Basics for a good live show and performance?

[Ngoc]

Hey guys,

I guess every (more or less) local band are having the same problems.
For example:
Your band plays a live show in front of people who have never heard of you or are people who are coming to check your band out for the first time.
Now you want the audience to do fistpumping, headbanging, jumping, clapping etc. with your band but usually (at least in Germany) the audience is really shy and only a few people are doing this (especially the rock-pop listeners).

So, let's say the music (metal) is already is good, a lot of people like it.
But still: HOW do you get them to get closer to the band and to the music so that they will do everything as the band says, even if they usually do not listen to metal music?

What are the basics for getting the audience carried away and having a good live band performance?


Cheers

 

[outbreak525]

YOU need ENERGY. I'm not talking stupid running around like ducks energy, I mean, move with the music a lot, feel it a lot and the audience will feel inclined to do the same. Humans generally tend to copy on another. I say, since it's metal, you guys bounce and get the crowd bouncing with you. (If you have any of those bouncy parts)

 

[Keregioz]

I would say, besides how the band moves on stage, what is really important is the music. And I don't mean that the music should be good (although, it helps) but that it should be suitable for a live show. Assuming we're talking about small band where people listen to your music for the first time, and assuming that you play in an average club where the sound kinda sucks or at best it's just bearable then I would say that you should avoid too intricate/technical/complex stuff in your music, or at least avoid basing your music on that. I can guarantee you that a huge percentage of the details in your music will be lost when playing live. Songs with groove, straight forward riffs, simple melodies/solos etc. always translate better in live situations and make it much easier for the audience to connect with your music.

 

[schwinginbatman]

Have fun. I've seen many different bands that just stand around and grimace, and a lot who don't. The band Diamond Plate has put on some of the best shows I've ever been to. Why? Because they have fun on stage. They headbang, move, smile, and goof around. At one point during a harmony, the two guitarists pretended to pass off a joint to each other. If you have fun, the crowd will be more likely to have fun.

 

[Clockwork]

Have fun. I've seen many different bands that just stand around and grimace, and a lot who don't. The band Diamond Plate has put on some of the best shows I've ever been to. Why? Because they have fun on stage. They headbang, move, smile, and goof around. At one point during a harmony, the two guitarists pretended to pass off a joint to each other. If you have fun, the crowd will be more likely to have fun.

This is very true. Whatever you are feeling can really translate to the audience, so try not to be nervous and have a good time. Energy is really important. IMO it's also important to communicate with the audience especially if they haven't heard you before and don't know your songs. Like if people aren't getting rowdy enough I'll usually tell them during a transition of a song that the heavy part is coming up so get ready and people certainly seem to get more excited that way, small things like that.

The absolute worst is just going up there and playing your songs and being totally deadpan. People will just hang back and critique you.

 

[TheDriller]

Passion.

Lights, Props, Backdrops and Pyros all come in a distant second. When you go to a show and the band truly believes in what they are doing you know, you can see it in their eyes and hear it in every note and oscillation.

It's what a lot of middle-of-the-road metal acts don't appreciate, that without true conviction and absolute belief in the almost religious power of music their show will never be more than 5 guys running through a few power-chords.

 

[SocialNumb]

Strippers. :Smokedev:

 

[savage_messiah]

Don't stop after every song, letting it go quiet and say 'thank you.' It kills the energy, let an open guitar note ring out or something. Say your 'thank you... blah blah' bit at the end. Don't keep turning around to look at the drummer, make's it look like you don't know what you're doing without eye contact and nodding each other into the next riff or whatever. Have fun; move, headbang, jump, get your foot up on a monitor. Stand tall, stand proud and don't be afraid to look out to the audience and make eye contact with people; if you come across as looking intimidated by the audience they won't respect you and if they don't respect you they definitely won't do what you ask them to. Pull faces (bare your teeth, make angry faces, stick your tongue out etc,) I know it sounds silly, but if you have an expressionless face it looks like you're not having fun/not getting into it. And don't be a pussy when asking people to do stuff. In fact, don't ask them to do stuff; tell them to do stuff. But don't be a dick about it. Have band practices where you perform as if it's a live show, shout at the audience (wall) and jump around etc, makes it easier to do it on stage. Script bits of your show (eg, ring out note after this song, singer says '...' over it and then a quick drum fill into the next track etc.) When you know what you're performing - not just the songs - it makes it easier/less to think about, so you can jump around more. Watch more professional bands live videos for research and you'll see they have a lot of it scripted and they don't keep looking at the drummer and their faces aren't expressionless and everything else I've mentioned.

Sorry for the essay, I got a bit carried away.

 

[if6was9]

Couple of things I recommend for any band with their live show.

Get your feedback and noise in check. If everytime you stop playing you erupt in screeching feedback then I will not enjoy your show. Makes the band seem twice as tight and professional to stop dead and there be silence. Seems basic and should be a given but it's not. 9/10 bands fail this.

Move as a unit. If one guy is moving his head every four bars and another is every two but on the off beat then it doesn't "look" like the band are really grooving together. If the whole band are bobbing to the same accents it looks better. Look at Slayer for example. It usually means that the band are accenting the rhythm the same way if they are all nodding the same and thus grooving better too

Have fun with it. if you are enjoying yourself then that translates to the audience. It can be very awkward being in the crowd when someone on stage is clearly frustrated

 

[ZanetheVocalist]

Wish I could add something to this but it looks like all the important stuff has already been covered. Don't feel bad, my band lack energy too. We all tend to stay in one place on stage for better or worse. I wish our guitarists could move around more but there's not much you can do with a 10ft cable chaining you to your amp.

 

[Nuno Filipe]

avoid something like this.

 

[Terminus]

Be heavy, chuggage, riffage, exciting stuff I tell you.

 

[That_One_Guy]

the VERY basic:

1) if you want to hear yourself, and you want the audience to hear you, boost the mids...if you DONT want to stand out cut them lol

2) we have only done 2 live shows but it seemed easiest to eq the mic setup of the drums then bass, THEN guitars, THEN vocals....although i really have no experince so feel free to tell me how wrong i am

 

[FischmungaXTR]

1. Move! not enough bands move

2. Have lots of clapping/fistpumping sections. Also moshable and head banging sections.

3. don't be afraid to use click tracks/samples just cos some elitist dickbag says its 'not metal'

4. make sure someone is on the lights, a lot of venues dont have light techs (even if they have a useable rig) and it makes a massive difference

5. STAGE GARMS!! make sure you all look like part of the same band