone Else’s Tunes
If all you play is your own original songs, then add a few covers from similar artists. If you’re a cover song act already, try picking songs that are out of character for you and add your own style to them. Find songs that will surprise your audience simply with the fact you’re covering them.
Be Original
If you’re a cover song act, try writing some of your own songs. Perhaps one member of the band has some songs they’ve written but haven’t ever brought to the table. Again, it’s all about doing something unexpected.
If you’re an original act, and you have multiple albums out, then try playing a complete album from start to finish. Bands like Judas Priest and Dream Theater have done this before.
Break It Or Don’t
This goes along again with some of the tips in my previous article, Building A Well-developed Setlist. If you normally play a long opening set, play a shorter set (also works if the venue gets busier later in the evening). If you usually play 30-45 minutes and take a break, then try playing 90 minutes before stopping. Better yet build your endurance up and play one long set without breaks. You may want to start a little later than usual doing this, but once you get going you don’t give the audience a reason to leave till it’s all over. I know a couple of local bands that do this normally. They start around 10:30-11:00pm, and play till 1:30-2:00 without stopping. Since they start later it builds the expectation and anxiousness in the audience. Then they kick it off with a bang and keep it going while the audience wonders when they’ll finally have to stop. Bands like Dream Theater are well known for their long three or four hour sets.
Be Confident Or At Least Be Able To Fake It
People like confidence. If you are on stage playing and it doesn’t sound or look confident, then it will be perceived that you’re not confident in your playing. It can be hard when you first start performing. People don’t like being judged, and that’s what it feels like being in the spotlight in front of strangers. That’s why Public Speaking classes are so common. You have to break past the anxiety and fear when you get on stage. Even if you are nervous, you can’t show it. Make eye contact with the audience (especially the cute girl in the back). You have to be able to go up there and look like you’re a bad ass and know it. Show that you’re enjoying what you are doing and the audience will enjoy it more. Do the opposite and the audience will not like you. If you need to tape a picture of a crowd going wild to your floor wedge, then do it. Do anything that you can to help your confidence until you can just be confident. Show you know what you are doing and that you love doing it.
This I can personally attest to. A prior performance partner I was working with would not hide the fact that he wasn’t enjoying himself on stage at some venues. As a result, I got to hear a lot of complaints about him, and it had a very negative effect on the whole group’s reputation and rebooking efforts.
On a side note, avoid wearing sunglasses unless you are playing midday on an outdoor stage. Only rock stars can get away with wearing sunglasses on stage indoors or at night, and if you’re reading this then you are NOT a rock star. Plus wearing sunglasses does not allow for eye contact with the audience, which inhibits them from connecting with you and your performance.
Accept Your Flaws
Everyone makes mistakes. EVERYONE! So don’t let your mistakes affect your performance. One of the worst and most unprofessional things you can do as a musician is stop due to a mistake. If you miss a note, keep going because the rest of the group didn’t miss it. You should never just stop in a song unless the whole thing is just falling apart (meaning every member is making horrendous mistakes), and in that case you should have never done the song without more rehearsal time on it. Don’t stop because just the drummer or singer is messing up, and if they stop because they alone were making too many mistakes then rest of the group should keep going and let them come back in. Just make sure you bring up your complaint with them after the show. I have seen many bands pull off an audience requested song that they had never rehearsed together simply because at least one member knew it and the others could follow along. Sure there were mistakes, but they announced that they had never tried it before. They did the song because the audience asked for it, and they were all capable musicians able to follow the lead of the member(s) who knew the song. It wasn’t expected to be perfect and worked just as well despite their mistakes.
In the worst case of a song starting to follow apart completely, then everyone should follow the singer! It is easier for the rest of the group to recognize where the singer is in the song than vice versa (unless the singer is also playing an instrument). For example, should the singer skip to the chorus too early then the rest of the band needs to follow. If you make mistakes but don’t stop and finish the song, some audience members won’t even notice the mess up. But if you stop in the middle of the song to start over, EVERYONE in the audience will notice the screw up.
Rehearse Your Show
A lot of musicians don’t like the idea of going on stage with a “rehearsed” show. They complain it takes away the spontaneity of the performance. Of course, this is completely wrong. After all, as a musician you rehearse the songs you’re going to perform right? So if you’re worried about being spontaneous then go on stage and make up the songs on the spot. That would be spontaneous. Instead, what happens is the “spontaneous” artists actually are almost completely not spontaneous with their performances. They just want to think that because they try new things on occasion. The catch is when they try something new and it works, they add it to their show on a recurring basis. Bye bye spontaneity!
Rehearsing your songs is part of the preparation for playing shows. So rehearsing the show should be part of the initial preparation as well. Focus on practicing the way you would be playing the show. This lets you find out how long your show/set really will be, forces you to think about where you want to pause to speak to the audience, what you will say to them, and so on. If you use lighting that is sequenced to your songs, then you get to see how it is working and fix any issues you find. If you always use your own PA at shows, then rehearse using your PA set up the same way you would for a venue and fine tune your sound. Rehearse as many elements of your show as you can until it is perfected. Record your rehearsals if you can and then go back and listen to them. Listen for the mistakes you each made that were less noticeable because everyone was “in the zone” during the rehearsal.
One additional way to improve the ease of performing is to make your rehearsals harder than the performances will be. Singers can force themselves not to look at their lyric sheets or have a limited amount of water to drink. There are finger weights designed for instrumentalists like guitarists and keyboardist that can be worn. Guitarists could force themselves to not look at their fretboards at all during rehearsal. Drummers can add weights to their sticks. The list goes on and on. The point though is by making rehearsals more difficult you then make the performances easier which means you have to focus less on your playing.
