Speaking to the Audience
When performing a show, it’s important to always to speak to the audience. In my experience, they are much more likely to listen to you play if you’ve spoken to them before. It’s also a good chance to ‘break the ice’, tell them who you are, when you are playing next, if you have a record and crack a joke or two. Generally, it’s unfriendly not to at least introduce yourself. You don’t need to bother with song titles unless you have good reason to, but if you fancy explaining the story behind the song go ahead. Relax, and laugh along with audience, and this will create a much better impression, and you are also more likely to enjoy the gig.
When Not to Speak to the Audience
I saw famous American metal supergroup A Perfect Circle play live a couple of years ago, with James Iha on guitar. For anybody who knows what kind of music they make, it is very heavyweight, serious, emotional music, and the show was in a very large auditorium. Between the songs, they cracked rubbish jokes and talk about nothing, and this completely and utterly destroyed the mood. Consequently, the impact of the band was substantially reduced.
Often successful bands will elect not to speak to the audience, but to go from one song the next, to deliver maximum ‘bang’. This only works if you’re in the right setting, so consider carefully.
Conclusion
A good rule of thumb is, when playing a small gig, is to always speak, and when playing a larger gig, with a band, speak less. Make sure you thank the audience for listening, and for clapping, and pay them a compliment or two. That way you’re sure to get the keenest ears and maximum impact from your performance.