Can entertainment make up for bad instrumentation?

ok here's the story my band just played it's for show last night at a talent show for our school, we played blink 182's all the small things. I wore a party hat(which i eventually threw into the crowd) i was full energy and did a little jumping and head banging and my drummer threw his drumsticks down and walked off stage(as i waved to him) at the end of the song. Good entertainment right? but the bass was accidently mixed louder than the guitar and the mic was too low not to mention i missed about 4 chords changes, but everyone i talked too said we did great but we know we sucked, i don't think entertainment can makeup for that much can it?

You'de be amazed.
I've seen some horrid acts get great croud response just because they played some Greatful Dead tunes... very badly, but still- They played the croud's thing.
Most people aren't musicians, so they're just there to be entertained- so if you're entertaining, they're happy. Mayve every musican in the place is sayin "Phhbbbt- poser punk" (or whatever), musicians listen to music and judge bands differently than "normal" people.

Because we're not used to a large audience, we're bound to make a few mistakes for our first couple of shows, and its great if they don't notice being thast you have such an appealing attitude. But you can't always expect the audience to rely on the excitement in the air, because every night they're dealing with different emotions, where some nights they might be rather judgemental, and other nights they're ready to hear a good show. Its hard to know what type of effect you're going to create for the audience, so its important to sharpen up your skills, which will give you more than enough time in the long run to flirt with that pretty girl in the front row.

Its the worst when you play what seemed like one of your worst shows, and everyone elses is patting you on the back, because it kind off makes you feel like your overall judgement is lost someewhere in between. But put yourself in their position, as they're jumping up and down, bopping their heads to the beats (chatting with their friends) sometimes a few little mistakes can't hurt, that is if you end the show properly. But still, as musicians, its important to notice our faults, and do whatever it takes to improve our overall technique. Because we always get away with less than 100 percent...

-Joseph

oh, I know that feeling.

It sure did for the sex pistols :)

Depends on what you mean by "make up for." Do you mean satisfy the crowd? Then yes, it can. You don't even need to play instruments to satisfy the crowd. It depends on your goals. Do you want to make music, and is it about the music for you? Or is it about pleasing an audience? For me, I know lots of high school bands that can get a crowd going, and it doesn't take much. I'm more into guys who make music that really makes me want to listen.

That's my point- Musicians definately listen to music differently than "normal" people. As far as the average person is concerned, a good show is when everything sounds good and they can say "I'm having a good time." If the music doesn't interest me, then I'm not going to enjoy a show at all. Infact, I'm prone to get annoyed, fidgety, and want to knock over the bass player and show everyone how it's done. Of course, I wouldn't realy do that... but I think most of you know what I'm talking about.

A lot of people don't realize how different music makes us all feel, and we are all looking for different things when we go to a concert. A lot of us aren't always worried about the precision when it comes to the bands playing style, for a lot of people they just wan't to live the experience, the loud music and the screaming crowd, where they just wan't to be a part of it at all costs. For me, sure the experience is wonderful whenever you go to a packed show, but it bothers me when the sound is less than perfect, (alright perhaps it doesn't have to be perfect), but I least expect these guys to give me close to 100 percent when i'm spending my hard earned money to see their show. Its frustrates me when the band shows more concern for their movements on stage, instead of polishing their chops before the show starts. What attracts me, and makes me wan't to come back for an encore is a good solid performance. Sure, sometimes its easy to fool the auedience into believing that you're better than you really are, but its really hard to fool yourselves, (especially if you have lonegvity on the brain.) Thats what separates the rockstars from the musicians...

-Joseph

The rythm guitarist in the band is extrovert and do all the talking on stage. I'm fine with that, I'd rather concentrate
on my music. He wants to jump and move around and have contact with the audience, I like to focus on my instrument.
At the rehearsels I can do very strange things but on stage my main concern is to get the music out as it's supposed to sound. I do not want to jump around if it's taking down my playing.
If you look at he Rolling Stones it's only Mick Jagger that moves around and they turned out in one of the greatest rock and roll bands.

The glory about playing live is that it was loud....fun....and suddenly over. When you make mistakes live, they are instantly over and behind you. The crowd remembers the loud fun entertainment factor and rarely remembers the mistakes. Also, you know the music better than anyone...your band has probably played it a million times, so your mistakes are very obvious to you (as a member of the band). When you do make a mistake live...just keep going and don't pull a bad face...no one will know the difference.