Let the entertainers entertain

On a snowy and blustery evening in a relatively deserted spring break destination, we came… On a snowy and blustery evening in a relatively deserted spring break destination, we came across a small corner bar advertising live music. We went in. And if it weren’t for the obnoxious crowd, we would have stayed until the bar closed.

What we found in the dark back room of Jack’s Cantina in Niagara Falls, Ontario (yeah I know, but when your companion isn’t 21, where else can you go?) was a band called the Mad Hatters. As silly as the name may be, this (primarily) cover band was the furthest thing there is from a joke. They were a group of damn good musicians.

Not only were we amazed at the guitarist’s better-than-the-original rendition of “Sweet Child of Mine,” but our jaws dropped as the band members (electric and acoustic guitarist, bassist and drummer) switched instruments every few songs, took turns singing and kept getting better. There wasn’t a weak point in the performance.

At first, the crowd really wasn’t a problem. One or two guys were calling out requests to the band for songs like “Sweet Child of Mine,” “Bloody Sunday” and “something by Incubus!” The band obliged, usually within a few songs, surprising everyone with the fact that they seemed to know, and know well, all the songs the crowd wanted to hear.

But after about an hour, as the crowd got drunker and the place filled, the crowd/band relations became strained. A 30-something at a table behind us kept yelling for “CCR!” between every song. A drunk, probably freshly 19 years old, repeatedly whined for John Mayer at the top of his lungs. And one particularly enterprising fellow spent his between-song time trying to get to know the bassist’s name so he could coerce him into playing Metallica. Well, if you call “Hey, hey, what’s your name man? Play Metallica!” coercion.

I’m not saying calling out songs to a cover band is a problem. It’s especially not a problem with a band like this since they seem to know their stuff. But when they don’t play your song, let it go! It doesn’t mean they don’t like you or they aren’t listening to you. It means they don’t want to play that song or artist, for whatever reason. And their rebuffs should be respected.

After all, they are the musicians. Yes, they are there to entertain you, but that doesn’t mean you can dictate their set list. Maybe they don’t know how to play your song. Maybe your song doesn’t fit in with the general mood. Maybe your request is just plain bad.

I thought I was biased at first, scoffing at the drunk blond in his prep wear who wanted to hear John Mayer. (To me John Mayer is a bad idea.) But when he enlisted his friends in begging for some Mayer, I realized that I was not alone.

The then-acoustic guitarist and singer tried to ignore him, probably hoping he’d give up, until the shouts became overwhelming. The bassist asked him what was next, and the guitarist growled “this f–king guy wants to hear John Mayer!” and launched into a very rushed and sort of angry version of “Real World.”

Let’s just say it killed the mood. Sorry, but even if you love John Mayer, you have to admit that the song is not rocking. Several people left for the other bar area, and though we waited through the band’s breakneck and half-hearted rendition, we, too, left when the first chords of another Mayer song began — afraid that after Mayer we might be bombarded with Metallica.

It was upsetting. These were obviously good musicians; everyone in the bar knew it. And to see a couple drunks hassle them until they played something that nobody else wanted to hear (evidenced by crowd dispersion after Mayer began) and yell at them in between each song was disheartening. I’m sure they’re used to it, but that doesn’t make it the right thing to do. After all, they could have ignored it or told the guy “no,” but at that point, I doubt anything would have stopped the heckling besides obliging the hecklers.

I also doubt that those guys would have gone home brokenhearted if the band didn’t play their songs. Did they leave their hotels that night saying, “If I don’t hear some Mayer, I’m going to be so mad!” I doubt it. But I don’t doubt that the musicians wanted to go out, entertain, have a good time, get paid and not be hassled.

Respect the people who are there to entertain. If they’re not playing your song, they’re not playing your song. End of story. Get over it. Have another beer and enjoy what they are playing — it’s a lot better than bellyaching or, the awful alternative, listening to a DJ play bad dance music.

Erin Lawley, as the mom of The Pitt News, can’t stand disrespectful behavior. Learn and practice appropriate conduct in public places, and e-mail Erin with your success stories at enl1@pitt.edu.