PeteM wrote:
Don't use backtracks unless you absolutely have to... the music is lifeless. There's nothing like the real 'live' thing... for you and your audience.
TJ's have a no backtracks rule. Partly for practical reasons, but also because the audience doesn't like it.
I think it depends on the situation. If the audience are actually going to listen then backtracks don't work, you need to interact with them, engage them and backtracks don't do that.
If it's a gig where you're providing a background for people who aren't going to pay any attention anyway, or who want to hear golden oldies from some era or other (IE you're a jukebox, not a performer) then they work, and the venue is happy because they got a full sound with out having to reserve space for and pay a whole band.
Being a virtuoso is not mandatory in my view. An assured performance goes a long way. OTOH if you have chops up the wazoo but your performance is tenative then the chops aren't going to get you that far.
I've seen Loudon Wainwright III do a one-hour plus solo show. He's a competent player, but he's not a GREAT player. It doesn't matter - he's a confident, engaging performer who sells you the stories in his songs and takes you on a journey. You don't notice that he hasn't played a single solo in the whole set.
We've had Ian Lawrence at TJ's. He's another Wainwright in terms of guitar chops and again it doesn't matter - strong performance, engages the audience, puncuates the set with hilarious shaggy dog stories.
Musically speaking, make sure your timing is steady. I find if I keep the tempo and on the beat and I make mistakes in the instrumental breaks then I can get away with it. But drop one beat and even if everything else is perfect the audience will know. They're tapping their feet, and suddenly the feet come down and there's nothing there... ooops!
