Tips for becoming a better onstage performer?

[Benjammin]

lets see, whats been known to work

-eat 40 hits of acid
-burn your guitar
-indecent exposure
-assault a photographer in the crowd
-bite the head off of a bat

and last but not least
-have fun. if you're having a good time, people will sense that and theyll have a good time. Carlos Santana once said "there's nothing in the world more contagious than enthusiasm"

 

[The_Sentry]

lets see, whats been known to work

-eat 40 hits of acid
-burn your guitar
-indecent exposure
-assault a photographer in the crowd
-bite the head off of a bat

and last but not least
-have fun. if you're having a good time, people will sense that and theyll have a good time. Carlos Santana once said "there's nothing in the world more contagious than enthusiasm"

I'm down with the fun. I won't take the acid...but I may destroy a guitar onstage yet!! (I"ve always wanted to...)

Indecent exposure...I suppose if the crowd's big enough. I need press too badly to start assaulting photographers, and bats? Well....yuck.

 

[Benjammin]

hey look at axl rose, if you hit a photographer youll get press for the rest of your life. inciting a riot never hurts either

 

[The_Sentry]

hey look at axl rose, if you hit a photographer youll get press for the rest of your life. inciting a riot never hurts either

I'm down for inciting riots...

But I don't think I wanna follow in Axl's er, ummm....whatever it is.....(Plus...he moves like a girlie man! )

 

[5F6-A]

you could try quitting playing live, for years and years ... Get a solid, bills-payin' job in an office somewhere, or maybe in construction ... Dream and dream and dream about playing ... Then, when you finally get on-stage again, all that pent-up energy will completely explode and the sheer mass of your enthusiasm will knock everyone on their ass!

It works great as far as feeling "fresh" again goes, but it sure is hell on your chops!

Probably it'd be better to concentrate on the clever medleys and mix-ups (great ideas!). It's more ... How you say ... Direct!

lol!!!

 

[Alligatorbling]

Would I be able to sing with that stuff on mah stuff?

youd be able to nail any song by the darkness.

 

[AngryHatter]

Talk to the audience.
Engage them.

 

[The Guitarist]

It's all about eye contact and confidence. If there's a gap make a joke and be cool, it all comes down to the presence and atmosphere created.

 

[lp_junkie]

Sentry- the biggest thing for me is interacting with the audience, the shows people remember are the ones they are engaged in if you make it fun for everyone then it just seems like a better time.

I love a good frontman who can keep the crowd entertained and has the confidence to take the stage by storm and demand the attention of everyone in the room.

 

[Adwex]

If the band members are visibly having a good time, the feeling projects to the audience.

 

[zontar]

No better way to do that than by doing it.

 

[The_Sentry]

Sentry- the biggest thing for me is interacting with the audience, the shows people remember are the ones they are engaged in if you make it fun for everyone then it just seems like a better time.

I love a good frontman who can keep the crowd entertained and has the confidence to take the stage by storm and demand the attention of everyone in the room.

Oh, I do quite a bit of that. With quite a few of our songs I'll tell a story, or offer an interjection....

Example: By the third set we usually dip into "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones....I usually start it off this way...

"I'll admit it. I tell this story every time prior to doin' this next tune....but it's still the same...so the story will be told again!

A lot of people think that rock and roll started in Memphis Tennessee when a white boy out of Mississippi named Elvis Aaron Presley cut some records in Sun Studios.

Now, OK, OK...a lot of people believe that. HOWEVER....SOME of us believe that REAL rock and roll started back in the Great Depression when a Mississippi bluesman named of Robert Johnson went down to the Crossroads AND SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL!!!"

*pause for effect*

"Yes, that's right. The Devil! And ever since that bargain was struck for unearthly guitar skills, ROCK and ROLL has been with us! And in places all over America, and in places JUST LIKE THIS...rock and roll continues to thrive. It will NEVER DIE because of where it's from! Now....whether you love the devil..."

*pause*

"....hate the devil, or fear the devil, you'd better damn well give the Devil his due! And that's what we're about to do right here...right now...with a little bit of Sympathy..."
(Then the song starts)

I don't do that with every song...but there's about 2 or 3 that get stories like that. And sometimes the other guys and I will exchange quips about a song that's just...funny.

