Residency. Kind of. Who has done one, pros and cons?

[Paul S]

My blues rock trio have been offered one gig a month throughout 2023 at our favourite pub and we have accepted.  Obviously flattered, at first we hesitated but, discussing it, we couldn't actually flag up too many cons whereas the pros were tumbling around freely.  It is a big commitment on both our parts but potentially win/win.  And, of course, not set in stone so we, or the pub, could change it if required.

 

Being genre specific like this we struggle to go down well in the 'average' pub band environment.  Playing where we know we go down well once a month kind of takes a huge pressure off trying to find gigs.  They say we are the best band they have had so want us to play there as much as possible.  People will know where to find us - 3rd Friday of the month, Toredown will be playing at the Shamrock.  Easy.  

 

A venue specific con, Load/unload is OK but parking nearby is a problem. 

Will people get bored?  Up to us to make sure they don't I guess.  Keeping the set fresh with new songs - a responsibility lies with us to learn new material but I think of this as both a pro and a con.

It's possible we might lose out on other gigs but the regularity of those in the diary would make up for it.

 

Has anyone done this and can flag up potential pitfalls?

 

[bertbass]

I've done it and thought it might be detrimental but it worked out OK.  As you say, keep the set fresh and you should build up an audience.

[Mykesbass]

Had this with a band, a stripped down, semi acoustic gig every month. Do try and have a lot of material, but surprisingly, many punters like familiarity and would ask us for songs we hadn't played that particular month.

[Lozz196]

Did one in a past band, last Monday of the month for 3 months. In other words a night when no-one had any money and even if they did were unlikely to be spending it on a Monday. 3rd Fri in the month isn’t that bad, I’d say yes to that.

[toneknob]

We did a once-a-month gig at a local pub, we were pretty niche anyway and getting another couple of bands to appear on the same night soon became troublesome - even with backline and soundman supplied.

 

The contentious part was charging on the door - I saw people turn up for a pint, see they had to pay a few quid to get in, then turn around and head elsewhere. My feeling was that it should be free to get in - punters turning up with the added bonus of free bands playing would have been brought in more beer money than was lost to those turning away.

 

 

[Franticsmurf]

We had a similar arrangement with two pubs. One booked us every 6 weeks weeks for about 18 months, the other was roughly every two months for a couple of years. I liked the familiarity and the certainty. We had enough material to vary the set, keeping a core of favourites to which we added as required. It was a good chance to try out new material on a known audience. Beware of becoming too complacent - it would have been too easy to treat them as easy gigs. We tried to approach them with the same attitude as other gigs, i.e. play well and we'll get another booking. One benefit was getting additional special occasion bookings at the same venue - Halloween and New Year's Eve were regulars even after we finished the residency. Another was getting bookings for private parties and functions from the regulars who saw us often. It looked good on our publicity, too. 

 

One downside was that we had very negative responses when trying to get gigs at other venues in the local areas of both residencies (which were themselves in different towns) which extended beyond the residency period. In one this was due to a rivalry between the venues themselves, we later discovered.  

 

Overall, I found it a positive experience and we gained more from it that we lost. 

 

Good luck. 😃

 

 

[Woodinblack]

We did one pub every month for a year and a half (then covid came along). It was handy in that it felt comfortable, it had people that knew us and we could try out new stuff in an familiar environment to see how they worked.

[Paul S]

7 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

Beware of becoming too complacent - it would have been too easy to treat them as easy gigs. We tried to approach them with the same attitude as other gigs, i.e. play well and we'll get another booking.

 

 

Good point :)

 

[BigRedX]

Is this for a covers or originals band?

 

If it's covers does it matter that you are doing the same set every month? Is your set even very different from all the other covers bands that play at the same pub? This isn't a criticism, just an observation that may make you realise that you are over-thinking it. As a punter, not being that interested in covers bands I only knowingly go and see them when one of the musicians involved is a friend of mine. The one go and see most often only vary one or two songs per gig and often the only difference since the last time I saw them is that one or two songs are in a different place in the sets.

 

If you're an originals band, then you can keep it interesting by inviting over bands to share the bill. Back in the early 80s Nottingham Avant-Garde Jazzers Pinski Zoo had a residence every Friday night The Heart Goodfellow pub. They would allow any band that came to see them and sat through the whole set (it could be challenging at times) to opportunity to play support at a later date. At the time it was the only weekend gig available for bands playing their own compositions so the was a lot of interest, and often the next available slot would be 2-3 months away.

 

I've been involved with something similar with "D!ck Venom Presents" where The Terrortones had a monthly Friday night residency at The Jam Café in Nottingham. In this case we'd put on reasonably well known garage rock and psychobilly bands and then play support. The benefits were three fold: the band would actually make money even after paying the headliners and cover expenses; it gave us the opportunity to try out new songs in front of a relatively sympathetic audience; we built up a very impressive "portfolio" of support gigs that we could use to impress promotors to get decent out of town gigs and supports. Before the band had to stop gigging we had built the evening up to the point where the Jam Café was hopelessly under-sized for the kinds audience being attracted, and also on several occasions we'd gone down better and had a bigger audience than the supposedly better-known headliners.

