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Why do we NOT gig?


bagsieblue
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[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1363729297' post='2016811']
Ah don't worry about it, i think we churned them all out last night. :D
[/quote]

Christ [size=4]you milked that one, don't try and butter me up, now I'm cheesed off and so on and so forth.[/size]
Dammit!

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Got to agree with some of those recent posts - in most gigging contexts, the band is there to entertain whoever happens to be in the room. If they feel that they've been suitably entertained then we [s]soulless clown-whores[/s] entertainers have done our job. You can be your own worst critic, but if Joe Public had a good time then you've done it right - [i]even[/i] if you know you could have done it that little bit better.

EDIT: I seem to have completely and udderly missed the dairy jokes while I was typing this!

Edited by mike257
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363729445' post='2016817']
Christ you milked that one, don't try and butter me up, now I'm cheesed off and so on and so forth.
Dammit!
[/quote]

Ah com'on Mark, you're better than that... whey better than that!

Edited by MiltyG565
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[quote name='swanbrook' timestamp='1363728167' post='2016781']
I see a few people saying things like " when I only put on a mediocre show " I don't get this. Every gig I do I play my best and put on as much of a show as I can. I have always gone with the idea of " your only as good as your last gig"

Here people have no problem telling you if you where sh*te or not and if you where having an off day they will spread the word on just how crap you where.

I have played huge gigs and tiny gigs and everyone get the same 100 %. The day that changes is the day I change career.

It's an honour to play in front of people even if they have the same iq as pond life ;)
[/quote]

I agree with that in the most part. I've played to half a dozen disinterested people like I was playing Wembley Stadium , and still do.

It's precisely that the 'honour' , as you put it , works two ways. There are many , many gigs I've played where I've turned out in the pissing rain and dark of winter ,lugged tons of kit up a slippery fire escape and been treated by an audience as 'granted'. The sort that will refuse to pay a few coppers to gain entry then drop a tenner in the bandit before they get to the bar.

We all know this one - playing a gig to total silence , not even polite applause , and you know how well you're playing - then right at the end they go nuts for more. Where's the exchange in that? Where's the respect for my efforts in that ? I just can't agree that there's anything to be had - as a musician - in being gushed at by drunken scrotes who clearly have no clue as to how good , bad or indifferent you were.

There is much joy in giving and taking with an audience - I still feel the buzz , of course. In fact an even bigger buzz as experience has taught me how to transform an indifferent crowd into a bunch of raving sycophants - that's a skill and fresh buzz in itself.

Thing is - I know how good I am - how good my band is - how well we , or I , played on a particular night. Happily even our average is pretty good. I'm not bragging - we've just been doing this for a long enough time to have acheived a good level of competence and I know too what efforts we still put in to keep it that way. But after all these years , being judged - for good or bad - by drunks who are utterly clueless about what just happened - sees me get home with the foulest of tastes in my mouth. I've become more cynical , and more superior out of self respect and selfprotection. Some times I do wonder if it's worth it - if it's worth the sarifice , but I also feeel like a moth to the flame where gigging is concerned.

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"We all know this one - playing a gig to total silence , not even polite applause , and you know how well you're playing - then right at the end they go nuts for more. "

Thats beer that is Dave.

My problem has always been that every band I have been in- other than a few dodgy ones when I just started- ( in the 70s!! - ! was very young!! )
have had some sort of a following and have gone down too well from the off. Just got worse from there.

Very dissapointing with mediocre musicians- there are always some in each band- that you in effect go down too well. The audience would not know a good or bad band night to night.

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[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1363774570' post='2017249']
The audience would not know a good or bad band night to night.
[/quote]

That's just it, isn't it? Sorry to say, most people can't tell the difference between their arses and a hole in the ground.
And what's worse is they don't want to know, either. [/cynic]

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Bass was the first musical instrument that felt 'just right' to me. Picking it up to practice was a joy, not a chore, and because of that it will always be 'my' instrument. Having said that, nowadays, if I'm not doing any band/session related stuff with my bass then I tend to pick my guitar up just as often as I do my bass, as I find it a bit nicer to play on its own, as well as finding it easier to write my own music on. (Part of that is down to the fact that I am still very much a guitar beginner, so a 30 min practice can teach me alot).

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363775037' post='2017258']
That's just it, isn't it? Sorry to say, most people can't tell the difference between their arses and a hole in the ground.
And what's worse is they don't want to know, either. [/cynic]
[/quote]

Thing is , Mr Creet , I've come to think you're not a cynic re. this - I think you're just observant.

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[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1363774230' post='2017242']
....We all know this one - playing a gig to total silence , not even polite applause , and you know how well you're playing - then right at the end they go nuts for more. Where's the exchange in that?....
[/quote]

I've got one of these on Saturday!

But , those bastards will get 110% from us whether they react or not. We get a lot of gigs from people who have seen us play.

A long time ago , I was in a very good band whose attitude was, "We don't need to bother if the audience doesn't". I had a lot of arguments about this. My line was always, "If you don't want to play for the audience play for [u]me[/u]".

A mate of mine has a mental picture of the Albert Hall in front of him every time he plays. And plays like he's there.

I play like Clapton’s in the audience, and he's looking for a bass player.

Silly mind games but if your body's at the Dog and Duck and your mind's playing the Live Aid main stage you've got to be giving a good performance.

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1363775037' post='2017258']
That's just it, isn't it? Sorry to say, most people can't tell the difference between their arses and a hole in the ground.
And what's worse is they don't want to know, either. [/cynic]
[/quote]

[color=#222222]I don't necessarily agree – there are plenty of plenty of gigs where the audience can tell the difference between a good band and a cr*p one! [/color]

[color=#222222]A good band will get a good appreciative reaction whereas a poor ones will die on its ar*se…[/color]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1363779423' post='2017379']
I've got one of these on Saturday!

But , those bastards will get 110% from us whether they react or not. We get a lot of gigs from people who have seen us play.

A long time ago , I was in a very good band whose attitude was, "We don't need to bother if the audience doesn't". I had a lot of arguments about this. My line was always, "If you don't want to play for the audience play for [u]me[/u]".

A mate of mine has a mental picture of the Albert Hall in front of him every time he plays. And plays like he's there.

I play like Clapton’s in the audience, and he's looking for a bass player.

Silly mind games but if your body's at the Dog and Duck and your mind's playing the Live Aid main stage you've got to be giving a good performance.
[/quote]

Even with the worse audience, there are bound to be someone who will appreciate what you do and become a fan if you put in a good performance. So you play the gig for that person...

Edited by peteb
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Might start gigging again, after I've learned to play that huge gittaar thing.

In the past, when playing for people (mostly classical music, but also pop and rock and allsorts), I've always given it 110% as they say, always thinking about that one member in the audience who might seriously get it, whilst hoping someone like that was indeed present.

Playing very well for people who don't get it is not lost. Playing half-arsed for them is.
(old jungle proverb)

That said, when people talk about "mediocre" playing, I can't see there is anything in those words to indicate that they played half-arsedly. Sometimes one just can't get it to work.


best,
bert

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[size=4][quote name='peteb' timestamp='1363799612' post='2017878']
I don't necessarily agree – there are plenty of plenty of gigs where the audience can tell the difference between a good band and a cr*p one!
A good band will get a good appreciative reaction whereas a poor ones will die on its ar*se…
[/quote]

Yes, I was certainly being cynical - I do enjoy playing or I wouldn't bother. :) But I've seen crap bands get a great reception and vice versa. The bottom line is, if the punters are having fun then you've done your job - whether you think you played well or not.[/size]

Edited by discreet
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