I feel that if you listen to a band solely for the music, then you shouldn't even bother going to see them live; there is so much energy and so much ad-libbing and so much improvisation sometimes that the crowd feeds off of that. If you want to just listen to music, go buy a PA and put on a cd and crank it at 120 decibels. If you want to see a band PLAY music live, see not only how well they play, but how well they RECOVER from errors...that's what it's all about. Granted, EVERYTHING is about the music, but I'd much rather see a mediocre band kick everyone's ass by their stage presence than see a really good shredder play in the same position with no emotion.
There is alot to be said for stage presence, either you have it or you don't. Hell, look at Metallica. Look at their Load tour. Load was probably one of their worst albums, but watching them live is exhilarating. They played alot of old stuff like Ride the Lightning and Fight Fire With Fire...that's stage presence. James Hetfield IS stage presence...I don't know many other people who command stage presence like he does. Watching him get into his music and his playing is like watching a man full of hate and love at the same time boil over. Ozzy has NO stage presence...he grabs his balls to hit the high notes and is so drunk he has to read monitors. Zakk Wylde has stage presence. Slayer has stage presence. As killer as Megadeth is, Dave Mustaine has very little stage presence as a frontman. He has alot better presence as a guitarist than frontman. As for heavier stuff, Emperor has really good stage presence. Isahn is a fucking amazing frontman and player...anyone who can play leads as well as he does and sing as well as he can is amazing in my book.
If you can't sing or play very well, but find yourself at some dive playing in front of ten people, play or sing like you're a fucking god in front of thousands, and people will notice. You might feel like a dork, but energy attracts energy. Why do you think so many kids these days listen to simplistic crap bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit? All they want to do is release energy. Bands like those are so simple to them that it's all they understand..."I'm pissed off, I like heavy riffs and know nothing about music, but I like what I hear and I want to fuck some shit up." That's what went through my head when I was 16, listening to Korn in high school. Metallica was always my biggest influence, but I still listened to other garbage bands like Korn and Manson, back before I comprehended musical talent...and the fact that Korn had none. But anyway, all you know is that you have energy to release, and what better place then a show where the whole band is like an exploding watermelon...they're everywhere, all over the place. It's so fucking loud and so wild that you don't care about the music anymore, you need to release. Granted, good stage presence can't make up for everything, like talent. If you have no talent, all the stage presence in the world won't save you. But just because you aren't Yngwie Malmsteen on the guitar doesn't mean you can't put on a good show. You know your limits, and you know if you are ready to play in front of a crowd. A crowd is a crowd, no matter where you are. If it's ten or ten thousand, you'll still get nervous and screw up sometimes, but recover and move on. For instance, I have really good stage presence, but my guitar skills are lacking because lack of a band lately. When I jam with friends, it's awesome and alot of friends come around and drink and watch us play for shits and grins. I'm not about to go out to a bar or club and get up onstage and start playing. I need some fine tuning and have a shitload more to learn. I can play alot of fairly easy Metallica and Megadeth, as well as doomy stuff like My Dying Bride and Anathema, but I want to be better than that. I have energy exploding out of every direction of me when I play, and I feel like I become a demon when I plug in...but I still feel that I haven't reached that plateau yet. I haven't reached the point that I want and I'm not about to try and cover it up with stage presence. What I'm trying to say is that if you have reached a point in your playing that you are comfortable with, work on your energy. Everyone gets nervous. But try to think about that feeling when you plug in, step on your pedal, and rip into that downtuned thrash riff. That instant you are teleported into a different universe...your universe, and you rule everyone's world there. You see, everyone wants to be on stage playing music. EVERYONE. Everyone from the everyday joe to fucking Tom Cruise wants to be on stage....there's a certain feeling about playing music that you love. Some of the best advice I've ever heard came from Zakk Wylde:
"If someone ever tries to keep you from playing the music you love, tell them to go fucking die."
Pyrotechnics are good in my opinion in large shows like arenas....anywhere else just seems forced and hokey.
Slaughtering animals onstage? Fuct up. Garbage. There's a line between putting on a good show and being a freakshow. I'm all for gore and blood and guts in entertainment, but there has to be a line. I don't really want to see a sheep get its head cut off on stage. At this point, they are trying to make up for lack of originality and ideas.
). as far as pyro, I think its good for arena shows, because at that point I"m paying 40 dollars to stand farther away from a band than I would at a club, so I want more for my buck. Pig killing, I have no opinion on.
