If you had to identify the major reason most musicians are so miserable, it would have to be the the immense disappointment that comes from playing for small crowds night after night.
This can happen to a band of any size, even a well-established, major label one. A few summers ago, I went to see one of my favorite bands play at a venue that holds over 300 people. There were only about 60 people in attendance; a competing show had wiped them out. And yet they killed it anyway, despite the lackluster turn out, and it turned everyone there to see them into even more devoted fans.
If you're wondering what to do when you're faced with a small show, read on to find out how to make that gig one of the most important your band can play.
Socialize
One of the most important things to remember is the saying “It's not how good you are, it's who you know." Many bands get opportunities because they are in with another band. So how do you become “in" with another band? BE FRIENDLY!
The single best thing you can do at an empty show is to get together with other bands and discuss real things. Is the other band on ReverbNation? How is it working for them? Which of the tools are they using? Do they know that skanky groupie your drummer slept with from their home town? Gross! The guitarist has that new Dr. Z amp, how does it sound? You just bought the new Line 6 pedal? Tell them what you think! Just talk! When you make friends with other bands and they think you are a nice, cool person, they want to help you. Whether it is getting you on shows, or maybe showing your songs to an A&R etc, it pays to be friendly in these situations, even to bands you think are terrible and have no fans. You never know who is going to get huge. Even if you think they suck, that band opening for you could get a whole lot better in two years and take you with them. Being a dick doesn't make you seem like a rock star, it makes you seem like a dick.
Fans
It's not just the band you can socialize with. You can talk to the fans too! Something weird happens to people when they walk into a bar that's filled to the brim. They get stand-offish. But if it's kind of empty, all of a sudden everyone starts talking to each other. The same is true of shows. It is totally acceptable to hang out and make good friends with the audience, and in an empty venue it's welcome more then ever. Trust me, they will appreciate you for it, as long as you don't try to sleep with anyone's significant other.
Impress
Don't hide behind the merch. Go out and talk with the people at the bar1
True story: A long, long time ago when I was in a band, we rolled into a desolate town and played a show to a dozen people. There were more people in bands than people in attendance. Despite this fact, we went on stage and did what we always did, gave it 110%. After the set, about ten of the dozen people in attendance came up to us and said they had never seen a band go so crazy with no one around. Almost everyone in the audience bought some of our merch, but that wasn't all.
It turned out one of the girls in attendance had a brother in A&R at one of the largest indies in the country—a label we dreamed of being on. After listening to our demo, the girl called her brother and said she just saw the second coming of Christ in the form of our band. The next thing we knew, we were being wined and dined by said A&R man.
Nothing ever came of it (for reasons that will be discussed in a future tell-all blog post), but playing our asses off for no one gave us an amazing opportunity that could have been life changing.
Word Gets Around
When you give it your all live in front of a small audience, it isn't just about the sibling of a famous A&R person being in attendance. When I have seen bands play their asses off to small crowds, I tell everyone. The fewer people there are in attendance, the more powerful this feels, and that's the key. If you play a great show, the eight people in attendance will tell 16 more people how great you are, and the word will keep spreading, and the next time you roll into town, the show won't be so empty.
Keep It Clean
I am not one to say you should play every show sober—I have seen some of my favorite bands play some of their best sets while intoxicated out of their minds—but do not confuse the show with eight people in attendance with the chance to see if you can really drink a whole bottle of absinthe and still get through your set.
As explained above, this is an opportunity to blow some people away, not to become an Internet meme after someone posts a picture of your vomit-covered drum set on Flickr and then the kid from Hipster Runoff turns it into a post. Save the drinking contest for practice or the next time you play a party.
Take Requests!
If you are in a band and some of the eight people there are actually fans of your music, make it fun and engaging for them. Getting back to the poorly attended show I mentioned at the beginning of this post, that band made their show amazing with bribery. If we reacted well, they would play whatever we asked. They had a tambourine and said if we rocked out hard on the next song whoever danced the hardest got to play it in the chorus. The crowd went crazy! They even attempted to play a song they have never played. The result was mixed, but I was so psyched that I told everyone I knew about how great it was. Because of that, some of my friends got into their band and they made new fans.
Don't look at an empty room as disappointment. Instead, think of it as good practice at the least, and an unforeseen opportunity at best.
This post was written by Jesse Cannon, a producer/engineer who has worked with The Cure, The Misfits, and Animal Collective. He is one of the founders and editors of Musformation.
