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Live on CBC Radio 3:  Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

Posted by Tariq Hussain on Aug 27, 2009

Today on Tariq's Basement Studio:  A live, in studio PUN OFF with Dan Mangan!!! 

DAN MANGAN PUN-OFF & INTERVIEW (for the Pun-Off jump to 17:00):

I remember watching Fred Eaglesmith play at the Calgary Folk Festival a few years back, and I thought:  man, this guy has the best stage persona!  He would tell these funny stories in between songs with this dead pan delivery that was priceless.  And he never even cracked a smile.

Humorous on stage banter is dangerous territory when it comes to songwriters and indie rockers though.  First off, not everyone is both musically AND comically gifted.  Furthermore, too many jokes might suggest an artist doesn't take themselves seriously.  Too few, and maybe they should lighten up. 

So what exactly should go on in those spaces between songs (that is if the band even leaves spaces...)?  If not humor, then a good story about the song goes a long way, don't you think?  Or just a good story period.  Which leads us to our

POLL QUESTION...

SHOULD STAGE BANTER BE FUNNY? 

What sort of on stage banter do you appreciate from your favorite artists?  OR, is "less talk more music" more your thing?  What are some examples of the best stage banter you've ever seen?

:: Post your comments on our blog, OR

:: email:  feedback@cbcradio3.com OR

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  1. AlexOfAnders
    01

    Fantastic! I can't wait

    I love puns, oh the irony, I can't think of one right now. Best of luck Tariq but I think you're going to have trouble beating Dan!

    Stage banter doesn't have to be funny, but I like a performer who's engaging the crowd. It just feels kinda cold if they don't say anything.
  2. jodyg!
    02

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    Cory Woodward is like the Will Ferrel of good music. xo
  3. MusicSoop
    03

    Banterers

    I've seen Minnie Driver play twice and, while her music was good, her banter was outstanding. She's very funny. And her super-cute accent doesn't hurt.
  4. mikesio
    04

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    I don’t think stage banter has to be funny, so long as it reveals something about the artist I’m watching. Jim Bryson is great at using banter to add to his show.
  5. CFLSessions
    05

    banter can be an art!

    I think a lot of banter is really self-indulgent, personally, especially in the singer-songwriter genres, but some masters of the form include Geoff Berner, Carolyn Mark, Lederhosen Lucil, Jenny Omnichord, and Wax Mannequin.
  6. calculust
    06

    Some of My Favourite Banterers:

    - Hawksley Workman
    - Tegan and Sara
    - Kathleen Edwards

    and of course Dan Mangan!
  7. tornadoallie
    07

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    While I don't mind if stage banter is not funny, I definitely do enjoy shows more if the performer can tell a joke or two.

    Joel Plaskett shows are always amazing musically, and his stage banter is hilarious.
  8. hgummo
    08

    banter is tres important

    I agree with some of the comments above - banter doesn't have to be funny, just interesting and engaging. When I go to a show i don't want to feel like I could have just put on the CD and gotten the same experience.

    Hayden is one of the best i've ever seen in terms of banter. He was hilarious in a very understated way and his stories just made me love the songs even more.

  9. Lana Gay
    09

    Hayden

    Oh, he cracks me up. Sometimes I don't know if he's being serious or sarcastic. The tone in his voice doesn't change! Either way, he's a great storyteller and has me in stiches at least twice per show.
  10. kendar
    10

    Bantering...

    One of my favorite artists to hear banter is Amy Millan. She has the perfect combinations of witty and "oh yeah, that is cool to know" stories.
  11. KeepingItRiel
    11

    White Fang

    @ tornadoallie

    I have to agree with you, I love Joel Plaskett's stage banter. Entertaining, engaging and often hilarious. The bit about his earless cat just gets me every time :)
  12. suckamc
    12

    bantertastic

    I agree with tornadoallie, JP is very funny on stage. Danny Michel is good as well. I haven't seen a lot of the people that have been talked about here, Dan Mangan, Fred Eaglesmith, Bryson, ack!

    I think I do like when band banter between songs. It also gives us a chance to react to them (in the ending of a song, and laughing/shouting/talking back).

    Then again, it can be too much of a break as well. Some bands do very well by just launching right into a next song, sometimes with no musical break at all. That certainly keeps a dance floor moving.

    Martin
  13. hgummo
    13

    @Lana Gay

    Haha, I know! He's funny in a really quirky way. I find him really awkward, but that makes him even funnier.
  14. MikeV
    14

    Banter

    I think it's usually a good thing. I don't know if it has to be funny per say. I just like to see them behave organically without forcing anything.

    Jenn Grant was one artists who's banter stood out for me. She was quite silly but very engaging.
  15. brainwash
    15

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    Stage banter does make the show a bit more special, I usually like it, even if it's some "insert city here" rambling.

