How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

33 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Grumpiness setting in.

 

After 9 gigs in seven weeks (too many), I now have nothing until February as our venue for an Xmas  gig changed hands and I passed on a NYE dep.

 

Reasonable number of gigs lined up for Bendricks Rock but only a handful for the blues band as the guitarist/BL's indie band are hoping to issue an EP or album and do a UK tour.

 

Wento a gig with the drummer last night. If things don't perk up he's going to try and start a new band. I may or may not be part of it if a guitarist/vocalist already comes with a bass player.

 

TBH got a lot to handle with work and family issues (my dad passed away recently) for a couple of months but music is my therapy...

 

Perhaps I will put myself out there for more dep work.

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Never an easy time but your positive attitude, music therapy is good to hear. 

Hopefully things will fall your way and a new band will emerge from all this. As always family comes first.

Take it easy

Dave 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Grumpiness setting in.

 

After 9 gigs in seven weeks (too many), I now have nothing until February as our venue for an Xmas  gig changed hands and I passed on a NYE dep.

 

Know the feeling - was going to have a big december, but one gig, then the private party on the 14th cancelled (fair enough) and the next day the NYE gig had forgotten we were playing there so no NYE. 

So that is all bad, but then a local club had a cancellation on New years and another one had a cancellation today, but our guitarist seems to have a hand problem so we can't do those, so nothing to the end of jan. I think i need to find another group to play in as well, this is getting quite common.

[dave_bass5]

We have our first NYE gig for ages this month. 
On the one hand I’m really looking forward to the money and it’s going to be an easy gig (another Retirement village), but because of where me and the singer live (my wife) we can’t get home in the car. We live right in the centre on London and just inside the restricted zone for the fireworks. Will be a long night. 

[Al Krow]

Singer (one of our regular lead vox crew) arrived 15 mins before we were due to start due to public transport issues, and was obviously stressed, bless her. I'd managed to lose my IEM headphones at a rehearsal (for our NYE gig earlier in the week) but didn't spot the loss till the gig, so I made do with standing next to the PA speaker for monitoring. Dep drummer was playing with us for the first time and we'd not rehearsed with him, and the venue, one of our pub residences, was rammed with Christmas party revellers and perhaps busier than it's ever been. So what could possibly go wrong?! 😅 

 

There were unsurprisingly a few loose ends! But we managed to get by with eye contact and put on a decent show which seemed to go down well, and overall it was a fun gig. A large receptive audience can clearly make up for a multitude of sins it seems! 

 

A little clip of the gig and venue.

 

Happy Christmas all!

 

Edited Saturday at 20:43 by Al Krow

[casapete]

Just back from a gig for a small company’s Christmas party in Beverley.

Our acoustic duo played for them at a summer party last year, but this time we 

played as an electric three piece, adding a drummer. The gig was in an upstairs 

function room of a large pub, so it meant dragging all the gear up two flights of

narrow stairs which was a pain, but plenty of space to set up with only 50 guests.

 

Set up by 7pm so we went for a walk up the road to our regular venue The Sun Inn

where some friends were playing and had a chat and a drink there. Our duo is

playing there tomorrow afternoon, and it seemed to have a completely different 

feel to it on a Saturday night with lots of people milling around - maybe just the

Xmas thing. Back to our venue and there was a Ska band setting up in the main

room downstairs, but we didn’t catch them as we had to do our first set. It went

well, got a few up dancing with some well chosen tunes. Second set went even 

better, with most of the guests on the dance floor. I was just winging it, my mate

on guitar shouting out the songs, some of which we managed to join together

to keep them dancing. Dep drummer was great, not too loud and good tempos.

Company boss seemed very pleased with us, so may hopefully get the gig next year!

 

Used a replica P-bass into my Rumble 500 combo. 
No pics of the gig, just one as we finished soundchecking. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 01:41 by casapete

[Norris]

Just back from Thurmaston Conny Club (it's more like a big social club than anything political). Good gig, although the git/vox was very croaky. That meant more singing for me and the drummer - I actually quite enjoy singing now.

 

Nice and busy. A few dancers, but most people just appreciating the music.

 

I took my Sire and was going to swap over to it later on, but had so much fun with my Sterling Sub Ray5 (upgraded with Retrovibe Stinger '77 preamp) that it stayed out all night. The 2-band preamp is great and a lot easier to tweak than the Sire's 3-band with swept mid.

