What makes a gig great - and what makes it go from bad to worse? We asked some of the regular gig-goers among our panel for advice, and also asked them to share a few of their best, and worst, experiences
For the music fan, an intimate live gig can be a fantastic experience. Within the confines of a small, enclosed performance space, in a crowd united by the desire to see a long-admired artist or hit song played, once-in-a-lifetime memories can be made (or life-long loves shattered). So MusicLab asked the gig-goers among its panellists to draw on their experiences of these intimate live music events, and tell us – what makes for a truly great gig?
Do you have a great (or awful?) gig memory you'd like to share? Maybe you have some top tips that you've picked up from your own experience?
Whatever your stance, why not scroll down to our Disqus comments section to add to the discussion?
Breaking down the gig experience
There is huge affection from those in MusicLab for any sort of involvement between the crowd and the act which cements the intimacy of a moment of musical experience. Watching the musician whose career you’ve followed; whose music has resonated with or excited you, walk through the crowd, and hearing the shared euphoria when the crowd sings the same songs together, seems to touch on something it is hard to put into words.
But MusicLab’s gig-goers did also flag-up what can irritate at these events – and perhaps what to look out for if you’re not so practised. Beer-throwing ranked top of the most-hated and disliked elements of a small live music event, closely followed by people sitting on each other’s shoulders, presumably because this can obscure other people’s view of the stage.
Drunken behaviour also rankled amongst MusicLab’s gigging panellists, while crowd-surfing and screaming were considered highly irritating.
To witness the best-loved part of any live performance, the majority of our gig-attendees say, you must of course stay on for the encore. This moment, where musicians feign a goodbye at the ‘end’ of their set, then run back on stage to stamp and applause, has lost the spontaneity that brought it into being – indeed if you steal a look at a set list the encore is often built-in. But the tradition thrives; the suspense generated by the promise of an encore is something which has the power to make us all feel warm inside. And the musicians don’t seem to mind it either.
A MusicLab gig-goers’ guide: some practical advice
Almost half of the music fans who attend gigs or intimate live music events in MusicLab said they go to between 6 and 10 gigs a year, so we asked if there was any practical advice you’d give to less-seasoned gig-goers.
We were interested in two things in particular:
- Where the best gig-watching position is in a crowded gig-space?
- How close is too close is when it comes to standing among other music fans?
The consensus here may just serve to intensify the competition for an ideal watching position from here on, as we found that most of MusicLab’s live-music lovers would prefer to stand in the same middle strip as one another when they go to a gig – in the heart of the crowd, in the centre of the space, facing the stage. Little wonder then that as everyone surges towards the front things can get a bit heated.
But what does this middle-centre spot before the stage offer people by way of a prime gig-viewing position? A combination of optimum sound, visuals, and atmosphere, as well as being the most practical option, say some of our commenters below:
"I prefer the middle-centre area of the crowd because..."
‘Chest to back in a mosh pit…’
Besides a packed commuter train at peak rush hour, gigs or intimate indoor live-music events are one of the few times when you can expect to come into close contact with people you don’t know. So we asked you to draw on your experiences, to weigh up what was acceptable, unacceptable, and preferable to you in this situation.
- “Occasionally coming into contact” with other people was the most accepted turn of events
- However, the thought of being “chest to back in a mosh pit” was simply not an option for most of the seasoned gig-attendees responding to our poll
- Thinking about what you’d prefer, you’d ideally like to be at arm’s length from other gig-goers, or half a metre away
To round-off our understanding of the MusicLab panel’s experiences of intimate live music events, we asked you for your best and the worst gig-going moments.
It was the best of times…
| “Nick Cave scaring Edinburgh, prowling along the speaker stacks, inserting references to Burke and Hare and Robert Louis Stevenson into his songs”“Los Campesinos! Used to change the words of a line in their song International Tweexcore Underground to say "I never cared about [insert name of local football team's manager]", which always raised a smile, being a big football fan, especially when they played a gig where I live in Hereford, as it's very unlikely for anyone to reference Hereford United at a gig!”“Possibly best gig moment is seeing Phil & Friends at New Year in San Francisco when the other members of the Grateful Dead joined them on stage”“Streetlight Manifesto gig - right at the front and the band stole my hat for most of the set”“When I saw The Prodigy in a small 800 capacity venue and the energy was intense”“Gogol Boredello at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. The crowd held up a big drum, which lead singer Eugene was crouching on while he sang”“Really small venue in York called Fibbers watching a local band (who I don't think even play together anymore) called Four Day Hombre. They were playing an acoustic song and asked the audience to be silent for it, and not clap, sing or applaud until it got going. After several goes (and hushing up a drunk woman) it worked, and the song was amazing :)”“The Georgia Satellites playing at the old Town & Country club in London in the 1980s. It was a truly memorable gig, best I've ever been to. They could really play and it was so obvious that they were having a great time playing. Magical. I would crawl over broken glass to see that gig again”“My all-time favourite band Faithless doing a small gig (advertised via their fan club). When they played 'Insomnia' the place rocked!”“The Smiths concert in a small hall in East London just before they really took off in about 1983. Excellent music, great atmosphere”“Seeing a last minute gig by the Foo Fighters, in my home town, getting last minute tickets and still being close enough to see the band up close... amazing” |
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It was the worst of times…
| “Someone throwing up on my head from the balcony at a Kate Nash gig”“Big Audio Dynamite only playing about 30 mins at a gig in the mid 80s”“Bert Jansch... Up in the furthest seats from the stage and the dullest music ever”“Katy Perry - she was fantastic, the crowd were horrible: elbows in the face”“When a lead singer of a band jumped into the crowd feet first and I cut my ear and needed to go to A&E to get stitches”“The minor irritations of being stuck behind a tall person (I'm 5'3", and so when they realise I can't see at all they tend to move)”“Waiting more than 4 hours for the Rolling Stones, standing in the front row by temperatures above 30 degrees”“The Strokes in Manchester years ago - they played their album in track order, with no improvisation or chat. I could have stayed at home and had the same experience”“Seeing Cornershop, they came on the stage, played their music, went off again with no crowd interaction, and the crowd only knew one of their songs”“Probably a sweaty group of sixteen year olds jumping right next to me and rubbing all their sweatiness on me - there was no need where we were standing - at a Wombats gig. Tried to move away but their jumping just got more manic. Move to the front if you want to get that rowdy!”“The Almighty at Wolverhampton Civic Hall around 1995. Far too loud and I had a problem with my ears for three weeks after needing medical attention. We also had to retreat to the upstairs balcony to see the show due to the crowd behaviour” |
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Do you have a great (or awful?) gig memory you'd like to share? Maybe you have some top tips that you've picked up from your own experience?
Whatever your stance, get the discussion going and make your voice heard in our comments section below.
