Big Concert versus Small Show

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Earlier, my Into the Groovy series focused on the former Boston-based band Morphine (the late vocalist/bassist Mark Sandman, saxophonist Dana Colley and either Jerome Deupree or Billy Conway on drums.) The ensuing discussion covered, briefly, big concerts versus shows in small, intimate venues. The small venue shows win every time. Here is just one reason why: I saw Morphine in a Downtown Denver theater called The Ogden. The crowd was one of the more enthusiastic audiences I've ever been a part of (and why not? Morphine were a great live band.) Basically, our sold out crowd was pretty loud and boisterous as the band played, from which the trio obviously fed. They did two encores, and said goodnight, when we all got even more rowdy than we had been. The band decided to play some more. And play. And play some more, probably for about twenty or so minutes. Sandman even pointed out, humorously, that "These are not encores. You did not pay for these." And then they played some more, for the love of playing to a highly receptive audience, until saxophonist Colley could play no longer. Only after that did they leave the stage. That sort of spontaneous fun just ain't gonna happen next time you go see U2 in your local 19,000 seat arena. But it's not out of the realm of possibility at a 500-member-audience show at a theater.