I Hate Gigging!

[oldslapper]

Just now, oldslapper said:

Like a drag racer……drag…..no?

Oh no that involves dresses and frocks of course….as you were

[dmccombe7]

4 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

Oh no that involves dresses and frocks of course….as you were

I draw a line at dresses. Dont mind the platform boots, wig, and sparkley clothes but no dresses or womens clothing...............to be visible that is 

Dave

[Gray C]

On 10/06/2022 at 12:59, dmccombe7 said:

Its the platform boots. I'd need to sit in the back seat to reach the pedals 

 

[Gray C]

Just now, Gray C said:

I’m 5ft 5, these could be the answer to me being seen on stage 🤩

 

[molan]

I really enjoy the whole live gigging experience. Playing with other musicians, actively working with a drummer and changing subtle little things as we play, adjusting amp stuff on the fly, working out how to cover when the singer comes in at the wrong point etc, etc.

 

I can arrive & be completely set up in under 10 minutes & out the door about half an hour after we've finished. In between playing times I get to spend time nattering with a group of people that have become very close friends.

 

Wouldn't change it for the world.

[Franticsmurf]

1 hour ago, molan said:

working out how to cover when the singer comes in at the wrong point

Surely not? 🤣

[moley6knipe]

6 hours ago, molan said:

I really enjoy the whole live gigging experience. Playing with other musicians, actively working with a drummer and changing subtle little things as we play, adjusting amp stuff on the fly, working out how to cover when the singer comes in at the wrong point etc, etc.

 

I can arrive & be completely set up in under 10 minutes & out the door about half an hour after we've finished. In between playing times I get to spend time nattering with a group of people that have become very close friends.

 

Wouldn't change it for the world.

Well said. If you’re just playing bass it can be a breeze. As soon as you’ve (I’ve) been unable to help myself and broken out my harmony BVs and PA gear and mixing ‘skills’ in the slightly noddy but hard working covers band I joined back in November then it’s first in last out time again. Sounds proper now though, like 🤓

[ubit]

There is no doubt when the stars align and everything works out perfectly, say you have no hassles getting to the gig.  Get parked just across the road. There’s no one in the pub when you are setting up (but it gets busy after you start). You have a great stage sound. The band is tight and the crowd love you. THEN gigging can be great. But when all of those things conspire against you, gigging can become arduous and a chore. Especially if you are reaching middle age. You say to yourself. Why am I still doing this? I suppose it’s like golf. You think this is rubbish then you hit a great shot and you think, I’m good at this. I’m gonna carry on. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by ubit

[Kiwi]

Some of my best playing experiences have been gigging.  When the stars align, the room acoustics are good, the onstage mix allows everyone to hear each other, the crowd are appreciative and you're playing music you enjoy to the best...nothing beats it.  But that was 15 years ago.

 

I didn't like the 2am load in when I got home to my flat in London though but I was young enough then to not let a 2:30am bed time affect Sunday too much.  It would affect me more now even though I'm much more skilled at cat napping than I was.  

 

I'd still love to gig  if I could play music I liked and the crowd  enjoyed but opportunities are few and far between where I am.  It's hard to find musicians who are interested in the same kind of music, almost all the ones I know are into metal or cheesy C-pop acoustic ballads.

[Muzz]

1 hour ago, ubit said:

 I suppose it’s like golf. You think this is rubbish then you hit a great shot and you think, I’m good at this. I’m gonna carry on. 

I'm right handed and left footed. On the few occasions I've picked up a golf bat, I've never thought that... 😕

[Woody1957]

3 hours ago, Kiwi said:

I'd still love to gig  if I could play music I liked and the crowd  enjoyed but opportunities are few and far between where I am.  It's hard to find musicians who are interested in the same kind of music, almost all the ones I know are into metal or cheesy C-pop acoustic ballads.

I feel very happy and fortunate in my very mature age to be with a band who all get on really well, are really accomplished musicians with a top singer, play great soul/Motown music, have our own small but powerful PA which our sax player owns and likes to set up himself and we go out regularly twice a month, 3 times at a push. I have a rig which is light weight and a lovely collection of basses I can choose from. We play gigs that are a maximum of an hour from home and I'm usually back in for 1.00am nursing a beer or a single malt. Life is good but I have to admit, the only downside is I'm walking about like Tin Man for a couple of hours next morning.....small price to pay though.