(Example....we play "I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls. If we have an off song or it seems like we're losing the audience, I'll usually give a "Damn...it's gettin' kinda lonely up here! Am I all by myself? Well....damn! Maybe I should do what I usually do when I'm...all alone."

*chuckles*

"Hey Rob, what's this next song about?"

(Drummer will give different answers depending on where we're playing, and if it's a bar we'll usually give off a dozen terms that are used for masturbation...ie, chokin' the chicken, torturin' the tallywacker, double-clicking the mouse, pinkyin' the petunia, etc. etc.)

I am also playing out on average of 3-4 times a week....

 

[jomo]

Sometimes ya just gotta rock out witcha cack out!

 

[Quill]

You could try quitting playing live ...

Umm....

I'm at that point now. I gave this shit up in my late 20's. Now I'm back at it. I'm also practicing between 4 to 8 hours a day and working full time.

So....what are you trying to say here?

Oops! Well that was a bit of bad luck. Once again it is proven that one is ill-advised to use irony except with those one knows. At least 5F6-A laughed!

When I read your thread, I thought of my own experience and laughed out loud, and tapped out my little note as a joke. I of course know nothing about you, Sentry, and intended no mystery, and the connection to your own experience was pure accident. I wish you all the best!

 

[The_Sentry]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, Quill...but I have to admit that did hit a bit close to home.

 

[Quill]

Well ... then I believe you and I share an understanding: the best thing we can do for our playing and our performing is to NOT STOP DOING IT!!!

I do hope you return to me the good luck that I wish to you - 'cause I need some myself!

 

[The_Sentry]

Well ... then I believe you and I share an understanding: the best thing we can do for our playing and our performing is to NOT STOP DOING IT!!!

I do hope you return to me the good luck that I wish to you - 'cause I need some myself!

Right back at ya, Quill.

I figure it'll be time to be done with it when there's no more reason to be breathing...but until that time....

It's no so much a hobby for me as something that keeps me from going insane at this point in my life.

Go kick some ass, man.

 

[5F6-A]

Well ... then I believe you and I share an understanding: the best thing we can do for our playing and our performing is to NOT STOP DOING IT!!!

I do hope you return to me the good luck that I wish to you - 'cause I need some myself!

In a sad little way I have to admit it's true. It's much more difficult to start again once you haven't been doing it for a while.

 

[FUS44]

First, you need to video your performances. Watch them and be critical. my first thought is, your music should be your first priority. You should be good enough to play and engage the audience from behind a curtain.
Second, lose the canned speeches. Either learn how to address to audience off the cuff or work on making your set so powerful that you don't even need to speak to them. I, personally,don't like "coverband showmen", who have little speeches and crap that they do at certain times. It looks bush league and forced 99% of the time (even by pros). Now, this is coming from a player. YMMV with drunken chicks etc. Hell these sheeple ask for things like Nickelback and Vampire Weekend so I'm probably way off.
My band is probably better at the between song banter than we are playing. We deliver short off the cuff bursts that either engage or enrage the audience. If you are not part of the banter, you don't get a mic. The banter often reflects the show and the audience. If you are not witty and funny in conversation(can you crack up a room full of strangers,or do all friends say "I'm really funny") do not try to take it on stage.
Picking out the oldest woman there? Cute, but is she going to bring five (hopefully hot and paying) friends to the next show?
learn to balance the arrogance of being on stage and inner the salesman of trying to put asses in the seats.

 

[lp_junkie]

You could try quitting playing live, for years and years ... get a solid, bills-payin' job in an office somewhere, or maybe in construction ... dream and dream and dream about playing ... then, when you finally get on-stage again, all that pent-up energy will completely explode and the sheer mass of your enthusiasm will knock everyone on their ass!

It works great as far as feeling "fresh" again goes, but it sure is hell on your chops!

Probably it'd be better to concentrate on the clever medleys and mix-ups (great ideas!). It's more ... how you say ... Direct!

I did just that, I am working on my first album in 10 years and putting a new band together.

Good idea, but as you said it's rough on your skills.