Decades Gig Review

This gig consisted of a couple of warm up performances and then a headline act. I thought that this structure was effective because it made the overall show have a more professional vibe, which provides a more enjoyable vibe for both the audience and the performers and also gives the performers more experience working in a professional environment.

Not all of the performers were successful in engaging the audience. the first warm up act which consisted of a duo of two girls was nice but i didn't really feel engaged. I think this was due to the way they were performing to the audience. they sat down and had closed body language, they didn't introduce themselves either, they just started singing. Now compared with the headline act, which was an afro beat band. They weren't really engaging at times i would see them look at the floor and it was a little bit uncomfortable at first. whereas the Afrobeats band had loads of energy, great energetic body language, call and response. But the best part was they even had a section where the band just free-styled the beat and audience members where encouraged to come onto the stage and dance. They also did covers of popular songs which encouraged the audience to sing along and become part of the performance. I also liked the use of the audio visuals used throughout giving the performance more depth.

A standout moment for me was when one of the warm up groups called ".........." performed a selection of, jazz/soul/R&B songs. i liked the way they used lots of instruments to form a band. consisting of bass, drums, E-piano,guitar, trumpet, trombone and a saxophone. during one of the songs they performed, there was an opportunity for the drummer, bass player and saxophone player to have solo's. This moment stood out to me because it was completely freestyle and it allowed me to fully engage in the performance and feel the music. The drummer had lots of different fills and rolls and changed the style of the drums but the saxophone player was my favourite. Not only is the saxophone one of my favourite instruments but the dramatic performance added that extra dimension. I remember one part specifically where he kept going up octaves and it looked as if he was going to run out of air, but he managed to complete the solo. This showmanship is what makes that my standout moment.

Overall I enjoyed the Gig, i enjoy the genre's of music that was performed and i also thought the atmosphere created was warm and welcoming yet realistic. which is why it was ideal. It also showed me what kind of things i would see in a professional environment for example, front of house engineer and audio visuals. It was slo good to see the standard of performers in the professional industry because it shows me where i need to get.