 

The usual Fender Rumble v3 500 combo goodness. Feet were rock steady in the Solovair boots. I forgot to take any photos though.

 

Naughty McDonalds on the way home because Mrs Norris and younger Norrisson were feeling hungry (you can't beat a quarter pounder imho)

 

Best compliment was from a chap in the loo, swaying rather a lot at the urinal next to me... "great hair" 😂

[tubbybloke68]

Just back from our usual 2 nights at Trading Boundaries Christmas gigs. Lovely intimate atmosphere as always and only just under an hour’s drive away from home. Both nights went very well and I always feel Xmas is here on these occasions. Happy Christmas everyone, my best wishes to you all 😊

[Bluewine]

Acoustic gig at The Harley Motor, 5:30-8:30.

 

We're basically background music , however this is always a good gig. I'd say attendance was respectable. We had a few good moments.

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Acoustic gig at The Harley Motor, 5:30-8:30.

 

We're basically background music , however this is always a good gig. I'd say attendance was respectable. We had a few good moments.

 

Daryl

And they paid you in bikes. That's a good gig Daryl. 

Dave 

[Stub Mandrel]

5 hours ago, tubbybloke68 said:

 

LFsys spotted!

[Boodang]

A home turf gig last night at the Brit Club for our blues band Purple Haze (a two minute walk for me). Considering a lot of people have gone home for Xmas we still managed a good crowd, even people who were going out on flights early in the morning turned up, so we seem to be getting a bit of a following. Played for two hours, one hour of which was new material, mostly old blues standards, kept the fav Hendrix numbers in of course. 

On the MM bass I replaced the electronics with just a Delano Xpure (I know I know!) but in my opinion the raw sound of the pickup is an improvement! The fretless jazz got an outing as well. New Charles Guitar trem on the Strat, so lots of wammy use as the guitarist made the best of it, plus new compensated saddles on the Tele. All sounded good and have to say Charles Guitars make some good parts. 

Did a slowed down version of Hey Joe with an almost country beat (Otis Taylor style) and slide guitar which went down a treat. Last gig of the year and a fun one at that. 

[dmccombe7]

Last nights gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ was at The Dreadnought in Bathgate. Very Busy i think 150 tickets sold so almost full.

Great audience as always and just a real fun night of Glam songs. This is now the 3rd year in a row we've played the Sat before Xmas and we were already booked for next year. Ticket deal but we did better than our normal fee so that was a huge bonus at the end of the night. Back there today for a private party so all the gear barriered off and locked away so no load out last night or load in today. I felt like a proper pro musician last night with no packing up to do. Just turn up and play and then walk away at the end of the night. 🤩

 

Sound guy who is top notch and another bassist came in at break and said i was too loud on stage and nothing going thru PA. At the back where he was it was booming. Turned it down for 2nd set but couldn't really hear myself on stage so i ended up playing harder and getting sore fingers. Not good when i have a gig this afternoon. Going to look at a decent IEM set.

I had been playing around with the Mesa TT800 amp during the week as i was finding last few gigs i was bass heavy on my tone so went back to the manuals "instant gratification" setting but didn't get time to set the volume level on stage.

Had a slight change of bass during the night.

1st set Sandberg VM4 because it matched the sparkly purple outfit i was wearing that set.

2nd set Sandberg MarloweDK because it looked more Christmassy in red and white for the Xmas songs especially the Wizzard one where i also adorned a nice Santa cape. The things we do for our audiences 🤩

Keeley compressor into Shure wireless then Mesa TT800 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs.

No pics as yet but hopefully will get a few up later.

Not sure how this afternoon will go as i'm not really a fan of private birthday parties as not everyone there will be into Glam rock and we'll end up getting the numpties asking for Girls Aloud or Ed Sheeran even tho were fully Glammed up. Oh well them's the breaks 

Dave 

 

[Boodang]

5 hours ago, tubbybloke68 said:

😊

Roger Dean prints I take it. Very nice. 

Edited Sunday at 08:58 by Boodang

[Burns-bass]

Two DB gigs this weekend. First was in a quirky little pub that was totally empty before 10:15 and then as full as an egg after. 
 