    King Khan always seems to have a good story about being held up at the border, even if he's on time for the show.
  16. MikeV
    16

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    Enter Comment Here:
  17. andaoneandatwo
    17

    Jim Bryson for Mayor

    Please play all Jim Bryson songs all day long. Sorry Dan Mangan but you are day will come.
  18. supsip
    18

    Miss D'Meanor

    Calgary artist Kris Demeanor has fantastic banter and his name is a pun... Words that infringe the mind and pierce the soul (he's a walking misdemeanor). His Canada Goose song is hilarious and everyonce in a while he'll waltz around the room and sing to crowd like a sultry lounge singer. Can't help but crack up.
  19. AlexOfAnders
    19

    @Tariq

    Will the pun-off be recorded and posted on the blog afterwards? I just worry some work business will cause me to miss it and that would be pun-ishment!
  20. mattyjames2001
    20

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    haha I recently saw Fred Eaglesmith, and I don't know if I liked his banter or his music more! They were both soooo entertaining. This was like a day or two after MJ passed away so you can imagine what the subject material was focused on for a while.

    Anyways, Pink Eyes from Fucked Up is beyond awesome at talking to the crowd. Subjects that I can remember included: vietnamese restaurants here in Regina, Paul McCartney, Bonnaroo, and crack cocaine.

    P.S. Fucked Up are so winning the Polaris prize. Just to get that on record.
  21. flipzoso
    21

    Kathleen Edwards

    Has hilarious banter.
  22. tornadoallie
    22

    @Tariq

    Natural Disaster's one of my favourite songs too!
  23. MarkInTampa
    23

    Bantering

    I saw Garnet Rodgers many years ago, and the stories he told, both about his music and about himself, were both funny and poignant.

    On the opposite end, I've seen Willy Nelson (I know, not Canadian) in concert a couple times and says NOT ONE WORD to the audience. Just plays one song after another. I don't like that.

    I like stories about the songs, or about what inspired the artist to write a song. Some of those can be entertaining, but in the end, they make me feel closer to the artist...make me know him/her better.
  24. mattyjames2001
    24

    @Mark

    Bob Dylan and Kanye West: same thing. Not even really a mention of the city they were in
  25. ceitidh
    25

    Kathleen Edwards

    Saw Kathleen Edwards for the first time a few months ago, and her onstage banter made me love her even more-- yes there were funny stories and dry wit, but also moments of poignancy--everything you could ask for.
  26. KeepingItRiel
    26

    @ Tariq

    I was skeptical to someone throwing off my structured day by replacing Grant Lawrence, but you are doing me proud. I am really digging your tune selection, so much so that I decided to wait to take lunch because I'm just so curious as to what else you will play for me.
    Oh and I just saw my fave Patrick Watson song come up and love you even more.

    All of today has been pretty great actually!
  27. elizeu
    27

    Humor to connect with the crowd

    This topic reminds me of a concert by The Inhabitants at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival this year.

    JP Carter jokes helped connecting with a crowd (which I think was not really prepared to see an experimental jazz band in that hot afternoon in the park).

    It was a great concert!
  28. Tariq Hussain
    28

    @alexofanders

    Yeah, we'll record it and post the conversation/ pun off with Dan...just for you!
  29. ChrisOttawa
    29

    I'm here for the music man!

    I enjoy stage banter, but don't try and start to impress me with your jokes and one liners, I'm here for the music man.
    For example, Mother Mother is absolutely incredible as a live act, but Ryan Guldemond usually makes my eyes roll. His banter tends to be an ongoing selection of new words he's discovered in his thesaurus.
  30. MarkInTampa
    30

    @mattyjames2001

    As if anyone would want to listen to Dylan just "sing" with that voice. Ugh.
  31. mattyjames2001
    31

    @mark

    Hey be nice! I love that voice. Even though Bob had no idea where he was, I enjoyed every minute of it
  32. whethergirl
    32

    Tariq,

    Can you ask Dan if there's any way I can sneak into his CD release party on Saturday night? It's sold out and I want to go!

    Can't wait for the puns!
  33. tb3
    33

    both Wainwrights

    Rufus especially as his between song is almost better than the songs. Which says a lot because his songs are pretty great.

    I also find the Barber kids to be very funny between song. Funny and vulnerable.

    Is there a law that says if one sibling is good the other has to be too?
  34. MarkInTampa
    34

    @mattyjames2001

    I'm not a Dylan fan. His contributions to music are incalculable. But I can't stand to hear him perform his own songs. And at least here on our community radio station in Tampa, he is overplayed. I'd rather listen to a cat in heat.
  35. mattyjames2001
    35

    @mark

    Your in luck then, there's going to be a christmas album released by him in a few months. More songs for you to hate!
  36. AlexOfAnders
    36

    Looks like I made it back in time

    At least, looks like I did since the next host break is sandwiched by a couple of Dan's songs.
  37. tagish156
    37

    Hawksley Air Drum Solo

    I like Hawksley Workman's banter, he can be quite hilarious sometimes and tells some good stories. When I saw him play in Whitehorse it was just him and Mr. Lonely, piano, guitar, and no drums. He then did an entire air drum solo, it was awesome. Doubley awesome because I'd heard him do the solo to the song at a different concert and he was right on.
  38. Craig Norris
    38

    Stage Banter

    Should be entertaining.

