C or D: Bands not shutting up about how they can't hear the crowd, how their hands aren't waving in the air like they just don't care, et cetera

If I dig it and am in the mood, I'll usually go wild, but having the performer spit his dummy out over it ain't cool.

I'll run with that. Another thing they did that was annoying: the turntable guy (sorry, I'm not a fan beyond the singles, I don't know them by name) stopped the show AGAIN in order to go on a tirade about the levels not being high enough in his monitor or whatever. I can dig being "Hey, can I get some more in the monitor" etc, but this became a minute-long "I'm doin' everything I can here but it sounds like shit and I'm like a one-man band and so if I sound like shit it all sounds like shit..." I mean, really.

Honestly, though, in terms of the rapping and DJ work and whatever else I would judge the show on musically it was excellent, and I dig that trick where during the song they all stop at a key point and do the freeze for a full thirty seconds or whatever. Good photo op, too - no motion blur!

I'm not here to entertain the band! They didn't pay to see ME!

we did a guest spot on a bill with them two years ago and they were really good with high energy.

yes the "put your hands in the air" is a little tired - but there is nothing wrong with trying to get the crowd involved.

I'd rather see "put your hands in the air" than some jackass skinny white boy guitar band ignore the audience for an hour because they are too cool to acknowledge the fact they are onstage and that there are people attempting to have fun watching them.

You may not need to, they toured Australia with DJ Sessionbloke this year.

Maybe it should be called "Black People Not Understanding That White People Just Want To Be Left To Gaze At Their Own Shoes"

Oh get over yourselves. Please note that I have no problem with the band exhorting me to wave my hands in the air or whatever - my beef emerges when they get pissed off at me for not doing it, or for not being enthusiastic enough about it. So given that I'm white (thanks for asking) it's De La Soul (black people) who are hating on me. I'm just calling them out on it.

Hank and JW's consecutive posts hit it on the head for me - it's EXACTLY like being in high school again and some authority figure is putting the spotlight on you for not being sufficiently into whatever they're putting on...which in turn only makes you feel less involved in what's happening. Has anyone ever STARTED waving their hands after the band tried to make them feel bad about their failure to do so thus far?

Anyway my point (I think) is that 13/14 year old me loved it and that stuff obv works in that context cos every year the RHCP play another huge stadium gig here. and cos big US rap acts don't in general pay that much attention to Europe, if they do in fact make it over it's going to be a show in some enormodome or arena.

basically bands/rappers/entertainers should only ask for crowd involvement if they're already getting it. When some dipshit bar band tells me that they'd like us to dance or come closer, I get annoyed because fuck we KNOW we could be more enthusiastic, but we're NOT and that's OK. But if Lemmy yells "MAKE SOME NOISE!" halfway through a set to a crowd that already has proven interested in making noise, then rock'n'roll.

social criticism at its finest

I love when they have to make sure to not show the unenthused crowd in the camera!