Playing O'Neil's in Bristol

[Buddster]

Hi

Has anyone here played O'Neill's in Bristol that can share any tips? 

We're playing there next week. It's our first Bristol center gig (we're local Bristol band anyway) so even though we've done loads of gigs, it's a big one for us. 

Any tips on load in/out, setting up on the narrow stage, that sort of thing. 

Thanks in advance. 

[Burns-bass]

28 minutes ago, Buddster said:

Hi

Has anyone here played O'Neill's in Bristol that can share any tips? 

We're playing there next week. It's our first Bristol center gig (we're local Bristol band anyway) so even though we've done loads of gigs, it's a big one for us. 

Any tips on load in/out, setting up on the narrow stage, that sort of thing. 

Thanks in advance. 

The guitarist in my band has a residency there. Parking is a nightmare in Bristol centre (as I’m sure you know!).

 

The crowd in there can be very boisterous. He’s experienced fights, smashed glasses and bashed equipment. Just look after yourself and stay vigilant I guess.

[Dan Dare]

What Burns-bass said. It's been a few years (quite a few), but I used to play there in the early days of the Irish theme bar boom, when O'Neill's bars booked Irish music (my original/main instrument was the fiddle). It could be interesting. There was little to no stage or separation between punters and musicians back in the day, so when it got boisterous (which it did on occasion), it was a case of sauve qui peut. Sounds as if little has changed. I'd set your monitors up well in front of you to (hopefully) act as a barrier to the punters. Brizzle seems to be one big building site/pedestrian only zone these days. I played in another Bristol bar last autumn and we couldn't get that close had quite a schlepp from the vehicles to the venue.

[Belka]

I've played there 2 or 3 times - the last time being Easter weekend 2023. Both times the crowd were quite boisterous as Burns-bass says, but we didn't see any real trouble and when we played there were a couple of bouncers working. 

 

I quite enjoyed the gigs but parking is a nightmare. we had to park in some unloading bays in Marsh street across the road, then leave the gear in pub and drive to a multi-storey and park there, walk back to the pub, set up, play, and then the same in reverse order at the end of the night. 

 

The payment takes a few weeks to come through too but they always pay in the end and the manager is quite easy to get on with.