Lots of singing, dancing and merriment. One guy had to be talked down from a chair.

 

Second gig was swanky cocktail bar from 6-8. Alongside a healthy fee I was given a couple of whisky sours (my favourite).

 

Polite applause but a quiet night apparently.

 

 

[Mykesbass]

9 minutes ago, Boodang said:

Roger Dean prints I take it. Very nice. 

Not just prints. I used to live near this place - the most unusual combination of Indian furniture/homeward, restaurant, venue and Roger Dean gallery where you can pick up an original piece (plus limited edition prints). Cool place to visit if you find yourself  with spare hour in rural Sussex!

[Rosie C]

Our last gig of the year and traditionally our biggest. That's me on mandolin & vocal, though I feel little shame as we had a very talented friend join us on double bass for the night. 

  

Edited Sunday at 09:12 by Rosie C

[tubbybloke68]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

LFsys spotted!

Yes indeed! Love my Two Monzas, usually just use the one as most of my gigs are through the PA these days, but they really are quite amazing little units. X😊

[tubbybloke68]

57 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Not just prints. I used to live near this place - the most unusual combination of Indian furniture/homeward, restaurant, venue and Roger Dean gallery where you can pick up an original piece (plus limited edition prints). Cool place to visit if you find yourself  with spare hour in rural Sussex!

Yep, couldn’t have put it better myself 😊

[Jackroadkill]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Acoustic gig at The Harley Motor, 5:30-8:30.

 

We're basically background music , however this is always a good gig. I'd say attendance was respectable. We had a few good moments.

 

Daryl

 

Did you play "Unknown Legend"?!

[neepheid]

Well, 2024, it's been a blast!  Last gig of the year, playing with Nine Lives at the Kirkie Bar in Elgin.  When we arrived we were shown to a rather small alcove which had a dirty big Christmas tree in the corner of it.  Didn't throw a diva strop and worked around it - the sort of space that the drummer has to move cymbal stands out of the way in order to extricate themseves from behind the drumkit!  Anyway, we managed to squeeze ourselves in and got going.  Wasn't super busy but the folk who were there were into it and up for a dance.  After the gig, we got a lot of nice comments from people, including wishing we had been the band the night before when it was apparently heaving - "Mad Friday" and all that.  Guy behind the bar was very enthusiastic and expressed an interest in booking us again, so it looks like we passed the audition.

 

4 weeks of nothing now!  It's been a good year - new singer has settled in well and we're very happy with both her performance and how she's fit into the band socially.  2025 to-do list - freshen up the set list with new songs!

 

Gear used - the Epiphone gang - the Les Paul (not very) Standard followed by the Thunderbird '64.

 

[cetera]

Xmas gig with local covers band 'Too Much Fun' at Thames Side Brewery in Staines last night. Fantastic evening.... 100+ punters in, all up for a sing and dance and enjoying our varied set of 60's/70's classics.... and there were some interesting ales/ciders on tap alongside some good food! 😉👍

 

Cool For Cats and Rhythm Stick went down especially well.... as did the Xmas songs (Slade/Wizzard)... but surprise of the night was seeing pensioners rocking the dance floor for our mental encore of Pretty Vacant... 😲🤣😂

 

I played my Jap Fender FSR 70's P, thru my Haz pedal, GK Legacy800 and Genz 2x12 last night and had some lovely compliments afterwards on both my sound and my playing, which sealed the deal nicely. 🎸👍😎🥰

[Al Krow]

4 minutes ago, cetera said:

Xmas gig with local covers band 'Too Much Fun' at Thames Side Brewery in Staines last night. Fantastic evening.... 100+ punters in, all up for a sing and dance and enjoying our varied set of 60's/70's classics.... and there were some interesting ales/ciders on tap alongside some good food! 😉👍

 

Cool For Cats and Rhythm Stick went down especially well.... as did the Xmas songs (Slade/Wizzard)... but surprise of the night was seeing pensioners rocking the dance floor for our mental encore of Pretty Vacant... 😲🤣😂

 

I played my Jap Fender FSR 70's P, thru my Haz pedal, GK Legacy800 and Genz 2x12 last night and had some lovely compliments afterwards on both my sound and my playing, which sealed the deal nicely. 🎸👍😎🥰

 

Very impressive that you can play the bass line to Rhythm Stick! Definitely one of the more challenging ones to master out there and not one I've got under my belt, by any means!

