Something that Bothers Me at Gigs

J

Jipps0525

Power User
This started with my lead singers wife. They are now divorced, but his son came to a gig recently and said the same thing and it irked me. Been playing in a cover band with this guy for awhile; just a local bar cover band but we have a lot of fun doing it. But I really hate when people tell me to smile more while I’m playing guitar live. I do smile when I’m playing but it comes and goes; doesn’t typically happen when I hit a solo because I’m either focused or doing other guitar faces. As a guitar player, I’ve never once cared or been concerned about seeing if another guitarist, pro or not, smiles on stage. I can still be super happy and not be smiling. I’ve also had people take their fingers up to their faces while I’m mid song, and gesture with their finger(s) to smile. Just takes me out of the moment and my groove. No biggie, just wanted to vent and get this off my chest.

PS- I’m always on the hunt for a decent pair of shades I can wear live so I don’t have to make eye contact while playing, and ones that don’t diminish my view of the fretboard too much while playing.
 
Yep, when i first started out in bands years ago i had a various people telling me i need to "move around more" on stage and do the stereotype, leaping up and down all over the place. As i told them, I'm far more focused on playing the music well and not sounding like a heavily shaken drunkard. Don't get me wrong, I didn't stand stock still and stare in to the void. I'd let fly when the time was ripe but when people sacrifice playing ability for the sake of launching off every monitor in the house, i just cant help but shake my head.
 
Jipps0525 said:
I’ve also had people take their fingers up to their faces while I’m mid song, and gesture with their finger(s) to smile.
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This is just weird and disrespectful IMO. Probably would tempt me to pop them the bird. Smiling if genuine can be done after the song and thanking for any recognition. When someone is in the middle of doing their job I wouldn’t expect anything but concentration on doing it the best they can. Too many people looking at fake people on Tik Tok. Uhg!!
 
I hate when some other musician decides my amp is where their beer or soda pitcher should sit. I don’t care WHAT it is, I don’t want them using my equipment like their own personal table.

If they spilled the pitcher they would:
  1. Try to sneak away before I found out.
  2. Pretend they didn’t do it or that it was that way when they got there when I did find out and asked them WTF!?
  3. Refuse to pay for the amp to be serviced to get that crap out of the controls and board. Probably that’s because they want to drag others down to their level of maintenance of their own equipment.
We’d be the headliner, set up, sound-check was done and our equipment draped in black to keep the stage looking good … grrr.
 
Romo82 said:
Yep, when i first started out in bands years ago i had a various people telling me i need to "move around more" on stage and do the stereotype, leaping up and down all over the place. As i told them, I'm far more focused on playing the music well and not sounding like a heavily shaken drunkard. Don't get me wrong, I didn't stand stock still and stare in to the void. I'd let fly when the time was ripe but when people sacrifice playing ability for the sake of launching off every monitor in the house, i just cant help but shake my head.
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Exactly. This is also heavily dependent on how much space we have on stage, which for local bar gigs is often very minimal. When I was in my agency, top 40 band, we often had bigger stages and of course that means having more fun on stage quite literally.
 
Jipps0525 said:
This started with my lead singers wife. They are now divorced, but his son came to a gig recently and said the same thing and it irked me. Been playing in a cover band with this guy for awhile; just a local bar cover band but we have a lot of fun doing it. But I really hate when people tell me to smile more while I’m playing guitar live. I do smile when I’m playing but it comes and goes; doesn’t typically happen when I hit a solo because I’m either focused or doing other guitar faces. As a guitar player, I’ve never once cared or been concerned about seeing if another guitarist, pro or not, smiles on stage. I can still be super happy and not be smiling. I’ve also had people take their fingers up to their faces while I’m mid song, and gesture with their finger(s) to smile. Just takes me out of the moment and my groove. No biggie, just wanted to vent and get this off my chest.

PS- I’m always on the hunt for a decent pair of shades I can wear live so I don’t have to make eye contact while playing, and ones that don’t diminish my view of the fretboard too much while playing.
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To me the only important thing is if the player seems genuine, whatever the faces.

My wife sometimes remarks on people saying the same the same thing about herself. Bugs her too.

And yes every rocker who puts a foot up on a monitor is borderline hilarious.
 
GitGuy513 said:
This is just weird and disrespectful IMO. Probably would tempt me to pop them the bird. Smiling if genuine can be done after the song and thanking for any recognition. When someone is in the middle of doing their job I wouldn’t expect anything but concentration on doing it the best they can. Too many people looking at fake people on Tik Tok. Uhg!!
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It’s just so bizarre to me. Like, do you really think I’m not having fun?? “You need to smile more you look miserable up there.” Really?! You honestly think I’m miserable?! Like cmon people!
 
Dave Merrill said:
To me the only important thing is if the player seems genuine, whatever the faces.

My wife sometimes remarks on people saying the same the same thing about herself. Bugs her too.

And yes every rocker who puts a foot up on a monitor is borderline hilarious.
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My all time favorite is Slash. Guy wears shades and his face shows no emotion ever lol. Next time I see him live I will tel Slash he should smile more 😂
 
warlockII said:
Sadly, too many people "hear" bands with their eyes. I've had to make a concerted effort to do the "rock god" crap on stage. Even though I feel like a total poser, the bar crowd eats it up :(
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There is much truth to this and it's not bad advice per-se (although I wouldn't ever tell someone how to perform). At most shows, there's a give-and-take with the audience - you smile, they'll smile. They bring some energy, you get some energy. It's worth it to find ways to engage the audience in what you're doing - they'll definitely appreciate it. That's the main area I try to improve upon as it's not natural for me either, but it definitely takes you to another level. My advice would be not to blatantly ham it up for the sake of being a cheeseball, but find ways to bring the crowd into it. For a rock show especially, you're a stage performer. Act the part!

Lemmy said it best:
“If you're going to be a f*%&ing rock star go be one. People don't want to see the guy next door on stage; they want to see a being from another planet. You want to see somebody you'd never meet in ordinary life.”
 
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