Home Concerts — An authentic intimate experience you won't forget!
This is a description of
Home Concerts - what they are like, what they have
meant to me, and what you can expect!
I first read about house concerts a few years back.
After I had created and manufactured my first CD,
"Might Be You" I sent out an email with the intention
of letting everyone I knew that I wanted to play my
music and I asked if anyone had a home and was
willing they should let me know. Well that email
worked! I got a response from 2 wonderful amazing
women who believed in me who lived in Boulder,
Colorado. One response came from a good friend I had
travelled with who lives near San Francisco. All
three of these responses didn't bring me a single
home performance. Instead each of these hosts found
an alternative venue. In Boulder I ended up playing
in an art gallery and a vegetarian restaurant. In San
Francisco I also played in a Mexican restaurant. It
wasn't until my 4th response came in October of 2006
that I actually played in someone's home. Then this
July I played the Back Porch concert series to a
wonderful group of folks in Oakland.
House concerts are one of the most important trends in live music. They allow fans to see and hear great artists up close, and these artists get to perform for attentive and appreciative fans, away from the distractions that most music venues attract. Please visit http://concertsinyourhome.com to discover this amazing way to see live music.
I have also been an audience member in a few of some absolutely amazing and inspiring local Bay Area home concerts such as Peter Case and Joel Ackerson.
Many of you may have been to large concerts, and seen performers live in various settings. The difference between these shows and a home concert can vary greatly. The key difference that I've seen as an audience member and felt strongly as a performer is authenticity. When a performer presents his show to a large audience. He is not as able to see them directly. Even some small clubs with basic light systems have a set up that prevents the performer from being able to see past the stage lights. Imagine if you walked into a room to give even a simple message. Let's say you were going to tell a group of people that dinner was ready and you'd like them to come into the dining room. If you walked into a room of 15 people and you had bright lights on you so you couldn't see faces — right away there are barriers that make it more difficult to connect directly with each person. Some performers have developed a definite talent for making their performances seem very intimate and directly accessible even through all those barriers of a PA system and the distance from the stage. We can see how large arena shows do what they can to bridge the gap so that video screens give the audience the appearance of being right up on stage with the performer.
In a house concert all of those things are stripped away — in a good way. In a new book called "Faking It" (the Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music) authors Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor explore this theme. There is a fascinating discussion of what it meant for Nirvana to perform at the MTV unplugged concert. Even though this was obviously a highly technical affair and not really unplugged it was, a dramatic change for the band. I listened to a podcast recently created by the CD Baby folks where they interviewed Fran Snyder of Concerts In Your Home. Some of the guys who perform in bands that play at clubs and large venues described how scary and intimidating it can be to face a small audience with nothing but your voice and an acoustic guitar.
I also appreciate that people come to this idea and to a home concert with a variety of experiences. To some who come from a musical household where music and instruments are always around — this is a no brainer. This could just be a spontaneous party no preparation necessary. To others musical instruments are somewhat of a mystery and the musician is the one who can unlock the magic and open up the room. For some the media has set them up to want the packaged, processed presentation. The home concert might seem raw or too immediate. A warts and all presentation compared to a slick edited DVD can be quite a different experience. I think of all of these views and presentations in a spectrum. I won't get too philosophical here but I will say that in that spectrum the home concert fits very neatly as a "folk" example of art.
My experience as a performer has started out this way. It has been a fascinating journey to play as connected and as open as I can in front of so many intimate receptive audience members — face to face.
House concerts are one of the most important trends in live music. They allow fans to see and hear great artists up close, and these artists get to perform for attentive and appreciative fans, away from the distractions that most music venues attract. Please visit http://concertsinyourhome.com to discover this amazing way to see live music.
I have also been an audience member in a few of some absolutely amazing and inspiring local Bay Area home concerts such as Peter Case and Joel Ackerson.
Many of you may have been to large concerts, and seen performers live in various settings. The difference between these shows and a home concert can vary greatly. The key difference that I've seen as an audience member and felt strongly as a performer is authenticity. When a performer presents his show to a large audience. He is not as able to see them directly. Even some small clubs with basic light systems have a set up that prevents the performer from being able to see past the stage lights. Imagine if you walked into a room to give even a simple message. Let's say you were going to tell a group of people that dinner was ready and you'd like them to come into the dining room. If you walked into a room of 15 people and you had bright lights on you so you couldn't see faces — right away there are barriers that make it more difficult to connect directly with each person. Some performers have developed a definite talent for making their performances seem very intimate and directly accessible even through all those barriers of a PA system and the distance from the stage. We can see how large arena shows do what they can to bridge the gap so that video screens give the audience the appearance of being right up on stage with the performer.
In a house concert all of those things are stripped away — in a good way. In a new book called "Faking It" (the Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music) authors Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor explore this theme. There is a fascinating discussion of what it meant for Nirvana to perform at the MTV unplugged concert. Even though this was obviously a highly technical affair and not really unplugged it was, a dramatic change for the band. I listened to a podcast recently created by the CD Baby folks where they interviewed Fran Snyder of Concerts In Your Home. Some of the guys who perform in bands that play at clubs and large venues described how scary and intimidating it can be to face a small audience with nothing but your voice and an acoustic guitar.
I also appreciate that people come to this idea and to a home concert with a variety of experiences. To some who come from a musical household where music and instruments are always around — this is a no brainer. This could just be a spontaneous party no preparation necessary. To others musical instruments are somewhat of a mystery and the musician is the one who can unlock the magic and open up the room. For some the media has set them up to want the packaged, processed presentation. The home concert might seem raw or too immediate. A warts and all presentation compared to a slick edited DVD can be quite a different experience. I think of all of these views and presentations in a spectrum. I won't get too philosophical here but I will say that in that spectrum the home concert fits very neatly as a "folk" example of art.
My experience as a performer has started out this way. It has been a fascinating journey to play as connected and as open as I can in front of so many intimate receptive audience members — face to face.
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