Ukuleles, Gigs and Talk

Do ukulele performers, instrumentalists or players/vocalists generally talk too much when performing? Yeah, if it's mostly instrumentals things can get boring...but even players/singers? I'm just laying this out to start a discussion...

That really depends on the performer, the audience and the venue. I'm a great fan of witty banter between songs, it loosens things up and helps form a connection. However, it only works when the performer has some skills as an entertainer and a feeling for the crowd, moreso at bigger venues.

In a nutshell I like people to talk to the audience at a jam in a small club, but I don't much care for it at a rock concert in a big stadium.

Dirka said:

That really depends on the performer, the audience and the venue. I'm a great fan of witty banter between songs, it loosens things up and helps form a connection. However, it only works when the performer has some skills as an entertainer and a feeling for the crowd, moreso at bigger venues.

In a nutshell I like people to talk to the audience at a jam in a small club, but I don't much care for it at a rock concert in a big stadium.

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I'm with you on this one. "Witty banter": with "wit" and "banter" that connotes brevity...connection...punctuation...moving things along...and yes, as an "entertainer."

To misquote Michael Douglas in a misnamed movie "Uke Street": "Fun is good." As well as an overall sense of warmheartedness, loving the audience, loving what you do.

I am NOT a fan of what frequently appears to be deliberately chosen modes of nerd mannerisms/nerd talk passed off as "natural." Frankly, this post-postmodern, self-conscious stuff even in vids over time cumulatively creeps me out. At a small gig, I might even walk out.

YES! Shut the hell up and play. If I wanted a long story, I'd sit on my grandpa's lap. If I wanted comedy, I'd go to a comedy club. Do a quick intro and play. This goes for YouTubers as well. Jah Bless the slide bar.

The only thing that bothers me in live gigs as well as in YT videos, is when someone starts out by apologising for the first minute.

Jake talks way too much in his concerts.

My wife really dislikes when a singer-songwriter has a longer intro to the song than the actual song. This happens more often than one might expect.

In my band, Three Hour Tour, we play a lot of calypso and soca featuring steel drums and me on uke for some reason. Since our audience is usually a gaggle of guys in suits spitting up cocktails at business get-togethers, or parties with random parrotheads spitting up margaritas, or restaurants with folks scarfing jerk chicken (Mmmmmm... jerk chicken...) and the like, folks benefit from an informative intro on songs that are largely unfamiliar to them, and me for that matter. Most people could give a hoot, but some like it. The trick is to not do it on every song. Like deach says, "shut up and play" is the rule of the day. Here's something we might say before doing calypso classic "Rum and Coca Cola" :

This song was composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco. It was copyrighted in the US by entertainer Morey Amsterdam, yep, THAT Morey Amsterdam, and became a huge hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters. It's about a mother-daughter prostitution ring working drunken American soldiers in the Caibbean...

There's also K.I.S.S. - "Keep it simple, stupid!" Remember, especially if you're being paid to PLAY, people want music, not long winded stories. And know your audience. If there are kids out there, they might not be suited to stuff like this!

It depends on the venue.

If you are performing for a crowd on stage then you should talk a bit between songs. Introduce what you are playing, mention an inspiration, etc.

If you are playing at a coffee house or somewhere similar where it is more background music then no.

deach said:

YES! Shut the hell up and play. If I wanted a long story, I'd sit on my grandpa's lap. If I wanted comedy, I'd go to a comedy club. Do a quick intro and play. This goes for YouTubers as well. Jah Bless the slide bar.

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I was being too nice earlier...

Amen!