Oops, premature enter key hitting.

I am not a participant in our session but I've been on occasion and have even sung an a cappella song once or twice. My impression about the session was not so much that they were "performing" but that this was a chance to get together with other musicians and play. That they create an ambiance rather than a focal point. I agree with emily rain that audiences will tend to quiet down for the unexpected or even just the different. To many people, all tunes sound alike and all singer/songwriters sound alike. But there is something about a solo voice that just commands attention.

My band played a St. Patrick's gig last year at a meat-market kind of bar (oh what we will do for money). We did three sets to an ever increasing audience that seemed to be paying no attention to us. Right before we sang our very last song, we announced that we were doing our last. Incredibly, at least half the bar turned toward us, cheered us on and let us know they were disappointed we were leaving. Made us feel great, but too bad we hadn't felt that way much earlier.

It's very easy to get distracted while others are performing. It happens to me all the time, even when my friends are on stage or the performers are really good. I find myself talking a lot but missing the music when it stops.

I don't think it is the place of the performer to try to quiet the audience. The management or patrons should do that. I don't see an artist at an art opening telling people that they must look at a particular painting or they must stand somewhere else because they are blocking artwork. It's not a perfect analogy but sort of similar.

The bottom line, if there is not cover, I don't think we can expect the audience to remain quiet. In fact, I would hesitate to call it an audience since many people would probably be there live music or not. I guess we can just hope for the best and try to offer something that most people will enjoy.

annamora