A slightly grumpy middle aged man (here? surely not. I’m afraid so) writes …
I’ve been to two very different performances in the last week, Show of Hands on their farewell tour at Colchester Arts Centre on Monday and Wilko, a new play about Wilko Johnson, at the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch yesterday. They were both pretty good. I was entertained, thought I got my money’s worth and so on. But I didn’t think either was an outstanding show which will make my end of year list of the best things I saw in 2024.
What the shows had in common was that the final bows of both received standing ovations from about half the audience (a sell out at Colchester but a sparse matinee attendance at Hornchurch, which didn’t look more than a quarter full). And I’ve noticed over the last couple of years that this sort of reception has become much more common, an appreciation of appreciation if you will.
I’ve been know to leap to my feet to applaud if I have been so transported that no other reaction in the moment seems appropriate, but it’s not the default that it seems to have become for others. My next show is the rerun of Clem Burke/Glenn Matlock/Katie Puckrik’s Lust for Life show at Colchester on Thursday. It’s a standing gig so the decision about how to greet the end of the show will have been made for me.
Since gig ticket prices made it a big night out instead of a routine? Or is that just me?
I think it’s part of the enthusiasm creep that has been occurring since the 60s. A clap back then had value as a sign of appreciation, whereas now it is worthless. A cheer or whistle back then showed a significant, unshackled outpouring of emotion, whereas now it is the entry-level display. So the standing ovation, that supreme gesture of appreciation and kudos, has been reduced to an expectation, more valuable as a sign of disrespect through withdrawal than as anything positive. Listening to live recordings from the 60s and early 70s is a quaint experience. “Now we’re going to play Stairway to Heaven.” Polite applause.
The problem, of course, is that we need some new demonstration of appreciation higher than a standing ovation. Suggestions welcome.
A case in point. Solemn concentration and the occasional knee twitch, that’s what you want.
So great. What a righteous fucking noise!
Given the nature and scope of the groovage on offer, you’d think there would be at least one idiot dancer standing up in the middle of that crowd doing the traditional “Joe-Cocker-being-tasered” bit. Perhaps, unlike their UK counterparts, the Danish Arts Council wasn’t employing such people to be present at all such events.
Heavy.
They were all too stoned to move. Apart from the ones who were too drunk.
Stupefied by bacon and pastries, more like.
Other racial stereotypes are available 👍
And fascinating in the closeups it gives of the way Page and JPJ went about conjuring up that groovage before all the stadium pomp took over…all the little tricks that Page had up his sleeve, like manipulating the strings behind the nut – we’ve all done that, but he made it sound just right. And the way he uses an upstroke in the Communication Breakdown riff – I would never have thought about that, which is maybe one reason why I’m not Jimmy Page. Bonham looks like he needs bigger sticks – but he could get a job on the Muppet Show any day of the week.
To be honest I can’t remember when standing ovations weren’t the norm at gigs. It used to be rare at the theatre but that seems to have become standard now almost irrespective of the quality of the show, especially at musicals.
Or is it just people getting up to stand at the front and like a Mexican wave the people behind stand up in case they miss something.
Very rarely have I felt like standing and these days getting to my feet without grunts and groans is difficult enough.
Possibly the standing ovation for Show of Hands is farewell and thank you for the years of work.
To be fair, I imagine the ovation for SoH was as much for being there, these past 4 decades, and in recognition. Old folkies get a lot of support from ther even older folkie audience. I see them on the 23rd of March, and I’ll probably be quite emotional about it being an ending.
To be fair, I imagine the ovation for SoH was as much for being there, these past 4 decades, and in recognition. Old folkies get a lot of support from ther even older folkie audience. I see them on the 23rd of March, and I’ll probably be quite emotional about it being an ending. As wot, I read, Hubes sorta said.
My wife is a very good singer – semi pro where we used to live.
She is erious about standing ovations. It better be pretty fucking special for her to stand up and clap. I have received the evil eye for getting up when I had thoroughly enjoyed some act. Nothing was said, but there was a heavily suggested Spock eyebrow
Mercifully, you just don’t recall the momentary shoulder grip before you briefly lost consciousness and slumped back down onto your seat, sufficiently silenced to avoid more serious spousal disapproval.
The what now? Were you there?
Standing? At our age??
Scared to sit down in case you can’t get back up unaided.
Staying seated whilst others are standing around you is an uncomfortable premonition of the grave. To make it worse, everyone is clapping and cheering.
https://share.synthesia.io/69364646-7d07-477f-ac26-d286c251b15c
Gee whiz!
Thank god that horrible American habit of applauding the captain and shouting “Wooh! “Alright!” when your plane’s autopilot and pre-set landing gear ensured a happy landing never made it across the Atlantic
I’ve only had that happen once, but it was when a small jet from Budapest to Stansted had safely taken us on the worst flight I have ever experienced through a storm over Belgium.
Me too, landing in Brisbane during a tropical storm. It was an A380 with a camera in the tail so I watched the whole the thing. We were floating along the runway and the pilot, rather than the autopilot I imagine, elected to go round again. He managed it the second time and the round of applause was well deserved, I thought.
Budapest to Gatwick for me. The only time I actually serious concerns about whether or not we’d make it.
