A question on Mark's stage persona

[Masiakasaurus]

Hi!

I saw Mark in Uppsala, Sweden and had a blast. He seemed pretty inspired despite the cold hands and the singing seemed better than on some recent tours (this is only by comparing to YT clips though), I was very pleased. I would have loved to hear YLT though... 

I've only seen him once before, and that was during the KtGC tour. I loved that show as well. I remember him beeing quite chatty and making a lot of jokes back then. He seemed happy this year too, but not as joky and chatty.

So, I'm asking those of you who have seen many shows over the years, do you think he has changed his stage antics (not counting DS days here)? Does he talk less? My two shows hardly make for a good empirical study, so I'm asking you 

[dmg]

In my experience he's pretty much the same every night to the point it appears scripted.  There have been a couple of exceptions when he's been "chatty" but they are few and far between!  These are usually the best shows performance wise too.  The best, most off-the-cuff show I've attended was NHB, Glasgow in 1997 where he showed he does have a sense of humour!

[zuzka]

I´ve seen Mark 10th times (counting +2 shows at RAH and Kraków this year) and I wouldn´t say he talks less. It might really depends upon his mood or the place where he´s in...I always find him quite ´talkative´at Royal Albert Hall (4 concerts I attended there),where he´s obviously in English speaking country.In Hurlingham Club in 2009 he also talked ´quite a lot´ ,which was mayby because of the ´small intimate audience´. I remember few years back from Czech Republic,where he ´talked´with audience,but even from the video it was quite obvious not everybody really understood  I obviously don´t know him,but from what I read I find him quite shy and introvert person. He´s got great sense of humour though as mentioned dmg.

[superval99]

In my experience he's pretty much the same every night to the point it appears scripted.  There have been a couple of exceptions when he's been "chatty" but they are few and far between!  These are usually the best shows performance wise too.  The best, most off-the-cuff show I've attended was NHB, Glasgow in 1997 where he showed he does have a sense of humour!

He was certainly the most relaxed with his old friends in NHB - lots of joking onstage amongst each other, quite different to the solo concerts when everything he does seems scripted.  He even turns and smiles to Glenn at a certain point every time in Sultans - it's almost choreographed!  He's been saying the same things on stage for years "You're very sweet" for example for at least 20 years!  I don't really think he's changed much over the years and I doubt he ever will, because Mark is Mark!   

[ds1984]

Mark does some slight changes, remember the "fixing bicycle"  joke he used to do or even the keyboard under his arms...
He does not take his tea half show anymore.

[dmg]

Mark does some slight changes, remember the "fixing bicycle"  joke he used to do or even the keyboard under his arms...
He does not take his tea half show anymore.

Yes, he is aware of the environment and takes his recycling seriously. 

[11-54_Stringcheese]

I think for people like Mark, who is obviously an introvert expresses himself very awkwardly on stage, it is way better to stick to the music. Some of the stuff he says on stage is really cringe-worthy at times. Really corny. And it's a shame, because he has a great sense of humor and is fantastic at impressions. That said, Val mentioned the NHB shows, when he's surrounded by other artists who can help him carry the show, he's a different man. Mark's music, and DS, was always pretty serious stuff (there is humor and sarcasm there, sure), so a typical Mark show doesn't lend itself to lots of banter and crowdpleasing gimmicks. And none of the band members are Mark's equal. It's not a "band". The NHB shows had a looser format altogether, Mark was not the focal point, the great Brendan Croker really pulled things along. Mark could relax a lot more. Perfect format for a guy like Mark.

[Masiakasaurus]

Thanks for your inputs!

I just want to clarify that talking between isn't that important to me, some performers do it too much IMHO. I saw Eric Clapton a couple of years ago and he barely said a word but the playing was great and it didn't bother me that he wasn't talkative.

I do know that Mark has a nice, dry sense of humor when he feels like it though!

And yes, all the footage and bootlegs from NHB stuff seems to indicate that he was really relaxed in that setting. I would have loved to catch one of those shows if I wasn't a small child back then.

[Billy’s Tune]

When I saw Steve Phillips with his band at the Grosvenor last year, we got chatting (he's a really nice and sociable guy) about Mark and the NHB. Steve said Mark was always highly reluctant to try new things, Steve and Brendan virtually had to force his hand to get him to experiment with new songs and more and more he kept trying to bring his own material into the Billies gigs.

I asked if they'd ever perform again - Steve said he'd absolutely love to and that it was an amazing band that was meant to be a quiet bit of fun but really came something very special - but Mark prefers his solo route now and doesn't look back. Steve did say he'd go and see him in concert again as usual but it was becoming a bit same - and that was before the PrivaTracking tour!!

Interesting comments though!

Cheers.

[dmg]

When I saw Steve Phillips with his band at the Grosvenor last year, we got chatting (he's a really nice and sociable guy) about Mark and the NHB. Steve said Mark was always highly reluctant to try new things, Steve and Brendan virtually had to force his hand to get him to experiment with new songs and more and more he kept trying to bring his own material into the Billies gigs.

I asked if they'd ever perform again - Steve said he'd absolutely love to and that it was an amazing band that was meant to be a quiet bit of fun but really came something very special - but Mark prefers his solo route now and doesn't look back. Steve did say he'd go and see him in concert again as usual but it was becoming a bit same - and that was before the PrivaTracking tour!!


Interesting comments though!

Cheers.

Thanks.  You're right - it is interesting.

[ds1984]

Something has changed as for some time the NHB was the perfect vehicle to Mark to relax.

Maybe the answer is Mark at that time was a frustrated musician, doing things with something else in mind so the NHB were oxygen for him.

Once Ed out and his career fully in his hand, Mark seemed not to have the need of playing with this derivative band. Now he can perform NHB typed stuff on his own gigs if he wants to. But having witnessed them twice at Ronnie's I can say they were really fun.