I didn't bring my camera... wish I would have... this IPhone pic will have to suffice...
For the first time in the middle east...The Duke Ellington band performed tonight. It was fantastic. I've never heard a big band performing live. Amaaaazing!
Female students sat in the balcony and talked (loudly) during the entire performance. The same thing happened during a performance last year. I was sooo embarrassed. You could see the performers looking up with an expression of "WTF?" At the end the lead singer looked at the head musician to ask, "Encore?" The head musician's eyes darted back and forth... no.
I'm sure the band of 17 with entourage were paid well to fly over here and perform. This audience didn't deserve the show it got, let alone an encore.
Is it a cultural thing to talk through concerts? When I went to China in 2003 with my college band the audience talked loudly through all of our concerts too. So loudly in fact that it was hard to hear solo parts during songs and I was only 10 feet away.
ReplyDeleteIt's not like we were playing outside or anything. These people paid for tickets to see us perform in a concert hall.
So many times I just wanted to shout out to the audience, "shut up!"
I remember a soloist last year nearly in tears because of the rude audience. Why the prof that invited them didn't kick them is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many other cultures do that.
It also happens in movie theaters here.
I'm ready to come home for a while. These things are bothering me too much.