Promoters/Bookers/Venues - Reviews and Opinions

[The Funk]

I thought it might be useful to have a thread where people review their dealings with promoters and venues. I will be back after the weekend to post some reviews. Until then, over to you.

Edited June 15, 2007 by The Funk

[3V17C]

quite a good idea for maybe a sticky topic -perhaps split into regional areas.

good venues
bad venues
ones to avoid
contact numbers etc

with explanations of experiences. whys and wherefores : don't pay up, tiny stage space, 10 flights of stairs all those kind of things



peace


c

[The Funk]

Yeah. I think we need a mod to help us stickify this.

We can use the power of the internet for more than just looking at pictures of naked ladies.

[NJW]

long past warning.

[u][b]BRADFORD RIOS[/b][/u]

This is the only venue I have ever played that I feel the need to write about. In february last year we, Hundred Reasons and a band called Save Ourselves were due to play there. It's a large venue (i'd guess 1,500 or more capacity? maybe i just remember it wrong) and on arriving, the HR crew asked the in house engineer if there were any house crew to assist with load in. The engineer laughed and said 'no chance'. When asked (out of courtesy) if it was ok to set up, he said 'pffft on you go', and then left the venue. He was gone for a few hours, so the lads promptly began to set up their backline in their usual layout. By this time, the engineer returned and promptly ordered the crew to move everything about. Arguments ensued and I left the venue for some fresh air. After they sound checked, we put OUR backline on the stage. Again, the soundman showed indifference, so we set up in the available space in/around the headliners backline. I set up my amp on top of my 6x10 and went off to grab a bag from our van. When i had returned, the engineer had pushed my rig out of the way with his foot, and it stood precariously on the edge of the stage, and probably would have toppled had a crew member noticed. The engineer didn't seem to care.

Anyway, finally we got round to sound checking. Unfortunately, this was the one night when we didnt have our touring engineer with us. After a fairly long sound check where we tried our hardest to be polite to the engineer whilst he was rude to us, we were happy with the monitor mixes. We thanked him. One of the guys in the headline band was stood by the desk watching (he is also an engineer) and watched in horror as the house engineer flattened the desk without noting down monitor settings (or anything else). He said "are you not going to note those down?" to which the house engineer replied... wait for it...

"no chance. I don't even want to be here!"

- "fine. go home then. I'll do their sound."

"no you wont".

He walked off.

SOOO....

Time for the gig. Save Ourselves play a fairly uneventful set. No big problems. They come off, and the engineer starts to play a CD through the PA. As we begin to set up, a huge POP as the entire right side of the PA cuts out. Oh god, we think. The next 40 minutes is spent with the engineer running round clueless. After almost an hour, one of the bands crew find the problem. A power cable with a broken plug powering a rack of amps had been TAPED onto the socket, instead of fitted properly. Turns out it was a bodge job by the house engineer. After a while, the PA was fixed, but the gig was running way overtime. Everyone was pretty angry, and pacing about looking menacing. The tour manager had his best terrier expression on.

We spoke to the band, and tour manager and said... look, were running hugely overtime. We'll cut our set to 20 minutes (from 45) and that'll give you most of your set time (they still had to cut a few songs). We played our hugely shortened set (in our opinion, our duty as a support band) and then watched the headliners.

After the show, we packed up, loaded out and waited in the venue with the rest of the band members/road crew. No one appeared from the 'office' to pay us. We were angry, and there was NO WAY we were going to leave without being paid for this shambles of a night. Eventually, the promoter approached us and politely informed us of the bad news.

He told us we had not stuck by our contract. It was agreed we would play a 40 minute set minimum, for our fee. He failed to acknowledge the fact that we HAD to cut our set due to the venues incompetence. Tempers flared, and the idiot promoter returned to his office and shut the door. As we don't have a tour manager of our own, we weren't sure what to do next, other than kick his door down. Luckily, HR's tour manager said "ill sort it out boys" and he dissapeared for a while. To this day, I still don't know what happened, but he returned with a handful of cash and gave it to us. The venue says sorry, he told us, as we counted the money, realising it was significantly more than we were supposed to receive.

