Relational Asthetics: Live Music and Comedy as the unwriteable performance

After listening to last weeks lesson I began to think about the live performances, particularly audience involvement. So often we witness stand up comedians having to deal with hecklers that are not even elements in written and recorded television shows. This extra pressure can often make or break an act and send the artist off on a tangent that they had not prepared for, developing a unique performance. A fan challenged comedian Billy Connelly during one of his world tours that he could not attend all three shows without hearing the same joke twice. The wager was the price of the tickets. Connelly managed the task and when he asked the man how it felt to fork out for three tickets, he said he was on his way to purchasing a fourth to which Connelly jokingly commented, "Fuck off mate."

The point is the audience presence can change the performance whether positive or negative. The artist can feed off the energy of the crowd as well as the crowd feeding off there own energy and creating a mood that may enhance the experience. Maybe you laugh at a joke that otherwise you wouldn’t find to be funny, or the joke seems funny because people are laughing.

If you have ever been to a live concert you may have experienced a performance that was made memorable by the involvement of the crowd. Being in the mosh pit is different to being on the hill, as is outside to inside, sunshine to rain, hot or cold conditions are all elements that shape the vibe of the audience members and in turn the musicians.

‘The Who’ a famous 70's London rock band became well known for smashing the instruments on stage. This image evolved by accident after Peter Townsend put the neck of his guitar through a low ceiling at a gig at the Railway Tavern in London. He proceeded to smash the guitar beyond repair and the crowd embraced this outburst of energy and aggression. ‘The Who’ continued to smash their instruments at the end of their performances and it became a cult like activity that the crowd waited in suspense for. Imagine being at the Railway Tavern to be apart of that history for the first time, a unique experience.

I’ll leave you with this video of a guy who starts his own dance party at a festival. I wonder did the musicians thrive off this unexpected crowd activity and play the set of their lives or will the people involved only remember how awesome this moment in the crowd was? It strikes me that as the crowd grew around the drunk guy people couldn't help but become involved in what was happening there.

Luke Turner