[Franticsmurf]

8 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

If it's covers does it matter that you are doing the same set every month?

For us it was as we were able to use the gigs as a showcase for what the band could do, and also over the residency period it meant we didn't get stale playing the same stuff all the time. (It happened later when the set list stagnated and was one reason I left the band. Comically, I depped for them several times over the following years and didn't have to learn any new songs. 🤣) But on the other hand, if the venue has booked you it's probably because they like what you do and so why do anything different? It might be worth chatting with the venue to see what they want. And, of course, judging what the punters want. 

[Paul S]

3 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

But on the other hand, if the venue has booked you it's probably because they like what you do and so why do anything different? It might be worth chatting with the venue to see what they want. And, of course, judging what the punters want. 

 

Another good point.  We are there next month so will have a chat. 

 

But there are no massive surprises, nothing we do is wildly different, anyway -  not reggae one minute, Black Sabbath the next (I've been in a band that really mixed it up like that) - all blues rock, which is a pretty broad church anyway.  Never slavish copies of recordings but there is plenty of room in the genre to interpret songs - so maybe a Howling Wolf song followed by a Freddy King song followed by a Hendrix song, but all played the way we play them.

[Franticsmurf]

As I said we were using the residency angle as a promotion of the band ('we're good enough to get a regular booking') so we would invite potential bookers to see us. If we knew there was a function gig on offer, our set would contain some function standards. Like you, nothing wildly different, but varied enough to showcase what we could do. As I recall (and it was a while ago) we got 4 or 5 wedding gigs, several birthday parties and quite a few pub bookings as a result. And one Christening! (The father saw us at the pub and asked us to play the post Christening party, everyone else on the guest list was blissfully unaware of what he'd booked until we kicked off with the pub set he'd specifically requested. He was not popular afterwards, apparently).    

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, Paul S said:

My blues rock trio have been offered one gig a month throughout 2023 at our favourite pub and we have accepted.  Obviously flattered, at first we hesitated but, discussing it, we couldn't actually flag up too many cons whereas the pros were tumbling around freely.  It is a big commitment on both our parts but potentially win/win.  And, of course, not set in stone so we, or the pub, could change it if required.

 

Being genre specific like this we struggle to go down well in the 'average' pub band environment.  Playing where we know we go down well once a month kind of takes a huge pressure off trying to find gigs.  They say we are the best band they have had so want us to play there as much as possible.  People will know where to find us - 3rd Friday of the month, Toredown will be playing at the Shamrock.  Easy.  

 

A venue specific con, Load/unload is OK but parking nearby is a problem. 

Will people get bored?  Up to us to make sure they don't I guess.  Keeping the set fresh with new songs - a responsibility lies with us to learn new material but I think of this as both a pro and a con.

It's possible we might lose out on other gigs but the regularity of those in the diary would make up for it.

 

Has anyone done this and can flag up potential pitfalls?

 

Paul - this is a very nice result, well done mate and, having seen you guys live, well deserved too!

 

I agree with you that it's a good idea to keep things fresh and not get complacent. Pubs will usually have their "regulars" and if punters get bored with your material, they probably won't keep quiet about the fact - I mean that's not my experience of the effect of alcohol on the regulars where we have residencies anyway! And learning new material will keep things from going stale for the band too.

 

Having a regular set of gigs is IMO the key currency for keeping any covers band motivated and tight. So definitely bank it, particularly as it's at your favourite venue.

[Elfrasho]

I did one for years at a local pub. It wasn't set in stone so we did miss a good few slots. Our repertoire was probably 50% more than a full set so tunes could be rotated plus we would add in the very occasional new tune, but to e honest you can only do a certain amount of rotating.... people love to hear the classics! 

 

[casapete]

I’ve done a fair number of residencies.

In my old function band we did the same bar every Wednesday evening for 15 years! As you

can imagine we became a bit of an institution in Hull city centre where a slightly older crowd than 

the usual weekend rabble kept us popular on the ‘old town’ pub run. We used the gig to

run new songs as well as providing a platform for prospective customers to come and see if

we’d be suitable for their wedding / event. Of course this could also sometimes backfire if

there was a rough crowd in or the band had a dep singer etc. The venue also got us in on

Tuesday nights too for a few years, which for an 8 piece band was a godsend when weekend 

gigs for us were thin on the ground. 

 

I currently have a monthly residency in a local pub with my acoustic duo, which is well attended

and great fun. The landlord has also bought another pub in the next village to where I live, and

has asked if we can do that one monthly too, so a couple of regular gigs is very welcome. He is

also great if we need to change the gig day due to our ‘main’ bands schedules conflicting, which

makes life a lot easier. These gigs are based on the audience requesting stuff, so no problem

with too much repetition of material - more like ‘how the hell can we do this....?!!’

 

I think for any residency it is key to strike the right balance between fresh material and some

of the stuff you’re mostly known for. After a few gigs I’m sure it will be evident how this ratio 

is best achieved. Hope it works well for you!

