"Although there was a point with the Tijuana Brass where we were playing for such huge crowds that I kind of lost contact. At one point, the only connection I had with the audience was with people out there lighting cigarettes"

Herb Alpert's quote talks to the detach between the entertainer and the audience when playing for large crowds. He is describing the Tijuana Brass, a band he founded in the 1960s. The band was popular and drew large crowds, but Alpert felt that the size of the audience made it hard to get in touch with them. He felt that the only connection he had with the audience was when individuals lit cigarettes, which he might see from the stage. This quote speaks with the value of the performer-audience connection, and how it can be lost when playing for big crowds. Alpert's quote also speaks with the power of the visual, and how even something as small as a cigarette being lit can be a powerful connection in between the performer and the audience.