Load ins from hell...

[Leonard Smalls]

18 minutes ago, SICbass said:

So, I have to know now. Did you go through the same rigmarole in reverse?

I did.. Though having done it once I knew that I'd have to remove assorted gubbins, I'd already altered the porch and I got a block and tackle attached to the ceiling joists, which were handily 8" ones. So it was relatively straight forward for 3 of us, especially as my mum was moving to a bungalow!

Many years ago I was a removals man, so I've done my fair share of piano moves, but that Pfieffer was the heaviest by far; taking a baby grand up 5 flights of stairs was child's play in comparison! I remember moving house when I was 14, and my dad wouldn't get any help, or a tail-lift for the Luton he hired. So the 2 of us lowered it out using seatbelts with my 13 year old sister steadying it!

[Kiwi]

We once had a gig at the top of the Gherkin (aka St Mary's Axe) in the City of London. The load in consisted of driving into the basement and lugging the PA and other stuff into the service elevator and it took multiple lift journeys to get everything to the top. Half way up we had to change lifts as for building code reasons, lifts aren't supposed to go higher than a certain number of floors. So we had to lug everything out of the first lift and into the second, which as a walk around the other side of the central lift cluster. THAT lift then only reached one floor lower than the place we were actually playing in. So everything had to be hauled up one more flight of stairs to the roof space. And the acoustics were terrible. An all glass dome meant frequencies were bouncing around like demented chimpanzees.  Nice views though.

Then, at the end of the gig, we had to do it all again but this time in reverse.

[pete.young]

Oh yeah, forgot about the revolving door in the Kings Hall, Herne Bay. I went round with my upright bass 3 times and ended up on my back on the floor of the lobby with the bass on top of me. Much to the amusement of the door staff.

[MacDaddy]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Not strictly a load-in, though I still remember the Edward's no.8 experience, but I had to get my mum's piano into the house she'd just moved to. So it was up 3 steps from the road - just about fitted through the door but the previous owner had built a little interior porch, which I had to dismantle. I'd wisely hired piano movers but there were only 2 of them - one my sort of size and the other was enormous, which was most helpful for what was to come.

We got into the living room, when my mum said "it needs to go upstairs" (she's a piano teacher so wanted to give lessons in the spare bedroom). Now this was no ordinary piano, it was an oak Pfieffer overstrung with oversized cast iron frame and weighed close to 400kgs... And it didn't fit the staircase, though once I'd taken the stair-rail off it did, just. Luckily, I reasoned that it wouldn't go round the right angle at the top, even if tipped on its end so I took off the banisters just in case. I put a climbing rope underneath it, we lifted and the enormous bloke got under too, while me and the other chap heaved and pulled it onto the landing. 

Strangely, when my mum moved house again a few years later that piano moving firm no longer existed!

[arthurhenry]

10 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

O'Neill's in Wardour Street was a nightmare. No parking, wardens everywhere. Had to dump the gear, leave a couple of the chaps to keep an eye on/load it in, drive off and look for parking (usually ended up somewhere near Warren Street) and walk all the way back. Then the same in reverse at the end of the night.

Have done that one many times. You forgot to mention the three flights of steps and the stink from the back of the Chinese restaurant in the corridor.

[chris_b]

A guitarist I know played in Wandsworth Prison. The warders had to double check all the unpacked gear and then search the band, on the way in and out again.

[KevB]

2 hours ago, Raslee said:

This one, twice in a month - 7 piece functions band, lots of gear/lights, 133 steps and no lift, in the hurricane wind and rain. Oh, and the occasional landslide.....I took a brief hiatus after that month.

I give you - ‘Lusty Glaze’ - Cornwall....looks can be deceiving 😱

Did a wedding gig here some years back. Those 133 steps are concrete and frequently quite a deep step down each one, guaranteed to catch flightcases on various body parts etc. Wouldnt do it again unless roadies were part of the deal.

[arthurhenry]

There's only one flight of steps at the back of the Inn on the Wye in Goodrich, Herefordshire, however, each step is approx 3 inches high and the same deep,  making it a nightmare to carry heavy gear up and down.

[musicbassman]

[dave_bass5]

We used to play The Brahms and Liszt in Covent Garden. While technically not a hard get in, just down some stair in to the basement, there was no other entrance, so we would have to get all the gear and through through a packed crowd. Not so bad getting in, but at 1am when th place was heaving and drunk, it was a nightmare. I used to hate doing that gig. 

