Re: talkative audiences

[Travis Hartnett <tiktok@sprintmail.com>]

It used to happen to me a fair amount if I was playing an ambient solo 
gig using sounds that didn't sound like the instrument I was holding 
(guitar).  People would ask me if I was going to play, when I was going 
to start, what was the CD we were listening to right now (when it was 
my loops and playing), and so on.  The classic definition of ambient 
("Music as ignorable as it is listenable") can sometimes bite you in 
the ass in these circumstances...if you're looking for recognition as 
the Talented Instrumental Idol.

I have been to laptop performances in cybercafes where it really is 
difficult to figure out who the performer is, since most of the 
audience was...checking their e-mail.  I also recall dragging a friend 
to a laptop show, where the performer was using Max or something 
similar, and the trouble-shooting soundcheck sounded almost exactly 
like the "performance".  My friend was not amused.

And the ideal comeback to the Brooks question is:

"I heard he killed an over-talkative audience member once--why do you 
ask?"

TH


On Wednesday, March 19, 2003, at 05:44 AM, 
Loopers-Delight-d-request@loopers-delight.com wrote:

> On the subject of people talking to me while I play - Ten minutes into 
> a
> set, I once had one guy come right up to the stage front and ask me 
> what I
> thought of Michael Brooks.  I had no response. Looking back on it, and 
> with
> inspiration from Doug Cox, I should  just kicked them in the nuts, 
> spat on
> his shoes and pushed a monitor off the stage onto him.  Of course, you 
> never
> think of the good come-backs until it's too late, huh?  :-)