I find the best cure for looking bored is to play music I actually like with people I actually like, preferably in a venue I actually like for money that I actually like. What about you?
I love this video.
And, absolutely to everything Josh said as criteria for musical joy.
It’s a 3 part balance: Personnel/Material/Compensation
However that equation works for you, it works.
Each gig is different.
But it HAS to balance.
Haha, reminds me a bit of that video that @Gio shared a while ago showing Iron Chic playing “My best friend (is a nihilist)” - that bass player had no pulse compared to the rest of the band 
Of course, if you are a bit poetically inclined you could say “The bass is like the anchor of the band - while the boat is bobbing wildly on the waves, its anchor keeps it solidly in place and grounded no matter what.”
@JoshFossgreen Here’s a guy who looked “bored” all the time! 
Action starts at 1:22 then picks up rapidly from there.
HA YES the ultimate bored bass face. Gotta grab a clip of that for a video I’m working on…
Flea in the Young MC video Bust a Move has the nonbored style down, and his pants are so cool.
Entwistle has that “I’m too cool to show any emotion” thing going on. What bass is he playing?
@Gadget That is an Alembic “Spyder” bass 
John Entwistle is my personal favorite bass guitarist.
All best, Joe
I don’t even really like the Who all that much, and yet totally agree he is amazing. I swear he never plays a song the same way twice - in a good way
(I mean, I don’t dislike The Who either, they are great, just not what I usually queue up in a playlist. And yet I can still totally appreciate his skill. That thing he does plucking with all four fingers in 32nd notes is freakishly skillful - you think it’s random at first, and then realize it isn’t…)
@howard I was very lucky to have seen the Who in concert back in 1973 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia when they performed their “Quadrophenia” album.
Our lead guitarist practically camped out overnight waiting in line to get tickets for us, but we were pretty far from the stage. I recall Townsend was wearing a white jumpsuit, though.
There were literally tractor trailer loads of amplifiers, gear, and speaker cabinets being set up! Each corner of the Spectrum had a small mountain of cabinets piled up in it, and when they played “I am the Sea”, you could hear the “ocean” roar back and forth in stereo across the entire building . . . it was an experience I will never forget. 
One of my personal goals is to play Entwistle’s famous bassline in “The Real Me”, and I’ve got the first half completed so far.
Wish me luck
All best, Joe
Good luck!
I do regret never seeing them live in their prime. I have a few regrettable gaps like that in my concert history.
If I am bored then I do not hide anything. I don’t care to hide how I feel when I play. I can be very happy and look bored, too. So to try to look a certain way is, for me, a waste of energy and is entirely stupid.
Correction: The bass that Entwistle was playing in the video is an Alembic “Explorer”.
The “Spyder” model is the more modern version of it:
Sorry for the mistake.
The part where he says, “We make a lot of money so lets try to look like we’re having fun!”
How often does this actually happen for professional musicians?
For most musicians it seems like you get 1 or maybe 2 of those but not all three.
I get the impression that it comes down to; you can either have a career where you get to play music or you can have a career doing something other than playing music which isn’t nearly as cool.
I have nothing but respect for the people that actually get out there and do it. I’ve never played out but one day it’s going to happen even if it’s just me and my bass alone on a street corner. 
Ha.
It happens about as often as any profession, I imagine. Some people take big money jobs where they aren’t really happy with the people or the environment… some people (TEACHERS! AKA, my wife and I and most of our friends) take jobs because they love the craft and the people, but the pay is lousy…
I think every profession is a constant balance of those 3 things.
