I'm curious, how do you judge a band? Music/ Friends?

[Freeflowclass]

Recently I spoke about a band's presence on stage and in a way was judging them based on how they were on stage, their music, and nothing to do with how they are as friends to others or as a person.
I then received alot of feedback about how I should not judge them based on their music but as people, and then added in alot of comparison to other bands and why was I biased, just talking bout this certain band.

Which brings me to my point. How should a band be good? Or what kind of opinions should you have on a band? Like I like them cos they have good music. Or I like them cos they are nice people.

I go to their gigs cos they play good music, OR I go to their gigs cos they are my friends, or both?
I'm just curious whether my opinion is a normal reaction to what I see, and its not complaining. Just want to know if others do that too.

Thanks
Naomi.

 

[Dime]

i think its everything.material,presence,personality but not the number of fans they have.they may have quadrapazillion fans but they dont have the aforementioned qualities so they still suck.

 

[vx02]

judge a band with honesty

 

[Freeflowclass]

you mean like how honest is the band --''

 

[visa]

Purpose: Do you have one? If you do, can we feel it? And are you achieving it? (Eg. If you are a punk band, do you have energy, and do we feel it? If you are a dance-pop band, do you have the danciness, and do we feel it? etc.)

Songwriting: Is it heartfelt? Is it fresh, interesting? Is it you, or are you trying to be someone else? Do you have something to say? Effective songwriters, to me: Slathe, Valentine's Letter, Allura, The Fire Fight

Fun/Emotion: Is the band having fun? is the crowd having fun? Inversely, when you're playing something emotional (think The Fire Fight's Hours), can you feel it? And can we feel it? Blink 182 had it, Ronin had it, Plainsunset has it.

Musicality: It's always nice to see talented people doing what they do, provided it's genuine and not cocky or stuck up. Showy is fine, but there is a line.

Chemistry: It's always nice to see people working together effectively to achieve a common goal.

at the end of the day, a combination of all of the above and more intagible things, a band to me is a good band if it can impact me as a person and make me feel good. When a band is in that X-Factor zone, I get shivers.

Bands that have done this for me strongly are Ronin, Plainsunset, The Great Spy Experiment, Valentine's Letter, Allura, B-Quartet, The Suns, Electrico, A Vacant Affair, West Grand Boulevard, Postbox, Vertical Rush, The Fire Fight- for all these bands I can cite a moment in time where I caught them and they made me walk away feeling like I had just been a part of something special.

When you do that for me, to me, you are <3.

 

[kerplunk182]

i only realised how sad ava's 'the departure' actually is yesterday at action reaction. And kinda figured out the meaning of the song which almost brought me to tears thinking about it.
Many local bands have moved me with their heartfelt lyrics as long as bands in the US and UK.
I judge a band firstly according to their music followed by stage presence and interaction with the crowd. As front man/woman of the band, i think the responsibility lies on them to interact with the crowd when the band is tuning up. Small talks etc.
The chemistry within the band also matters a lot. If a band just plays without connecting with each other then that's really bad. The drummer is there for a reason. And keeping in time is extremely important if not everything would go haywire.
I think how the band draws their audiences to their music reflects a lot on the band and their music.
And I hate it when bands give the whole 'i'm-a-rockstar' attitude cause that really sucks. I know some bands (will not mention names) that have the whole rockstar attitude and they're not even that good to begin with.
As for the friends vs. music thing... If they're my friends, i'd definitely give them my full support at gigs. But if they suck damn bad, i'd give them my honest opinion to head back to the studio and try harder instead of burning their asses on stage. But i will never force myself to attend a gig with genre's i absolutely cannot take.

 

[Cheez]

Freeflowclass, "judging" tends to make people feel uneasy and defensive. Judging involves comparing the band you are judging to another band.

A better way to look at it is "critique". This must be differentiated from "criticizing" which has a derogratory slant to it. When you critique (not criticize), you should not compare to other bands but do it based on the band alone. The criteria you listed are all fine. It's not easy to critique objectively, since everybody listens and sees through filters and past experiences are involved. Good critiques are constructive and doesn't not give only bad points but good points as well. When I give a critique, I never give only bad points. I always say the good points first, then go to the bad. And I never say "bad points", but phrased it as "areas that can be improved" - easier to swallow. And it can be done in a way that's taken well. Your aim is to help the person/band improve based on your opinion, not to tear the band down. Pointless to do the latter - since it does no good to anybody except yourself.

And I don't agree with critiquing a band based on personality of the people. That is subjective, not objective. We critique on the band's performance and music alone, despite whether the band members are nice people or terrible people. If the members are the worst kind of people you ever met, but if they play good music, then they play good music. Period. If the band plays terrible music but the people are the nicest angels, bad music is still bad music.

As to your question on whether you should attend a gig based on the music or friendship, I would say both. One to enjoy the music; the other to support your friends. Music comes and goes - friendship goes a long way...

 

[ShredNoob]

I feel that the bands' chemistry is very important for a band not just in playin but there must also be a bond between the band.

as for judging, i believe everyone has different views on how a good band/artist should be, be it in their lyrics, chemistry, personality, stage presence and type of music.

 

[wantonne]

I believe this all boils down to the band whether they are acceptable to criticism or comments. Some bands think they're too good to be constructively criticised. It's sad but that's human nature. It's something to do with ego.

Fortunately, there's also a way of approaching stuck up people too. Always tell them something good about them first before commenting on the rest. Like.. "hey, good set there. The crowd really enjoyed it. (let them gloat) Maybe you could *comment* for your next gig. I'll definitely come down to see it.".

This leaves a band feeling good about themselves and at the same time they might consider your comments constructively.

 

[Freeflowclass]

Thank you for the comments.
I was wondering whether I was in the wrong to well as one said, critique them based on their music and not as people, seems I've got an agreement or so.

Thankyou!

 

[AEnimic]

I like a band cause they make me like them through the music they dish out. That's entirely the reason behind music, if I know them personally and they happen to be saints..that'll be great especially when they are homegrown artists.

I wouldn't give a sh*t about foreign bands if they are divas cause they are not from our local scene. That's my mindset.

In the local scene, or even in the music industry..the music plays a much important role than the person. Look at all the rockstar assholes that get groupies? Once your music connects, people don't actually look into personality that much. If they do, there wouldn't be skanky groupies. Different personality/character appeals to different people,likewise for music.

 

[recklessnick]

music cant be appreciated by everyone because different people like different types of music. but when a band is bad, a band is bad, as in not tight on stage, bad sound setting, etc.

 

[hysteria]

well i'd judge bands based on their music, stage prescense etc. and that's pretty easy to do when you're looking at the band from an objective point of view.

but i get that sometimes its hard when you have a friend in a band that isn't great, and he or she wants you to go support. and sometimes you know some people from a band that is technically very good, but they're complete a** h***s to you, or they got bad attitudes.

so how do you judge then? personally i'd support my friends band cos, well, he's my friend. but i wouldn't lie and tell people that they're awesome. and vice versa for the other scenario. i wouldn't support them, but i wouldn't say that they suck.

so i think, when critiquing a band, do it honestly, based on music. but when supporting a band, consider both their skills and their relationship with you.

 

[ruixist]

i suppose there are two things in question here, judging and supporting a band.

judging a band would definitely have be objectively done, based on musicality, 'tightness', stage presence and whether or not they convey emotions or messages they set out to do.

however, if a band happens to be a bunch of your friends, by all means support! but be objective when telling them that they're awesome or they suck. haha.

 

[evodia]

Their music, character and how they relate to the audience.. now that is important..