How was your gig last night?

[Bluewine]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

She is very talented.

Dave

 

Yes, very talented. Her husband does the booking and he's our dedicated sound & lighting engineer. 

 

Daryl

[lozkerr]

Saturday's gig could have been a tad melancholic, as it was a memorial to a guy who passed suddenly earlier this year. He was the singer in a band that we normally do a two-hander with called Rock for Remembrance as a fundraiser for a charity supporting disabled Forces veterans. 

 

But far from being downbeat, it went down a storm. It was held in Colinton bowling club - a genteel place in a leafy Edinburgh suburb. A kids' birthday party was finishing as we were loading in - I don't think I've ever seen so many Trinity tractors in one small car park before.

 

We were on first, and I was expecting our whole set to be met with nothing more than polite applause, but we had people up and dancing well before we finished. It got livelier as the evening went on, so all good there.

 

On the downside, one of the lighting stands slipped as I was setting it up and took a lump out of my left index finger, and the lighting desk was sulking. It took a bit of percussive persuasion to get it to behave. I think it's on the way out.

 

But all in all, a great night!

[pigface]

13 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Its basically just ignorance on my part. I simply wasn't aware and never really gave it much more thought.

When i looked at the google map Paisley borders on Glasgow so i wasn't far away 

I also had no idea Paisley was Scotlands 5th largest Town / City. 

Every day a school day on Basschat and happy that people actually read my posts.

More importantly WHY WERE YOU NOT AT MY GIG LAST NIGHT in Paisley. 

Dave

 

I live in Germany. It's a bit far ... 😄

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, pigface said:

I live in Germany. It's a bit far ... 😄

Glasgow Airport's not too far away 

Dave

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said:

Glasgow Airport's not too far away 

Dave

 

Fake news, it's not even in Glasgow...

[dmccombe7]

1 minute ago, neepheid said:

 

Fake news, it's not even in Glasgow...

Neither is Paisley 

[Jackroadkill]

We had a bit of an odd one on Sunday; it was at the Wrexham Tattoo Show, and while the set went very well and the crowd were enthusiastic, the rest was a disaster, band-wise.  The organisers and the venue were great, the punters complimentary about what we did, the sound guys did a top job.....  But operationally the band was a car crash!

 

I'll elaborate:

 

• Band politics (drummer/life difficulties)
• Late arrival of the drummer
• The previous act, some burlesque dancers) over-running
• A farcical soundcheck in front of the punters which saw three of the band being unable to play from any point that wasn't the beginning of a familiar song (this one really got on my t!ts, because we were trying to save time and ended up wasting it)
• The guitarist moaning that the engineer had disappeared at the beginning of the set and wasn't available to turn the guitar up in the monitor; said engineer was out front operating the desk from a tablet, as has been routine for about fifteen years....
• The set being cut slightly short.

Anyway, it was a learning experience and from an audience point of view there were no big problems.  After all that we managed to play pretty well and the organisers and punters enjoyed what they heard.

 

 

Onwards and upwards; we'll learn from our mistakes as a band.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

[neepheid]

12 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

We had a bit of an odd one on Sunday; it was at the Wrexham Tattoo Show, and while the set went very well and the crowd were enthusiastic, the rest was a disaster, band-wise.  The organisers and the venue were great, the punters complimentary about what we did, the sound guys did a top job.....  But operationally the band was a car crash!

 

I'll elaborate:

 

• Band politics (drummer/life difficulties)
• Late arrival of the drummer
• The previous act, some burlesque dancers) over-running
• A farcical soundcheck in front of the punters which saw three of the band being unable to play from any point that wasn't the beginning of a familiar song (this one really got on my t!ts, because we were trying to save time and ended up wasting it)
• The guitarist moaning that the engineer had disappeared at the beginning of the set and wasn't available to turn the guitar up in the monitor; said engineer was out front operating the desk from a tablet, as has been routine for about fifteen years....
• The set being cut slightly short.

Anyway, it was a learning experience and from an audience point of view there were no big problems.  After all that we managed to play pretty well and the organisers and punters enjoyed what they heard.

