How Do You Define A Great Gig?

[Bluewine]

After perusing the " How Was Your Gig" thread and seeing so many " we had a great gig" I started to wonder about what a great gig is and great gig probably means different things to different people.

What makes for a great gig for you?

Let's talk about it.

Blue

[Bluewine]

My thoughts;

The first thing I think of in terms of a "great gig" is all members showing up on time, in the right frame of mind , ready to work with a positive attitude.

If you've had a bad week, an argument with your spouse or family members, leave that stuff behind until your back home.

Everyone should be on the same page. Your there to entertain and have fun and hopefully help out in creating a fun atmosphere for the whole band.

That's where I start, I have other criteria for a great gig I'll share later.

Blue

Edited May 18, 2018 by Bluewine

[Akio Dāku]

One where I get paid. 😜

[Bluewine]

1 hour ago, Akio Dāku said:

One where I get paid. 😜

Everyone knows I'm big on pay. However, pay does not come into the "great gig" equation for me.

Blue

[Akio Dāku]

Why so? Is it more about the shear experience of the gig then? I guess I'm a touch more militant in that respect. 

[Bluewine]

8 minutes ago, Akio Dāku said:

Why so? Is it more about the shear experience of the gig then? I guess I'm a touch more militant in that respect. 

Pay is more a requirement for me to play. Pay will not make a bad gig great. Not for me.

Blue

[skidder652003]

one where experience outweighs expectations (which is why I never have any expectations these days and am therefore rarely disappointed!)

[Bluewine]

11 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

one where experience outweighs expectations (which is why I never have any expectations these days and am therefore rarely disappointed!)

I expect my band to play our best. However, there are gigs where we played great but wasn't necessarily a great gig.

I'm dissapoinred quite a bit actually.

Blue

Edited May 18, 2018 by Bluewine

[skidder652003]

4 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

I expect my band to play our best. However, there are gigs where we played great but wasn't necessarily a great gig.

Blue

I will always play my best and expect the others to do so, that's all that really matters, but I never go into a venue (pub) expecting it to be rammed or the punters to be particularly enthusiastic, sometimes it is and they are, but other times not so, it's a lottery these days.

[Bluewine]

One of the big things for me that defines a great gig is when the band can hold the attention of the crowd and engage them for the length of the gig.

This is a huge challenge for American bar bands. It's hard to manage 4 hours of performing. Imposible really.

Blue

[Akio Dāku]

37 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

Pay is more a requirement for me to play. Pay will not make a bad gig great. Not for me.

Blue

Ah I see... In all seriousness, I think pay is still a big deal in my eyes because I only play my own material, so fundamentally it's validation of my artistic value. I could be playing to an empty room but if I'm making a few hundred quid then I'm delighted and it most definitely falls into my "great gig" file.

[Conan]

Totally unpredictable! Sometimes you can play a supposedly great venue which has an excellent reputation, and it just doesn't work out. Could be the band members, the audience, the equipment... On the other hand, you can end up playing somewhere that nobody really wants to play, maybe on a bad night (weather-wise, or a clash with some big event...) and everything just comes together to make an outstanding time!

For me, it is not about money (although that is not to say that I don't want or need to be paid!), but the enjoyment comes from the buzz. Where does the buzz come from? Well, usually rapport with your bandmates and playing the songs well, a receptive audience who are genuinely enjoying themselves, a good sounding room with plenty of feedback (of the right kind!), an appreciative venue owner/manager, good lighting, the correct temperature.... I could go on, but it is very difficult to quantify. Mostly, I think, it is about the audience.

The problem is, if you turn up expecting all that - it rarely happens. Most of my "great" gigs have been surprises!

[skidder652003]

8 minutes ago, Conan said:

Totally unpredictable! Sometimes you can play a supposedly great venue which has an excellent reputation, and it just doesn't work out. Could be the band members, the audience, the equipment... On the other hand, you can end up playing somewhere that nobody really wants to play, maybe on a bad night (weather-wise, or a clash with some big event...) and everything just comes together to make an outstanding time!

For me, it is not about money (although that is not to say that I don't want or need to be paid!), but the enjoyment comes from the buzz. Where does the buzz come from? Well, usually rapport with your bandmates and playing the songs well, a receptive audience who are genuinely enjoying themselves, a good sounding room with plenty of feedback (of the right kind!), an appreciative venue owner/manager, good lighting, the correct temperature.... I could go on, but it is very difficult to quantify. Mostly, I think, it is about the audience.

The problem is, if you turn up expecting all that - it rarely happens. Most of my "great" gigs have been surprises!

That sums it up pretty much perfectly

[Bluewine]

8 minutes ago, Conan said:

 

The problem is, if you turn up expecting all that - it rarely happens. Most of my "great" gigs have been surprises!

