Which Side of the Fence?

Do you attend shows with a mindset in place before you even arrive?
Have expectations...about the author, director, the band?

I strive to go completely open minded.  Not an assumption to be seen. Even when I am very much aware of the material. I still try to see the performance on the merits of the day I attend.

There is a local band, Children of the Valley, that I very much like. They play a very wide selection of ballads, instrumentals, new material. They always try something new. Many times it works as planned...sometimes not.
I've yet to be disappointed. Not that everything they have done has been great, no, some things have been downright mediocre. But I applaud their sense of keeping it fresh and new. It takes a certain amount of brass to try something new. To always throw out a new thing every time you play is a) a lot of work and b) risky.

They have inspired me to try it myself, musically speaking. I intend to try new things, and try them on audiences as well.
After all, it'd be a waste to keep all the new thoughts to myself!

Jimi Hendrix lamented that fans wanted to hear his hits, no new songs...s'il vous plait.
He grew tired of playing 'Hey Joe,' every night.
Or burning his guitar.
He sought to branch out, explore the new.

Before he died he had been playing with an jazz band, replete with Chicago style organ.
Can you imagine what Jimi would have sounded like with a big band? Or a fusion group?  The possibilities are endless. But I am sure he would have had to endure much sturm und drang from the audience.

Jerry, the keyboard player has been trying to introduce one or two new songs every week.
In fact, two weeks ago he brought a completely new set list - no warning, neither for us nor the audience.
He would tilt his head and give me the chord changes prior to starting the song. Half the time I was reduced to watching his left hand for the chords changes.

No one in the audience seemed to mind until they started calling for the "standards," that we had been doing for them. On the positive side we added more members to the "regular" audience.
So far, I don't mind playing and replaying songs that we do every week.