| StoreTags: live, henke, theater, performance
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Just re-stumbled across this article (bit old, I know) from robert henke, and was thinking about how I would want to structure a live act.
I'm totally happy going to a show with no elements of performance/theater, but I do appreciate flavor when it's there.
I was thinking of an interface that presents obstacles to the performer (physical obstacles like distances to run across, giant levers that are hard to pull) etc. would be fun to see...
Have you tried to incorporate any "performance" elements above and beyond producing music on stage? Has it been appreciated by the audience? | |
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05/05/08
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Squeal
I was thinking of a giant xy pad that I would "play" with giant dramatic sweeping motions. The giant lever idea makes me laugh for some reason.
05/05/08
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DerryGodo
my mental image of a giant xy pad is a huge mockup model of a kaoss pad...
05/05/08
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yghartsyrt
from what i read from this article, i had more the feeling the henke was talking about performance not in a theatrical way, more in a philosophical/sociological way like judith butler or jaques derrida meant the word performance.
like constituting a person or an idea through the act itself. for example, a woman is mostly percepted as a woman and is made a woman thorugh the acts she performs, as the acts are defined as female acts. (and yes most of you are able torcognize a woman because of boobs  )
in that way of thinking a performing band is for example a rock band, because through their acts they manage to deliver a feeling of authenticity, one of the main themes behind artists since goethe with his concept of an artist being a creational one.
as the acts of authenticity are mostly not being reproduceable within electronic music performances, because the performer tends to just become an interface between the machines and the audience, henke tried to show a genealogy of modes of productions and performance within the field of electronic music performance.
sorry if this is written a little confusing. it's still kinda early and i just got up and only had one cup of coffee.
05/06/08
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DerryGodo
I'm with you, ygh ; the article wasn't concerned with theatrics in a musical setting - but it got me thinking about audience enjoyment, and how to engage the audience (perhaps in lieu of percieved "authenticity")
05/06/08
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Ochre
This is basically why I don't bother playing live very often; I feel far too self-conscious about my lack of causal or gestural performance, and don't feel twisting knobs or pecking buttons constitutes much of a spectacle, even with visual backdrops (unless they're inextricably linked with the sound). As for terms like 'controllerism'... I'm feeling nauseous. Crude attempts to approximate causal instrumental performance only serve to illustrate the chasm between controllers and 'real' instrumental performances, in my opinion.
I don't understand why watching someone peck a Monome for an hour is considered entertaining, yet someone pecking a laptop is not. Is it just the pretty lights? Knowing that a guy hit a pad to trigger a sound? Is that enough? Why is a bank of hardware more fun to look at than a laptop, to many people?
I was reading a thread on Gearslutz about this yesterday, which was an intensely depressing read -- link also link
Engaging with the audience -- even just having a mic to say hello -- simply acknowledging the audience, seems to help. I've seen so many laptop guys just sit there and start and end their set without so much as a glance at the audience (myself included, damn it!) that you just feel a huge rift between performer and audience. Get a mic.
Also, if you're not in a club setting, or people are mainly standing watching the back of your laptop, would it be better to pause between tracks rather than plough through a 90-min mix? Rock audiences in particular appreciate the breather in between tracks, I feel.
There's my rant for the week, sorry. Maybe this isn't the opportune moment to plug a gig of mine happening next month? :P
05/06/08
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cbit
ochreIs it just the pretty lights? Knowing that a guy hit a pad to trigger a sound? Is that enough?[/quote said: "
I think that's it right there, at least for me. Seeing physical action translated into sound goes a long way.
[quote]Maybe this isn't the opportune moment to plug a gig of mine happening next month? :P"
LOL!
05/06/08
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cbit
damn no edit
ochre said: "Is it just the pretty lights? Knowing that a guy hit a pad to trigger a sound? Is that enough?"
I think that's it right there, at least for me. Seeing physical action translated into sound goes a long way.
ochre said: "Maybe this isn't the opportune moment to plug a gig of mine happening next month? :P"
LOL!
