Some good suggestions....and some not so good suggestions are already posted. Here's the view of someone who has done thousands of gigs and who at one time was considered a very good showman.
1. First and foremost - maintain a positive inter-action and good eye contact with the other people on stage. If you and your band mates are having fun....the crowd will have fun. By keeping your eyes open, and looking around at the other people on stage, you look alert and involved, it reduces the dreaded "stare at the hi-hat syndrome" and you're able to catch any non verbal cues (ie, end the song, one more chorus, etc.)
2. Never, ever show that you're mad, or that you or a band mate made a mistake. Half the crowd didn't notice the mistake and the other half didn't care. However, the crowd will pick up on any negative vibe very quickly.
3. Find one or two people right in front of the stage (who appear to be into the music) and make eye contact. A smile, a wink a simple nod of the head and they suddenly feel they are part of something. They will likely respond with positive energy - which magnifies itself. Don't really focus on anyone past the first row or two - with stage lights, etc. you likely won't be able to see anything past that and much past the first row or so and the person won't even be able to tell that you're looking at them. The added benefit - if you get stage frieght - you simply lock in on one or two people and the rest of the crowd becomes a blur. Note: Make sure the people you lock in on are cute females and topless is even better
There are several things I've done over the years that made for good showmanship:
1. Set your drums and in particular your cymbals high - it can be very dramatic if you swing high to hit cymbals (in particular when you grab cymbals to choke them and/or twirl sticks). Naturally, this can compromise some speed and technique and it does lend itself to added fatique....but it can look very cool. Often with genres like rock - the technique that is compromised is not needed that much anyway
2. When playing backbeats, bring you stick up high between beats. This can look dramatic and makes it appear you are working harder than you really are. This can be very visual if you twirl the stick between beats.
3. The cliche' but effective head bob (you see every metal and punk guitar player in the world do this - and bass players even more). If you have long hair, this works even better.
4. Twirling sticks is alwasy good for show - but make sure you can do it well - dropped sticks or dropped beats are not cool!
5. If you solo (I am not a big fan of drum solos.....but if you do) - a strobe light can make every move very dramatic. - See suggestion 1-3 above to use a strobe to it's greatest effect
6. Water on the floor toms....which splashes each time you hit the drum (see: strobe light for extra effect)
7. I've only done this once and do not recommend....but....lighter fluid on the drum heads (again see strobe light for effect)
Note: Number 5-6 requires a drum tech for damage control. This can be visually stimulating but can cause damage to your gear.....but hey, sometimes art requires sacrifice!