 

 

Onwards and upwards; we'll learn from our mistakes as a band.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

 

You benefit much from the Wrexham AFC/Rob 'n' Ryan effect?

[Jackroadkill]

26 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

You benefit much from the Wrexham AFC/Rob 'n' Ryan effect?

Nah, they were long gone by Sunday!

[dmccombe7]

47 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

We had a bit of an odd one on Sunday; it was at the Wrexham Tattoo Show, and while the set went very well and the crowd were enthusiastic, the rest was a disaster, band-wise.  The organisers and the venue were great, the punters complimentary about what we did, the sound guys did a top job.....  But operationally the band was a car crash!

 

I'll elaborate:

 

• Band politics (drummer/life difficulties)
• Late arrival of the drummer
• The previous act, some burlesque dancers) over-running
• A farcical soundcheck in front of the punters which saw three of the band being unable to play from any point that wasn't the beginning of a familiar song (this one really got on my t!ts, because we were trying to save time and ended up wasting it)
• The guitarist moaning that the engineer had disappeared at the beginning of the set and wasn't available to turn the guitar up in the monitor; said engineer was out front operating the desk from a tablet, as has been routine for about fifteen years....
• The set being cut slightly short.

Anyway, it was a learning experience and from an audience point of view there were no big problems.  After all that we managed to play pretty well and the organisers and punters enjoyed what they heard.

 

 

Onwards and upwards; we'll learn from our mistakes as a band.

 

Cheers,

 

JRK

Doesn't sound that bad to me. I've always found gigs with band change-overs always have some sort of issue and you just need to get on with it.

By the sound of it that's what you did and the audience enjoyed what you do.

I do appreciate and understand the guitarist thing and its been the same in almost every band i've ever been in over 40+ yrs altho my current guitarists in both bands are exceptionally well mannered and just so easy to work with. I've waited 40+ yrs to reach this point tho so stay positive and look forward to lwhat can be achieved ater in life 

Dave

Edited November 14, 2023 by dmccombe7

[neepheid]

4 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

Nah, they were long gone by Sunday!

 

It would have been awesome if they had been at your gig!  But I mean in general, is the place more alive/buzzing since they took over Wrexham AFC?  Any cascade of enthusiasm coming down into the local economy in general?

[Jackroadkill]

46 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I've always found gigs with band change-overs always have some sort of issue and you just need to get on with it.

By the sound of it that's what you did and the audience enjoyed what you do.

 

There's always something, isn't there?  I find changeovers can be a rush but there's no point in letting it spoil the gig for me.

 

47 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I do appreciate and understand the guitarist thing and its been the same in almost every band i've ever been in over 40+ yrs

 

The daft thing for me about this one is that there were many ways to get it sorted and he just chose to be grumpy rather than proactive. "I can't hear my amp" isn't going to solve anything, but changing your position in relationship to the amp or relevant monitor may well do, to say nothing of getting on a mic and asking for more guitar onstage....  The mind boggles!

 

49 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

It would have been awesome if they had been at your gig!  But I mean in general, is the place more alive/buzzing since they took over Wrexham AFC?  Any cascade of enthusiasm coming down into the local economy in general?

 

Not being a Wrexhamite (Wrexmundian?) I'm not best placed to say, but there was a proper buzz at the show, so very possibly that is the case.

[Paul S]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Doesn't sound that bad to me. I've always found gigs with band change-overs always have some sort of issue and you just need to get on with it.

By the sound of it that's what you did and the audience enjoyed what you do.

