How was your gig last night?

[chaypup]

So tonight went really well - which is getting to be a bit of a habit!
Absolutely loving playing with a group of really excellt musicians.
We had a dep drummer for the first set as Delwyn Myers (our regular drummer) was doing an early set down the road,
and he did brilliantly considering he hadn't heard the songs before yesterday when I phoned him!

Second set went down really well as well, got some bookings for other clubs from it, saw a load of people I hadn't chatted to for a while and managed to scoot across town to see Afrocluster too!

Great night!

Oh and some compliments off of other bass players!!!


Whoooot!

[Delberthot]

Tonight was the third last gig with the wedding/function band I've been in for 17 years as we're calling it a day at the end of the year.

The singer/keyboardist and drummer are off doing other stuff already and the keys guy isn't singing in the new band and its really showing - there was a fair bit of yodelling going on tonight, the guitarist tried playing a guitar solo in a different key to the rest of us, the drummer was dropping sticks nearly every song but like last night I had ball.

I'm really enjoying my playing these days now that I'm not concentrating on the Doddies.

Funny thing is that a couple of months ago I played the same venue as tonight with the same bass with the same flats and the same backline and absolutely hated my sound, ending up switching back to rounds after 4 years of using flats. This morning I put those 4 year old flats back on and gigged the bass tonight and the sound was sublime - very focussed, tight, punchy, like a rusty chainsaw when using a pick for Chelsea Dagger and Sex on Fire and thunderous when I used the D-tuner. I could feel the bass frequencies coming up through my feet. I was like a dog with two boabies.Quality.

Don't know why but I'm becoming more animated at gigs, kind of the bass player is at the wrong gig style. Maybe its because the band's ending that I'm making the most of it.

So if you happen to see a large fella with tattoos on each forearm, sweatbands on each wrist playing a green Precision jumping about like a daftie then its likely to be me

[lurksalot]

A busy weekend for the Razors
A 40th party on Friday, went really well , we were a tad loose and changed the set on the fly to keep the crowd lively but it worked well.
Last night it was another 40th but the lead guitarists youngster had a bad temperature and it is a recurrence of a previous issue so was touch and go , but reckoned he could join us for an hour if her temperature leveled out. after some quick hashing for the first set , he called to say he would get there in 20 mins , so we held off and nailed it , after 3 songs of the second set he got a call and had to go, so we winged / chopped and changed and got through OK , the birthday boy was chuffed with the show after being very nervous when he new the guitarists/our problems. As everyone was up for a dance by this point, I think artistic detail was less important than a good singalong , still the rhythm guitar stood up to the plate and his confidence carried it. The youngster is getting better today , but they were close to calling ambulences last night .

[Dr.Dave]

Damp squib in Leeds getting damper - so we we unleashed our secret weapon halfway through the 2nd set.

Mustang Sally - the tune so collectively hated by us snobby musicians.

3 lookers straight up on stage to be backing singers ......... morphed the ending into Lulu's 'Shout'................... place went mental.

Back into our regular rocking set with our newly found audience still going nuts all the way to the end and screaming for more.

Lesson to be learned , folks.

[BottomE]

We did a wedding in Reading! Great marquee done out like a Bedouin tent. Nice stage. Great tasty BBQ and high class cake.

The crowd were appreciative and we hit it off with the lady of the manor (who books a lot of bands) and the marquee company (who recommend lots of bands).

Hopefully a new source of bookings, a well paid gig and fed and watered. All in all, cashback city arizona.

[lurksalot]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1348398556' post='1813074']
Damp squib in Leeds getting damper - so we we unleashed our secret weapon halfway through the 2nd set.

Mustang Sally - the tune so collectively hated by us snobby musicians.

3 lookers straight up on stage to be backing singers ......... morphed the ending into Lulu's 'Shout'................... place went mental.

Back into our regular rocking set with our newly found audience still going nuts all the way to the end and screaming for more.

Lesson to be learned , folks.
[/quote]

for parties ,theres no doubt that old favourites are favourites for a reason , Summer of 69 works in a similar manner

[Dudgeman]

Fantastic gig with Hypermused at the Vic,Swindon...it was packed and the audience singing in plug in baby made the hairs on my neck stand on end. Gig was so good I had a few beers after..abandoned the van in Swindon and got a lift home. Could I get a lift back in this morning..er no....so on the bike and 14 miles of pedalling in the pissing rain..soaked and freezing brought me back down to earth with a massive thump.

