I've performed/sung at larger venues before, but I was sort of weirded out by singing at an open mic at a quaint coffee house. I thought it would be extremely awkward to make eye contact, so apparently according to my wife, my eyes were closed the majority of the time. What do you guys suggest to remedy this problem?
Thanks!
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Wear sunglasses.
Posted by T:man (Member # 11614) on :
Pick a few objects behind everyone to stare at, and cycle through them.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
And this is why I think I'll stick with karaoke. There it's perfectly acceptable to have your eyes glued to the screen in front of you.
Posted by August (Member # 12307) on :
quote:Originally posted by T:man: Pick a few objects behind everyone to stare at, and cycle through them.
This is generally a good plan. Sometimes it can be helpful to make eye contact though, connecting with people in the audience could make the performance more intimate and also help with nerves. What about just looking at your wife the whole time?
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
I always had fantastic fun weirding our the audience by cycling through looking at them.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
Stare above their heads. I've played thousands of shows and no one has ever commented on this.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
<tangent>We have a great local coffee shop that has live music every night. And it's a crap shoot whether it's packed or empty. One time, two friends and I were at a show there, where the band had 5 or 6 members...and we were the only people in the audience.
It was kind of unnerving. The band was cool, they asked what we like and did some covers of songs we suggested.</tangent>
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Pick some point over their heads, and look at that. Then, when you warm up a little, make eye contact with the ones smiling or otherwise noticeably appreciating the song.