The Benefit of Less

Two concerts, one venue, and one very important lesson regarding event production:

Concert #1 – Legendary D.C. Hardcore band famous for doing things their own way. A $6 ticket, no light show whatsoever, and a stage so bare you could see the ventilation ducts on the back of the stage wall. Sound system was marginal at best, but sufficient for its purposes. End result – 2 hours of sweating, mind-blowing performance and a iconic status confirmed.

Concert #2 – Underground Hip-Shock band from Detroit with a similarly independent ethos. $30 ticket, massive light and sound rig, actors in costume, a mountain of fake gore, the works. End result – based on reviews and overheard conversations, one big collective sigh.

Which show do you think people are still talking about?

The argument has little to do with the music itself...there is no accounting for individual taste, and since each show sold equally well, it's essentially a direct comparison on all fronts (show promotion, ticket accessibility, etc).. So what was it that concert #1 had that concert #2 was lacking? A focus on the core of the business.

Concert #2 sounded alright, and the performance was up to par, but amongst all of the visual noise did the message (in this case, the music) break through? Judging by the reaction I witnessed, not enough to create a truly lasting memory.

When it comes to events, if you give your audience a quality product, they'll gladly overlook any “flash” that you can't provide. Keeping the focus on the essence of the product is the highest form of respect you can offer your audience. It tells them that you trust their capacity to identify value, and aren't trying to compensate for inferior performance with layers of sensory distraction.

So if you're on a limited budget, forgo those extra “stage lights” and invest a bit more in your core message. Even if you can afford it all, be careful to ensure you're not masking your real value with pretty packaging your audience can't open. Sometimes its best to lay it bare under blinding white lights