[ubit]

9 hours ago, Muzz said:

I'm right handed and left footed. On the few occasions I've picked up a golf bat, I've never thought that... 😕

  I don’t see what your religion has to do with it. 

[Newfoundfreedom]

Another one under the belt last night. 

 

Turned up at the bar we were supposed to be playing and the place was tiny. Maybe 6 or 7 tables in the whole place. Then we were told we would be playing outside. No problem usually. Nice little courtyard or beer garden. I'm well up for that. Nope. This was out on the pavement next to a main road. So as we were supporting another band and didn't want to let them down we dutifully set up. 

 

Where do we get power? The owner points to a plug socket under a table just inside the door. Great. So now we have to run about 40 feet of cable ( luckily we had the foresight to bring a few extension cables) through the main door, down a flight of stairs and straight across the main path to the outdoor seating, with no way of protecting it from Joe public. 

 

We finally got set up and had about an hour to wait before playing, at which point we realised one of the guys that the other band had brought with them was a total and utter shouty, obnoxious bell end and was already half cut when he got there. Cue another 45 minutes of alternating between trying to avoid said bell end, and trying not to punch his lights out.

 

Then we get on "stage" ( I use the term very loosely ) at the agreed start time of 8pm and were asked to wait half an hour until more people arrived. At this point I absolutely lost my sh#t and said I'm either playing now or I'm not playing at all. Not my fault if people can't be bothered to turn up on time for a gig that's been advertised for weeks.

In the end I begrudgingly agreed to compromise and wait 15 minutes. 

 

We then played an hour set to about 2 dozen people, with drunken bell end shouting at the band all the way through it. 

 

Oh and all this happened in temperature well above 30°c.

 

Ask me again why I hate gigging. 🙄

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

30 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Ask me again why I hate gigging. 🙄

More to the point, why do you continue to do it if you hate it that much?

[Newfoundfreedom]

20 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

More to the point, why do you continue to do it if you hate it that much?

 

Because I really enjoy hanging out with my friends and making music. Gigging is just a necessary evil which makes the rest of it possible. 

[ubit]

3 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

Because I really enjoy hanging out with my friends and making music. Gigging is just a necessary evil which makes the rest of it possible. 

 

 

Sorry mate but that example you described is far from normal. We have all had nights like that but it's the good ones that make up for it. I certainly can look back and laugh at some of the situations we have found ourselves in over the years.

[chris_b]

2 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Ask me again why I hate gigging.

 

You can't blame all gigs because you encountered a bad one. I've done crap gigs, places that I will refuse to go back to and played people I'll never play with again, but those are the exceptions.

[Newfoundfreedom]

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 

You can't blame all gigs because you encountered a bad one. I've done crap gigs, places that I will refuse to go back to and played people I'll never play with again, but those are the exceptions.

 

It wasn't my first gig. 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

Because I really enjoy hanging out with my friends and making music. Gigging is just a necessary evil which makes the rest of it possible. 

Just think of every gig as an adventure where the unexpected can happen at any time.

Sometimes the challenges you overcome can make the night a better experience when you know you've won over adversity.

Once i start playing i generally enjoy it no matter what i've had to put up with to get on stage.

I would have to say that the other singer being a TW*T would be a punch in the head response from me. I wont accept that from another musician who should know better. PS I'm not a violent disposition, i just have respect for others.

I guess i just like playing in bands so its worth it for me. Obviously its not your fav part of being in a band. That's fine we all have different views on being in bands and we all share our experiences and thoughts on it. There's no right or wrong attitude to it.

Hope it picks up for you and better more organised gigs appear that you can turn up, plug in and just enjoy. Its why i enjoy the punk band so much, its just so simple compared to the Glam band with costumes and full PA's etc. Punk band turns up with a vocal PA and backline with a few lights. Job done and paid at the end too.

Dave

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by dmccombe7

[chris_b]

14 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

It wasn't my first gig. 

 

OK, you've got to start being more selective.

[Newfoundfreedom]

48 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Just think of every gig as an adventure where the unexpected can happen at any time.

Sometimes the challenges you overcome can make the night a better experience when you know you've won over adversity.