Agreed, you can never predict a great gig. You never know when it's going to happen, when the band, the crowd all come together. 

Yes, it's always a surprise for me when it happens.

Blue

Edited May 18, 2018 by Bluewine

[NJE]

A great gig for me is an engaged receptive crowd that dances most of the night, in a really nice venue with a decent amount of space for the band, and lot of applause and a nice chunk of cash at the end of the night.

Extra cherries on the cake but not essential would be, some free soft drinks for the band and an invitation to the buffet if it’s that kind of event. 

[Bluewine]

Sadly, some of our biggest gigs in terms of crowd size are rarely great.

We're a bar band and it's been difficult for us to make our bar act work on large stages in front of large crowds.

Blue

[Mykesbass]

Yep, can't beat a pleasant surprise. Played a pub in Bognor Regis - really no what to compare Bognor to for you @blue but it is a rundown seaside town that doesn't have a great reputation. Got to the pub - it was a strange Sunday early evening gig - 7 to 9. Pub had about 5 punters in. Joe Longthorne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Longthorne) was playing on the jukebox, and three people at the bar were discussing the merits of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin. We were due to play some blues-rock, having made our set a little heavier from what it originally was. 

Discussed this with the singer, and we decided to keep volume down, and kick off with a couple of lighter songs. Played the first song, and, from out of nowhere, the pub had filled up. Raucous applause for the first number, so we launched into the full set. People dancing from the second number, and the most amazing response we've ever had.

Played the place once more - not quite as good, but still a great gig. Unfortunately the pub was yet another victim of the greedy Pub Co syndrome, and closed as the managers couldn't agree new lease terms.

[Bluewine]

In terms of acoustics and the bands sound, for me, low ( one height) ceilings, carpeted floors and drapes over any large windows is a good start.

Blue

[Highfox]

When it's really fun, you get the buzz and so does the audience, people dancing and having a good time. Not too hard a load in or out, some pay for your trouble, a decent stage and pa, good sound, the list can go on.

[Bluewine]

5 minutes ago, Highfox said:

When it's really fun, you get the buzz and so does the audience, people dancing and having a good time. Not too hard a load in or out, some pay for your trouble, a decent stage and pa, good sound, the list can go on.

I add cool professional venue management to that list. Something I wish I could experience more often.

Blue

 

[chris_b]

A good gig can be any of these in any combination but a great gig starts with. . . .  a good band comprising good musicians, then. . . I played well, the band played well, the promoter and the audience loved it, there were no fights, the band are happy, I'm happy and the most important bit, we get rebooked and someone sees us and offers us a gig somewhere else. Oh yes, and we got paid. It's always a bonus when one of the other guys in the band ask me to join one of their side projects. Tick most of these boxes and it could be a great gig, tick them all and it definitely was a great gig.

[Kevsy71]

Would only add to the above that a parking space near a double-door entrance to the playing area makes a big difference for setup/tear-down, especially in tipping rain!

[casapete]

1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

Yep, can't beat a pleasant surprise. Played a pub in Bognor Regis - really no what to compare Bognor to for you @blue but it is a rundown seaside town that doesn't have a great reputation. Got to the pub - it was a strange Sunday early evening gig - 7 to 9. Pub had about 5 punters in. Joe Longthorne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Longthorne) was playing on the jukebox, and three people at the bar were discussing the merits of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin. We were due to play some blues-rock, having made our set a little heavier from what it originally was. 

Discussed this with the singer, and we decided to keep volume down, and kick off with a couple of lighter songs. Played the first song, and, from out of nowhere, the pub had filled up. Raucous applause for the first number, so we launched into the full set. People dancing from the second number, and the most amazing response we've ever had.

Played the place once more - not quite as good, but still a great gig. Unfortunately the pub was yet another victim of the greedy Pub Co syndrome, and closed as the managers couldn't agree new lease terms.

Isn't it strange how often the best gigs are ones you don't expect to be much good, and those you look forward to can be so disappointing? We play some great theatres all over the UK, and it's often the smaller ones in provincial towns that prove to be the most enjoyable for me.

[Combed20]

Last gig we played was at a pub garden 3 day festival. Weather was great so it was well attended, but sound man was dreadful, so stage sound was appalling making our set hard work. When we came off I had lots of compliments on my bass sound, the new original material we played and the group in general. When pubic loves it, it's a great gig - even if difficult stage side.

[peteb]

3 hours ago, Bluewine said:

One of the big things for me that defines a great gig is when the band can hold the attention of the crowd and engage them for the length of the gig.

This is a huge challenge for American bar bands. It's hard to manage 4 hours of performing. Imposible really.

Blue

Surely you are not expected to keep an audience for the whole of a 4 hour gig? I assume the point of playing that long is to catch an audience that is moving from bar to bar and try to keep them there for an extra drink, or pursuade them to return later on to catch the end of the show.