[grapefruitmoon]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Last nights gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ was at The Dreadnought in Bathgate. Very Busy i think 150 tickets sold so almost full.

Great audience as always and just a real fun night of Glam songs. This is now the 3rd year in a row we've played the Sat before Xmas and we were already booked for next year. Ticket deal but we did better than our normal fee so that was a huge bonus at the end of the night. Back there today for a private party so all the gear barriered off and locked away so no load out last night or load in today. I felt like a proper pro musician last night with no packing up to do. Just turn up and play and then walk away at the end of the night. 🤩

 

Sound guy who is top notch and another bassist came in at break and said i was too loud on stage and nothing going thru PA. At the back where he was it was booming. Turned it down for 2nd set but couldn't really hear myself on stage so i ended up playing harder and getting sore fingers. Not good when i have a gig this afternoon. Going to look at a decent IEM set.

I had been playing around with the Mesa TT800 amp during the week as i was finding last few gigs i was bass heavy on my tone so went back to the manuals "instant gratification" setting but didn't get time to set the volume level on stage.

Had a slight change of bass during the night.

1st set Sandberg VM4 because it matched the sparkly purple outfit i was wearing that set.

2nd set Sandberg MarloweDK because it looked more Christmassy in red and white for the Xmas songs especially the Wizzard one where i also adorned a nice Santa cape. The things we do for our audiences 🤩

Keeley compressor into Shure wireless then Mesa TT800 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs.

No pics as yet but hopefully will get a few up later.

Not sure how this afternoon will go as i'm not really a fan of private birthday parties as not everyone there will be into Glam rock and we'll end up getting the numpties asking for Girls Aloud or Ed Sheeran even tho were fully Glammed up. Oh well them's the breaks 

Dave 

 

 

Cracking gig last night Dave, thoroughly enjoyed it! First time I've seen Blockbustarz, such a good set and energy. As I mentioned, I thought the bass sounded great, I was down at the front and there was no boominess there. Got some pics of you and your Santa cape if you want them posted. 

 

Also, Dave wins any footwear contests on here hands down.

[JapanAxe]

Mainly fun pub gig thanks to the cheerful audience. Once again I had to rectify the PA settings to stop every bass note blooming and booming in the room *sigh*.
 

One of the guitarists is prone to reading stuff on the Internet and adopting it as gospel without actually checking that it sounds good. For a while he was in the habit of having his amp ‘backwards’ for a better spread of sound. That can work if you have a closed-back cab and a reasonable area of solid rear wall to point it at, but he has an open-back combo which is often placed well away from any wall or in front of soft furnishings!

 

During last night’s first set I noticed that his guitar sound was much more honky and middly than usual. Turned out he had read that Greg Koch turns mids and presence right up, treble and bass right down, so he had done the same on his Quilter, which is his spare but for some reason he was using through his valve combo speaker. Although it’s true that a guitar sound that works in a mix may sound unpleasant when soloed, his sounded atrocious in the live mix. I was polite enough to call it ‘odd’ rather than ‘bad’, but at the end of the day I am a dep in the band and I can only keep my own side of the street clean.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

Mainly fun pub gig thanks to the cheerful audience. Once again I had to rectify the PA settings to stop every bass note blooming and booming in the room *sigh*.
 

One of the guitarists is prone to reading stuff on the Internet and adopting it as gospel without actually checking that it sounds good. For a while he was in the habit of having his amp ‘backwards’ for a better spread of sound. That can work if you have a closed-back cab and a reasonable area of solid rear wall to point it at, but he has an open-back combo which is often placed well away from any wall or in front of soft furnishings!

 

During last night’s first set I noticed that his guitar sound was much more honky and middly than usual. Turned out he had read that Greg Koch turns mids and presence right up, treble and bass right down, so he had done the same on his Quilter, which is his spare but for some reason he was using through his valve combo speaker. Although it’s true that a guitar sound that works in a mix may sound unpleasant when soloed, his sounded atrocious in the live mix. I was polite enough to call it ‘odd’ rather than ‘bad’, but at the end of the day I am a dep in the band and I can only keep my own side of the street clean.

 

No wonder scammers are having a field day out there, with folk this gullible!