In the past couple of weeks, I have attended a number of performances which have been research into live performance. The first being a classical piano recital, our tutor purposely made us attend this concert because it would constitute as valuable research. By watching this live performance, we could judge what could be constituted as a successful performance. Because this was an acoustic performance, the sound quality of the performance wasn’t as important as other gigs with electric gear. However, the hall in which the concert took place was acoustically treated so it still sounded good. Another reason as to why it was successful was because the performer reached his target audience, which was music students and older audience members. These are the person that showed up to the concert and therefore was successful in that sense. Also, the venue was appropriately arranged for a classical recital because the audience was sat down. This shows that the audience was there to enjoy the music and not there for the atmosphere.
Another performance we attended was another charity gig for the Manchester bombings. Another band that I am in called migraine also played. Because I was both in the audience watching other acts and on stage performing, it was the perfect opportunity for me to research what a charity gig should be like. As a performer, it was a successful gig because the sound on stage was of an acceptable quality, and the feedback I got of the sound coming out of the PA was also positive. Another reason that it was successful was because I played without any mistakes and managed to keep the band solid and in time. However, this doesn’t mean that the whole event was successful. At the start of the gig the sound coming out of front of house had too much top end, to the point where it was sometimes painful. Also, the gig started late because the company who organized the gig showed up late, and once they arrived, they had to find a power source as they had not previously arranged this.
From this concert, i learned that to have a successful charity gig, it needs to start on time, have high quality sound coming out of the front of house, have strong performers who know how to interact with an audience, and be organized well enough to keep the audience entertained and not waiting around.