Sorry for the stupidly long post, but avoid this venue like the plague. Entirely unprofessional, worryingly aggressive, and deceitful.

[BargyBass]

Would love to help...
But being in a seperate 'scene' from most of you on here,
the promoters and bookers are different and for the most part
venues are hired by them.. we never really get asked to play
'normal' venues by run of the mill promoters and bookers as
they seem to have a problem with all the Punks, Skinheads and
assorted Hooligans that turn up to watch us.. Funnily enough
theres no real trouble and a crowd that usually drinks the bar
dry and has a great time which is more than I can say for a
'general' crowd.. Still, Viva La difference!!

[The Funk]

Damn. My next questions are:

1. Who is this manager?
2. Will he manage my band?

[NJW]

[u]Good venues[/u]

[b]DUNDEE[/b]
Balcony Bar - tiny little room with an upstairs that has a balcony all the way round to look down on top of the bands. A lot of metal/rock in here. Little vocal PA but always a good atmosphere.

Westport Bar - my favourite venue in dundee. a good size (250+), nice PA (yamaha m2000, eaw subs/tops), nice and clean.

Reading Rooms - a larger venue, but they seem to have gone off putting on rock/band nights in favour of clubnights. Good full PA and high-ish stage.

[u]Other great venues that I love[/u]

KINGSTON UPON THAMES the peel
EXETER cavern
PORTSMOUTH wedgewood rooms
SHEFFIELD cricketers arms (a tiny little dinghy upstairs room in a dirty little pub outside bramhall lane. DIY promoters book it, lug in some form of PA and pack it full of excited youngsters. Every show i've played there has been super memorable).

Edited June 15, 2007 by NJW

[The Funk]

[quote name='BargyBass' post='18413' date='Jun 15 2007, 04:53 PM']Would love to help...
But being in a seperate 'scene' from most of you on here,
the promoters and bookers are different and for the most part
venues are hired by them.. we never really get asked to play
'normal' venues by run of the mill promoters and bookers as
they seem to have a problem with all the Punks, Skinheads and
assorted Hooligans that turn up to watch us.. Funnily enough
theres no real trouble and a crowd that usually drinks the bar
dry and has a great time which is more than I can say for a
'general' crowd.. Still, Viva La difference!![/quote]

Still, why not review the promoters and bookers you've worked with so that any forum members on your scene will be able to benefit from your experience.

[NJW]

[quote name='The Funk' post='18416' date='Jun 15 2007, 04:55 PM']Damn. My next questions are:

1. Who is this manager?
2. Will he manage my band?[/quote]

He used to be in a hardcore-ish band from Southend, and whilst standing at perhaps only 5ft 3" has a very aggressive appearance. A mix of extremely business like manner + aggressive stares are pretty intimidating i guess!

[BargyBass]

[quote name='The Funk' post='18419' date='Jun 15 2007, 04:56 PM']Still, why not review the promoters and bookers you've worked with so that any forum members on your scene will be able to benefit from your experience.[/quote]

You know, after I posted it I thought I should do that..
If there are any Punk bands bass players on here, I will endeavour
to be of assistance!!
I will draw up a list of promoters who are great to work with!!

[setekh]

[quote name='NJW' post='18409' date='Jun 15 2007, 04:50 PM']Luckily, HR's tour manager said "ill sort it out boys" and he dissapeared for a while. To this day, I still don't know what happened, but he returned with a handful of cash and gave it to us. The venue says sorry, he told us, as we counted the money, realising it was significantly more than we were supposed to receive.[/quote]
did he, by any change, wave his hands a lot, talked with an italian accent and was called Vinnie?

glad the story had a happy ending.

