I'm female, so it's probably a bit different. Supporters in the audience will tend to ward off hecklers before they sink their teeth into you. So, it hasn't happened to me that much.
One time it happened to me. Someone in the audience said something, and I just said, "Ah, what did you say?". Then, the goof gets to repeat it. But I acted like I couldn't hear him properly, and kept asking him to repeat it. After the third repeat, he was looking a little bit stupid, everyone was watching him, and someone else just yelled over to him to shut-the-*-up. With a male performer, the audience will probably expect YOU to deflate him, because you're, well, a man...
Another time, there was a real creep, who made it clear he was gonna make my life hard and there were no bouncers, but a good (BIG) fan of mine just sat down beside him, got real friendly with him, put his arm around him and said he'd like to have a private conversation with him out back. I didn't notice this going on at the time because of the lights, only that he shut up and then he was just gone. The fan told me later. So, yeah, bouncers are good if they're there.
One other time, I just pointed to the guy and said to the audience "wow, so anal sex DOES produce offspring". (That's an old standard against hecklers. Maybe from Rodney D., I don't remember)
Another possibiliy that I never got to use, is to ask the person to write it down and I'll read it to the audience later.
bootleger wrote:SouthPaw41L wrote:This doesn't happen very often but ocassionally a heckler will rear their ugly head (s). Most of the time igorning is the best solution but that doesn't always work. My next step is alerting management of the bar or restaurant. Another action I might take is to offer my seat to the heckler. This usually spawns a bevy of excuses and inadvertently shows the heckler up. This action sometimes silences the problem but other times escalates the drama. Any pointers from fellow Chordians out there who can empathize ? I particularly await a response from James McCormick. Your tact and wisdom have been eye opening and helpful to me many times in the past.
Peace, Love, and Guitar,
SouthPaw41L
Well, I am the bouncer size type of guy and it takes longer to heal after beating heads not to mention it's hard to play when your hand(s) are swollen (I am not promoting violence just explaining my past & dumb experience). As you said ignore them, you can always turn your amp up (if playing electric). Otherwise continue to pratice and get better and the following you gain will out number the hecklers.
Bootlegger.
