Watching the magnificent Tinariwen the other night, I realised that
here were visually spectacular and musically dynamic performers having a real problem in breaking the fourth wall between stage and audience.
This was largely because they are a group of Touareg bedouins from Mali who collectively speak very little english. They had a few stock phrases and meant them sincerely but inevitably it wasn't continuous, it wasn't a real connection.
The breakthrough came when the previously seated drummer walked to the edge of the stage both to play and encourage a typically passive white european audience. The wall was well and truly broken, but it reminded me that you have to very actively make the connection with your audience even if they've already given you permission to excite them.
Think of your marketing efforts in terms of performance and audience and you'll quickly see the tactics that will fall flat and you will save yourself a lot of wasted effort.
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