Is live performance a different experience in Shetland?  ANDY ROSS ponders the etiquette of audience reception.

IN THE NORTHERN ISLES we are lucky to have access to many different types of performance, ranging from theatre to opera, and taking in jazz, pop, world music and country along the way.

In July I was in London where I attended the press gathering for Sarah Jane Morris’ new album Love and Pain. Sarah Jane, a fabulous blues/jazz/crossover artist, had invited a number of artists and the media to the launch of her new CD at the Union Chapel in London. It was disappointing to see how few turned out for the gig, and even more disappointing when the two acts that supported her were so good.

It seemed to be harder to reach the jaded audiences of the art world in a place like London than it is in Shetland. In my own experience, the audiences who came to my first recital in Lerwick exceeded the number that had come to any in London. I presume this is to do with the plethora of arts ‘on tap’ that places like the capital can offer. It is only relatively recently that the Northern Isles can host such events, and even now the venues where these events can be successfully showcased are few and far between.

It was also interesting (and nerve-wracking) to see how the audience responded to the support acts at this gig. Having been to the Shetland Folk Festival where the order of the day is complete silence save for the tapping of feet, I was unprepared for the lack of interest and enthusiasm shown to the other performers. It must be difficult to work in this sort of relatively non-supportive environment.

I said to a friend who lives next door to me in Shetland that the Folk Festival was somewhat staid in its approach to the music. No-one clapped along to the music, no-one made any noise or gestured during performances; in fact, it was almost like attending a classical music concert of well-known pieces. I was corrected gently and firmly.

Apparently, it is partly a condition of the Folk Festival based on the respect afforded to performers in Shetland that has resulted in this quiet and attentive listening.

So, which is better? The former approach of making performers work hard to realise their music certainly is one way of ensuring that only the best survive the ‘auditioning process’, yet giving performers an atmosphere of quiet with attentive listening certainly resulted in some breath-taking moments of pure fun and talent. I know which I prefer!

© Andy Ross, 2003