If you love and feel what you are doing, that's contagious if you project that. It doesn't have to be dancing or pumping your fist (borderline cheesy if you suck at the aforementioned things), but audiences are attuned to your nuances.
If you show none, you get none back.
I usually pick certain people out in the crowd and try to make sure they know I'm watching them and their reaction. Then the scan across the crowd means I have different focal points to pay attention to besides the gear.
But eye contact, a little movment and excitement can go along way during a three hour set. Even an hour set!
I'm still working on this point, but my guess is that it is an ever evolving thing wiht no one right answer. Look at Digweed. He's about as serious as you can get, and the crowd loves him.
Then Jamie Lidell is like a crazy mofo up there and people eat it up. I think, at heart, however, you can't be insincere. You have to do what you feel comfortable doing to get locked into the crowd.
If you are insincere that comes across pretty easily as well. And frankly speaking, people don't mind if you are deadly serious too. That's where they are interpreting you working hard on their behalf so they can have a good time, IMO.
But at the end of the day, people are there to party and get lost. Help them do that.
rob.
