Most musicians have an idealized perception of crowds, which is that if their music is good enough, the visuals of their live performance won't matter. To an extent, this is true: If a great band takes the stage with well-crafted songs and a dedicated fanbase, then they can get away with a more stripped down, minimalist stage setup with just a few basic lights and an inventive tour manager.
But for other groups that are trying to set themselves apart from the thousands of other performing artists who are vying for stardom, it would be ill-advised to take the stage without delivering both a superb audio and visual show for the crowd. Audiences who haven't heard of your band are going to have a much easier time remembering your name if you give them a show worth their time.
Consider the experiences of pop singer Lana Del Rey, whose career was marred by one particularly uninspiring performance on Saturday Night Live. While Del Rey has certainly sold her fair share of records and had a successful career to date in the music industry, her SNL performance stands out as a serious misstep in an otherwise notable career.
Recently, however, she has tried to change that perception by putting on shows that her audiences, and critics, will remember positively. She has so far had mixed results. In a recent article on Straight.com, a Vancouver news site, Del Rey's show in that city was both praised and criticized by writer Vivian Pencz.
"Awash in sea-foam-green lighting during the Walt Whitman–inspired "Body Electric", the songstress wielded a newfound control of her instrument, also benefiting from the sonic backbone of a full rhythm-and-blues band," Pencz writes. "The achingly lush, melodramatic melodies of "Summertime Sadness" and "Video Games" were obvious highlights too, prompting euphoric dancing and heartfelt singing along, as cryptic clips from Del Rey's film-noir-like videos played on the backdrop screen."
While Pencz had nice things to say about some of Del Rey's repertoire, she was less impressed by the singer's stage presence and overall presentation, which she described as "awkward" and "unsteady."
This begs the question: If a major-label artist like Del Rey can't put together a solid live show, what can independent performers and bands do to create a memorable live presence on a limited budget? We have a couple suggestions:
- Focus on faces: Each performer should have their face properly lit with all-white light. It's okay to switch to a deep red or blue gel for some parts of your songs, but overusing these effects will be visually jarring for your audience.
- Try to find someone to operate and manage your lighting gear: While it's possible to play a gig and simply set up and leave the lights in one spot, you can have a more dynamic and interesting show if you have someone controlling the lights and adding movement and color changes.
- Use the lighting that you have well: These days, it's easy to add a few custom gobos and spots to your set given how inexpensive this equipment can be when shopping at a site like Gobosource.com. The trick isn't to have as much equipment as possible, but to use these items well. Make sure that if you have spots and gobos, that they are properly focused and installed so that they'll look their best on stage. Ensure that they have a reliable power source and that you ventilate them so that they don't overheat.
Lastly, don't invest in lighting rig without including a gobo that features your band's name and logo. Whether it's a metal, one-color gobo or a glass full-color model, your audience will have an easier time remembering your name if you have your group's moniker projected behind you. You can purchase high-quality, custom gobos from Gobosource.com!
