Understand Your Audience
PERFORMING AT COVER GIGS:
For me, the cover gig can be divided into two roles.
The ‘playing’, and the ‘performing’.
I enjoy the playing immensely. The act of making the music—the creation, the process, the physicality of playing an instrument and singing. Knowing each and every time I play a song, a fresh set of emotions and feelings emerge, and these tools dictate how I sing and play my instrument. It governs the dynamics and style of what I’m playing. It also makes the playing very spontaneous and influences such actions as what guitar effect to use, what vocal approach to take, or how to layer guitar parts.
Majority of the punters don’t care for what delay, reverb and distortion pedals I’m using. Big Kev standing in front of me sweating profusely, spilling his beer over his shoes and yelling at the top of his lungs isn’t interested in how I have a pedal preset which I stomp on which carves out a -6dB dip around 600hz for when I loop the percussion on my guitar. And the ladies who were asking for a tambourine couldnt give a shit, and nor would they notice how my vocal harmony pedal is set for an octave above in the verse and then goes to 3rds and 5ths in the chorus... In the grand scheme of things it’s the least important part of the gig, but it’s these exact things that I love the most.
The art of performing songs is entirely different to ‘playing’ the songs. I’m not huge on the performing part, the ‘acting’ so to speak, but it’s the most crucial part of the job, and it comes with an unspoken contract: the audience isn’t there for me—I’m there for them. My role isn’t to indulge in my own experience; it’s to set the tone, shape the atmosphere, and deliver what the moment calls for.
Take two real-life scenarios:
Scenario One: Brookvale Hotel, 8-11 PM.
The Manly football team has just played, and the venue is packed with fans celebrating. This isn’t a night for subtlety or introspection. I’m there to be the showman. Energy is the currency, and my job is to deliver it—loud, engaging, interactive. The setlist is built on singalongs, crowd favourites, and, inevitably, their team’s anthem… likely more than once. In moments like these, I’m the ‘Pied Piper’ who confidently commands the audience. I’m the entertainer. The ‘playing’ takes a back seat and the ‘performer’ gets behind the wheel.
Scenario Two: Belrose Hotel, 6-9 PM.
A different scene entirely. Families catching up, couples sharing quiet conversations over a glass of wine, children celebrating birthdays. The music isn’t the focal point—it’s part of the backdrop, setting the right mood without overpowering it. Here, I can exert more self-expression and become more of the ‘player’. Using the guitar effects and focusing on nuance and subtlety, whilst still confidently engaging.
Knowing I can still be the ‘player’, helps me be the ‘performer’.
Two different settings. Two entirely different roles, yet the objective remains the same—deliver what’s needed and make it work.
Understand the room, adapt to it, and leave it better than you found it.