[Dixielandjazz] Separation from Audience was Danceable Jazz

[David Palmquist]

I can see why the distance from the audience destroys the performers' sense 
of ambience, but bandstands with ponds in front of them should have great 
natural acoustics.

I'm not sure why Steve needed a sound crew for music that was intended to 
be played on acoustic instruments in what appears to be an "outdoor 
concert" setting.  There is an element of artificiality through 
amplification, particularly if the soundman tinkers with mixing.  Steve's 
venue in particular seems to be a natural amphitheatre, sound carries very 
nicely over the water, and music has been played outdoors on acoustic 
instruments since the dawn of time.

I'd rather hear the live sound of the instruments than the alteration that 
inevitably takes place with amps and speakers.

Note my comments regarding amplification are not intended to address the 
situation where you're performing at a fair, or other noisy outside event, 
and I certainly can see the need for amplification at an indoor dance (not 
so much for a concert, unless the auditorium is huge).

David in Delta



, At 07:43 04-01-03, Stephen Barbone wrote:
>Kash wrote: (polite snip)
>
>"Actually, anything that separates the band from the listening audience
>is a drag.  A too high stage can be a chasm that creates a "distance"
>from your listeners.  We once played a gig in a park with a LAKE in
>between us and the audience.  A swan swam up in front of the band, and
>kept itself directly facing us during the complete gig.  It swam off
>after the encore, but didn't applaud or leave a tip.  :>    I dedicated
>songs to it finally, as it was much closer than our audience!"
>
>Kash & List mates.
>
>True, separation from the audience is bad, but it is something a band
>has to get used to. Like Jim, we played a gig last year on a 20 foot
>high band shell, with a 75 foot wide lake in front of us, resulting in
>100 feet of separation between us and the first row of the audience.
>Total audience was about 3500, seated on lawn chairs, blankets, etc on
>an upward sloping grass hill. Beautiful to look at park environment.
>
>None of us liked it. However, we had a very professional sound crew.
>During the first number I ran out to where the audience was to check
>sound and was pleased to hear how good it was. Just made it back to the
>shell for the last chorus and before the 2nd tune told the band how good
>it sounded out there. That helped us feel better about being so far away
>and the concert was a smash hit.
>
>We often perform in High School and College auditoriums where the
>separation is from 20 to 40 feet (size of a dance floor) and have gotten
>used to that. Never the less, those formal concerts are just a little
>less fun than the club environment where you get real close and mingle
>with the audience. Or at a performance where the dancers are up close
>and personal.
>
>Cheers,
>Steve Barbone
>
>
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