Gig Etiquette Pt. 4 - Clapping

This is not a blog post about applause.

This post is about clapping along with the music, or rather clapping despite the music, without any concept of rhythm as the world knows it.

Check out the video for a real-world example of what I'm talking about.

Clapping along is almost always encouraged at my shows. If you dig the music so much that you just gotta put your hands together (Prince told me to!!!), make sure you have some sense of where the beat is.



This check list just may save your life and the ears of those around you:

* Look around - is anyone else clapping with you? It's okay to give them a few beats to jump in. If not, STOP CLAPPING.

* So other people are clapping - woohoo! The party is almost started. Are you clapping your hands together at the exact time, over and over, as they are? Ya might want to compare with 2 or more folks as the person next to you may be cursed with white-boy rhythm too. If you aren't on the money with somebody on every single clap, STOP CLAPPING.

* If this still doesn't tame that dancing devil inside you and you simply MUST clap to the beat of your own one-armed drummer, do so quietly. It seems these folks that God assembled without a metronome like to clap louder than thunder (again, see video). You're throwing the band off, sweetheart.

I often wonder if these people recited their ABC's or counted to 10 off time. How is that possible? "One, two, three... four... ... fivesixseven... eight, nine,... aaaaaaaand ten."

If these points don't apply to you, Congratulations. Give yourself a hand...

...in 7/4 time at 73 BPM.