Shoegaze and the relationship to the body in live performance is something that distinguishes it from almost every other guitar genre.

In most rock contexts, the performers move their bodies in ways that express the music — the classic rock performative vocabulary of windmill guitar moves, stage pacing, microphone stand interaction. Shoegaze largely dispensed with this vocabulary, and the result is a specific kind of stage presence that some people find alienating and some people find more honest.

The shoegaze stage posture — head down, looking at the pedals, apparently unaware of the audience — is actually a form of concentration rather than disengagement. The music is demanding enough technically that the performer can't spare attention for stagecraft. What you're watching is someone inside the music rather than presenting it.

I find this more interesting than conventional rock stage presence. The lack of performance highlights the music itself. But I understand why audiences who came for spectacle find it confusing.