I do appreciate and understand the guitarist thing and its been the same in almost every band i've ever been in over 40+ yrs altho my current guitarists in both bands are exceptionally well mannered and just so easy to work with. I've waited 40+ yrs to reach this point tho so stay positive and look forward to lwhat can be achieved ater in life 

Dave

 

I remember a few years ago my Bon Jovi tribute were part of a multi-band event in Cleethorpes - a 4 hour drive away from southeast Essex where we were based.  I believe it was some big local company putting on a family fun day for the employees - funfare, eateries, marquee for the bands.  The weather was hideous - horizontal rain.  By the time the bands started most of the punters had gone home.  Everybody over-ran.  First band was a Little Mix tribute, who went 30 mins over.  Next a local dad rock band who were, by all accounts, whizzed off at not headlining.  They went 30 mins over and the drummer, who had one of the biggest kits I have ever seen, including an array of small clear perspex toms, was being particualrly obstructive when dismantling it - laying out his cases and packing materials all over the stage so we couldn't get going until he was done.  We were left with just 20 mins to play our 90 minute set - to around 80 of the promised 1000 punters  Eight hours travelling to play 20 mins!  Not a great night, although we got paid quite well and just laughed it off.

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Paul S said:

 

I remember a few years ago my Bon Jovi tribute were part of a multi-band event in Cleethorpes - a 4 hour drive away from southeast Essex where we were based.  I believe it was some big local company putting on a family fun day for the employees - funfare, eateries, marquee for the bands.  The weather was hideous - horizontal rain.  By the time the bands started most of the punters had gone home.  Everybody over-ran.  First band was a Little Mix tribute, who went 30 mins over.  Next a local dad rock band who were, by all accounts, whizzed off at not headlining.  They went 30 mins over and the drummer, who had one of the biggest kits I have ever seen, including an array of small clear perspex toms, was being particualrly obstructive when dismantling it - laying out his cases and packing materials all over the stage so we couldn't get going until he was done.  We were left with just 20 mins to play our 90 minute set - to around 80 of the promised 1000 punters  Eight hours travelling to play 20 mins!  Not a great night, although we got paid quite well and just laughed it off.

Think i might be a tad upset / angry at that one if i'm perfectly honest. Wouldn't have minded if i was 30mins along the road but 4hrs drive each way for a 20min slot plus all the annoyance of watching others over-run. Person in charge should do what i've witnessed at varied band shows and when their time is up he mutes the PA at the end of the song they are on. Job done.

Its all very well getting paid same amount but you set yourself up for a 90 min show to get 20 mins worth. AAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!  

Dave

[neepheid]

3 hours ago, Paul S said:

 

I remember a few years ago my Bon Jovi tribute were part of a multi-band event in Cleethorpes - a 4 hour drive away from southeast Essex where we were based.  I believe it was some big local company putting on a family fun day for the employees - funfare, eateries, marquee for the bands.  The weather was hideous - horizontal rain.  By the time the bands started most of the punters had gone home.  Everybody over-ran.  First band was a Little Mix tribute, who went 30 mins over.  Next a local dad rock band who were, by all accounts, whizzed off at not headlining.  They went 30 mins over and the drummer, who had one of the biggest kits I have ever seen, including an array of small clear perspex toms, was being particualrly obstructive when dismantling it - laying out his cases and packing materials all over the stage so we couldn't get going until he was done.  We were left with just 20 mins to play our 90 minute set - to around 80 of the promised 1000 punters  Eight hours travelling to play 20 mins!  Not a great night, although we got paid quite well and just laughed it off.

 

At least they paid you (sounds like you got the agreed fee?)

[Paul S]

7 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

At least they paid you (sounds like you got the agreed fee?)

 

Yes.  And the organisers were extremely apologetic.  Would have been better had the organisers been organised but there you are  

[pigface]

9 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Glasgow Airport's not too far away 

Dave

As it happens, I was in Scotland last month. Oban, Stirling, Glasgow (briefly) and St. Andrews. I try to make it every year or two. Maybe next time! 😀

[dmccombe7]

7 minutes ago, pigface said:

As it happens, I was in Scotland last month. Oban, Stirling, Glasgow (briefly) and St. Andrews. I try to make it every year or two. Maybe next time! 😀

I'll put a ticket aside for you just in case. 

Dave

[peteb]

The Zep tribute played a hometown gig (well for me, the singer and the keys player) at Tapestry Arts Centre in Bradford last Friday. A decent turnout and all in all it went really well, which is always good when you're playing in your own backyard. 

