Oh Mama, don't walk away. I'm a goddamned sore loser.

To what extent do musician have an obligation to entertain us when we enjoy them in concert? Is there a set of concert stage rules that they must abide by? Can you get away with doing nothing if you're a certain type of musician? Is there a an entertainment clause in concert riders? Could one be a pop star and not have a visually entrancing stage show? This is an issue that I have been giving a great deal of thought for the past little while.

One of my favourite artists of the past few years has been Ray LaMontagne, a man who is notorious for not interacting with his audience. He has a reputation for turning off all the lights in the venue to separate himself from the audience. He even extends this separation by granting few, if any interviews. Amazingly though, he has a strong and dedicated fan base, myself included who seem to have no problem with this behaviour and continue to go out to shows for his amazing voice.

Is this accepted segregation of artist and audience a more recent development. Would such a disconnection with one's audience been an allowable occurrence 30 years ago? Would Elton John been as big of a success if he told everyone to fuck off and played his piano from behind a curtain? I know that is an extreme example, but my question is valid.

I leave it up to you.