Performance Question

Two nights ago, I did a gig in Kentish town and smashed it, last night I did a gig in Liverpool street and well, not so much. It didn't go badly, I just didn't do nearly as well as I would expect to do. The difference? The audiences.

On the first night they were a warm and friendly audience who were really engaged.

The second night the audience was very quiet and subdued.

So here's my question, does any stand-up, sketch performer, actor have tips for grabbing a quiet audience's attention, keeping them engaged, and be able to win them back if one or two jokes falls flat?

This is such a massive subject it's difficult to know where to begin or what to say, in effect it is the very essence of learning to be a performer and it's a learning process which probably never ends.

One thing I would say is, did you record the performances? Can you listen or watch them back and see if you did anything differently, even if it was subconsciously?

Also, what were the circumstances of the gigs? Was one a Friday or Saturday night and the other on a Sunday or Monday? Audiences can be much quieter or subdued if they have work the next day, they are probably not drinking as much and may be worrying about the time, babysitters, etc.

Basically, you need to study your own performance, confidence and material and try to even out any variable which you can control, the rest is just learning from experience.