I remember an interview with the people will stay with it, and they get a lot of enjoyment out of playing late Joe Strummer, lead singer of The Clash, a band noted for their at home. activism and for lyrics that focused And then there are the people who on social and political issues. He was asked, “What is it you’re trying to are driven to get up on a stage in say with your music? When you get front of strangers. You know who up on stage, what is your message? you are. It’s okay, I have it too. What are you trying to communicate I can’t explain it either. Normally I to the audience?” And Strummer am a pretty shy, retiring, fellow. said, “Look at me.”
The tears shed, and the blood spilled, all inservice of that 45-minute set Quit laughing out there, I can hear you. The performance is the be all; the end and everything else is the means. The money spent, the years of rehearsal, the amps lugged, the club owners dealt with, the tears shed, and the blood spilled, all in service of that 45-minute set. And if we’re being honest, a lot of those sets were pretty rough too. But the good ones make it all worthwhile.
If you’re driven to get up on that stage, or as a former band mate used to call it “stick your neck in the noose of public consumption”, then in my not so humble opinion, you take on a responsibility to the audience. You’re asking them to give you their time and attention, and you need to treat that with respect, regardless of what your shtick is. I don’t care if you’re a goat slaughtering death metal act or a thoughtful singer songwriter, there’s a base level of professionalism that separates a real artist from someone who doesn’t respect their audience, and despite my appearance as an aging minor league rocker, I’ve always thought that something worth doing is worth doing well.