I've seen several instances where the audience did make a huge difference. My fav songwriter duo from Montana, Willson & McKee work their arses off for their audiences. I'd been to two of their concerts which went really, really well. everyone was into and we had that give and take going round in circles. I talked Rog into going to a later one with me, the next year, different audience, parents with their children who'd already seen one performance that day and it was like pulling hen's teeth the whole time. There were a few of us who connected, but the majority were a bunch of tired, bored kids with parents about the same. They were closed off, hardly a receptive heart among them. W & K still did a good job, but they were sweating bullets from the effort and obviously did not have the good time as before. I felt for them. Interestingly enough, this concert had been set up and presented by a different promoter in town than the first two. Different location etc. also added to the downer atmosphere.

I got my brother a gig at the Reader's Feast, a combo bookstore/chic cafe, in West Hartford one time. He played his original classical piano works which have always gone well in a true concert setting. The people were rude and could have cared less what they were hearing; it was just background to them. We never played another setting of that type, again.

Naes, there were a couple of times when we experienced what you've described with my brother's classical music. One was the premiere of his symphonic tone poem, the Ode to the Rockies. He had a split second of devastation when there was dead silence at the end; then the audience broke out in Bravos and Encores. It is almost indescribale, almost as though our hearts had stopped, then had electric shock paddles put to them. Had the same type of reaction when we produced his first concert here after I moved back, with three singers and him on piano. I was one of the singers; we connected and it was another magical moment.

Just think...all those sound-connections going out into the aethers ad infinitum....gives me goosebumps.

kat