We went to a comedy club a few nights ago to see a popular and very widely known comedian. The show was supposed to start at 7pm but the lights did not go down until 7:10pm. Why is it a show can never seem to start on time? Maybe performers should all start carrying a big clock with them?
Now I have to be careful with the word ‘never’ here. Actually I do not really even like that word or the word ‘always’. Later I will tell you the band that did start on time and it may just shock you.
It was told to me that Frank Sinatra would wait one minute for someone to show up for a meeting. If that person was one minute late, The Chairman of the Board was outta there. Even my First Sergeant in the Army said he would not tolerate anyone being even one minute late. On the battle field one minute late could be the difference between life and death for everyone.
My take on it is this- If I go to the effort of showing up on time which includes getting dressed and out the door and safely navigating traffic and the crowds at the venue and in my seat on time why can’t the performer? From the performers point of view he is basically going to work right? Yet I am expected to be to work on time so why can’t the performer do the same? Oh sure there are technical issues that sometimes come up. Maybe the equipment didn’t get set up on time for the sound check to get done or the bottled water wasn’t yet cold enough or ??? No. I do not buy it. I think to not start on time is just being rock and roll. Doing whatever you want on your terms and giving the middle finger to authority, which in this case is represented by a clock.
It comes down to respect though. Respect for each other’s time. Respect for the audience member who paid good money to come see your show. Maybe they hired a babysitter and now they will be late getting home which could inconvenience the sitter and cost the audience member more cash. Really, it is just not rock and roll. It is just not cool.
It is to a point and has gotten to be the norm that a show will not start on time that even audience members show up late.
We went to a concert recently that was scheduled to start at 8pm. We were wandering around the lobby and around 7:55 got bored of that so decided to go find our seats. We got there right at 8pm and within seconds the lights went out and the curtain went up and Black Sabbath took the stage.
Yes, you read that right. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath took the stage exactly on time. Really? Yes really.
And that made me smile and appreciate Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ozzy Osbourne, and drummer Bill Ward even more. They respected themselves and their audience and all the other people involved to put on that amazing show to start on time, rock super hard, entertain the heck out of us and get us on our way.
Things that start on time make me smile.
Have you been to a show you did not expect to start on time but did? What is the longest you waited for a show to start? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you. Rock on!
A musician friend of mine said, “Some promoters actually do hold the entertainer off stage for 10-15 minutes in an effort to maximize liquor sales.”
I guess it really is all about the benjamins.
Enjoying is all time interesting. I am a great fan of music. Thanks for the shearing your post.