Not A Second Time
I was recently at a film showing introduced by a guy who demanded we applaud the director. (To be clear, the director wasn't there--in fact, he was dead.) Not satisfied by our response, he demanded we do it again, but this time show we meant it.
I heard him the first time. I didn't even want to be bothered by this guy to begin with. I appreciated the director, but didn't feel I have to stamp and whistle to show it. So if I'm asked to react yet again, I remain silent, annoyed the speaker is holding us hostage.
So let me start a new movement. If anyone pulls this stunt at a showing or a concert or really anywhere, make sure you sit silent. Whatever reaction you had at first was correct--no need to waste our time to please someone who hardly even deserves our attention.
posted by LAGuy @ 10:00 AM
3 Comments:
I totally agree.
I also am not a fan of rock stars commanding the audience to respond. Here's Freddie Mercury doing it.
During Genesis' brief flirtation with Vaudeville, Phil would do this, but I think it actually worked well, since it was clearly done for laughs.
Who was the first rock star who commanded the audience to react in certain ways? Jim Morrison, perhaps?
My guess is from the start there have been rock stars who knew how to work the audience. The tradition goes back well before rock, so some of them must have picked it up.
I can't think of too many examples from live performances, but then most old rock and roll recordings come from the studio. But listen to Chuck Berry interact with the audience on his only #1 hit, "My Ding-a-Ling"--admittedly, that was 1972, but he'd always been a showman.
My favorite was the band, Giuffria, begging one half of the stadium to say F#%$!, and the other half to say, YOU! It was not even clear to whom we were speaking. So it was hard to understand how loud we needed to yell.
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