datamusicata

So you walk out on stage as your name is announced and the crowd goes into wild rejection. Boos, “we hate you!” “F%#k you” and you haven’t played a not yet. What do you do?

I know it sounds like a nightmare, but it has happened and will happen and in fact, has happened to me; actually more than once. Here’s the story:

I walked on stage at a theater in the midwest. I was the opening act for the jazz/rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears. The promoter had a local DJ celebrity as the emcee and I specifically asked him to not pump the audienced about BS&T and then announce me as that would put me at a disadvantage. You KNOW what happened.

The DJ walked out on stage and yelled to the crowd, “ARE YOU READY FOR BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS? ARE YOU READY FOR THE BEST JAZZ/ROCK BAND IN THE WORLD? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!”
YES, THEY ARE RIGHT HERE AND READY TO ROCK...but first here’s a folk singer from California.”

The crowd went berserk, yelling and screaming, as I walked out onto the stage.

Boos, “we hate you!” “F%k you!”

I stood there for a moment, trying to think of what I could do, and suddenly, before I even thought about it, I said into the microphone, “wow, what a bunch of pussies. You call that a boo? I’m from California and when we don’t like someone, we let them know. This is just wimp stuff. Now if you don’t like me, let me hear the boos. Let me get it.”

The crowd erupted with epithets and boos, louder than before.

“Nope,” I said. “Not enough. I’ll tell you what. I’ll count to three and you can all boo at the same time. Let’s see if that will do it. Okay, 1, 2, 3.

BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

“No, not yet. Let’s try it once more...okay 1,2,3”

BBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Which miraculously turned into laughter and applause and then they just quieted down and I did my show.

I thought about it later and wondered where that came from and what happened. And after years and years on stage, I have discovered that the audience doesn’t like to be b.s.’d. They want the truth. And when you cope to what is going on, as I did in that instance, they somehow realign themselves with you.

If you say something that offends them and you can feel them receeding like a neap tide, acknowledge it immediately. They will come back.

I remember telling some joke that sent them away from me so fast I thought I heard a pop. I immediately said, “Did you hear that? That was the sound of you all leaving the building. I had you in the palm of my hand and that joke, well, I may not use that one again.” They all laughed. And climbed right back into my hand.

So the lesson for today is to cop to what is happening when you are up there. They appreciate it and they work with you.