As you may imagine, there are plenty of street buskers around at the Brecon Jazz Festival - this is an image of one pair. I have no impression at all of the music they were playing, so it probably wasn't up to much.
Anyway, based on my extensive experience, I now proudly present four reasons why a jazz gig is better than a rock gig:
You get to sit down. This makes me sound like an old git, but there are some practical advantages to seated shows. You can see the stage for one thing - this isn't always true when everyone's standing and you're five foot seven like me. And in a standing crowd you're always being jostled by people coming and going - to the bar, the toilets, or wherever - which drives you to distraction when you're trying to concentrate on the performance.
The volume levels are bearable. After a rock gig, my hearing usually takes a couple of days to recover. Where's the need for that?
The bands are punctual. I have commitments. Despite this, I've bought your album and made the time to take in your local show. The least that you can do is acknowledge this by turning up on time and playing for the advertised duration. Rock bands don't seem to be able to grasp this simple principle of etiquette.
The musicians can play. This was brought home to me quite forceably at Brecon. I was walking back to my car after the last show and passing a pub, I heard a rock band brutally butchering "Sweet Child of Mine". The (female) singer couldn't sing and the guitarist couldn't guitar - the whole thing was a waste of time and effort for all concerned, both band and audience. You don't get that with jazz.
