Maybe I'm giving away secrets here, but Josh has been working on his stage presence. He's already got a look - ridiculous sunglasses and a white lab coat. Now he's decided that he needs an act. For the most part, when he plays, he stands and plays the bass. He sways a little bit, shifting from one foot to the other. I think this is perfectly acceptable. He's the bassist; he's not supposed to be animated. The bassist is the dark, brooding, mysterious one. That's the persona that I want and am attracted to. If I wanted animated, I would have gone out with a lead guitarist.
But the crowd likes it when the band is active on stage. I can sort of understand that, because fun can be infectious. But then I think about a band we saw once where the bassist was not dark, brooding, and mysterious at all. He did jump kicks. There was also a lot of the wide playing stance and some forceful nodding and hand-raising. But it was the jump kicks that got me. It made me wonder if that guy did jump kicks in his daily life. I can see him sitting in class, getting back a graded exam, finding out that he totally aced it, and doing a jump kick in the middle of the classroom. The whole thing came off as too contrived. I hate contrivance. Also, I'm no musician, but it seems like it would be pretty hard to play the bass if you're constantly airborne. Shouldn't it be about the music, man?
I'm being a stick in the mud. I know that a concert is a performance, it is entertainment. If the crowd likes it when the band members jump and dance and writhe around on the floor, then that's what they will do. It has nothing to do with sincerity, and a lot of times, it doesn't even have that much do with the music. Besides, even if the act is forced doesn't mean that it's necessarily fake. Maybe that guy wants to be the kind of person who jump kicks in class, but it's only on stage that he can let his inner jump kicker out.
Does the rest of the audience even think about this? Do they think jump kicks are ridiculous, too? Perhaps they just think it's fun and they're having fun because the band is having fun and it's fun when it's fun. Nobody cares about being genuine, and there is no prize for it. The Great Pumpkin is not going to visit the band that is the most sincere. However, there are lots of prizes for lots of people having fun at your concert.
I'm not saying that everyone has to stand perfectly still, the way they taught us in sixth grade chorus. I am not immune to the appeal of a band that enjoys playing music for people. But there's got to be a line between keeping your knees locked and jump kicks. As an audience member, I should not be able to tell that you practiced that move at home. I want to believe that you're dancing and grooving because you're having a great time sharing this song with me, because you're so into the music that it's controlling your muscles. I want to believe that it's spontaneous. But if you overdo it, the spell is broken. It's like watching a movie that shows a casual disregard for the laws of physics or (I'm going to be in the doghouse for this one) professional wrestling.
Regardless of all this, Josh is going to do what he wants to do. If the crowd reacts positively to that, then he'll keep doing it. But if a bunch of perky girls start hitting on him, then I'm just going to have to inform them that he's the dark, brooding, and mysterious type, and then send them on their way to the lead guitarist.
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