[BargyBass]

For all you Punk players out there...
Sheffield Corporation.
Our mate Sheffield Dave was the Promoter for this one and did a
great job. The 'in-house' PA people were spot on, friendly and
did us proud. I gather we played in the downstairs room and a
larger room upstairs was where 'bigger' bands played.
Still the venue was happy to welcome our crowd of Punks,
Skinheads and general hooligans, who came along and had fun.
I must point out however that later on after an altercation
between a friend of ours and an odd member of staff, 3 of
the 'security' did a dance on his ribs but stopped sharpish when
confronted.. Might be one to watch in future..
Played with 2 excellent bands.. FC Dog UK and Scum..

[NJW]

[quote name='BargyBass' post='20538' date='Jun 20 2007, 12:43 AM']For all you Punk players out there...
Sheffield Corporation.
Our mate Sheffield Dave was the Promoter for this one and did a
great job. The 'in-house' PA people were spot on, friendly and
did us proud. I gather we played in the downstairs room and a
larger room upstairs was where 'bigger' bands played.
Still the venue was happy to welcome our crowd of Punks,
Skinheads and general hooligans, who came along and had fun.
I must point out however that later on after an altercation
between a friend of ours and an odd member of staff, 3 of
the 'security' did a dance on his ribs but stopped sharpish when
confronted.. Might be one to watch in future..
Played with 2 excellent bands.. FC Dog UK and Scum..[/quote]

The 'Larger' room is fantastic to play in also. I believe its a Midas Verona desk up there, and the PA sounds pretty great. Full monitor rig, 8 stage wedges and sidefills (if i remember correctly).

[BargyBass]

[quote name='NJW' post='20547' date='Jun 20 2007, 01:34 AM']The 'Larger' room is fantastic to play in also. I believe its a Midas Verona desk up there, and the PA sounds pretty great. Full monitor rig, 8 stage wedges and sidefills (if i remember correctly).[/quote]

Just wondered how many it holds? The downstairs room must
hold about 2-300 and was pretty packed saturday..

[lukeward2004]

Ok, some promoters I have worked with:

FeedMe Music - [url="http://www.feedmemusic.co.uk/"]http://www.feedmemusic.co.uk/[/url]

First gig with them was at the Clapham grand, they operate at the Grand and at Dingwalls, both in London. Promoter was a girl called Ali, and also a girl called Pauline. Ali introduced herself as "australian and a mad dyke" - however she was very professional, taking us through the contract and all the ins & outs of the venue. She introduced us to the sound guy, steve, who was fantastic and very accomodating for our sound. We met Tim, the lighting engineer, who also did sterling job, and the bar staff & Bouncers where very friendly towards us. The Head bouncer was actually a HUGE polish fella, but he was so nice, he gave us a hand loading in & out and even gave us a free beer on the way out. Would recommend these guys to anyone.

BukAndSkit - [url="http://www.bukandskit.com"]www.bukandskit.com[/url]

Dave & John Nash are the promoters for the local berkshire pub/bar circuit with Bukandskit, and they are a great bunch of guys. The venues they play change from time to time, and in all honesty, arent that great - but it is a good way for originals bands to get out there and play to the local audience. They also run the BukandSkit Fest every summer, and have had some fairly big name bands headlining, local unsigned acts supporting them. Venues include the Face bar in Reading and the Phatz Bar in Maidenhead.

Neon Promotions - [url="http://www.neon-promotions.co.uk/"]http://www.neon-promotions.co.uk/[/url]

Another London based promoter for originals bands, playing venues like the Hope & Anchor, John Swaine is the man. He is pretty decent and straight up, dont expect to get paid for playing unless you bring 30+ punters through the door.

Mean Fiddler - [url="http://www.meanfiddler.co.uk"]www.meanfiddler.co.uk[/url]

Carina Jirsch is the girl you will need to speak to, she is very professional and will give you the whole deal before you even meet her. You will need 30+ punters through the door to get paid but the venues, as you would expect from the UK's biggest music promoter, are awesome. Venues like the Astoria, the Jazz Cafe, the Mean Fiddler, The Garage, and the Reading & Leeds festivals are an idea of the high level of professionalism they provide.