Performance Dysfunction
by bcinSac on 8/29/18Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harveys - StatelineThis concert could be an industry case study about a problemic performance….the longest 90 minute perfmance I have ever seen. The performance began with a few numbers by Donny & Marie together, followed by a set by Marie, a set by Donny, and the back together to close the show. Pretty simple right? Some of the problems throughout all performances included recorded background music that skipped during more than just a couple of songs, and far too many songs in which you were not sure if the video or the live person was really the one you heard singing. …that is if they completed a whole song…they seemed to interrupt just about every number with commentary. Really, nobody cares who you know or who you have performed with when it is your time to deliver. The performance as a whole felt like an ongoing eulogy. Other acts deal with this topic with photo montages that do not interrupt the delivery of the songs themselves. During the Marie set about 20 minutes, Marie folded over panting for breath, having to stop her song delivery with yak and gasps for air for 5-10 minutes. She then went into some sort of post menapausal hot flash and gain bent over a fan in heat, accompanied by more endless talking. Where was Donny to tag team her out of this? Nowhere to be found. About 20 minutes later, 15 minutes into Donny’s performance he also had to stop his perfmance, panting for breath while the audience painfuly waited another 5-10 minutes for recovery wihout help from Marie. At one point the spot light appeared on the piano player instead of Donny, and Donny had to call him out mid performance. What a farce. Donny tried to mix things up by giving away a new greatest hits compilation to someone who quickly requested via facebook. Two women claimed to be the person chosen and another farce entailed instead of quickly brushing it off and moving on. When Marie did appear for their finale set together the show again came to a stop while they argued about Dancing with the Stars while again the audience had to wait. This clearly annoyed Donny who tried multiple times to resume the show only to be stopped again and again. All of this starting, stopping, and interruption clearly annoyed the audience. Repeatedly when Donny and/or Marie would turn to the audience for applause and approval, only about 10% of the audience responded….clearly frustrating Donny and Marie who apparently were not accustomed to an audience not applauding when the act failed to deliver