The bigger the crowd

[blue]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1431459692' post='2771641']
Always bigger crowds and better stages for me. I can't be doing with playing to 30 people in a pub, tbh.
[/quote]

I enjoy both, the larger festival and fair crowds. I like the larger stages. I like the bar gigs because there are some cool things that can happen musically in these small bar settings that would not work as well performing to a festival crowd.

Blue

Edited May 13, 2015 by blue

[Lozz196]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1431439673' post='2771357']
For me personally it makes no difference. As a band you should always put on the best performance you can whether it's to 1 person or a few thousand adoring fans.
[/quote]

That`s it for me. I prefer larger stages as the sound is generally better on-stage, and there`s more room to perform, but the above is spot on.

[Bassistclem]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1431454759' post='2771572']
It's scarier if you can see the whites of their eyes!
[/quote]
Or if you can smell them!

[anaxcrosswords]

For me it's not the number of people but how full the venue is. If I'm playing to 50 people in a room built to hold about that many it's great; would rather do that than play to 500 at an arena.

[tauzero]

[quote name='urbanx' timestamp='1431442941' post='2771422']
The worst bit about TINY crowds is that half of them are usually made up of the other bands. Meaning at least 50% of the audience are musicians...watching your every move...
[/quote]

Or, if it's a Moffat Bass Bash, they're all bassists.

[KevB]

Yeah when they start breaking into double figures I get a bit twitchy but I somehow seem to hold up.

I actually like a reasonable demarcation were the band clearly stops and the audience starts. Some of the pub gigs I did with the last band when the pub was particularly busy (and we never had a stage to work on) I seemed to spend as much time watching out for drunks dancing into my mic stand as concentrating on the music.

[mep]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1431439346' post='2771351']
I always find the dog barking at me quite off-putting...!
[/quote]

You were lucky to have the dog. Some years ago at a local pub we only had the fruit machine for company at the start of the gig, which the singer was playing whilst singing. Luckiy the place has picked up since then as we recently found out.

[Rich]

I've played to audiences of 7 people (including the bar staff) and over 2,000. Apart from the bigger gig being infinitely more fun, there was no difference in terms of nerves.

[BobVbass]

its infinitely easier to get a large crowd dancing than a small one - 50-75 seems to be cut off area. Bigger crowds (most I've played to is 2,000) lose their individual worries and just hide in the throng, plus with more people there's more chance of at least one person finding my crap jokes funny (Discreet might need Wembley for his Combi Boiler one though....)

[Pukie]

I used to find just a small group of musicians analysing, de-constructing, & potentially criticising what you are doing far more intimidating a than a large crowd getting p****d up and not really caring, as long they could nod their head to the tune.

[blue]

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1431513383' post='2772025']
For me it's not the number of people but how full the venue is. If I'm playing to 50 people in a room built to hold about that many it's great; would rather do that than play to 500 at an arena.
[/quote]

Good point. In the States if your not a headliner at one of our major festivals but your booked on a major stage at 2:00am on a week day, you could be up there on that big stage with big sound and playing to 20 people.

Blue

Edited May 13, 2015 by blue

[Weststarx]

We played to a bar with one person in before and he came over to us and said our sound levels were wrong The bar closed down though so we don't worry about that one anymore...

I get really nervous at sound check, once thats done whatever the audience size I try to enjoy it!

Edited May 13, 2015 by Weststarx

[MacDaddy]

Earlier this year, only the bar staff were present for the first set and they wondered off, so we were playing to literally no-one.

[lowhand_mike]

bigger crowds seem easier due to individuals dissappearing and generally for a big crowd we've been on a stage so theres that seperation, small pub gigs where you are on the same level and theres only a few in are hard as you can see every reaction/shake of the head/face palm etc though our biggest crowd was only 175-200 in a hall that could easily hold 500 but due to fire regs we were limited (not saying that we would have pulled 500 in btw)

[lojo]

Mostly I play small functions, but on the odd occasion where I've done bigger gigs where you can't acctually see people's eyes , I've found easier than everyone looking at you at a wedding or pub

[dadofsix]

If it's an large outdoor venue then the night-time shows with the lights in your face are easier. It's too easy to get caught up in the moment at a large daytime show when you can actually see how many people are actually there.

In smaller venues, the packed house is always easier to play for than the audience of 10 or 11. With the packed house you know that, chances are, somebody out there is actually enjoying what you're playing. With tiny crowds you end up trying too hard to please the people who are there and sound anything but natural. Just my 2 cents worth.

<><Peace

[grandad]

Whatever size the venue, if it's less than 1/2 full then it can dampen the spirits.

Loved the summer "Lark in the Park" do's. Several hundred, all ages sitting around on the grass in the sun.

At the other end of the spectrum I also enjoyed the British Legion Clubs where most of the pensioners were really only there for the bingo session, after which, most would catch the 'Ring and Ride' back home. But there would always be a few left twisting and jiving' away and re-living their teens.

Edited May 14, 2015 by grandad

[mike257]

Smaller crowds are definitely harder work. One of the function bands I sound engineer for also has me 'DJ' (as in, deploy a generic Spotify playlist and hope nobody asks for anything else) and at a recent wedding the bar was in another room on a different floor of the venue and everyone except one loved-up couple got off down there. DJing to just two people for an hour and knowing they could potentially hate the next song was surprisingly stressful. On this occasion, David Bowie, Chic and some obscure soul cuts saved my life and it was hugs and high fives all round when I finally got to shut it off. Give me a few hundred drunks any day!

[blue]

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1431623497' post='2773364']
Smaller crowds are definitely harder work. One of the function bands I sound engineer for also has me 'DJ' (as in, deploy a generic Spotify playlist and hope nobody asks for anything else) and at a recent wedding the bar was in another room on a different floor of the venue and everyone except one loved-up couple got off down there. DJing to just two people for an hour and knowing they could potentially hate the next song was surprisingly stressful. On this occasion, David Bowie, Chic and some obscure soul cuts saved my life and it was hugs and high fives all round when I finally got to shut it off. Give me a few hundred drunks any day!
[/quote]

I'm glad you brought up this topic. For bands playing new venues, I'm talking pubs and bars. When the bar is in a separate room from where the band performs, that can and tends to be problematic.

Blue

[acidbass]

[quote name='Bassistclem' timestamp='1431439121' post='2771348']
After been fortunate to perform in from of some large audiences over the years, people have often asked if it's more scary. I don't really suffer from gig nerves anyway but find the bigger the crowd the easier it is.
[/quote]

100% agree. Would much rather play in front of thousands of people I don't know, than a small group of friends and family.

[mike257]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1431649506' post='2773707']
I'm glad you brought up this topic. For bands playing new venues, I'm talking pubs and bars. When the bar is in a separate room from where the band performs, that can and tends to be problematic.

Blue
[/quote]

Absolutely - it can totally destroy a gig. On the occasion I mentioned above, the bar was literally downstairs in a completely separate room that also had its own music playing. Killed the main room stone dead, nobody was going to trek up and down the stairs all night every time they wanted a fresh beer.

[blue]

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1431732037' post='2774553']
Absolutely - it can totally destroy a gig. On the occasion I mentioned above, the bar was literally downstairs in a completely separate room that also had its own music playing. Killed the main room stone dead, nobody was going to trek up and down the stairs all night every time they wanted a fresh beer.
[/quote]

Or not trek and just stay at the bar, that what I have seen.

You got to wonder what owners expect when your set up like that.

Blue

Edited May 16, 2015 by blue