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Ok, so I am watching Dave do his acoustic intro to Ice Cream Man (in Nashville 4/27).
Several things I noticed.
1. He gets to show off his dogs (obviously), but notice what he is playing on the guitar while the video of his dog plays on the drive-in movie screen behind him.
I call it "pastoral". VERY appropriate. His activity training his dogs is very basic and down to earth, and it involves being outdoors, without a lot of actual exertion. And the music absolutely reflects that.
It is really simple acoustic music, yet it reflects the fact that he loves his dogs, and that he has this simple hobby from which he derives much pleasure.
2. It gives him a chance to provide us with Uncle Dave's Storytale Hour, without any interference from the band.
3. He gives the band an extended break, and his way of doing so is so natural and easy.....no 20-minute drum solo while the guitarist is under the stage banging a groupie or whatever....just Uncle Dave telling us about his dogs. And the subject matter is something 90% of the audience can relate to, as most of us own dogs, cats, whatever, and we love them.
4. He creates a quiet dynamic that draws the audience in.
Ever notice how Buddy Guy is in concert? Every once in awhile he will start to play guitar so fucking quietly that the audience strains to hear him. Sure, a lotta peeps be going "Goddammit, I can't hear the fucking guitar! Turn it up!"
But ya know what? He has succeeded in capturing your attention in a manner which is the opposite of what one might expect. Instead of playing louder and running around more and using fire and smoke and flame and yelling and screaming and beating the shit out of the guitar while destroying it, he captures the audience's attention by standing there and playing so quietly he draws the audience in.
Uncle Dave is doing this on several levels.
A. He is playing a quiet, basic, pastoral acoustic piece.
B. He is talking about his dogs, whom he loves.
C. He is telling a story.
D. He is Uncle Dave who is playing a quiet, basic, pastoral acoustic piece while telling stories about his dogs whom he loves.
All of the above insure that everyone in the place has stopped muttering to themselves, or drunkenly yelling about Ed or whatever, and is focused intently on what Uncle Dave is doing. That is MASTER Stagecraft. There is an ART to manipulating crowds of 15,000 or more, and Uncle Dave has ALWAYS been a master at it.
And this quiet piece he is playing changes the dynamics of the set.
Up to that point they have for the most part been playing this loud aggressive Big Rock Experience.
Now the band switches gears and quiets things down. The audience follows along.
And the quiet part gets people contented and relaxed....
Before they come back out and ramp the energy up again for Ice Cream Man and then on to the Grand Finale.
So yeah, at first I was just like "Hey, Uncle Dave is telling stories while strumming the guitar, and his dogs are a part of the stage show, just like one of them was actually on the record!"
But then everything else became apparent to me as I sat here and watched it over and over and over.....
Uncle Dave is the MOTHERFUCKING MAN on SO MANY levels.
So of course yours truly felt compelled to share my observations with the rest of the world.
Several things I noticed.
1. He gets to show off his dogs (obviously), but notice what he is playing on the guitar while the video of his dog plays on the drive-in movie screen behind him.
I call it "pastoral". VERY appropriate. His activity training his dogs is very basic and down to earth, and it involves being outdoors, without a lot of actual exertion. And the music absolutely reflects that.
It is really simple acoustic music, yet it reflects the fact that he loves his dogs, and that he has this simple hobby from which he derives much pleasure.
2. It gives him a chance to provide us with Uncle Dave's Storytale Hour, without any interference from the band.
3. He gives the band an extended break, and his way of doing so is so natural and easy.....no 20-minute drum solo while the guitarist is under the stage banging a groupie or whatever....just Uncle Dave telling us about his dogs. And the subject matter is something 90% of the audience can relate to, as most of us own dogs, cats, whatever, and we love them.
4. He creates a quiet dynamic that draws the audience in.
Ever notice how Buddy Guy is in concert? Every once in awhile he will start to play guitar so fucking quietly that the audience strains to hear him. Sure, a lotta peeps be going "Goddammit, I can't hear the fucking guitar! Turn it up!"
But ya know what? He has succeeded in capturing your attention in a manner which is the opposite of what one might expect. Instead of playing louder and running around more and using fire and smoke and flame and yelling and screaming and beating the shit out of the guitar while destroying it, he captures the audience's attention by standing there and playing so quietly he draws the audience in.
Uncle Dave is doing this on several levels.
A. He is playing a quiet, basic, pastoral acoustic piece.
B. He is talking about his dogs, whom he loves.
C. He is telling a story.
D. He is Uncle Dave who is playing a quiet, basic, pastoral acoustic piece while telling stories about his dogs whom he loves.
All of the above insure that everyone in the place has stopped muttering to themselves, or drunkenly yelling about Ed or whatever, and is focused intently on what Uncle Dave is doing. That is MASTER Stagecraft. There is an ART to manipulating crowds of 15,000 or more, and Uncle Dave has ALWAYS been a master at it.
And this quiet piece he is playing changes the dynamics of the set.
Up to that point they have for the most part been playing this loud aggressive Big Rock Experience.
Now the band switches gears and quiets things down. The audience follows along.
And the quiet part gets people contented and relaxed....
Before they come back out and ramp the energy up again for Ice Cream Man and then on to the Grand Finale.
So yeah, at first I was just like "Hey, Uncle Dave is telling stories while strumming the guitar, and his dogs are a part of the stage show, just like one of them was actually on the record!"
But then everything else became apparent to me as I sat here and watched it over and over and over.....
Uncle Dave is the MOTHERFUCKING MAN on SO MANY levels.
So of course yours truly felt compelled to share my observations with the rest of the world.
lol
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