I Hate Gigging!

[Newfoundfreedom]

11 hours ago, Geek99 said:

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, 

 

Sadly you are correct. Although as I said, they're much rarer here. I've been here over 7 years and never had a single problem with a native Bulgarian. Expats on the other hand. 🙄

[Machines]

Just had a gig cancelled because we, a support act - were unwilling to let 2 other bands use our equipment (meaning we'd have to hang around until the end and have other plans). The headline band doesn't even have a drumkit and the other band has no guitar amps.

 

Got a salty reply from the promoter (who asked us with 5 days notice to do so, but didn't ask the other bands in advance if they could even gig)

 

"This is official notice that this gig is cancelled. 

Sorry guys, this might be the first time I’ve ever had to pull a gig because none of the acts could provide backline! Big thanks to <removed> for kindly saying that they could share the bass amp, really appreciate the co-operation, especially from the opening act. 
If the sales were better I’d have no problem hiring in but as it stands, they are not. 

Unfortunate, but nothing else we can do."

 

 

[dmccombe7]

14 minutes ago, Machines said:

Just had a gig cancelled because we, a support act - were unwilling to let 2 other bands use our equipment (meaning we'd have to hang around until the end and have other plans). The headline band doesn't even have a drumkit and the other band has no guitar amps.

 

Got a salty reply from the promoter (who asked us with 5 days notice to do so, but didn't ask the other bands in advance if they could even gig)

 

"This is official notice that this gig is cancelled. 

Sorry guys, this might be the first time I’ve ever had to pull a gig because none of the acts could provide backline! Big thanks to <removed> for kindly saying that they could share the bass amp, really appreciate the co-operation, especially from the opening act. 
If the sales were better I’d have no problem hiring in but as it stands, they are not. 

Unfortunate, but nothing else we can do."

 

 

Had a 30min support slot earlier this year where headline band wanted to use our backline and like you i said NO. The gig went ahead with headline band using the venue's own backline. Not the best of drums or bass amp but it does the job. My attitude was that i have no idea who the bass player is and how he treats his gear so i'm not letting some idiot use my £3k bass rig. I'm fine with bass players i know using my gear. I also didn't want to hang about till 12pm listening to a band i wasn't really a fan off and then having to load up my gear.

Also had a request to support SLF who were coming over from Ireland and wanted to use our gear. I again said no and the promoter should be supplying the backline for SLF not the support band. That gig never happened. Think the promoter was a bit of a chancer.

Dave

[Woody1957]

1 hour ago, Machines said:

Just had a gig cancelled because we, a support act - were unwilling to let 2 other bands use our equipment (meaning we'd have to hang around until the end and have other plans). The headline band doesn't even have a drumkit and the other band has no guitar amps.

Absolute farce and total embarrassment that a band headlining a gig doesn't have their own gear.......

When we headline we always allow the support to use our gear if needed not the other way around.

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

 

Also had a request to support SLF who were coming over from Ireland and wanted to use our gear. I again said no and the promoter should be supplying the backline for SLF not the support band. That gig never happened. Think the promoter was a bit of a chancer.

Dave

Yes Henry’s XSLF travel with minimal gear, guitar, bass, picks & sticks, bands unwilling to lend backline either get put first on the bill or if only two bands don’t get asked to play at all. They’re actually a decent bunch of guys, very respectful of the gear they use, but like anything if you don’t know them why take the chance. 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

7 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yes Henry’s XSLF travel with minimal gear, guitar, bass, picks & sticks, bands unwilling to lend backline either get put first on the bill or if only two bands don’t get asked to play at all. They’re actually a decent bunch of guys, very respectful of the gear they use, but like anything if you don’t know them why take the chance. 

I can understand them wanting to reduce overheads by not lugging back line over from Ireland, but I thinks it’s a bit much to expect the bands they are asking to support them to provide it for them, presumably with no financial incentive to do so. ‘Let us use your back line or you don’t get the gig’ is like some bizarre form of musical blackmail, no matter how decent and respectful they might be.

[dmccombe7]

10 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yes Henry’s XSLF travel with minimal gear, guitar, bass, picks & sticks, bands unwilling to lend backline either get put first on the bill or if only two bands don’t get asked to play at all. They’re actually a decent bunch of guys, very respectful of the gear they use, but like anything if you don’t know them why take the chance. 

I was new to the punk band but the other members did say they were a decent bunch of guys but the nature of punk in my head just told me NO. I've since realised that the many punk bands i've met since have all been no different to any other genre of music i've played in. Most are decent and appreciative with occasional idiots thrown in. Since joining the punk band i'm now a big fan of SLF bass player. I really like what he does. Terrific tone on the early songs. Believe he used a Guild bass.

