We’re Electric Blue, the second band to perform. The selection of songs we were given weren’t ideal for us as a lot of us would prefer more energetic rock songs that are feel-good rather than emotional. Our last song was chosen by us and was the most energetic of the three but still had to have emotional value to maintain the same overall mood.
Communication:
The band as a whole communicated with each other effectively, using subtle movements like nodding or using hand gestures before each song to ensure the entire band is ready to play and there were no issues. We could have organised this better by having one member check with every other band member while a vocalist is talking and having the same person nod to them. During each song, there are multiple times where members smile and nod to each other as to confirm we are providing a fun environment and that we are allowed to be confident.
During our second song, Ashton, who is our rapper, prompted the audience to clap and successfully gained audience interaction. I think the audience responding positively to this prompt gave us feedback to say that they’re enjoying it, which personally gave me a boost of confidence. Ashton also performed with enthusiasm by using hand gestures and whole body movements to dance around, as well as using the stage more than the rest of us by leaning in closer to the audience and stepping back during the chorus. I swayed and bounced along to the song freely, not worrying about what the audience thinks too much and expressing pure joy throughout our first two songs but I felt limited while singing as I knew I had to maintain volume and a steady vocal performance, which felt easier by standing with minimal swaying and stepping back during the instrumental sections. Before and after the last song, I say a few words to introduce what the band is about to perform and to thank the audience for their applause. This is to prevent awkward silences while the band is setting up and to not leave the stage without explaining what’s happening. Thankfully, as I think my last few words were drowned out by applause, Ashton said a proper thank you and hoped for them to enjoy the rest of the show while the rest of the band made their way off stage.
Before the show, we were asked what kind of lighting we’d like and we purposely asked for blue lights to match the theme of Electric Blue, our band name. During our set, our tone on both keys and guitar changed a lot so we had to organise between ourselves when tone changes were to happen and asked about pedals to make the guitar tone switch easier.
Stage presentation:
Our stage presentation was mixed. The positioning of each of us was decent as no one was cramped and had an equal amount of stage space during the set, but our movement as a whole band was inconsistent and overall quite poor. The majority of the band moved minimally, perhaps due to stage fright or generally feeling tense while others moved in a way that would be considered confident. Fortunately that meant that those who moved enthusiastically were focused on the most. We could have organised exiting the stage a lot better to speed up the process. For example, I could have left via the left side of me to prevent collision with other members or equipment. In comparison to the dress rehearsal, the time it took us to switch over to different instruments was greatly decreased. This is mostly because we knew roughly how long the audience would clap for after watching the first band, allowing us to have a decent amount of time to set up before having to say anything to keep the audience engaged. Additionally, Ashton saved us by preparing a short script of his own making to fit his comfort zone rather than someone else making it and it feeling forced for him.
Musical ability:
Our ability to play the songs to a high standard varied as everyone except the guitarists and a singer switched instruments at some point. During our first song ‘I’ll Be Missing You’, every member was on their primary instrument apart from me on bass, contrasting greatly to what people were doing in our third song ‘Zombie’ where I was on vocals which I had never done before, Tom was on bass for the first time, Luke was on drums which is his secondary instrument, Ashton was on keys for the first time and Gideon was in the same position. Nonetheless, I believe we performed to an acceptable and enjoyable standard despite some parts being simplified or performed to a standard below what we’d have liked, such as my vocals in the last song. Some noticeable errors occurred, like the drums dropping out during the introduction of Zombie and me messing up the lyrics. All of these errors were moved past rather than being show-stopping due to embarrassment.
Group strengths:
- Communication
- Structural understanding
- Being open to play different instruments
- Audience interaction
Group areas of improvement:
- Confidence
- Stage presentation
- Dynamic changes
- Focus
How do we improve?
Confidence would have likely grown after this first show as experience definitely helps with feeling less pressure with future shows and feeling more free to express yourself. Stage presentation is directly linked to confidence in most cases, but studying how experienced artists perform in their own live shows may help to understand what usually works in a show. Spacial awareness is also key for stage presentation as each band member should have a decent amount of space to move around. Dynamic changes can be studied from the original studio recorded song and in live versions to see how they vary, if at all. Practicing this with an instrument will show how important this is for the overall mood and energy. A lack of focus may have been caused by being overwhelmed, particularly as this is some of the band’s first show. Another reason may be that there was no focus point to look at during the song and band members hadn’t looked at each other to reassure each other. To resolve this, a focus point is very helpful, particularly if it’s behind the audience as they’ll assume attention is directed to them.
Personal strengths:
- Technical skill
- Rhythm
- Stage presentation
- Confidence
Personal areas of improvement:
- Vocal performance
- Focus
- Understanding of vocal harmony
- Leadership skills
How do I improve?
I don’t plan on performing as a vocalist again, but it could be a useful skill to develop. To do this, I could research vocal performance in detail and put my research into practice with my external band without having any pressure of performing publicly until I feel I’m ready or want to. Vocal harmony could have enhanced our last song greatly but a lack of planning time and understanding prevented us from doing that. I’d like to at least look into vocal harmony and record small bits at home to see what I can make. I had multiple points in the show where I lost focus because I was too into the music and the feeling of performing. I can fix this by ensuring I focus in future shows and gain experience. My leadership skills were okay but being a bit more direct would have allowed the band to rehearse a fair bit more. I think this links to a lack of experience caused by a previous lack of confidence, but experience could help me in this role as the band leader.