How was your gig last night?

[musicbassman]

A dep gig from hell last night.

Playing with a late 50's - early 60's band - I've played with them before and they're pretty OK with the material they do.

But last night they had a dep singer, and he was an elderly crooner, who told me proudly that he normally sung at care homes and used " a cassette player with backing tracks"

It was appalling. I was already a bit concerned when we did a soundcheck (don't really know why they bothered) and played a bit of 'Blue Suede Shoes' and instead of singing the word 'one' on the first beat of the bar ("Well it's one for the money" etc) he tried to sing with the word "Well" on the first beat of the bar...........

It didn't get any better. But in fairness, in some songs he started off in the same key as the band, so that was an occasional bonus.

The crowd was fairly well oiled and there was some polite applause after every number, but maybe that was just with sheer relief that the singer had managed to get to the end of the song.

At the end, the singer asked for my number as he "could sometimes do with a good bass player"  Unfortunately I forgot to give it to him.  🙂 👍

 

[Franticsmurf]

4 hours ago, tony_m said:

Welcome to village politics in Lincolnshire! 😆

And club politics in South Wales. 😃

[Woodinblack]

Mostly good gig. This was a halloween party about 30 miles away, which is far from us, but the pay was pretty good.

hard to find place, but easy to set up while we were there. This was the first gig we had done since the band almost split up, and there is still an undercurrent there. However, we played pretty well all night, and the crowd were friendly and happy. 5 minutes before our alloted time to finish the guitarist decided that was it for him as he had to get home so we didn't get to do an encore which was a shame, he says he is leaving in the new year so better start looking for another one, not bad going I guess as it is the same lineup since 2016.

All in all, not too bad though and at least the country roads are quieter at night

[Thor]

5 hours ago, neepheid said:

I miss gigging - we're half way through about 2 months off because 2 members went on epic long holidays back to back.  Next gig isn't until 25th Nov.  Good luck to everyone still out there performing while I sit on my hands

 

Hmmm, I get like that just having a weekend off, that itch just needs scratching!  Hence I’ve joined a second band and am hoping that 2023 will be busy, already have 28 gigs confirmed😊👍🏻

[Stub Mandrel]

Well my first gig in my hometown. I felt I  was rough but we went down a storm. One very strange song,  the drummer decided to experiment with a different drum patter for Radar Love. He thought we were put off by the unannounced chage (he'd seen a youtube video). Actually it was the fact he played at a tempo of about 230 instead of 175.  I think we broke the Guinness World Record for speed playing the song... I  didn't know I could play that fast!

[jimmyb625]

Shepherd's Bush Empire!

 

Brilliant evening, met some family down there and an imaginary internet friend, who I'd only ever spoken to as a part of Lee Sklar's clubhouse.

 

We're playing pretty well (although I did manage to find an online review which said we were terrible in Aberdeen. Hey ho) and we seem to be getting better each time. Tonightbreally seemed to gell well and I even managed to do a bit of "Dad" dancing, much to the amusement of the drummer!

 

The Barefaces one 10 with the TC head is proving to be astonishingly good, I had to turn it down on stage, as it was too loud! 🤣 Fortunately, it's only really there for a bit of extra monitoring, as most of the "sound" is generated via the bassrig pedal.

[stewblack]

Just back from a Bandeoke at a new venue. Quiet night but they've offered us a regular monthly slot. That's two venues, a couple more and this project will really show a return. 

The best thing is they're on Thursday and Sunday evenings so earning away from regular gig nights.

[casapete]

Just back from playing in Scarborough with my acoustic duo. It’s a cafe / restaurant on the harbour

side called The Lookout, only small but with a very appreciative audience. We play it on average 

about once a month or so, and it’s my favourite venue. Small PA engineered by the organiser who

happens to be a tidy bassist too, so I just rock up with a bass and combo.  Tonight I went back to

using my old Washburn AB20 - for the last few months I’ve been playing my little Ibanez - and I

really enjoyed getting back to a 34” scale bass. Just use a Fender Rumble as a monitor so it’s 

an easy load in /out. Tried just going ampless but due to the position of the PA cabs it’s not

quite enough for me to hear myself clearly so I don’t mind.

Next gig there is end of November, and we’ve been promised regular

nights into 2023 as well so happy days.

 

(Just added a pic of the view from the cafe balcony)

 

Edited November 2, 2022 by casapete

[jimmyb625]

Day 5 - The Leadmill, Sheffield

 

Quite rushed for soundcheck and an earlier start of 19.30, as opposed to the usual 20.00. 

 

There were a couple of moments of feedback from the system, as it did seem to be a difficult room. Aside from that, another great audience and we seemed to go down pretty well.

 

The drive home was pretty awful, lots and lots of rain, then fog and some monumental puddles on the road. Wasn't fun!

[NoRhino]

On 30/10/2022 at 08:45, gjones said:

Played two gigs this weekend.

 

First was with my brother in laws Blues band on Friday. His usual bassist was off to play in his other band, who were supporting The Damned down in London

 

Chris Agnew from the mighty Rezillos?

 

[gjones]

57 minutes ago, NoRhino said:

 

Yes Chris Agnew.

[jimmyb625]

Day 6 - O2 institute, Birmingham

 

Despite the initial dissapointment of finding out crowd-surfing wasn't allowed, we nontheless soldiered on with the gig.

 

During soundcheck, we experimented with an alternative line up, consisting of the drummer and me at the front of the stage, but for some reason, it wasn't thought to be the ideal setup, although we did manage to capture a few seconds of footage.

 

There's a rest day tomorrow, before heading across to Hull on Thursday and then down to Cardiff and the Southern dates.

 

 

 

[Bluewine]

Wow, not many gigs in October. We had a cool Halloween gig but we were cancelled due to double booking. There was also a change of venue ownership. We should talk about that.

