A QUESTION OF DELIVERY
I went to see The Flower Kings at Dingwalls in London with much anticipation and came away deflated. Goodness, what a whinefest!
Roine [Stolt] came on and his first words were to complain about the size of the stage. Now the venue has played host to some serious musicians who have coped well enough. Then each song was punctuated by the two guitarists’ complaints about the gear, stage sound, mixing desk and Brexit. The rest of the band were looking on with a ‘FFS, get on with it!’ expression. Apparently their gear was still in Belgium and they had to hire but surely a sound check is where you sort out those problems?
I recall a memorable gig in Ronnie Scott’s where Tribal Tech mentioned once that Lufthansa had lost some of their kit and then went on without further mention of it to play one of best gigs I have seen. Professionals.
The constant whining affected The Flower Kings’ performance, giving a ‘Let’s just get through this’ delivery and spoiled our enjoyment. The highlight was the immense musicality of the keyboard player, whose outstanding performance saved the day. Full marks to the audience – they were very forgiving and supportive – but that generous response did nothing to stem the complaining.
This bond between fan and performer is a head-scratcher. If you purchase an item and it’s not right, you return it to the seller, and if you purchase a service you have a right to complain and get it rectified. If you spend £200 on a combo of tickets, trains and hotels for a performance, you are at the mercy of the performers with no recourse.
I guess you need to trust the band to have enough professionalism to treat the performance with respect (like Tribal Tech). Lesson learned. Wayne Winstone, via email