The third man (or wrestling applied to live concert)

Something I got from my wrestling hobbies (yes I’m a referee for wrestling matches on my spare time)

Think it could be applied to lots of things including music and especially live music.

On the typical wrestling match you’ve got two guys fighting each other, one playing the good and favourite of the crowd, the other a vile and evil one prepared to any treachery to win.

They do their story, the traditional good versus evil with come backs and coup bas and else.

But as any live show or entertainment, a great part of success comes from the Third man (no. Not the referee. I’m not that ego maniac) that is the audience.

On a wrestling show, who cares if it’s too long, or botched, truly great or a miserable failure, the real success depends on the Third man (which hopefully would be more the thirty hundred or so men depending on the venue capacity.)

You could debate the value of an act, if the audience loves it then it is great.

Quantity is not quality, especially in art, meaning 1 000 000 readers does not really make a novel pure genius.

But as far as live entertainment goes, the way the public react makes a big part of it, if not all. If the crowd is into the fight, it will be great no matter what, the people will be entertained and delighted and that is a big part of it. As the tree falling down in the forest, if no one ids there to see an act, what good is it really?

Works a bit the same for concert. 

No matter how great the songs are, the show is, if there is nobody to see it, it’s kinda useless.

Someone on the internet was talking about a band from Norway called Leprous. Big metal prog show.

She said she saw them live and was untouched by their performance.

Different strokes as they would say but my experience with the band is a bit –ah- different.

I saw them twice and I never even heard a single note of the studio albums prior to going to see them.

I wanted to see by myself. I do not know if (like most of the metal rock I hear) it will not be as great on disc as live but the live act is really something.

The guys are giving everything they’ve got on stage wetting the shirts reaaaaal good.

But that feel so great without other people into it ? Intimate, just the band and me ? The fact that lots of energy was pouring and the crowd was reviling in it really makes the venue special.

Was it better played than last time ? Maybe not. When the people on the stage is giving itself and the crowd feel ready to receive, it does not really matter in the end if the music is really good by itself.

There’s a magical connexion between the stage and the crowd, this third man that really makes it worthwhile sometimes.

So there is definitely a quality factor in the songs and the show played, but if the actors push themselves on and more importantly if the crowd follows, you can really get a great moment of Live music, a nice piece of entertainment. Because it is for the people that bands are playing and nothing works better if everybody is into the mood display. Because that is what concert means to me.. It is about the third man, you in the venue, how you feel, listen, move, and react to what is going on. And because the people around you also depend on that… Kind of mob effect.