[dave_bass5]

On 23/12/2019 at 10:00, Silvia Bluejay said:

You may also remember The Victoria Club in Aylesbury. No legal parking in front of the club, and the hall is up two flights of stairs, requiring a quick load into the entrance hall downstairs - while keeping an eye on parking wardens - followed by carrying everything up the stairs. Same in reverse at the end of the night.  *shivers*

Is that the place thats in the corner of a town square? The name rings a bell and its the only one i can remember having to go upstairs to. Luckily the first time we played it we had just got our new powered PA speakers so getting in and out wasnt as bad as if we had still been using the old Peavy's. But yes, parking was just silly. 

[Lozz196]

16 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

We used to play The Brahms and Liszt in Covent Garden. While technically not a hard get in, just down some stair in to the basement, there was no other entrance, so we would have to get all the gear and through through a packed crowd. Not so bad getting in, but at 1am when th place was heaving and drunk, it was a nightmare. I used to hate doing that gig. 

That’s one of the worst situations, a load out through the drunkards, never an easy task.

[dave_bass5]

Just now, Lozz196 said:

That’s one of the worst situations, a load out through the drunkards, never an easy task.

Indeed, and even if they could move, they were packed in so tight there was nowhere to move to. Our guitarist would just barge through them. Lucky we never had a situation. 

[Silvia Bluejay]

17 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Is that the place thats in the corner of a town square? The name rings a bell and its the only one i can remember having to go upstairs to. Luckily the first time we played it we had just got our new powered PA speakers so getting in and out wasnt as bad as if we had still been using the old Peavy's. But yes, parking was just silly. 

Yup it is! We played there the first time when @Happy Jack was depping with a band who only did old-school, big, very heavy equipment. We played there again a few times with The Junkyard Dogs, every time putting lighter and lighter gear in the van, knowing what expected us. Then we stopped bothering to get gigs there.

[MacDaddy]

2 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

That’s one of the worst situations, a load out through the drunkards, never an easy task.

add a slippery beer drenched floor with broken glass and an occasional fight happening while trying to load out, and that was a pub @Silvia Bluejay is just about to remind me name of...

 

[Silvia Bluejay]

The by now Basschat-infamous White Hart in Hemel!

[MacDaddy]

Just now, Silvia Bluejay said:

The by now Basschat-infamous White Hart in Hemel!

that's the fella!

[Silvia Bluejay]

Having said that, the load-in was OK compared to most of what's been described here!

[Happy Jack]

4 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

Having said that, the load-in was OK compared to most of what's been described here!

I do like it when the pub has a private, locked car park just for the band. Big shout-out to The Goat in Berkhamsted.

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

add a slippery beer drenched floor with broken glass and an occasional fight happening while trying to load out, and that was a pub @Silvia Bluejay is just about to remind me name of...

 

 

1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

The by now Basschat-infamous White Hart in Hemel!

 

1 hour ago, MacDaddy said:

that's the fella!

 

1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

Having said that, the load-in was OK compared to most of what's been described here!

Was my local for years, pretty accurate description all round methinks.

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

Yup it is! We played there the first time when @Happy Jack was depping with a band who only did old-school, big, very heavy equipment. We played there again a few times with The Junkyard Dogs, every time putting lighter and lighter gear in the van, knowing what expected us. Then we stopped bothering to get gigs there.

Dont blame you. I also remember the toilets having a step up in to the room. Quite amusing watching  people trip up it lol. 

[spike]

7 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Dont blame you. I also remember the toilets having a step up in to the room. Quite amusing watching  people trip up it lol. 

Ha! I've tripped up that step myself. On the other hand, the last two times I've played there I've been lucky enough to snag a parking space in the square. Those stairs up to the first floor are a killer though.

[taunton-hobbit]

On 23/12/2019 at 20:42, Mykesbass said:

Did hear a very funny story about getting a hammond b3 on and off the Renfrew Ferry

I used to work for a shop that cut Hammonds in half, for the likes of Georgie Fame & others.

😎

[Mykesbass]

58 minutes ago, taunton-hobbit said:

I used to work for a shop that cut Hammonds in half, for the likes of Georgie Fame & others.

😎

Surprised the roadcrew didn't do the same with this one. Get in up long, narrow gangway, then of course, get out was at low tide, so all the way up once again.

[Krysbass]

During a tenure with an originals band I played gigs at 3 different venues within Manchester’s Northern quarter.

I remain astonished that this part of the city has managed to amass a reputation for live music, where some iconic bands cut their teeth, given that parking close to any of the venues to unload or reload gear was so difficult.

In fact, it was this combined with once having to stump up around £16 to park in a multi-storey for the evening that was the final straw in my decision to ditch the notion of originals bands in favour of local covers bands and the comparative luxury of free car-parking right outside the Dog and Duck etc.