Dave McKenna is a jazz pianist you might want to look up. He was a consummate jazz bar pianist, and would play long sets that usually revolved around a single word (Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes, Stella by Starlight, Stardust, Would You Like to Swing on a Star, etc.) He played in bars, so people would be talking. But there was a trivia aspect, too, and some of the folks would actually begin to listen. It also served to cut down on requests. If someone asked "Play Misty for me," he'd get a half-hour of music about wet weather, with the requested song in there somewhere.


It took him a lifetime to do it easily, of course. Just a thought for you about crowd control.