Now to quote the great and all-knowing Yoda, “you must unlearn what you have learned.” Rehearsing is a big part of fine-tuning your show, but when it comes to the actual performance it shouldn’t quite feel like the rehearsals. In rehearsal, you’re focusing on analyzing what you’re doing to find places for improvement. When you hit stage though, you should be “in the moment.” In other words, it should be so well rehearsed that you’re not having to actively think about the “performing.”
Now Go Be Spontaneous… With Your Audience
Leave the spontaneity for some of the interaction with your audience. You can’t leave it all to being spontaneous though. You need to have rehearsed spots in your show where you mention your website, Facebook, Twitter, new merch, etc… But you can be spontaneous outside of the rehearsed mentions. Run out into the audience while playing a song (only suggested if you are using a wireless system), get in pictures with the audience when you do this, or photobomb someone in the audience during the night. You have so many things you can do to attract attention during the night that aren’t rehearsed before hand.
Stage banter is important interaction to have between the musicians and the audience, but what you say is not as important as how you say it. Some singers are fantastic when it comes to singing but will mumble when they talk to the audience. Make sure you speak clearly into the microphone, and you should speak a little louder and more slowly than what is normal for you. Remember that people will be talking amongst themselves even while you are playing, so making yourself more understandable when speaking to the audience is crucial. Other singers may sound like they are begging the audience to enjoy the show or yelling at the audience threatening them if they don’t enjoy the show. Be sure to speak to the audience in a friendly way like you would want one of your favorite artists to speak to you at a concert.
Get A Change Of Scenery
Find someplace new to play. Pick a new venue that you haven’t played before, or book some venue in a city you’ve never played in. If you normally play loud bars, then try an acoustic show at a café. If you normally book large capacity venues, then book someplace smaller and sell a limited number of tickets. Not too long ago Mark Tremonti (of Creed and Alter Bridge fame) came through a nearby city touring for his solo album. Instead of playing the typical huge venue, he played a smaller venue with a capacity of only a few hundred.
Play Out More or Less
If you only play once a month, then book a few more gigs. If you play every weekend, then try spreading your gigs over more venues or a larger region. The more often people can see you in a certain area/venue, the less “special” your performances there become. I know an acoustic artist who was playing locally about once a month and packing a bar to capacity on a weeknight. He started playing another nearby venue the same night every week instead and his attendance quickly dropped. I have now seen nights where their audience was not even in the double digits.
Make A Show “Extra” Special
Don’t just stick to the same boring routine of “hey we’re playing XYZ venue on Friday” and expect to keep bringing in the audience. Promote each show like it is the last time you’ll ever play. Don’t say it is the last time you’ll ever play and then do another show the following week. This isn’t about lying to people. It’s about creating a feeling of specialness about your shows. Ask a venue if you can do a “Ladies Night” for a show, or offer to let the first 20 people wearing your band shirts in for free. Say you’re giving the first 10 people in the door a free copy of your new CD or a free shirt. Do something that makes the show just a little different before you even start playing. Did I hear someone say “Blonde Appreciation Night?”
Have Special Guests
Sometimes doing something as simple as bringing in a local group to open for you can make a big difference. Not only do they get exposure to your fans, but also you will get exposure to theirs. As an extra, you can see if any of them would like to sit in with you on some songs during your performance. This not only varies up your performance a bit, but also gives their fans more enticement to stay and watch you.
Dress For Success
The visual element is the main part of the show. Yes music is important, but we are visual creatures. We like seeing things and that’s part of the appeal of the “rock stars.” They look like rock stars. They don’t go on stage wearing their pajamas or clothes from their day jobs (of course real rock stars don’t have day jobs!). They go on stage with a well-thought out and prepared look. They make sure they look like they should be playing the music they are about to play. I’m pretty sure KISS or Motley Crue didn’t wake up and say “let me grab my trowel and slather on inches of makeup and go to buy groceries.” They did the makeup for their stage look, which was a coordinated look among all members of the band. Do yourself a favor and make sure you look the part when you’re playing.
I do know some bands that have done Pajama Party shows where they did just wear their PJs. The difference is the theme for the show was pajamas. So not only did the band all dress in that theme, but the audience was encouraged to as well. That’s the difference.
Don’t Ignore The Audience Once You Get Off Stage
Your show doesn’t start when you take stage and end when you walk off. Get your gear set up and then if you have time, go talk with people who are already showing up for the show. Hang out and chat with the audience between sets if you’re playing more than one. Set aside at least 15 minutes after your last song to take pictures with the audience and talk with them some more. Head to your merch table and promote your new shirts or CDs. Focus on creating connections with new fans and building on connections with existing fans.
Let The Audience Relive The Show
Thanks to all the advances in picture and video cameras (many cameras do both exceptionally well now) and the increasing number of ways to get online, there is no reason not to get pictures and video from your shows and post it online. If you can, get someone be it family, romantic partner, or just a friend to come to shows and take pictures or video. Post all of it on the various social networks you use. Allow fans to tag themselves on Facebook. Encourage fans to tag you in their photos and videos. Give them something to check out after the show is over.
Kick Ass No Matter Who Is or Isn’t There
The people paying to see and hear you play are there for a show. Whether you have 10 people or 500 people in the audience, you are still required to deliver the great show they expect. Many times a venue will bring a band back simply because of the quality of their performance even if the show attendance was poor. A group that delivers an outstanding performance will tend to have more people come to their next show at that same venue to see “this amazing band!” The audience that are there will be more likely to tell their friends to come see you perform if they enjoy your show or are impressed with your show. So don’t worry if you’re playing for just the staff. Play your show like there are 50,000 people out there cheering for you.
Thank you so much for this artlcie, it saved me time!