Rifftides reader Jon Foley writes:
Thank God someone has finally brought up this subject. I thought I was the only one who thought this phenomenon was ridiculous. What could be more annoying than, let’s say, a tenor player finishing a beautiful ballad solo, the crowd completely hushed and enthralled to that point, and then as the pianist starts his solo, an eruption of applause, whistling and yelling, completely destroying the mood? And I don’t think it’s a genuine expression of appreciation, as evidenced by the fact it occurs after every solo, good or bad; I think it’s nothing more than a desperate attempt to appear hip by an unfortunately large number of pathetically unhip people.
If anyone wants to start a petition to get rid of this silly practice, I’ll be the first one to sign. In the meantime, we can all do our part by just not doing it.
I’ll sign.