Rich

And that's before we even touch on the whole art of proper mic technique. Some people are totally clueless there.

...apart from the fact that a properly-played one is a great thing to have.

Weirdo - The Charlatans

Not strictly a covers band. They released a number of albums of original material too. The purely Hendrix and ZZ Top stuff came later.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - Amos Milburn

Glass half empty... it's an unpaid gig. Glass half full... it's a free rehearsal space.

Good score! Congrats. I suspect that will be pretty much impossible.

Yes, we appear to have a persistent one...

Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines - O.S.T.

I’ve been to several great gigs, but there are a few real stand-outs... It Bites at the Astoria on the Once Around The World tour, just unbelievable... Level 42 back in the very early 80s when they were still "who?"... probably the single best one was Mike Stern at the Jazz Café. MS was absolutely on fire that night, plus he had Alain Caron on bass, the best fretless playing I have ever seen... one of AC’s solos was so damned melodic, the tune actually got stuck in my head and I found myself whistling it next day. Worst/most disappointing gig ever was Pat Metheny's Trio, 10th April 2000, Birmingham Symphony Hall. A great trio, Pat with Larry Grenadier & Bill Stewart, it should have been amazing... but I have never in all my days seen such a poor choice of venue. A jazz trio in a gigantic symphony hall, FFS. Place was 80% empty and there was absolutely zero atmosphere. The same band & set at Ronnie Scott's would have been superb, but as it was it was flatter than a crepe. In fact, 'crepe' pretty much sums it up as a live experience.

I saw Dream Theater on their Scenes From A Memory tour (oh my god, 21 years ago...). 1st set, the SFAM album in its entirety... short break... 2nd set, 60+ mins of greatest hits. Amazing gig, and a good compromise I think.

29 Palms - Robert Plant

The truly awesome Becky Baldwin depped for me once. I was amazed (and bloody lucky) that I kept the job..!

I do much the same. I try to get reasonably close to the desk so i can get a good sound. At one gig, I forget whose, I spent more time watching the sound and lighting engineers than the band.

My Name Is - Eminem

I remember playing a Washburn AB34 acoustic bass many years ago and being absolutely blown away by it. Probably the best ABG I've ever played.

That just makes his attitude towards you worse.

What makes a poor bassist? Bad timing; poor communication; overplaying; an inability to recognise that he's overplaying and stop doing it.

To which the answer would be, "c'mon then fckface, let's hear you sing and play". I don't blame you for being miffed.

Tears Dry on Their Own - Amy Winehouse

Sister Sarah - It Bites

Only up until they discovered tea. They went a bit weird after that.

We did this in a previous band I was in, but our female lead singer subtly rewrote the lyrics so the message was more of a 'you don't have to be a good girl, you don't have to do anything you don't want, and if he doesn't like it tell him to feck off'. I don't know if the punters noticed ,but once she'd done that I was quite happy to play it!