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Reviewing a concert isn't just about reporting what happens onstage. It's not solely expository, although there's a basic "who, what, when, where, and why" in there for sure. There's also plenty of room for critical analysis in a live review as well. A reviewer wants to experience the exchange of energy between the crowd and the musicians onstage. It's about the interaction and their emotional connection. Is there a spark? An electrical charge? Is it a good time? Here are nine general things that music reviewers look at and look for while covering or reviewing a show.
1. How developed you are
Not every band is fully developed in the live realm, and in order to completely, fairly, and properly assess what's happening on the stage, writers consider what phase you're in in terms of your career. Is this your first trek? Is it a club tour? An arena stage? Your third tour or your tenth? Generally, we look for your prowess on stage with your instruments and with your fans in relationship to how long you've been playing.
2. Sound
Are you tight and well-rehearsed? Or are you a total mess? Do the songs sound good with some improvisation or live flubs that make them that much more authentic? All of these factors are taken into account.
3. Stage presence
Am I going to remember what I heard and what I saw? That's one of the first things I ask myself when covering a live show. How does it translate? Am I planning to go to the bar or the bathroom while you're performing? If I can't wait until between bands, then that's a bad sign.
[5 Ways to Improve Your Stage Presence]
4. Banter
Does the band or frontman engage and connect with the crowd? How? With their eyes? Their bodies? Their chatter? Something? Anything?
5. Crowd reaction
Are there a bunch of people talking, texting, drinking, or standing with their arms folded? Or are they engaged? Are their eyes firmly focused on the stage and the band? Or are they trolling the merch table or "broing" at the bar?
[5 Signs That You’re Losing Your Fans' Attention at a Show – and How to Reverse It]
6. Adeptness
Can you, you know, play?
7. Would I go and see you again?
Is it one and done, and that's enough? Or are you worth seeing again?
8. Image
Do you look cool, and are you visually appealing and memorable? Are you the entire package?
[6 Ways to Improve Your Band's Image]
9. Entertainment factor
It's a concert. Therefore, a reviewer/writer should be entertained on some level, be it lightly and on the surface, or deeply and more personally. Whatever the case, it should provide some level of enjoyment.
Want to optimize your band for the press? Check out many, many more tips in our "Ask a Music Journalist" series!
Amy Sciarretto has 20 years of print and online bylines, from Kerrang to Spin.com to Revolver to Bustle, covering music, beauty, and fashion. After 12 years doing radio and publicity at Roadrunner Records, she now fronts Atom Splitter PR, her own boutique PR firm, which has over 30 clients. She also is active in animal charity and rescue.