 

[Downunderwonder]

6 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

every month

That's just a regular gig.

 

A residency is when your band is THE band and you play every night there's music on stage. This happens at casinos or cruise ships. The venue is the whole draw and you are the musical wallpaper to a much larger degree than a pub.

 

The other kind of residency is you are weekly same night every week. You better be really good to pull that off.

[Mykesbass]

1 hour ago, Downunderwonder said:

That's just a regular gig.

 

A residency is when your band is THE band and you play every night there's music on stage. This happens at casinos or cruise ships. The venue is the whole draw and you are the musical wallpaper to a much larger degree than a pub.

 

The other kind of residency is you are weekly same night every week. You better be really good to pull that off.

Better tell the OP then.

[Dad3353]

A residency is also the term used when a band takes over a venue for the purposes of working out a set, a recording session, a concert or a forthcoming tour. Often with no audience, but sometimes with, so as to gauge reaction to the performance, or for filming/video/promotion. It can be as invasive as 24/7 for a few weeks..! Just sayin'; what's in a word, eh..?  

[chris_b]

In the early 70's I was in a band that played the same venue every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for about 8 months, playing Soul, R&B and current top 40 hits. I loved it. So did the audience!

 

In the 80's I did a weekly Sunday lunchtime at a pub in Camden. Then switched to the Friday night slot. That was for about 2 years each. We were a high energy Chuck Berry, Dave Edmonds boogie band. That band morphed into a Chicago blues band which played every Tuesday at a West Kensington blues venue.

 

Residencies are great. Play interesting songs with enough energy and humour and the audience won't notice that the set is the same as last week. The only cons to playing one gig a month is it's not 2 gigs a month!

[jazzyvee]

I played in a band for a couple of years who had a weekly residency in a pub a few miles from where I live. It was a complete variety of music covering mainly 50's, 60's and 70's mainly due to the age of the punters. Occasionally there were a few people turning up who sang more up to date songs.

Pros: I was still pretty new to being a regular band bass player so every week I was out of my comfort zone which helped develop my ears and read chord charts quickly, follow singers covering songs i'd never heard before. It exposed me to music I had never heard before. I found it quite a fun gig with less pressure to be on point with the recorded bass lines of any track. I just captured the vibe of it which in most cases was fine.

 

Cons: Sometimes it was quite a chore. It meant going to a pub every week which are places that I generally avoid., I don't like being around drunk people.

Enduring occasional inappropriate ignorant racial comments from some parts of the audience. Too much rock n roll and not enough soulful music. Having to refuse to play reggae because I knew the band would not sound authentic.

 

[Mykesbass]

42 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

not enough soulful music. 

 

Seems to be the way with most pub/club musos I've met. They either don't get it, or don't want to get it. It's ALWAYS the rock versions of Too Hard to Handle and Ain't No Love 😟

[gjones]

My band has a regular monthly gig at a large music bar in Edinburgh. I assume it's because we're a decent band that can be relied upon to turn up, as we've been on the go for years.

 

Most of the bands that play there have been gigging there for a long time.

 

The place feels like home, as we've been playing there regularly for at least the last 10 years.

 

Newer bands have a tendency to split up before the gig comes around,which leaves the booker in the lurch.

Edited October 24, 2022 by gjones

[Barking Spiders]

13 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

Seems to be the way with most pub/club musos I've met. They either don't get it, or don't want to get it. It's ALWAYS the rock versions of Too Hard to Handle and Ain't No Love 😟

Too darn right. I've heard no rock version of a classic soul tune that comes within a million miles of even being half as good. Whitesnake's Ain't No Love is overwrought compared to Bobby Bland's original version and The Black Crowes' take on the Otis classic just doesn't cut it. Just my 2 cents worth.

Worse still are the many pub bands workmanlike job of Mustang Sally. The Wilson Pickett version still sounds the best (even more so than Sir Mack Rice's original) but I've yet to year a pub band singer with the pipes to do it or any Soul classic justice. To sing Soul you need to have a great set. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Barking Spiders

[Crusoe]

21 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

Too darn right. I've heard no rock version of a classic soul tune that comes within a million miles of even being half as good. Whitesnake's Ain't No Love is overwrought compared to Bobby Bland's original version and The Black Crowes' take on the Otis classic just doesn't cut it. Just my 2 cents worth.

Worse still are the many pub bands workmanlike job of Mustang Sally. The Wilson Pickett version still sounds the best (even more so than Sir Mack Rice's original) but I've yet to year a pub band singer with the pipes to do it or any Soul classic justice. To sing Soul you need to have a great set. 

I often chuckle at the memory of a band in a Barcelona bar singing "Moostaaang Sallee..." 😄

[chris_b]

Do you include Jam nights?

 

I've been in the house band for one of those for the last 20 years. The first Monday of the month. Nothing wrong with a residency.

 

We had a troupe of drummers one night and a Didgeridoo player came for a couple of months. They were fine. The only down side is when someone turns up who doesn't know how to play the instrument or can't play with other musicians. Other than that it's all good fun.