This is a video of my band, The Congregation, playing my favorite of our songs, "Falling", at a recent gig.
If anyone would like to have a listen and offer constructive criticism, that'd be great. I'm not looking for attaboys, but rather thoughts on how to make it better.
You're lead singer seems pretty uncomfortable when he isn't singing up there. He turns away from the crowd, walks off the "stage" at the end, etc. Give him an egg shaker or something to do. Maintaining connection with the audience is half the game. If you're good, but the audience senses you are uncomfortable, or worse, that you don't want to be there...they won't want to be there, they'll feel uncomfortable.
Musically, good stuff. The snare was hot on the drums, but drums are tough. Everyone else seemed mixed well, not overpowering. Work on the stage presence issues and your stock goes up like a zillion percent.
Pay attention to how the light falls if you have no lights. Manage the pools of ambient light as well as you can. Put yourself in the best light. ---------- "If you want to hide, find a stage." ~John Popper
Agreed with everything above. Great music. Very dark (I didn't even notice the acc. guitarist on my first view!). Static performance - not much movement from the rest of the band - doesn't look like you had much room though!
Take your singers mic stand away. It'll give him something to do with his hands. Put dark glasses on him if he's uncomfortable making eye contact, better to look like a pretentious rock star than uncomfortably hanging your head and looking at the ground.
Difficult to comment on camcorder mic sound, but the vocal seemed low in the mix.
thanks to all for the great advice. and yes, he lighting was weird. i actually cranked up the brightness and contrast quite a bit so you could see it at all.
I'm in the minority, so far, but I didn't think the singer's demeanor was bad. That's the way he moves. I also saw nothing wrong with him getting out of the way while the band did their instrumental. In fact, I appreciate that. I do think he needs to project more vocally.
garry it strikes me as boring. You guys are nervous and look like your on display and don't know how to handle it. Music is suppose to be fun! Try playing more soulful. Like you mean it! Play every note like you mean it. I don't know it just seemed very uninspired. I've played gigs that weren't fun. So I know the feeling and the look! Sometimes a gig just has a bad vibe. I've been to places where the people running the place were butt heads and I've been to biker bars where people were braking bottles over each others heads as a sign of friendship! I've been to alot of places. Not all are fun! Its really hard and not fair to you or your band to judge by this vid. The Biker Bar I played was in Nacorans neck of the woods. What a crazy frickin place that was. I've never had so much fun and been so scared at the same time in my life! But that is living! You guys looked liked you were bummed because you were missing a new episode of American Pickers. Don't take my comments to heart. Everyone reacts on stage differently. Take it upon yourself to liven the band up. If you get into it they'll follow.
A biker bar in my neck of the woods? I thought all we had around here was college bars! On Friday and Saturday nights early in the semester there are some streets that are nearly impassable because of random wandering drunken coeds in the streets. You honk your horn and they give you the finger, like it's their right to stand in the middle of the road for five minutes blocking traffic.
I think I may change my approach to something more New Orleansy. Maybe if I throw them beads instead I'll get a better response.
If you want me to be picky, at various points your time is slightly off--you are sometimes playing slightly behind the beat when you should be right on the beat. This happens when a player is trying to be very careful about note selection and is hesitating slightly as he plays. Just be slightly more assertive/aggressive as you as playing and you will stay on the beat consistently.
I'm being picky--it's not like you are way off or anything. also, the tune does not have a strong back beat anyway, and so a player has to be a little more attentive in order to stay in time.
