> Belonging to several musical groups and clubs, I've watched many audiences
> in most every situation and feel that in order to link to the audience you
> must talk to them. Sure there are times in multi-act or back-ground
> situations where you play your music and that's it, but usually, if you can
> speak to your audience it allows them to stay focused on the music. Pure
> music mesmerizes.
In the past few years, I've gotten fairly involved in folk and "pop" music
and have gotten used to the performers talking to and acknowledging the
audience. In contrast, I've been to a few early music and classical
concerts recently where the performance has been spoiled for me by the
fact that the musicians have that 4th wall (or whatever actors call it) up
and only give the audience a brief knodding acknowledgment when people are
clapping. For example, I saw both the Baltimore Consort and Ensemble
Alcatraz last year. While I believe the latter are probably more
historically accurate (I could be wrong), they got up on stage, played and
left. In contrast, the Baltimore Consort explained the backgrounds of
their songs, talked about their instruments and in general had fun with
the audience. They are the *only* group I've ever seen get a standing
ovation at the intermission!
kirsti
kst@paul.spu.edu