MY first billed gig as a solo performer was for an Amnesty International event at the Actor’s Studio Black Box under Dataran Merdeka sometime in 2000.

The event was to bring attention to the slew of arrests of comedians who were apprehended for making anti-establishment jokes and performances by the government of the day.

Mind you, this was news to me back then as Malaysia was slowly going through its own Reformasi political awakening at the time and the Internal Security Act still loomed over everyone’s consciousness.

As it wasn’t a paid gig, I prepared three songs (two originals, one cover of an Uncle Tupelo song). The context of this event enlightened me to the power of performance and the understated important dynamism audiences have on the artist.

Still learning the ropes as a performer on stage – I had cut my teeth as a busker in the three years previous while studying abroad – I realised I was more sensitive to the audience’s response than when I was singing away in a town mall for small change.

Needless to say, I developed my own way of coping with stage anxiety. Mine was to banter with the crowd to demystify them into living and breathing people rather than just critical eyes looking at your every move.

With several decades of gigging in my pocket now, I’ve come to simplify audiences into three neat but very generalised categories to help myself understand how to respond to them.

The Bystander

This type of audience is one of my favourites because they are at the gig not necessarily to see you perform or even heard of you.

They may be there for a social occasion, invited by friends, or just decided to check the venue out for the first time and coincidentally you were performing that night.

The lack of expectations by this type of audience is interesting because as a performer you have an opportunity to convert them into a potential fan.

This type of audience interests me because it jives well with my busker instinct where you have a very small window to impress them and make them convert.

The fact that they are also pleasantly surprised means that they are probably more willing to tip you or make a purchase of your merchandise because nothing beats first impressions.

I must say I have made a lot of fans from this type of audience especially when I perform in non-conventional venues (eg, bookshops, cafes).

This type of audience enjoys the serendipity of discovery. This type of audience may also include those who heard so much about an artist before, decided to finally check them out live and find themselves taken by the artist’s work and performance.

The Fan

Naturally this is my favourite type of audience. Fans are important to any artist as they find something resonant in your works and have decided to commit long-term to your craft and personality.

Aside from the usual “adoration” – the word “appreciation” is more apt – fans also partake in the merchandise trade, keeping tabs of your releases and merchandise across time and space, while also sometimes being regular acquaintances you get to know better through the years.

I personally benefited from fan support during the lockdown when I did a series of very low-budget online concerts and released an album.

I would even argue that the level of online fan engagement was higher during the lockdown as most of them were stuck at home and needed some entertainment or just a familiar voice in such unpredictable circumstances.

I even home delivered my album orders to their doorsteps as a sign of appreciation – “value added” as they say – and the relationship between fan and artist is an important element of sustainability often forgotten.

The fan might also eventually become a collaborator or friend but should not be someone that the artist should pursue a relationship with because a fan sees no wrong in the artist they admire and follow.

As a result, sometimes they would not give honest or critical feedback that an artist may actually appreciate.

The Suggester

This type of audience appreciates what you are doing but probably harbours an unfulfilled desire to participate in the creative process but can’t find an avenue.

Sometimes if their suggestions are constructive and sensible, this type of an audience has the potential to possibly manage the artist or be part of the artists’ team.

However, most are armchair live music fans who tend to impose their own tastes and preferences onto an artist who has performed instead of appreciating the effort (or misreads the artists’ seemingly “effortless” effort or style as a shortcoming) the artists had presented in their performance.

Sometimes, they might even suggest a genre or cover song the artist has absolutely no interest in pursuing but experienced performers would take these suggestions with a pinch of salt and shrug it off.

It’s just the nature of the vocation – you won’t always please everyone. – June 24, 2022.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.