    Plain and simple.
  39. frusic
    39

    Fred Eaglesmith

    Oh man. Fred is FUNNY! I saw him at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and I swore I could have listened to him all day. At the workshops he was poking fun at everything from the festies to the performers on stage with him.

    One thing though - if you only have an hour and a half to play, and there are 4 other artists sharing the same stage as you....don't spend 40 minutes telling jokes. That got kind of annoying :\
  40. MarkInTampa
    40

    @mattyjames2001

    Oh dear god...

    Someone else I saw that tells GREAT stories in between songs is folk singer Cheryl Wheeler.

    I saw Fred Eaglesmith here several years ago, but he was not "in form" and didn't really click with the crowd (despite there being a lot of Fred Heads in the audience). But I got to meet him in person, which was pretty cool.
  41. suckamc
    41

    posting pun off

    I'm glad you're posting it, I'm probably going to miss it, and I loves me some puns!

    Martin
  42. binsy
    42

    Hayden's banter

    I saw Hayden commit the embarrassing faux pas of telling the same anecdote on two different occasions in Victoria (the punched in the ear story). Then I saw him tell it again in Winnipeg!

    I guess if you have a 'bit' that works you go with it and it must be hard to keep track of what story you have told where, but still, it felt a bit cheap.
  43. kn0ttyn3rb
    43

    THT - Territory

    this song is so darn catchy

    looking forward to the turbopuns :)
  44. SuburbanBlues
    44

    @binsy

    That's happened to me too, it was story about a couple making love to one of Hayden's songs during at a folk festival. I was telling this story to one my friends and they already knew it seeing him at a different venue.

    I mean its a funny story, but it kind of lost that specialness, like when you have good audience rapport and it starts to have that intimate one-time only feel.

  45. kn0ttyn3rb
    45

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    these puns are criminal.
  46. MarkInTampa
    46

    UGH

    Puns are the lowest form of humor, and these...oy. The bottom of the barrel.

    It's a tie for last place for both of them!
  47. cinnie23
    47

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    Awesome. First round definitely goes to Dan!
  48. nephewdanfan
    48

    Dan Wins!

    Dan Wins!
  49. tb3
    49

    Pun Winner

    Wow, I was gonna say Mangan

    untll Safarinalysis…
    Ouch.
  50. katpower
    50

    An Art Form

    It really depends. Josh Ritter has fabulous stage banter. He has a great feel for the audience, I was never really bored.

    But other artists, like Jason Collett... well, it made me really dislike him. So much, that I have trouble listening to him anymore. So, its an art for sure.
  51. binsy
    51

    @SuburbanBlues

    Exactly!

    Canada is too small to get away with it too.
  52. Lindsay902
    52

    Dan for Round One!

    The delivery, the quality - tip notch!
  53. kn0ttyn3rb
    53

    chicken-dinosaur

    Dan Mangan with the ovum joke hands down
  54. vonchuckles
    54

    Round 1 Puns

    Impressive!
    But no one wins in a pun competition...
  55. AlexOfAnders
    55

    So far!

    Round 1: I just gotta give that one to Dan
    Round 2: Tariq wins that hands down, the feather ruffling clinched almost from the start although that ova pun from Dan was awesome
  56. kn0ttyn3rb
    56

    BEAT IT

    Tariq wins
  57. Lindsay902
    57

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

    We ALL win in a pun competition.
  58. suckamc
    58

    Pun Off

    Ha, was able to listen.

    Round 1: Dan Mangan
    Round 2: Tariq (Pool-eh?)
    Round 3: Tariq!

    Overall Vote, with a strong last couple rounds:

    Tariq!

    Martin
  59. radarmerchgirl
    59

    Tariq!!!

    Jur- a - sic man gets my vote
  60. dan murphy
    60

    Hot Dog we have no Wiener!!

    Dan as a punster you make an excellent singer.
    Tarak keep your day job.
  61. AlexOfAnders
    61

    Tariq wins!

    Damn, Tariq was on fire for that last one. You really are tonnes of puns!
  62. KeepingItRiel
    62

    Re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan Posted at 1:06 PM

    Zoo Puns: Dan Mangan with the wallaby pun
    Chickens and Dinosaurs: Tariq with Jurassick man!
    Tiebreaker: Michael Jackson Murdered Puns: Tariq killed.

    Dan, so stoked you are coming to the Habitat in Kelowna. I'm missing a wedding in Saskatchewan for your show.
  63. whethergirl
    63

    The 2nd round wins

    The jurassic and ova puns were the best.
  64. SuburbanBlues
    64

    Tariq Wins

    He totally killed those last two rounds, good use of song titles. But Dan should get special honours for that wallaby pun.
  65. mattyjames2001
    65

    The Worst

    I feel I can say this because I love the Deep Dark Woods so much, but I've seen amps that have more enthusiasm than Ryan does on stage....
  66. boders
    66

    To Some it Comes Easy

    one of my favourite songs of the past year forsure

  67. loghrin
    67

    re: Live on CBC Radio 3: Stage Banter with Dan Mangan

67 comments
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