Published: Friday - October 26, 2007
Words by Donny Goines
Blog by Donny Goines (Photo: n/a)
A few weeks ago, as I was taking the train to a business meeting, I noticed this man who caught my attention. He had on a bright red sport coat, a top hat and was pushing a small cart towards the center of the train. Automatically I knew, or at least I thought I knew, what to expect. He was a magician that was going to perform some tricks then ask the passengers on the train for money. I thought to myself "I've seen this before and I'm not interested" and preceded to ignore him, but then he started his act. Although I knew he was going to perform some sort of illusions and wasn't interested at first, he really gave a hell of a performance and I ended up giving him a dollar when he finished.
When you perform at shows, many times the audience already knows (or has some idea) of what to expect so they have a tendency sometimes of writing you off before you begin. I am guilty of this myself and so are many others. Its human nature. Think about it, when someone comes up to you these days and says "I rap" your probably like "Who doesn't?". There's nothing special or amazing about it and its very common. So what separates you from the other acts on the stage? Your PERFORMANCE!!!!!!
Many artist out there really underestimate the power of a good performance. They think if you get on stage, bring twenty people up there with you and lip sync to a few records you gave a great performance. Now be honest, would you enjoy watching what I just described? If your answer is no then how could you expect anyone else to? Truth is, many artists are lazy and very uncreative. In order to impress your audience you really have to be innovative, clever and give it 110%. If not, chances are your will be "that guy that opened up for...." or "the dude that came on after...." . You notice I don't use any names right? Exactly.
I can't tell you what you should do when your on stage. A lot of times I don't know what I'm gonna do when I'm up there. That's for you to decide but I DO know that when its show time, I'm going all out. Whatever it takes to captivate my audience (as long as it doesn't go against what I stand for as an artist and a man) I'm doing. There are a few things you should ALWAYS do before and during your performances though. One of these things is REHEARSE (I don't know why artists don't do this) another one that's often forgotten is to engage and interact with the crowd (crucial) and finally you should experiment (try different things so you can stand out). Ultimately, one of your responsibilities as an artist is to perform your material and if you don't take it serious then don't get mad when others do the the same.
The magician I saw on that train was very good. He really got the crowd's attention and performed his art masterfully. That why weeks after the fact, I'm writing about his showmanship. Think about this story the next time you step on a stage.
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