Engaging with the audience -- even just having a mic to say hello -- simply acknowledging the audience, seems to help. I've seen so many laptop guys just sit there and start and end their set without so much as a glance at the audience (myself included, damn it!) that you just feel a huge rift between performer and audience. Get a mic.
+1. I'm guilty here too, but recognise that this is a Good Idea.
05/06/08
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subset
I've only seen videos of j-chot, but he seems to know how to engage an audience. Actually I didn't see how engaged the audience was, but it kept me interested. I think it's just the energy and enthusiasm. And bandanas, if I remember correctly. Obviously this doesn't lend itself to all types of music. Although it would be pretty funny to see someone leaping around to an ambient set.
Sorry, if someone else can find a link to vids then thanks.
05/06/08
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bla
im thinking of dressing like a twat for my next gig (stfu marseille!!) but the thing about the visual entertainment is that the music has to be extra good for you to get away with daft stuff- bad music+looking stupid is worse than bad music+looking normal
05/06/08
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delete
i feel that a pause between tracks helps a little, gives the opportunity to the crowd to applaud or boo you plus you can take a sec and at least look towards them.
05/06/08
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dach
Oh, I love this subject. I think that laptop 'performance' is about as far from performance as possible. Performance is about showing the audience how you perform, and not about the underlying quality of the music produced. Although the laptop gives people the ability to do pretty much anything and everything in a musical sense, it at the same time takes away the audiences appreciation and understanding of what is going on. If you are just hiding behind the lid, you might as well just be a winamp playlist. Nice 'show'.
In my own life, I've discovered an interesting alternative to this perfect-music, zero-performance situation through circuit bending. I have an ambient, slightly dark and weird set (definitely not just obnoxious bent noise), where I take apart my toys to expose the circuit boards, and then proceed to rewire them with wires and crocodile clips in full view of the audience. Although the underlying process of sound creation (the chains of effects and multiple channels etc) is as mysterious to them as in a laptop performance, they can SEE that stuff is happening, the understand the whole concept, and often hear the result directly. It is also quite obvious how the toys should sound originally, and by comparison, the sad and tortured sounds i pull out of them is an understandable product of my rewiring.
I have sometimes had a circuit bend megadrive and nintendo connected to a projector. These are for the audience to take over and so also get in on it, there is a patch bay and buttons and switches for them to explore, and no matter what they do the results are usually acceptably glitchy VJ style stuff. This is pretty popular
I've been discussing doing a hard noise show with some friends, and if that comes about, I'll definitely have some pairs of walkie talkies to throw out into the audience, with the receivers fed through tons of distortion and delays. the audience can scream and shout unintelligibly in the mess.
05/06/08
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DerryGodo
dach said: "Although the underlying process of sound creation (the chains of effects and multiple channels etc) is as mysterious to them as in a laptop performance, they can SEE that stuff is happening, the understand the whole concept, and often hear the result directly."
yeah; I really like being able to make connections between the actions and results of performer. Not because I'm fretting about whether or not they're checking email on stage, but for the pleasure of seeing/hearing the two events happen at the same time.
05/07/08
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dach
A lot of laptop performances could be improved by showing the screen action to the audience via a projector. I think the majority of laptop artists are afraid of doing this, because it'd reveal how little they are really doing. If they are doing cool stuff, then they should show it. If not, they should get off the stage
05/08/08
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elronhubbard
dach said: "If they are doing cool stuff, then they should show it. If not, they should get off the stage"
lol. true true.
05/08/08
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elronhubbard
Ochre said: "Also, if you're not in a club setting, or people are mainly standing watching the back of your laptop, would it be better to pause between tracks rather than plough through a 90-min mix? Rock audiences in particular appreciate the breather in between tracks, I feel."
i think that's definitely cool. sometimes even a mix of 2-3 tracks, pause, then another 2-3 tracks is even more exciting.
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