Today wasn't too productive. After attending last night's Fly Union show, and seeing a few artists that I had never heard of perform, I left a little overwhelmed. While it wasn't the music, which was all great, or the performances themselves, which were each unique in their own right, I would say that the majority of my emotion stemmed from the fact that the crowd was so boring. I attended the show with a single female friend of mine, and was later joined by another friend. I had only heard a little bit about Fly Union before last night, but the friend who I went to the show with has been a devoted fan, considering they come from her hometown of Columbus. However, despite Fly Union's still underground presence, they attracted a fairly decent crowd to the Grog Shop where they performed. While the crowd was fairly diverse, it appeared that the fans who had the most fun was a young man who positioned himself as close as possible to the stage, and another young man who stood directly behind him. While the sounds of the three MC's would would doubt get the hearts of all of those who watched racing, it didn't appear to be enough to get them really... into it. When asking to sway their hands back and forth, only a small portion of the crowd would do so. When prompted to jump up and down in a hyped up manner, it appeared that only five or so people would commit. Even the stereotypical rap 'wave' towards the stage was a lackluster performance by Cleveland's finest. Even though they were willing and able, no one really seemed to be getting in to the show. They purchased the entrance tickets, so they had to know who they were seeing. The group played most of their newest songs, so it wouldn't be a matter of not recognizing the sounds. Instead I'm going to chalk it up to something that I call: The Lackluster Effect.
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| A few people that need to unwind. (above) All credit due to the owners of this photo. |
The cause behind the Lackluster Effect doesn't come from a lack of skill shown by the performing artist, or a lack of stage presence. While this does occur, and can often result in the crowd being bored, what I witnessed last night was not one of these cases. Instead, what I witnessed was a bunch of people afraid to let them selves have fun. A few times, the MC's even called the crowd out by saying something to the likes of:
"I know Coventry is known to be the coolest place in Cleveland, but are you too cool to party!?"Perhaps Cleveland is a bit too cool to have fun. But if that's the case, then maybe they shouldn't spend the money to see a show they won't even enjoy. Fly Union is comprised of some pretty cool cats, with some pretty unique sounds, and even still was able to have a fun and exciting show. Even if their Grog Shop appearance was clouded by the Lackluster Effect, I'm still excited to see what else this Columbus trio has in store for their fans.
Personally, I enjoyed the visual aesthetic that was added to the music. Let's just how I won't have to suffer the same fate on Friday. The Lackluster effect knows no bounds, and could very well branch out into the party atmosphere instead of just the concert.
As sad as it is to say, I've become accustomed to the Lackluster Effect and I expect it. While I don't always feel like dancing at a show, I at least move some part of my body to the beat most of the time--not out of obligation to the setting or the band, but because I love music and I want to, which is a response I'd consider natural. I'm totally with you on the baffling phenomenon of people paying to see a show and then standing around, seemingly unmoved by the atmosphere. I can't tell if it's just unnatural for some people to be engaged with live music or if people are just too self-conscious or bored or what, but it's annoying, to say the least, to have buzzkills like that dominating audiences. I actually feel like the free shows I've gone to lately have generated more energy within the audience, given the right timing and venue; I've seen a lot of standing around at the Grog Shop and the Beachland but seeing a band play at the opening of a chili place (Palookaville on W. 39), in an old warehouse (the 78th Street Studios on the west side), or even in a bar (Happy Dog! although they usually have covers) offers much more organic enthusiasm to me and sometimes makes seeing an unknown band (that might not even be very good) way more enjoyable than seeing your favorite band among downers. Still, I doubt any band or venue will ever be fully immune to the Lackluster Effect.
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