Once i start playing i generally enjoy it no matter what i've had to put up with to get on stage.

I would have to say that the other singer being a TW*T would be a punch in the head response from me. I wont accept that from another musician who should know better. PS I'm not a violent disposition, i just have respect for others.

I guess i just like playing in bands so its worth it for me. Obviously its not your fav part of being in a band. That's fine we all have different views on being in bands and we all share our experiences and thoughts on it. There's no right or wrong attitude to it.

Hope it picks up for you and better more organised gigs appear that you can turn up, plug in and just enjoy. Its why i enjoy the punk band so much, its just so simple compared to the Glam band with costumes and full PA's etc. Punk band turns up with a vocal PA and backline with a few lights. Job done and paid at the end too.

Dave

 

 

It wasn't the other singer. It was a friend of one of the other band. To be fair I shouldn't let people like that get to me, but I had to deal with ar$eholes like that every night for years when I worked on the doors. My patience for them now is almost none existent. I moved here to get away from people like that. Unfortunately being in a gigging band puts me right back in the firing line. Thankfully it's not a regular occurrence. The Bulgarians don't have the same drinking culture as the British and are generally impeccably well behaved and genuinely appreciative of live music. Unfortunately, the odd British immigrant occasionally slips through the net. If someone's being a d#ck, it's almost always a Brit. 

[dmccombe7]

11 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

It wasn't the other singer. It was a friend of one of the other band. To be fair I shouldn't let people like that get to me, but I had to deal with ar$eholes like that every night for years when I worked on the doors. My patience for them now is almost none existent. I moved here to get away from people like that. Unfortunately being in a gigging band puts me right back in the firing line. Thankfully it's not a regular occurrence. The Bulgarians don't have the same drinking culture as the British and are generally impeccably well behaved and genuinely appreciative of live music. Unfortunately, the odd British immigrant occasionally slips through the net. If someone's being a d#ck, it's almost always a Brit. 

OK take your point.

Dave

[Woody1957]

8 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Another one under the belt last night. 

 

Turned up at the bar we were supposed to be playing and the place was tiny. Maybe 6 or 7 tables in the whole place. Then we were told we would be playing outside. No problem usually. Nice little courtyard or beer garden. I'm well up for that. Nope. This was out on the pavement next to a main road. So as we were supporting another band and didn't want to let them down we dutifully set up. 

 

Where do we get power? The owner points to a plug socket under a table just inside the door. Great. So now we have to run about 40 feet of cable ( luckily we had the foresight to bring a few extension cables) through the main door, down a flight of stairs and straight across the main path to the outdoor seating, with no way of protecting it from Joe public. 

 

We finally got set up and had about an hour to wait before playing, at which point we realised one of the guys that the other band had brought with them was a total and utter shouty, obnoxious bell end and was already half cut when he got there. Cue another 45 minutes of alternating between trying to avoid said bell end, and trying not to punch his lights out.

 

Then we get on "stage" ( I use the term very loosely ) at the agreed start time of 8pm and were asked to wait half an hour until more people arrived. At this point I absolutely lost my sh#t and said I'm either playing now or I'm not playing at all. Not my fault if people can't be bothered to turn up on time for a gig that's been advertised for weeks.

In the end I begrudgingly agreed to compromise and wait 15 minutes. 

 

We then played an hour set to about 2 dozen people, with drunken bell end shouting at the band all the way through it. 

 

Oh and all this happened in temperature well above 30°c.

 

Ask me again why I hate gigging. 🙄

Playing on the pavement? Really! I would have told them where to shove it, loaded my gear back in the car (in truth l wouldn't have got it out having seen the set up) and then l would have waved goodbye, phoned my good lady Mrs Woody to ask her which takeaway curry she wanted and to get netflix ready for my return...cosy night in! Sorry but would never put up with that sh@t

[AndyTravis]

I’m out. 
 

just played at an outdoor do in Blackburn.

 

was an absolute hoot.

[Geek99]

5 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

My patience for them now is almost none existent. I moved here to get away from people like that. 

Sadly you’ll have to go further than Bulgaria, even it’s rarer… that’s just some humans you’re discussing there. I’ve been to a lot of countries and dic&s are to be found everywhere 

 

antarctica perhaps, 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Geek99