I have attended fewer than 50 gigs and concerts, so don’t claim to be an informed expert or critic in this area. My benchmark for a really good performance is an early days Bryan Adams concert. He entertains and interacts with the audience. He deals with his fans in such an intimate way that you get to feel more that you’re at his backyard barbeque with a few dozen of his close friends rather than one of 50,000 at a large concert hall in London. He is down-to-earth, receptive, warm and friendly – a thoroughly lovely artist. Young lads get to fulfil their dream of performing a few lines of “Summer of 69″ on stage with him at his invitation – what price do you put on that? They would have felt ten feet tall, and would have walked on air for months afterwards. Bryan also would invite up on stage female fans to begin with, (and then lads as well) to enjoy his performance by dancing on stage. You might imagine that it’s the slinky leggy girls he’d choose, but no – he calls the slightly plump and self-conscious spotty girl, the plain brown-haired girl with glasses, the girl with gaps and braces in her teeth – all average and typical woman-in-the-street type who he sees as his loyal fans. Definitely, if you ever get the chance to go to a Bryan Adams concert, do go, even if just to see how artists should treat their fans.
Billy Idol is also an entertainer. He does not interact with his audience to the same degree that Bryan Adams does, but he entertains. One of my long-lasting memories of a concert experience was when he signalled for a net of balloons to be released from the ceiling, saying that it contained “something which will save your life”. When the balloons floated down, the crowd were thrilled to grab them, and find condoms attached. What showmanship!
At the other end of the scale was an AHA concert I attended. They did nothing more than stand on stage and sing. Teams of bouncers kept fans away from the foot of the stage, and the whole show was flat and unanimated. One fan managed to persuade a bouncer to let her stand to the side, quietly. In her hand she clutched a small teddy bear toy. Each time that Morten moved in her direction, she would be filled with hope, and move closer to the stage expectantly. However as he caught sight of her, he would move away and for all her efforts that evening, never actually came close to her idol. It was hurtful to see.
I recently went to a King Blues gig at the Purple Turtle in Camden. I had not been to a gig for several years, apart from a few ‘open mike’ evenings at local pubs. The last gig I attended was at the Mean Fiddler some years ago. The only reason why I went to this one in Camden was because my son was playing at some time during the evening. I had no idea what to expect, but was ready for anything – including tenderised eardrums.
The truth was that I had been ready for anything except to be blown away by the quality of the performance. The crowd joined in, and I found myself up there at the front with them, swaying and dancing as well, not because my son was playing, but because I was genuinely enjoying the performance. He was funny, entertaining and in tune. All in all, the entire performance was a truly excellent one, and I can say with my hand on my heart, for all the right reasons, that of all the gigs and concerts I have ever attended, the King Blues at the Purple Turtle on Monday 6 February in 2006 was the best one ever.