Dave 

[dmccombe7]

7 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I can understand them wanting to reduce overheads by not lugging back line over from Ireland, but I thinks it’s a bit much to expect the bands they are asking to support them to provide it for them, presumably with no financial incentive to do so. ‘Let us use your back line or you don’t get the gig’ is like some bizarre form of musical blackmail, no matter how decent and respectful they might be.

I had forgotten about the other bit but they also wanted us to provide the full PA. Our drummer who has toured some major venues across UK and Europe ie Wembley Arena has the full QSC PA with a combination of different cabs depending on venue size up to 1000 audience sized gigs. After that its a hired PA. 

I think the promoter was just a chancer cause he wanted the use of the full PA plus our backline and lights for our nominal fee of £300. We just said no.

Dave

Edited June 28, 2022 by dmccombe7

[Kiwi]

17 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I had forgotten about the other bit but they also wanted us to provide the full PA. Our drummer who has toured some major venues across UK and Europe ie Wembley Arena has the full QSC PA with a combination of different cabs depending on venue size up to 1000 audience sized gigs. After that its a hired PA. 

I think the promoter was just a chancer cause he wanted the use of the full PA plus our backline and lights for our nominal fee of £300. We just said no.

Dave

For how much bands are getting paid, the promoter is taking a bit more than a chance.  If they can't be professional then they can't be taken seriously IMO. The one and only time I agreed to loan my backline the following band's bassist dialled everything up to 10.  They weren't even punk,  just some indie rock thing. That was the last time. 

 

 

[Franticsmurf]

3 hours ago, Machines said:

The headline band doesn't even have a drumkit and the other band has no guitar amps.

I've never come across a situation where the bands don't even have the equipment necessary to play a gig. It's one thing to share kit to make things easier for everyone (and, rightly, not everyone is willing to do that). But to not have the equipment in the first place is embarrassing. I've shared and borrowed backline and PA in the past but in every case I or the other bands have had our own equipment available and it's just been down to convenience and/or timing. 

[Lozz196]

57 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I was new to the punk band but the other members did say they were a decent bunch of guys but the nature of punk in my head just told me NO. I've since realised that the many punk bands i've met since have all been no different to any other genre of music i've played in. Most are decent and appreciative with occasional idiots thrown in. Since joining the punk band i'm now a big fan of SLF bass player. I really like what he does. Terrific tone on the early songs. Believe he used a Guild bass.

Dave 

Yes, that was Ali McCordie, he`s currently in the "real" Stiff Little Fingers with Jake Burns (and currently uses a Stingray), whereas Henrys XSLF is Henry Cluney & Jim Reilly from SLFs Nobody`s Hero era, with Avi on bass (who is a monster bassist btw).

[Lozz196]

We only ever relied on other bands gear once when we were the headliners. We were asked to do a one-off gig in Munich, and there were two other bands on tour in that neck of the woods so it was arranged by the promoter to use their gear rather than us drive all the way there with our backline - it`s a very long way to Munich, and we weren`t quite big enough to command a fee that would cover that kind of expense. The gig was packed out so worked well for all bands, with plenty of merch sales all round. We would have bought them beers to say thanks but being a gig in Germany more beer was provided than the three bands could drink anyway.

[chris_b]

...

Edited June 28, 2022 by chris_b

[dmccombe7]

44 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

I've never come across a situation where the bands don't even have the equipment necessary to play a gig. It's one thing to share kit to make things easier for everyone (and, rightly, not everyone is willing to do that). But to not have the equipment in the first place is embarrassing. I've shared and borrowed backline and PA in the past but in every case I or the other bands have had our own equipment available and it's just been down to convenience and/or timing. 

Think the guy was trying to set up a gig on his own and had the chance to get SLF but their contract stated PA, lights and backline to be provided. This guy knew we had a decent PA and good backline gear and thought he would chance his arm. The whole thing fell thru when we said no. He waffled a bit and said he would then supply a PA and try and get some backline for SLF. Never heard from him again and the gig never happened on the date he said.

Maybe he wasn't a promoter and more a punter trying to set up an SLF gig. Maybe he just didn't know how things worked. I'll never know.

Dave

[Crusoe]

4 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

 

Also had a request to support SLF who were coming over from Ireland and wanted to use our gear. I again said no and the promoter should be supplying the backline for SLF not the support band. That gig never happened. Think the promoter was a bit of a chancer.

Dave

Had they been playing over here? I don't think any of SLF live here now. I think Jake Burns lives in USA. Ali McMordie may live here or possibly England. I would say Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley probably both live in England. That reminds me, I must see if there are any tickets left to see them in Belfast in August.

