I just went to a concert on Friday night and it was great! The singer would stick the mic in the crowd during choruses for the audience to sing along, they were all jumping and running around and for their encore the kids took over the 2 mics that the bass and guitar player were using to sing along and the singer was running around in the mosh pit screaming the song. It was a cool site to see and a very energetic performance. The singer then grabbed a kids bottle of rum and chugged it back.

Part of the reason why I think it was so good is that the band was playing on the floor, there was no stage so they were 1 foot infront of the crowd, the mics were getting knocked over and sh!t like that.

What makes a good show for you?

Apart from the obvious things, like good sound, an unobstructed view, no idiots in the seats around you, etc., the one thing that makes a show good is for the performers to really get into it and enjoy themselves onstage. Nothing is worse than watching someone just go through the motions. If the band is having a good time, more than likely so are you.

energy

This is very tough. Wen I was a professional musician I toured for several years with only very short breaks in the touring and it is very hard to maintain a high energy level when you are playing the same songs day after day. Touring is physically and mentally draining. There are some nights when you just can't do it, there is just nothing left and the show comes out a dud.

I'm just like anyone else, when I go to see a show I want the band to have a lot of energy but I can sympathize when they don't and when you can tell that they are just exhausted.

Fire.

Fire and 1/2 naked women gyrating on the stage.



-Steve

One thing that I enjoy is when an artist experiments with the songs, and not just perform them like they did on the record. It usually happens after the song has just been played so much that they can do it forwards and backwards without even thinking about it, and they feel comfortable giving the song some character. They try to keep it interesting for themselves.

J

But that's what booze and drugs are for

I never said it was easy, and as a regular business traveller I know to a very small extent how hard life on the road can be. Tired is one thing, but just not caring is another.

I've only seen a few acts who were just going through the motions, and those were usually crappy opening acts that never went anywhere anyhow.

A good sound system and mixer. I wont name the clubs but the ones in DC dont just hack it - too much bass and no mid range - the vocals get lost in the mix. I have been to various music venues in NYC, Philly, San Francisco and Chicago and they are simply superior. Faves include the Bowery Ballroom and Bottom of the HIll.

I went and saw Weezer last Tuesday and was very disappointed because the show was boring as hell. It was like burning your own greatest hits CD and playing it your bedroom. No "character" was given to any of the songs, Rivers Cuomo (lead singer) looked as if he didn't want to be anywhere near a microphone, and they did nothing but play their songs and leave. NO energy.

Energy makes a good show, and can even make up for a lack in talent. I go to shows to have fun, not to hear live versions that really aren't all that different than what I've heard on the CD a thousand times before.

exactly. couldn't have said it better myself

You don't know how right you are, I went down that road myself.

Rivers is known to be very shy with the microphone and I can sympathize. I have extremely bad stage freight that is un-curable and that is what finally made me to quit the music business because I just couldn't handel the stage freight anymore. Also my health was bad because I would throw up every night before I would go on stage due to the stage freight and it tore up my stomach.

What separates a good concert from a bad or mediocre one:

1. Talent. I want the artist to sound as close as possible to the sound on their CD. Nothing agravates me more than an artist that's been obviously overproduced and mangles the song on stage.

2. Artist having fun I don't want the artist to sound exactly like the CD either, I want to see some improvisation and enthusiasm on stage. I really don't like feeling like I'm just listening to the CD while some people jump around on stage.

3. Interaction with the audience I love it when an artist adapts the set list to the crowd or gets the crowd involved with what they are doing on stage. I also really enjoy when the artist banters with the crowd and it's more than "YEAAAHH!! Austin, you rawk!!"

4. Good sound and mixer Important, but I expect a certain level of quality from these two things, period. It's not that hard to do a mediocre job. I've been to few concerts where it was so bad that the concert was ruined, and that wasn't the only factor that ruined the concert.

5. Unobstructed view This one doesn't concern me much, I'm small and very aggressive, so I will fit into places others won't, and I will fight to get the very best viewing position possible at a general admission concert. Besides, I've been at some incredible concerts -- Metallica comes to mind -- where I couldn't see the band for much of the time I was there.

6. Crowd Interaction I love being in the middle of a crowd gone wild, in fact, this is what sent a Offspring concert over the top for me. I don't enjoy people deliberately trying to hurt other people, but there's nothing like the feeling of a packed crowd swirling around like a human washing machine. At one Metallica concert, I was picked up off my feet, moved ten feet to my left and set back down by the dynamic of the crowd. I was not crowd surfing, nor did I have control over where I went. That was an incredible feeling.

But I saw Rivers 4 years ago and he wasn't like this at all.

He has his good and bad days from what I remember reading.

Of course he may have just been bored like you observed which I definitely can't stand. You are probably right in your assesment that he was just not interested in playing that night.

Energy is definitely important. Some bands just dont move around at all. They just take the stage and stand there the entire time. They don't look like they're putting any effort at all.

Interaction-I like when the band gets the audience gets the crowd into the show. Sometimes its really dumb stuff, but it works. Manson does this really well..."are you one of the beautiful people?!" Even U2 did a good job with their arena tour by Bono walking around using the flashlight-type device.

Also, really cool is when they do snippets of other songs/covers. One of the most memorable performances I remember is Bush's woodstock 99, just because they covered REM's "One I Love".

If I'm paying $35 to see him with 10,000 other people, he better damn well find a way to GET interested!

How about no pre-recorded audio and do I have to say this--NO lip-synching!! Some "artists" are notorious for this.