Double booked!

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I took a couple of hours off work this afternoon so I could get home in good time or more to the point not get involved in something I couldn't get away from.

Did a bit of admin, printed the set, had a little run through of the historically problematic sections and packed the car.

So, I'm just in the process of having some nosebag when the phone goes off. The advance party have arrived at the venue to find its double booked! Cue many phone calls to the other eight band members and their guests. To say I'm f***ed off is to put very mildly. I wouldn't mind, well I would actually, but I mean to say it's a pub we have played many times before. I cannot remember another occasion in the last 30 odd years when this has ever happened to me before.

Or have I just been lucky?

[KevB]

These things sadly do happen. We turned up to a pub a few months back that we'd played before only to find another ban's gear piled on the performing area. Their name was on the blackboard outside yet we had a piece of paper confirming we were playing. As they were 'advertised' we stood down and went home. Landlord/manger conveniently on holiday. Apparently very apologetic when he got back in the country and said he'd give us a bonus next time we played there. Never got it of course. We do have a few possible bookings at the venue next year though.

[yorks5stringer]

It's really annoying and I've had it happen a few times. Never actually happened on the night ,as I always used to ring earlier in the week to check all was well..and sometimes it wasn't!

[Lozz196]

This has happened to a band I was in, and apparently the venue concerned were reknown for this. They`ve since seemed to sort it though and not heard anything recently.

[FinnDave]

Happened to us this year, sent the landlord an email with a gig poster attached and he replied we weren't booked there that night, even though all the details were in the email I was replying to!

[geoffbyrne]

Happened in a band I was in a few years ago. We arrived with written confirmation, and as above, since the other band was advertised we stood back, but the management admitted their mistake and gave us half our fee.

G.

[Roger2611]

We had a pub in Corby that double booked us twice, we turned up only to find another band already set up, the landlord swore blind it was our error, we sent him the confirmation email that he had sent us confirming the dates for the year....he didn't reply, 3 weeks later he rings us up whilst we are setting up at another venue demanding to know where we are! Same confirmation email sent back to him again.

We didn't play there for a couple of years after that, that landlord has now gone so we are booked back in there next year.

We now send a confirmation of dates email to all landlords that have booked us and we follow that up with a phone call the day before the gig to confirm we are still playing

[chris_b]

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1416050321' post='2606393']
....We now send a confirmation of dates email to all landlords that have booked us and we follow that up with a phone call the day before the gig to confirm we are still playing....
[/quote]

We do between 80-90 gigs a year and have been double booked several times over the years.

We now send the posters about a month in advance, email with about 2 weeks to go and phone a week before.

That's a 3 step process that is designed to cover all eventualities. But the idiots we have to deal with in these pubs can still screw up. Before now, we've had the thumbs up for the first 2 stages and the been told we're double booked with a week to go. Sometimes it's straight incompetence but we know other times a local band, with a following, has been put in! If it's the latter we tell them to stick their gig.

Most of these "problem" guys aren't even good at running a pub, which is why there is such a high turnover of pub managers, and they're even worse promoters. Unfortunately it's the word cover bands inhabit.

[deepbass5]

Like the guys above a handful of times over the last thirty years. But have to say we have always come out of it OK by using MU contracts. Two that stick in my mind was one when we got paid in full then sat and watched the band that got there first. The other was watching my miss's fronting up to the other bands female singer both claiming "we have been booked for months", and the look on their faces when she pulled out the contract all signed and dated, the venue then agreed we were to play. same goes for finishing times and breaks not to forget the ££££. oh and the blue M&M's
On one occasion we stood in for a band at short notice, but we were booked to be there again in two weeks anyway, so they then said they would cancel that date. We said no, we have no way of getting another gig at that short notice and they would have to pay us. They refused so basically we never played there again on principle and cancelled our other dates in writing with copy to the MU. sometimes you have to know when to walk away so not to allow the band name to be damaged right or wrong.

[JTUK]

We send posters and talk regularly to all our pubs..which admittedly isn't many.
We also FB it and note their FB updates. This may not actually stop a double booking
but at least it should flag up early enough not to waste time turning up at the gig ..
And since I pop into most of the places, I check out the rosta and if I can't do that,
I watch their websites.
If a venue can't do that or doesn't update events for their business, chances are they
aren't focused on that element and we wont be wanting to play there anyway.

[spongebob]

Happened to me as well a few years back. Ditto many above - turned up to find another band setting up.

Always ring ahead now - as a punter - 'who's playing tonight?'