Showmanship
When you get on a stage to perform a show, there is one thing that you should remember: You are there for the audience. It is not the other way around.
This means that you shouldn't drink too much (or not at all if you can't hold your alcohol.) You shouldn't take drugs before performing. And you should strive to play as well as possible when you get up there. Few audiences like hearing a group if they're too drunk or stoned to play. You should also practice at least once a week to keep your edge. Make sure that the band is tight, and can pull together after a train wreck on stage.
No matter how you deal with practicing, or drinking before shows, what being there for the audience really means is that your energy when you play is directed outwards, towards the audience. All musicians have a different kind of focus when they play. There is a zone where you get out of your head and become unaware of your surroundings, lost in the music. But when you put on a show, at least initially, direct your energies towards the audience. When you do that, an amazing thing happens. They pick up on it and give energy back to you, magnified. If you do this, it begins a good kind of energy feedback loop. It's an incredible feeling once this kind of thing starts. And when shows catch in this way, it can become magic. If you think back to the shows that you attended that you liked the most, that energy was probably there. You could probably reach out and touch it.
If there is one thing that's consistent with our successful shows, it's that we had that energy. A lot of people have told us that it looks like we're having a ton of fun up there every time we play. We are, and we direct it outwards, towards the audience. When that happens, we get back many times back what we put out. And we get a connection to them.
To us, this concept is the key to putting on a successful show, but we've run into very few bands that do this. The ones that don't put out this energy are the ones that put on unsatisfying performances. One band that headlined after ours proved it to us. We finished our huge finale, had people jumping and yelling and calling for more. We tore down quickly to make room for the headliners. When they started, they said "Um, wow. Uh, thanks Beatnik Turtle." And then they started to play a slower number, all while staring at their shoes the entire time. The energy level in the room was quickly sucked out. And they kept looking at their shoes, song after song. Their shoes were not the ones that they had to entertain. The room emptied pretty quickly and the audience that actually stayed was in the back of the room nursing their beers.
The final item about showmanship is an interesting argument that we often see between musicians. There's a discussion of "staying true to the music" versus "pandering to an audience." It might be an interesting debate over a beer, but it's not useful when you're putting on a show. In the end, you are entertainment for the audience. And that's why this energy idea is so important. While you need to make the show follow your own aesthetic tastes--which might include a dark brooding look or a screaming spandex serenade--don't forget that you are there to entertain. You are there for them. Having an attitude that they are lucky to hear you will not help you put on a good show. We think that David Bloom, who is one of Chicago's Jazz gurus, captured it best: "Don't reduce music to the size of your ego. It's a lot bigger than you. It was here before you, and it'll be here long after you're gone. Music is something to look up to." If you look up to music, the audience will look up to you. But if you look down at the audience, they won't be there next time you play.