 

(pics courtesy of Nigel Bain) 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by peteb

[dmccombe7]

9 hours ago, peteb said:

The Zep tribute played a hometown gig (well for me, the singer and the keys player) at Tapestry Arts Centre in Bradford last Friday. A decent turnout and all in all it went really well, which is always good when you're playing in your own backyard. 

 

Great pics Pete.

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

16 hours ago, Paul S said:

 

Yes.  And the organisers were extremely apologetic.  Would have been better had the organisers been organised but there you are  

 

Why is it that so many event organisers can't understand that (a) you need time to switch acts (b) if an act overruns this pushes all subsequent acts back (c) it's their job to tell bands when to stop.

[Kiwi]

17 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Think i might be a tad upset / angry at that one if i'm perfectly honest. Wouldn't have minded if i was 30mins along the road but 4hrs drive each way for a 20min slot plus all the annoyance of watching others over-run. Person in charge should do what i've witnessed at varied band shows and when their time is up he mutes the PA at the end of the song they are on. Job done.

Its all very well getting paid same amount but you set yourself up for a 90 min show to get 20 mins worth. AAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!  

Dave

We had a gig at the Duxford Air Museum once.  We travelled there from London, arrived early for setting up and sound check.  It was magnificient, the stage was partially under the wing of Concorde.   I checked out their Vulcan bomber XJ824 while waiting.  About an hour before kick off, it started snowing outside and we were put on alert that they were reviewing the event on H&S grounds.  About 15 minutes before we were due to kick off, they cancelled the event.   We were on stage waiting to hit that first note and then had to pack up and get back to London before any roads were closed.  We did got paid but it was a shame.

NB: Not technically a gig "last night".

 

[Paul S]

1 minute ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Why is it that so many event organisers can't understand that (a) you need time to switch acts (b) if an act overruns this pushes all subsequent acts back (c) it's their job to tell bands when to stop.

 

Mad isn't it.  To my mind, when it is apparent that acts are running over they should pull them off early (ooh matron etc) so that the lost time is absorbed evenly.  In this particular case it was pure bloody-mindedness on the part of the dad-rock band who, despite being way over time, still did an encore which included a 5 minute drum solo.  The organisers should have been all over them.   Hey ho.

[dmccombe7]

12 minutes ago, Kiwi said:

We had a gig at the Duxford Air Museum once.  We travelled there from London, arrived early for setting up and sound check.  It was magnificient, the stage was partially under the wing of Concorde.   I checked out their Vulcan bomber XJ824 while waiting.  About an hour before kick off, it started snowing outside and we were put on alert that they were reviewing the event on H&S grounds.  About 15 minutes before we were due to kick off, they cancelled the event.   We were on stage waiting to hit that first note and then had to pack up and get back to London before any roads were closed.  We did got paid but it was a shame.

NB: Not technically a gig "last night".

 

I think when its weather related there's not a lot you can do. You could always sue God. 

Dave

[Staggering on]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Why is it that so many event organisers can't understand that (a) you need time to switch acts (b) if an act overruns this pushes all subsequent acts back (c) it's their job to tell bands when to stop.

 

I played twice at an outdoor bluegrass festival last summer and the organizers really know how to run a show. The festival has been running for 30 years and there are three main weekends with music Friday, Saturday and Sunday running from noon to at least 10PM with an hour allotted to each band with big name bands getting a longer slot in the evening. This is a festival where all instruments except bass are played acoustically, no pickups allowed, so everything is direct into mics and the very experienced crew can do a sound check of instruments and vocals in about 10minutes and it is always excellent. When your playing time is almost done a crew member will approach the stage and give a signal with one or two fingers to let you know how many more songs you can play. When you finish you hustle off stage and the next band is coming on as you leave, really well done and they pretty much keep on schedule. This is a well known festival and everyone wants to come back so the bands respect the management and there are never any hassles, one of the very best organized event I have played at. They also have country festivals with more equipment so it takes longer to set up but it is still a very fast turnover.

...yes, I realize that bluegrass bands don't have drum sets, amps, pedal boards, lights and other equipment that are required for other types of music so obviously not all situations are like this but letting bands go on longer than the allotted time is easy to fix. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by Staggering on