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Showmanship: The Other “It” Factor

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You remember the episode; it’s the one where Kramer gets a gig acting out illnesses for medical school students with his buddy Mickey. He goes back to Jerry’s apartment and laments to the gang that he’s upset with the diagnosis he’s been assigned; gonorrhea. “It’s a waste of my talent. It’s just a little burning.” George chimes, “I guess there are no small diseases, only small actors.” The gang cracks up. Costanza flashes a Grinch like grin, grabs his coat and exits stage right. Of his sudden departure Elaine asks, “What was that?” Jerry says, “Showmanship.”

That’s one definition.

Another could be a story from former Saturday Night Live head writer and current Late Night talk show host Seth Meyers recounted to, believe it or not, Jerry Seinfeld. Meyers presented Seinfeld with the little known fun fact that former castmate/current band leader Fred Armisen was once an usher at famed Radio City Music Hall. He worked each of the record setting 50 plus sellout shows Liberace performed there. The first night on stage, Lee turned to the eager audience and announced that in the house was a couple celebrating 50 years of marriage. The blissful duo’s first date was at one of Liberace’s shows and to commemorate their golden anniversary they were back where it all began. The audience naturally greeted such ebullient news with thunderous applause. The kicker? He told that story every night thereafter. Different audience. Same story. Same result.

There’s another.

Rolling Stone recently published who they deem to be the 50 Best Live Acts this side of the third planet from the sun. To no surprise, reigning supreme is The Sultan of Greasy Lake, The King of the Jungleland; Bruce Springsteen. At 63 years old and 120 million albums sold, Mr. Springsteen has nothing to prove. And yet, he performs as if he does. Just two years ago, he and his E Street cohorts played a 246 minute show to an ecstatic legion of fans in Helsinki; his longest performance to date. What drives a man with 20 Grammy’s and hundreds of millions of dollars to such feats? My gut (and for the sake of this essay) says showmanship. Coming in at number two is Prince. If any naysayer should exist, simply Google the Minnesota Maestro’s Superbowl Halftime show in 2007 where he serenaded the world with “Purple Rain” while strumming a lavender guitar in stiletto’s, caught in the middle of a Miami downpour. Number three is none other than Mick (70), Keith (believe it or not 69), Ronnie (66) and Charlie (72). In the words of Nina Simone’s 1968 album, “Nuff Said.”

Scrolling down the veritable list of showman’s past the likes of Jay-Z, the Black Keys, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Arcarde Fire, The Alabama Shakes, U2 and more, we pause a moment at number 24 in the program but number one in my heart; the Dave Matthews Band. As this generation’s Grateful Dead, carrying the title as one of the most profitable touring acts for the past 15 years, the band’s curtain call has always delighted me. Once the house lights are dimmed and the captive audience roars, in your peripheral you can make out Dave, Carter, Boyd, Stefan, Tim, Reshawn and Jeff sauntering onto the stage in no particular order. No trumpets blare, no upstage lighting creates an aura around the men (See Kanye West and his self-declared second coming). The guys simply walk out, pick up their instruments and get to work. Mr. Matthews was actually questioned about the lack of spectacle in his entrance a few years ago in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. His response: “I don’t want to be bigger than the music.” Another key ingredient to DMB’s success is their setlist. At each venue, be it “Heaven’s Amphitheatre” the Gorge or Hersheypark Stadium in Chocolatetown USA, Mr. Matthews pulls the set he and the band played the last time they were there and studies it meticulously, all in an effort to make sure they don’t deliver even a hint of a re-run. He wants every performance to be unique, special and original for the masses that continue to “Drive in, Drive out” year in and year out.

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Missing from the above-mentioned list is piano virtuoso Ben Folds. One of the top five birthday gifts I have received to date was from my sister Sarah. She bought us tickets to see Mr. Folds perform with the National Symphony at the prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. For an hour in a half, we marveled at the brilliance that lay before us. The opera house acoustics only heightened the experience. To hear such renditions of cult classic hits like “Smoke”, “Landed” and “Not The Same” played out by some of the finest violinists and cellists in the land alongside Mr. Folds and his effortless piano skills found tears in my eyes and my jaw firmly planted on the floor. Two weeks later, we saw Mr. Folds yet again. This time at The Egg in Albany, NY. The sellout crowd of 982 partook in a “live by request.” After each song, Ben would turn out from behind his baby grand and field orders from his adoring fans like a line cook in a busy kitchen. One fan actually took the lax setting so far as to shout the score of the Yankee playoff game intermittently, much to Ben’s amusement. Folds has the uncanny ability to make each performance feel intimate. The way he acknowledges the audience and includes them is so rare and appreciated. Mr. Folds, if you’re listening; thank you.

“Leaving on a high note”, weaving a masterful yarn, singing four hours straight, playing high voltage instruments in the middle of a lightening storm, being the greatest rock band ever assembled 50 years and counting, studying setlists like it was SAT prep, or making a hall filled with a thousand people feel as intimate as your living room, are key ingredients to being a successful performer. They’re also reasons we keep coming back for more. We may have heard the song a million times. We may have seen them play the song a thousand times. And yet, we cannot get enough. We are forever cast in a spell by the magic these magicians possess. Here’s to seeing what else they have up their sleeves.

(Photos courtesy of Michael Roman)