Soundcheck / Show Performance

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It always makes me laugh when you see clips of Melvins soundchecking or playing through their set before a show. All the band have their regular clothes on. No mumu's, fancy suits or drummer apparel! They play the set all workmanlike standing on the spot with no excitement like they've done it a thousand times before. Then when it's show time Buzz is stomping around the stage like a man possessed and Steven is pulling shapes and posing with his bass.

I never know what to think about that. Is it perhaps due to a natural adrenaline - the crowd effectively energising them? Alternatively, maybe when it comes to performing they simply just zone into it. A bit like a sports person comparing training to the "game on" mentality of an actual event? That this is their time to shine! Or is it all a bit false and put on just to make them look exciting?

Seeing this contrast between the soundcheck and the show feels really odd to me. Like we are being lied to or there's something deeply inauthentic about it all. Of course any band who tours probably does exactly the same. No one wants to see a bunch of static, lifeless musician's up on stage. We want to be entertained and see some vigor and energy! But it does feel fake somehow.

[amazonAMAZON]

Nothing fake about Buzz on stage. That's probably why I keep going to show after show. It seems to just be the mindset when he's up there. Our brains flip into different modes based on the location and the company and the task at hand. It's fun music to play, especially in your spine, but it also calls for those grimaces. 

Steven does still seem to be acting. But that's always his thing, I guess. Where's John Schuller for the long time Redd Kross fan opinion?

When you do a soundcheck you have a totally different job to do. Your audience is the guy at he mixing board and you need to play at the same loudness and pace you will during the show. But you're specifically not performing, usually. To perform would distract from the opportunity to listen to the sound and make decisions about your gear or ask for adjustments from the mixer.

So essentially the soundcheck is the fake one.

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When you do a soundcheck you have a totally different job to do.

True that is a good point there.

So essentially the soundcheck is the fake one.

I don't know, you've not convinced me. I see what you are saying but i do think bands put "on" their stage presence a lot. I think it tends to be quite calculated. Some bands more than others of course.

[amazonAMAZON]

Of course, it is a performance. Sometimes a performer is sick or distracted and has to lean in to the character and let the adrenaline push through and "sell" the performance. Acting, comedy, music are all pretty similar in that regard.

But I stand by my statement wholeheartedly. The live audience performance is the truer, natural performance.

[the bloat]

But I stand by my statement wholeheartedly. The live audience performance is the truer, natural performance.

Agreed. The real show is a performance. Go on YouTube and watch any other band doing a sound check. They're in sweatpants and shit. Why waste your energy?

[black stallion]

are you expecting Buzz headbanging to an empty venue while doing a soundcheck maybe early in the morning or afternoon? No way, that's not how musicians job works. soundcheck has nothing to do with proper show, doors are closed and musicians and techs need too work on other things,there's no time for the rest

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Oh absolutely. I just wonder how much is put on a bit. I'm sure once a venue is full and it's show time a band gets that fight or flight excitement to some degree. That it's their time to have fun and it's what they are there to do. I just find it funny when you contrast that with when Melvins play through their set earlier. It's all very workmanlike and by the numbers. The songs don't excite them very much at all which they do when they do the actual performance.

[GiveMe45]

So essentially the soundcheck is the fake one.

I don't know, you've not convinced me. I see what you are saying but i do think bands put "on" their stage presence a lot. I think it tends to be quite calculated. Some bands more than others of course.

From experience, I'll disagree.  When I'm playing music that I enjoy, either on stage in front of a crowd, or at rehearsal to a lesser extent, you could offer me a stack of cash and tell me to stand completely still, and I'd likely fail every time.  Sound check is a whole different world and mindset.  I'm standing still, locking eyes with others in the band and the sound guy, making sure we're all on the same page.

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Well maybe this is just my own naivety here then. I'm not in bands and don't know exactly what is going on. I just thought it was interesting when i see the clips now and then. But from what you guys say it seems sensible to assume it's not so much inauthentic and more just working in a different way.

[GiveMe45]

Well maybe this is just my own naivety here then. I'm not in bands and don't know exactly what is going on. I just thought it was interesting when i see the clips now and then. But from what you guys say it seems sensible to assume it's not so much inauthentic and more just working in a different way.

There's definitely those out there who 'ham it up' and even have a sense of choreographed movement during songs.  The movement I make during a fast part of a song is usually WAY different than the slow parts, but I don't know that I've ever pre-planned what I'm going to do during a certain part of a song. 

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I've ever pre-planned what I'm going to do during a certain part of a song. 

I've seen Melvins have incorporated that a tiny bit. Have you noticed at the start of Never Say You're Sorry how Buzz and Steven both face their amps and pose a bit, then kinda comically both spin around when the song kicks in! It's quite funny in a way.

[amazonAMAZON]

Buzz likes that stuff, the Townshend gestures now and then. There is some schtick. But that's usually not the majority of the show. Especially for Melvins they usually aren't songs you can take a nap in on any instrument. It very much requires you to be present. That's fun for the band and the audience (as long as no performers are too inebriated).