Flummoxed

For some performing comes naturally.  It is almost as if they were born with an inability to do anything else.  Others have to work hard to get to the same level as the naturals.  Those people have an innate talent for performance, but they have to learn to find it.  Both groups have to work tirelessly at their job.  Practice, practice, practice.

No amount of practice could prepare you for a show like the one we played last week. 

During practice you become very familiar with your equipment and your surroundings on stage.  It's everything off stage, otherwise known as "the crowd," that can throw you for a loop.  They are the biggest variable in a show.  Fact.

Nights one and two of this short little run of shows exhibited one of the strangest phenomena.  We played to stone cold faces.  At one point other band members saw an elderly woman bury her head in her hands and lap.  To get a good idea of the overall reaction from the crowd, see exhibit A below.

Feeling like total failures, we walked - strutted in like it was the greatest show in the history of the universe -  to the lobby with our heads held high.  We apparently did so with good reason.  The crowd really had enjoyed the show!  People were buying CD's and T-shirts, stopping to have enthusiastic conversations with the band, and walking away with a sincere look of joy on their faces.  For an idea of what we experienced after the show, see exhibit B below.

This was not the first time I have experienced this phenomenon, nor will it be the last time I am perplexed by it.  I have my theories on why this occurs.  One that sticks out in my mind is that sometimes people are just unsure of what to do at a show.  Sure they've seen live footage of a concert, but there is a disconnect when they experience a show for themselves.  As rookies they aren't confident to stand and cheer, sing along, or respond in general.  There aren't any seasoned show-goers to guide them.

Still, and unbeknownst to us, they are engaged.   Most even take the time to tell you there favorite part of the show.  Maybe it was a guitar part, a drum fill, or that moment when the lead singer jumped around like a crazy person.  Some will even go so far as to tell you how they have been practicing the same type of thing ("hair practice" for those in the biz).  

While pondering this I had an epiphany.  If you have ever been to a show in Nashville you have probably experienced the very same scene.  Me being a resident of Music City, I am often guilty of perpetuating said scene.  Is it possible that Nashville, in all of its glorious snobbery, has come full circle?  For a better idea of what I am talking about, see exhibit C below.

     Please note that Homer is incapable of recreating 

the face I was hoping to demonstrate.