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HC Banter
#1
I feels to me like those first few minutes of a show are really important for setting the tone of the show. In some venues, I've found going straight into a song- without banter- works great. Then, after a song or maybe 2, I welcome folks and begin telling stories. With the intimate nature of a HC, I'm guessing talking at the beginning sets a better vibe. Just curious what your experience has been. 
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#2
This is an interesting question, Lara! I don't think there is any one right way here, but you should experiment and see what works best for you.

In my case, we always have the host get everyone's attention and welcome them at the beginning of the concert. This quiets everyone down, they're already seated, and then the host introduces me. I've found that for me, what works the very very best is to start with a "WOW" kind of moment right off the bat, immediately after the host's introduction. For me, that usually means starting with an a cappella song -- I just start singing without my keyboard into the mic. People usually sit right up and pay attention at that point because it's a fairly jarring thing to experience right away. And an a cappella song makes it pretty darn clear (if it isn't already) that this is a be-quiet-and-listen kind of event.

I'm curious to hear other people's ideas about how they start their house concerts, too!
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#3
I always start with a tune called "Dig Down Deep", written by Marc Cohn. The first lyric is, "Baby, let's go below the surface, and see what we can find. There's no reason to be nervous, it happens all the time." I always sing those two lines acapella, then the guitar kicks in. It grabs attention, and sets the tone.
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#4
It's interesting that you both start acapella. That lends itself nicely to building in complexity/volume/etc, too.
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#5
Acapella and Host Introduction - write it all down John - goldust!!
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#6
I often start my shows off with a bit of comedy.

I'm a classical guitarist so it's just me. After the hostess/host introduction I sit down with my guitar and start to play very poorly, like first time ever playing poorly. I stop, check my sheet music, look at my guitar, look a little confused, maybe check the music again, hit another note or two, look at the audience, and then flip the guitar over to right handed (which I am) and play a quick little bit of strumming, it gets a big laugh, and then I go in to an upbeat, quick tempo Spanish piece. I've done this intro in a few different venues, including house concerts, and it always works well for me.

I think that by getting everyone laughing right away it helps the audience to relax, which can be probably be particularly beneficial in a house concert where there will likely be at least a part of your audience that doesn't know what to expect. I also find it useful to offset the intensity of some the elaborate work that I do on the classical guitar later in the show.

Then I start to actually talk to the audience between songs about ten minutes in.
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#7
This. Is. BRILLIANT, Oddologist!
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#8
I'm moving this thread to the new "Showtime!" sub-forum that we just created to house show-specific posts like this. Thanks for the great topic!
--
jamie hill
shannon's husband & partner in crime
co-inventor of the house concert model & co-author of the book
which is why i reply so often on here
i produce, mix, & master records
you can hear my work at  deptofenergymgmt.com/work
Tacoma, WA, USA
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#9
I've found that it's better for me to jump right into the first song after being introduced, which is a much easier way to get people's attention then to continue talking. I guess it depends on the atmosphere you want to create and how "ready" everyone is to start listening. In some cases the crowd may want you to talk a little more before you start playing, so I think it's important to listen and try to get a feel for the energy of the room.
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#10
(28 Dec 2014, 09:39 AM)LaraJai Wrote: I feels to me like those first few minutes of a show are really important for setting the tone of the show. In some venues, I've found going straight into a song- without banter- works great. Then, after a song or maybe 2, I welcome folks and begin telling stories. With the intimate nature of a HC, I'm guessing talking at the beginning sets a better vibe. Just curious what your experience has been. 

Dear Lara,  Your approach fits in well with Tom Jackson's theory of set lists.  He believes the first song should be one that makes the audience feel good about you, without too much personal stuff...hence skipping the banter for the first song or two fits that model well.
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