Over the course of any performing musician’s career, there will be gigs that do not go over as well as hoped. There can be a variety of reasons, personal performance, adverse conditions, and/or technical difficulties. Of all possible ways a gig can go bad, the absolute worst is when the crowd is simply not into what you are playing. Depending on the venue, this can manifest itself in a number of ways. If it is a concert hall, the crowd will fidget, check their watches, roll their eyes, look around the room at other attendees, or fall asleep. If it is a church, they will page through their hymnal or the Bible, let loose a whisper or two, and possibly excuse themselves to go to the bathroom. At a bar, they will simply ignore you, watch the television, and talk over whatever you are playing. Unlike the other two venues, at the bar, you will not even receive a polite clap at the end of each number. If anything you might get a sneer over in your direction, implying “Are you done yet?”

There could be a number of reasons that the bar gig goes wrong. Perhaps you are just not the right act for the venue. For example, if you’re a Pantera cover band at a disco bar, you might not go over very well. Maybe you suck. It’s even possible that the crowd just doesn’t want to hear any music (especially true during the football playoffs). Wednesday’s gig was one such gig. While there were a few people that enjoy what we were playing, by and far, the crowd was there to drink beer and talk with one another. They could have cared less that a rock band was playing. When the DJ in the room adjoining us started to play dance music, some people were happy, others were still more content drinking and talking.

This particular gig was for charity, so I cannot get too upset. Time was given for a good cause without desire for compensation. Nevertheless, I have to wonder why they wanted to book a live band. If the crowd does not particularly want to hear a live rock band, the presence of one is simply an annoyance. However, for the people that did enjoy what we were playing, I am grateful that they made their presence known by personally thanking us after the set. As long as there are an appreciative few from the audience, the gig is a success.

Anyway… here are some pictures from the gig:

Created with flickr slideshow.