Magyair. Never again/
Magyair for me too! A little Fokker 70. I thought I was going to throw up so I reached for the sick bag then my body decided to pass out instead. When I came to, probably only a minute is so later, I was completely disorientated by being violently shaken while people were crying, screaming and praying all around me. To be fair to Magyair they weren’t in control of the weather that caused the trouble.
One time I was flying into Phoenix in a Dash 8 or Embraer or similar. I was in what counted as Business Class, i.e. the first row of seats. As we were on final descent to the runway, and maybe 50m in the air, there was a loud klaxon from the flight deck (only a couple of meters in front of me) and the plane lurched violently to the right, hard enough for me to whack my head into the window, and then a half second later equally violently to the left accompanied by swearing from the flight crew. It then landed maybe 20 seconds later without incident. There was stunned applause when it did so and I may have participated.
Don’t know whether it was wake turbulence from a larger plane or activation of the collision avoidance system (there were multiple planes simultaneously landing on parallel runways), but for a second or two I was white with fear and genuinely thought I was going to die.
Flown dozens of times on domestic US flights – not one clap or whoop. Extensive clapping on a BA flight returning from New York in January in the midst of Strom Jocelyn. Me included. What the pilots managed was little short of heroic. Autoland is no use in any landing where there are any kind of cross winds and I’ve seen data suggesting it’s such a pfaff to use that it’s deployed in less than 5% of landings.
Oh, I’d always assumed it was an English, 50s or 60s, Golden Age of Air Travel thing. A civilised round of applause for the pilot whatever the difficulty of landing. In fact, our last flight to London my wife showed intention of trying to bring it back. I advised not.
I enjoyed the OP. Bravo!
👏👏👏👏
Thank you! Thank you Afterword! You’ve been a great audience – see you next time!
Lol.
It’s reflective of a changed sensibility; audiences have moved from the concept that they’re only present to bear witness to the white hot genius of the artist on stage to a broader notion that both artist and audience create the event together.
Personally, I massively prefer the latter – I would happily give a standing ovation to the roadies if it helps the energy in the room and leads to everyone having a better time, but then I think that also partly comes down to the kind of gig we’re talking about.
The reason why people think Queen and U2 were the best acts at Live Aid was because they were doing the latter while most of the rest were doing the former.
Spot on.
…and ver Quo…
Why do people stand at football matches?
Watched France v. Italy yesterday and, in a fantastic atmosphere, absolutely no one seemed to be standing during the match.
Saw precisely one minute of Liverpool v. Chelsea and both ends were standing, probably about 75% of the attendance, and the very reason why I stopped going to all-seater stadiums.
People tend to stand at seated stadium rock concerts too, at least in the lower levels. I have seen some standing on their seats.
As for the original question, if it’s at the end then it’s the natural thing to do especially as you are about to stand up anyway to leave
We’ll all be standing up for God Save the King in any case
My own pet peeve is when you are watching a play at the theatre, in which a well known star is appearing, and they receive a round of applause at their first entrance without even uttering a word.
I’m with you on that one.
From a Guardian piece about Richard Burton’s Hamlet.
“[Burton] is the production’s raison d’etre. You see that when he makes his first upstage entrance and gets a big round of applause: mind you so do all the show’s other recognised names from a clap-happy audience.”
And that was in 1964!
But then there was the guy who shouted “Do some old!”
Bloody Robert Greene fans
According to Google standing ovations started in Ancient Rome when commanders returned after heroic failures … not sure what they did after heroic victories. Evidently fans of vertical applause should head to some Canadian sports where it is very much the order of the day.
A while back I read about how someone at Carnegie Hall jumped up during the applause for a classical show – 50’s ? and that was regarded as the modern day genesis.
Can’t find the reference now.
Can’t say this issue is exactly at the top of my list of gripes. I find other audience behaviours far more onerous…we have rightly moaned about incessant chatter, mobile phone use, videoing performances and so on, but I find little wrong with expressing delight at the end of a performance, even if that means standing on one’s hind legs to do it.
We recently saw Noises Off in the West End, and I joined in the applause for the wonderful Felicity Kendall when she came on – it lasted a few seconds in the theatre and I really can’t see that as ruining the enjoyment for anyone else. Oh…and I stood up at the end, as did everyone else, so sue me!
A behaviour I normally detest is people singing along, badly, at gigs where the artist’s voice is central to the performance. I’m not greatly bothered by bad singing-along at singalong-type gigs.
At last night’s performance at London’s Jazz Cafe by the band Hejira, with the excellent voice of Hattie Whitehead singing Joni Mitchell’s jazzier ’70s repertoire, a lady behind me started singing along (fairly quietly) to the encore numer A Case Of You. Surprisingly she a.) knew the words, b.) was in tune and had a good voice and c.) did not attempt to sing along on the bits where Hattie switched to her higher register (a la Joni) for the odd line but fell silent.
I wish that more singalongers could actually sing.
I sang backing vocals as part of a bawdy fishermen-style choir on a recording at the weekend. Only problem is, I really can’t sing. But they were determined to get my name in the performers credits. I stood as far away from the microphones as possible.
The rest of my contribution to the session was plugging some things in, making the tea, and (with my finger) jabbing the screen of an iPad when it went dim. I am much better suited to these things.
I detest that too along with everything else @NigelT mentioned. Singing along is only to be condoned if the artist is insisting it from the stage. I didn’t pay up to 100s of dollars to hear some tone deaf noron showing off because he or she knows the words to some songs
This happy breed. This Afterword,