Re: audience requests

Posted by Suzie Tee on March 11, 2004 at 12:28:33:

In Reply to: Re: audience requests posted by Craig on March 10, 2004 at 10:04:55:

My comment was not meant to be disrespectful or inflammatory, not by any means - I just was making the general comment that there are always personal favorites at any given show that don't get performed, and that I'd be hard-pressed to think of any concert I've been to where my own personal/internal request list was completely satisfied, and Uncle Bonsai is no exception.

I know what you mean about giving the audience the exposure - and speaking of exposure, my friend was a newbie and I really would have liked for her to have heard 'Penis Envy'.

I gotta say the idea of an UB 'medley' is very intriguing indeed. I can almost see such a thing becoming as much of a draw as the original songs themselves. Somehow I can picture Andrew really getting into such a thing, and doing it in a very creative and seamless way, brilliant writer that he is.

What I usually do after seeing someone for the first time whose performance has moved me enough to shell out money is try to pick the one CD that has as many songs that I heard that night on it, or at least has the ones that made the biggest impact. So I can see how you'd want to pick songs from all your offerings.

Of course, Uncle Bonsai shattered that theory - I bought the boxed set the very night I saw them for the first time. Never before had I gone in blind and been so transfixed and amazed through an entire show. No kidding. I was blown away.

Anyway, I think the one thing everybody here can agree on is that we don't care so much what the band sings just so long as they keep singing it!

Peace,

st

Suzie, I never said that I expected the band to sing every single song I wanted to hear. I'm not sure where your comment on that came from. Nor did I say that they should take spontaneous requests that are called out (although Guy Clark did that in a show I saw at the Ark for most of his set). What I suggested was that some audience favorites be included, perhaps in a quick medley that would be maybe 5-10% of the show. Maybe the band is tired of "Boys Want..." or "Fat Boys" but people new to the band might love a taste of that.

:
: : I personally have always been amazed when an artist hears a request yelled out and then actually DOES it, especially if it's an older song. Heck, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, much less the words to a song I haven't sung for 10 years.

: : I don't discount the thrill to be had when your request is honored - as a fan, I've certainly done it, and I've had my request honored on occasion, too, and that's a very cool thing indeed.

: : But I really think Uncle Bonsai especially should be cut a great deal of slack when it comes to the Spontaneous Audience Request. The sheer lyrical abundance of their body of work is staggering. I was listening to 'Another Fat Song' last night and I could hardly get my tiny little brain around the fact that anybody could spit all those words out that fast, much less THREE people, much less memorize the words.

: : I know I've never walked away from a single concert by ANYBODY thinking 'wow, they did every single song I wanted to hear'. Not once. It's just the way it is.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: My comment was not meant to be disrespectful or inflammatory, not by any means - I just was making the general comment that there are always personal favorites at any given show that don't get performed, and that I'd be hard-pressed to think of any concert I've been to where my own personal/internal request list was completely satisfied, and Uncle Bonsai is no exception. : I know what you mean about giving the audience the exposure - and speaking of exposure, my friend was a newbie and I really would have liked for her to have heard 'Penis Envy'. : I gotta say the idea of an UB 'medley' is very intriguing indeed. I can almost see such a thing becoming as much of a draw as the original songs themselves. Somehow I can picture Andrew really getting into such a thing, and doing it in a very creative and seamless way, brilliant writer that he is. : What I usually do after seeing someone for the first time whose performance has moved me enough to shell out money is try to pick the one CD that has as many songs that I heard that night on it, or at least has the ones that made the biggest impact. So I can see how you'd want to pick songs from all your offerings. : Of course, Uncle Bonsai shattered that theory - I bought the boxed set the very night I saw them for the first time. Never before had I gone in blind and been so transfixed and amazed through an entire show. No kidding. I was blown away. : Anyway, I think the one thing everybody here can agree on is that we don't care so much what the band sings just so long as they keep singing it! : Peace, : st : Suzie, I never said that I expected the band to sing every single song I wanted to hear. I'm not sure where your comment on that came from. Nor did I say that they should take spontaneous requests that are called out (although Guy Clark did that in a show I saw at the Ark for most of his set). What I suggested was that some audience favorites be included, perhaps in a quick medley that would be maybe 5-10% of the show. Maybe the band is tired of "Boys Want..." or "Fat Boys" but people new to the band might love a taste of that. : : : : : I personally have always been amazed when an artist hears a request yelled out and then actually DOES it, especially if it's an older song. Heck, I can't remember what I had for breakfast, much less the words to a song I haven't sung for 10 years. : : : I don't discount the thrill to be had when your request is honored - as a fan, I've certainly done it, and I've had my request honored on occasion, too, and that's a very cool thing indeed. : : : But I really think Uncle Bonsai especially should be cut a great deal of slack when it comes to the Spontaneous Audience Request. The sheer lyrical abundance of their body of work is staggering. I was listening to 'Another Fat Song' last night and I could hardly get my tiny little brain around the fact that anybody could spit all those words out that fast, much less THREE people, much less memorize the words. : : : I know I've never walked away from a single concert by ANYBODY thinking 'wow, they did every single song I wanted to hear'. Not once. It's just the way it is.

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: