Bill and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert last night; in one of those high falutin’ boxes no less! Thanks Theresa! Theresa Gladue, a good friend and a grade A, gung-ho arts and culture supporter, puts on variety shows featuring local talent to raise money for various good causes. Bill and I are happy to help out by providing volunteer performances at these fun events and in an innovative show of volunteer appreciation, Theresa took us and several other ‘lifer’ volunteers to the concert in style! What a great concert it was. Just the right mix of old and new and some outrageously fabulous harmonica playing! The audience was extremely enthusiastic; singing along on Mr. Bojangles and Fishing in the Dark. I think the band could feel the love.
On a professional note; although I don’t let it interfere with my enjoyment of the show, I’m always looking at the stagecraft angle - what do they do - why do they do it - how does it affect the show. NGDB have been performing for decades and their performances are tight and well organized. Each person is featured at various points which adds amazing dynamics to the overall show. One thing I noticed was the person off stage who seemed dedicated to keeping instruments tuned; that’s organized and smart - who wants to go to a concert to see someone tuning? The thing is, it was super organized but it didn’t look contrived, it felt very relaxed and personal. These guys are very good at what they do. If you’re playing professionally or trying to break into that business, I’d recommend having a look at some of the real pros, like NGDB, with an eye to how they present themselves and try to understand why they do what they do. Mimicry without understanding the underlying motivation won’t work unless you’re doing an impersonator act. (and even then, understanding the motivation would make that act more believable). Knowing the motivations and then applying that to your own show will only make it better. I know I’m going to take away some valuable bits to apply to my performances.