 

Acoustic gig this weekend were back at The Motor.

 

She's Right I'm Left

Saturday November 5th, 5:30-8:30
The Harley Motor Restaurant& Bar
Milwaukee WI

 

Blue

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Wow, not many gigs in October. We had a cool Halloween gig but we were cancelled due to double booking. There was also a change of venue ownership. We should talk about that.

 

Acoustic gig this weekend were back at The Motor.

 

She's Right I'm Left

Saturday November 5th, 5:30-8:30
The Harley Motor Restaurant& Bar
Milwaukee WI

 

Blue

No amp Blue ?

Dave

[Staggering on]

Seven piece swing/Dixie "little big band" last night with a good crowd, not quite a full room but about 50 fans who were very appreciative. As usual two swing sets and then I switch to tenor banjo and a sax player takes over the bass parts on Bari and we do a set of trad/Dixieland. I had a few lapses of concentration but overall the band was really cooking and the crowd loved it, we have a loyal following and even had some new folks there as well. We must have done something right because someone in the audience left a $200 tip for the band, first time that has happened. Good playing, good crowd and extra money= good gig.😄

Photo was during set up, as usual I used the Boss WL-20 wireless for my bass and went straight into our Bose PA, easy to set up, no amp to lug and excellent sound and the Bose acts as monitor for the whole band.👍

 

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

45 minutes ago, Staggering on said:

We must have done something right because someone in the audience left a $200 tip for the band, first time that has happened. Good playing, good crowd and extra money= good gig.😄

 

Excellent!

 

Last gig I did they put a 'bucket' round (OK a beer glass...) that nearly doubled our fee.

[Bluewine]

13 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

No amp Blue ?

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

I do not use an amp for acoustic gigs. I walk in with my Gibson ES-335 or my German made Hofner Club bass and an instrument stand and DI right into the PA.   And not to rub it in, I don't drive to gigs anymore. The guys pick me up in the van.

 

How are you doing Dave?

 

Blue aka Daryl

[ricksterphil]

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Excellent!

 

Last gig I did they put a 'bucket' round (OK a beer glass...) that nearly doubled our fee.

I've gigged a couple of times in Castleford at The Lion and they've passed the bucket round so we got an extra £70 which was cool. 

[dmccombe7]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Hi Dave,

 

I do not use an amp for acoustic gigs. I walk in with my Gibson ES-335 or my German made Hofner Club bass and an instrument stand and DI right into the PA.   And not to rub it in, I don't drive to gigs anymore. The guys pick me up in the van.

 

How are you doing Dave?

 

Blue aka Daryl

You've got it made now Daryl, picked up by limo and no gear to lug around. Life doesn't get much better than that. Plus you get the best gigs 😀

Doing good over here. Gigs are picking up now and have a gig almost every weekend till Xmas. Not sure what gigs we have in 2023. I know we have a Xmas gig booked for next Xmas in 2023 with the Glam covers band. Punk band plays quite regularly maybe 1-2 gigs a month.

Busiest i've ever been in a band. Got to learn a few Xmas songs for the Glam band tho but that'll be easy enough 👍

Dave

[King Tut]

A late report on Tuesday’s gig in Coulson at the Tuesday Night Blues Club. This was a Del Bromham and Friends rather than a Stray gig. It didn’t get off to a great start when I belted my left hand pinkie loading my cab into a car. I immediately iced it and added some cocodamol to my man bag!

 

A nice jam free drive to the venue and quick set up and sound check. We had Simon Taylor doing the sound so a decent result in that department was a given!

 

I used my old AVRI Jazz procured from Old Horse Murphy of this parish into my Bugera and Schroeder 2 x 12.

 

We had a great night, decent crowd and went down a storm. Finger was painful but I soldiered on! Happy Daze!

 

Ouch!

 

Of course the electrics are fine!

 

 

the changing cupboard!

 

 

 

Job done!

 

[Lozz196]

That AVRI Jazz looks great

[Mickeyboro]

@King Tut I did that to my left index four years ago just before a gig. Has never got the feeling back in the tip. Hope you do better… 👇🏻  

Edited November 3, 2022 by Mickeyboro

[King Tut]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

That AVRI Jazz looks great

Thanks fella. It’s starting to get a bit roadworn in places!

[stewblack]

Had a Bandeoke last night. Usual suspects getting up to sing with us, some actually quite good singers, some apparently unfamiliar with the song they'd chosen.

Only a few songs I had to busk looking at the guitarist's hand for chord clues. Which wasn't the case at the previous Bandeoke where we played one song that no one in the band knew. Once you've successfully navigated that scenario nothing much can fase you.

Edited November 4, 2022 by stewblack

[CJPJ]

The Alternators opened the first night at the Teddington Beer Festival last night -2 x 45min sets. The venue - the Landmark Arts Centre - was our biggest yet (400 people) and a stunning setting ...... albeit, being a Church, the acoustics weren't brilliant for a loud band 🙂. I was really nervous although managed to relax into it by mid-way through the first set. I need to learn to relax, move about and enjoy the moment!! Pretty happy with my playing - notwithstanding a few frustrating mistakes - and the band sound. Our drummer was out of action so we had a dep who was really excellent although missed my mate and our usual connection.  There was decent engagement from the crowd although they were mostly there to chat and try different beers, so split between some good engagement at the front and foot/finger tapping at the back.  Everything was PA'd with clean floor monitors so my BF ST wasn't strictly needed but the LBT did a great job of holding the tone. Great end to they year which had 8 gigs in total and we pretty much doubled our playlist (I think we are at around 50+ songs at the moment) so we can now be a bit more versatile in our sounds. Bring it on 2023! I even got to smuggle a commemorative pint glass (or two 🙂) out!