[TimR]

We have a band get together with instruments tonight. Won't be a practice or rehearsal as we don't have a gig lined up. But will hopefully be allowed to show the guitarist how his PA works following our gig two weeks ago when I found out he just puts the main mix back through the monitors. Which is somewhat less than ideal for outdoor gigs. 

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Crusoe said:

Had they been playing over here? I don't think any of SLF live here now. I think Jake Burns lives in USA. Ali McMordie may live here or possibly England. I would say Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley probably both live in England. That reminds me, I must see if there are any tickets left to see them in Belfast in August.

I've no idea TBH, i just assumed they were still in Ireland.

Dave

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, Crusoe said:

Had they been playing over here? I don't think any of SLF live here now. I think Jake Burns lives in USA. Ali McMordie may live here or possibly England. I would say Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley probably both live in England. That reminds me, I must see if there are any tickets left to see them in Belfast in August.

 

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I've no idea TBH, i just assumed they were still in Ireland.

Dave

It would have been XSLF, the “other half” of the original band. SLF are still playing the bigger venues like The Roundhouse& O2 Academies with in-house PAs and their own full backlines, whereas XSLF are doing the smaller venues and rely on the local bands to provide the backlines (and sometimes PAs).

[dmccombe7]

21 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

 

It would have been XSLF, the “other half” of the original band. SLF are still playing the bigger venues like The Roundhouse& O2 Academies with in-house PAs and their own full backlines, whereas XSLF are doing the smaller venues and rely on the local bands to provide the backlines (and sometimes PAs).

You're right enough now that i see the XSLF.

Dave

[theplumber]

I played with the band that Dave is now in,Emergency Exit. A few years ago we got a gig to suppert The Angelic Upstarts at a venue in Paisley. The backline,PA and sound guy were all provided. It was a very busy night indeed! The only thing we did not get was money! The band had been asked to play a few months before the gig and had agreed to a fee for playing the one hour support slot! About a week before the gig we got told it was just about to be cancelled as the venue had changed owners and the new owners were not able or willing to pay the Angelic Upstarts fee.As a result they managed to work something out with the band and the gig was able to go ahead. The downside was that we were told our fee was out the window. fair enough these things happen.Some of the band including me were happy to sit it out but the singer of our band bless her,was a massive fan of The Upstarts and was on the phone begging us to do the gig ! She is such a sweetheart we agreed to do it. It was an ok gig but we did have a decent  wee night and got some pro shots of the band from a photographer! As for The Angelics......I never heard them as I was on my way home up the M8!. 

[Lozz196]

Sadly Mensi passed away due to COVID. Although I wasn’t a real fan of the band they were very good live, and despite his somewhat fearsome reputation he had a really dry wit on stage.

[dmccombe7]

11 minutes ago, theplumber said:

I played with the band that Dave is now in,Emergency Exit. A few years ago we got a gig to suppert The Angelic Upstarts at a venue in Paisley. The backline,PA and sound guy were all provided. It was a very busy night indeed! The only thing we did not get was money! The band had been asked to play a few months before the gig and had agreed to a fee for playing the one hour support slot! About a week before the gig we got told it was just about to be cancelled as the venue had changed owners and the new owners were not able or willing to pay the Angelic Upstarts fee.As a result they managed to work something out with the band and the gig was able to go ahead. The downside was that we were told our fee was out the window. fair enough these things happen.Some of the band including me were happy to sit it out but the singer of our band bless her,was a massive fan of The Upstarts and was on the phone begging us to do the gig ! She is such a sweetheart we agreed to do it. It was an ok gig but we did have a decent  wee night and got some pro shots of the band from a photographer! As for The Angelics......I never heard them as I was on my way home up the M8!. 

She's such a nice person you just dont want to say no and disappoint her. 🥰

I remember you guys talking about that gig. When it first kicked off you were all quite excited and then it faded a bit.  

Dave

[theplumber]

11 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

She's such a nice person you just dont want to say no and disappoint her. 🥰

I remember you guys talking about that gig. When it first kicked off you were all quite excited and then it faded a bit.  

Dave

Well she did start off nice then said she might kill me if I didn't agree to do it..lol

[dmccombe7]

49 minutes ago, theplumber said:

Well she did start off nice then said she might kill me if I didn't agree to do it..lol

Aye that describes her very well and you just know she has the professional knowhow to do it. 

Dave

[Downunderwonder]

16 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I had forgotten about the other bit but they also wanted us to provide the full PA. Our drummer who has toured some major venues across UK and Europe ie Wembley Arena has the full QSC PA with a combination of different cabs depending on venue size up to 1000 audience sized gigs. After that its a hired PA. 

I think the promoter was just a chancer cause he wanted the use of the full PA plus our backline and lights for our nominal fee of £300. We just said no.

Dave

Any chance you could hire a club yourselves and get the Irish over on your own account? That'd learn him.