So I just got back from a "meeting" with a few guys from the neighbouring village who are organising a gig/mini-festival to take place in June. (The Carlops Big Party, 20th June, all afternoon/evening. Plug over.) They asked me, or more correctly, I managed to wangle for myself, a set for me and my band (apparently now known as The Dan Glover Band. Mixed feelings.) in the evening (7 'o' clock :P) in said pub. Can't wait. No idea who will be playing, no idea what we will play, fully aware that I only get back from Germany three days before, but still can't wait. [NB: Great local band Kings of Cheeze will also be playing - don't miss it!]
The last (and first!) gigs we did as a band were three 'cafe' sets at the Eastgate in Peebles, as part of their fifth birthday celebrations, and we had an interestingly mixed response. Allow me to explain.
The first day was just me switching between acoustic and piano, and Erin singing. We had some friends along, we played songs, people clapped politely in between, nothing special, nothing terrible.
The second day, though we played the same set, had exactly the same set-up, was different... For one, I broke a guitar string about halfway through the set so had to switch to piano, but it was more than that. There was no response- no-one clapped. At all. Now maybe I'm just being ungrateful, but it was kind of disconcerting to have such an incredibly different response to the same set, just the next day. Anyway, long story short, we packed up and left early. Partly embarassment, partly feeling uncomfortable, mostly because there were only so many guitar-based songs that can safely make the transition to solo piano accompaniment.
The last set we did was a Saturday morning. Same place, same set, same gear. A few minor differences: the place was reasonably full (I mean, like a whole 10 people...) and we had Katie playing the piano as well, plus some fans in the audience. But this time, right from the first song (a cover of Flume by Bon Iver, for anyone who cares), something just seemed to click. Everything just felt right. I even plucked up the courage to actually give a brief explanation/introduction to some songs, and I swear that there were even people clapping along at some points. Despite being so small-scale (OK, but in actual fact there were slightly more than 10 people there...), that has to go down as one of my favourite gigs ever. [Afterwards, we went for a celebratory (though short-lived) busking session, just because. Special mention to a Mr. Neil Costley from Edinburgh, who just so happened to have come down from Edinburgh to be our number one favourite customer. Cheers, man!]
Anyway, moving on to the real point(?), it makes me wonder- what gives a gig that special something? What are the ingredients for a good performance? 'Cos I don't think I know.
Maybe live music is an organic thing, maybe how "good" or "bad" a gig is can't really be controlled.
Or maybe it's not up to the performer to decide? Maybe the only people who really know if a gig is "good" or "bad" are the audience?
But then again, having played a fair few gigs myself, there are definitely some that go "right," and some that go "wrong." Playing jazz piano in CJB is a good example- some nights I can't do anything but read the chords- when it gets to my solo, the inspiration just isn't there. But then some nights (Arran!), ideas just come, seemingly without any effort on my part. I'm honestly not meaning to sound cocky, just trying to explain.
So if we define a 'good gig' as being one where 'inspiration flows,' what factors determine 'inspiration?' Surroundings? Rehearsal? Lack of self-consciousness? Mood? Luck? Who knows.
At the end of the day, I suppose that the beauty of music (live music in particular) is that it can't really be broken down into logical concepts.
So unfortunately, I don't think we will ever know exactly what makes a gig go well or not.
But luckily, I don't think we will ever know exactly what makes a gig go well or not.
I hope that makes some sense. Over and out.
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P.S. I thought it might be nice to give you some interesting links to make up for all that nonsense... So here are three of my personal favourite live performances of all time. There are many more, but these are the only three I can think of right now... Enjoy!
- Rush - Tom Sawyer (Rio de Janeiro, 2002) This makes the list mostly because of the intro. And the riff. Neil Peart's virtuosic drumming perfection coupled with the tighter-than-tight band playing is the icing on the prog-rock-anthem-cake.
- U2 & "New Voices Of Freedom" Gospel Choir - Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Madison Square Gardens, 1987) There is always something incredibly fearsome and special about a passionate gospel choir, but when they are singing a song like this, with this band, it is simply astonishing. I promise that this is the only time I will ever, EVER do this, but to quote a YouTube commenter: "If this does not move you, you might want to check and see if you still have a pulse" 'Nuff said.
- Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (A cappella) A bit of a hidden gem, in my opinion, I think this is the perfect example of an incredible combination of spontaneity, setting and, erm, singing (cringe...) Apparently this was the warm-up to the main "Blogotheque" gig, which is also well worth a watch. Stunning. [Hugely interesting article/background info on the Blogotheque website as well. You can thank me later...]
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