i noticed during the recent Street Festival at the stage in front of Cineleisure that even have awesome bands playing awesome music have almost zero crowds standing at the front of the stage.
The band on stage (forgot the name of the band) was going nutz doing their stuff. There was an incredible amount of energy and it was a fantastic performance. Unfortunately the crowd that gathered, about 20 over passerbys, stuck to the sides of the makeshift tent. Almost nobody was standing on the carpeted area in front of the band.
I asked myself why i didn't go to the front since i enjoyed their music, but i got this uneasy feeling too. standing there would instantly label me "weird" while everyone else just backs off.
Don't get me wrong though. It doesn't mean that if there was a bunch of supporters in the front already it would make it easier for the passerby to move in. I'm sure most people who aren't "band-friends" or fans would prefer to stick to the perimeter.
What, then, is the problem?
I'm just an ordinary audience with no expertise in this field, but my take on this issue is the "comfort level" that the audience feels with respect to the stage.
Yes putting it point-blank would mean i think the stage set up is the problem. It's too intimidating psychologically. Firstly if the stage was set too high (stage height at audience chest level), the audience in front feels intimidated (and a neck-ache). And having people walk into an avoided empty space in the line of sight of dozens of bystanders doesn't feel good either. Thus nobody really wants to be in that no-man's-land directly in front of the stage.
... unless there was a generous amount of intoxication on the audience's part.
That being said, maybe gig organisers can look into experimenting with different stage setups to make the audience comfortable enough to wanna headbang in the front without looking awkward.
anybody has any suggestions?
The band on stage (forgot the name of the band) was going nutz doing their stuff. There was an incredible amount of energy and it was a fantastic performance. Unfortunately the crowd that gathered, about 20 over passerbys, stuck to the sides of the makeshift tent. Almost nobody was standing on the carpeted area in front of the band.
I asked myself why i didn't go to the front since i enjoyed their music, but i got this uneasy feeling too. standing there would instantly label me "weird" while everyone else just backs off.
Don't get me wrong though. It doesn't mean that if there was a bunch of supporters in the front already it would make it easier for the passerby to move in. I'm sure most people who aren't "band-friends" or fans would prefer to stick to the perimeter.
What, then, is the problem?
I'm just an ordinary audience with no expertise in this field, but my take on this issue is the "comfort level" that the audience feels with respect to the stage.
Yes putting it point-blank would mean i think the stage set up is the problem. It's too intimidating psychologically. Firstly if the stage was set too high (stage height at audience chest level), the audience in front feels intimidated (and a neck-ache). And having people walk into an avoided empty space in the line of sight of dozens of bystanders doesn't feel good either. Thus nobody really wants to be in that no-man's-land directly in front of the stage.
... unless there was a generous amount of intoxication on the audience's part.
That being said, maybe gig organisers can look into experimenting with different stage setups to make the audience comfortable enough to wanna headbang in the front without looking awkward.
anybody has any suggestions?
