Last night my friend and I went to a "Horrors" concert and the selection of bands and their stage persona versus their fan relation persona brought up some interesting identity issues.
The Horrors looked like they'd read The Sandman and said "I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up." As for their performance despite being high energy they didn't appear to be enjoying themselves onstage at all. The bassist in particular looked as though someone had taken a pee in his morning coffee and he'd never recover. In fact the only one who looked like he was having a good time was the drummer.
Upon meeting them, my friend wanted a picture, however it was clear the "I hate the best job on earth" thing was only an act to add to the angst of their Cure-like melancholy songs. When it came to fan relation they were all upbeat, friendly, and helpful.
When you consider their profession their dual fronts make perfect sense. Without their angsty, aloof stage front, their melancholy music and lyrics would seem hollow but that same front when used in fan relations loses fans. When a performer is aloof (a tool) to their fans, who essentially write their paychecks they lose fans. If a diehard fan works hard to meet the band and the band are jerks the fan goes home, smashes his/her CD's and tells all his/her friends to never listen to that band again.
It's bad for business and so bands cultivate a friendlier front with which they greet their patrons. Most performers do this but I hadn't really thought about it until I saw the extreme contrast between stage and fan presence of the Horrors. While it was nice to see that they weren't angsty all the time it did make their whole show seem more contrived.
horrors image is from thehorrors.co.uk
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