Still....l recorded the second half of the gig on MD so had a listen in a steaming hot bath when I got home ...sounded pretty good. Great weekend. Thanks to all that turned up.

[Fuzzbass2000]

The actual show was pretty good in the end. The lead up was another story,

4 bands bill. Sound checks planned for between 4.30 - 7pm. We're on 2nd of 4 bands, so we arrive around 5 in good time for a sound check slot. Only problem is, the headline band didn't start checking until 7pm... and then they borrow our drummer as their's won't arrive till gone 9... oh, and the singer's not here yet either. I'm not going into the culprits, but there are a few chaps with reputations involved. Just a little disrespectful methinks.

Anyway, the sound-men produce a few miracles and manage to get everyone sorted and we're only running an hour late.

Hey ho.... cards are marked... will be avoiding a bill with them in the future.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Fuzzbass2000

[BigRedX]

Yet another great one for Dick Venom & The Terrortones.

Saturday was the first night (in what will hopefully be a series) of "Dick Venom Presents" where he chooses the bands and plays his favourite tunes between the sets at the Jam Café in Nottingham. Originally it was just going to be Nottingham's Trioxin Cherry and from London the mighty Meansteed, but we had 2 gigs cancelled on us in the pervious week, so we cheekily snuck ourselves onto the beginning of the bill.

And what a fantastic night it was! We had a hilarious time trying to cram Meansteed's guitar amps on the tiny Jam Café stage, but with a bit of juggling and the moving of some plant pots we got everything set up.

Our drummer had an afternoon/early evening gig as part of his teaching schedule so he arrived just in time to set up his snare and cymbals and we were off. Swapped a couple of songs around in the set to keep things fresh and totally rocked the place. Mr Venom was all over the venue, up on the bar and even out into the street. The audience was a good mix of fans who knew what to expect and first-timers who reacted with a mix of awe and terror, and all too soon we were piling into "Get f***ed Up Good" and it was the end of the set. We got interviewed for something (I can't remember what) and someone told me that we were the best thing to happen to the live scene in Nottingham (nicely flattering if not completely true).

Trioxin Cherry were probably the best I've seen them and Meansteed just rocked the place out \m/

Off goth clubbing afterwards (where we were unfortunately too late catch another Basschatter's band - the fantastically named Lesbian Bed Death) and then charging around the city centre trying to find places that would still serve us at stupid o'clock in the morning until I ran out of money and had to go home.

All gigs should be like this.

[xilddx]

That sounds wickid! Nice story BRX.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1348483980' post='1814030']
That sounds wickid! Nice story BRX.
[/quote]

It was a fun night.

What I forgot to mention is that we divided up who brought what, which mean Meansteed brought guitar cabs, Trioxin Cherry provided the drums and I brought my smaller bass rig. Both the bass players from the other two bands said afterwards how much they liked the bass sound through my rig - as well as the singer/guitarist with Meansteed who was mightily impressed with the tone their bassist got!

[xilddx]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1348488269' post='1814150']
It was a fun night.

What I forgot to mention is that we divided up who brought what, which mean Meansteed brought guitar cabs, Trioxin Cherry provided the drums and I brought my smaller bass rig. Both the bass players from the other two bands said afterwards how much they liked the bass sound through my rig - as well as the singer/guitarist with Meansteed who was mightily impressed with the tone their bassist got!
[/quote]

Was that your POD rig mate?

[BigRedX]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1348488409' post='1814157']
Was that your POD rig mate?
[/quote]

All my rigs include a Pod in them in one form or another.

I have a Pod XT which I take with me when I'm going to be using someone else's amp and speakers. Normally I just plug this into the input and set the tone controls to flat unless the amp and/or speakers are very biased to a particular sound.

The other two rigs are based around my amp rack which is a Pod XT Pro in the effects loop of a Tech Sounsystems Black Cat hybrid amp - valve pre and 1k Watt digital power. This feeds either two small Dr Bass cabs or 2 large EBS ones.

My main sound is built around the Subdub preset with the drive rolled back just a tad and little extra high-mid boost. The great thing about gear sharing with my rig is that I can let the other bassists fiddle to their heart's content with the controls and then when I come on I hit the footswitch for the patch for our first song and I know it's going to sound right.

[xilddx]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1348489177' post='1814178']
All my rigs include a Pod in them in one form or another.

I have a Pod XT which I take with me when I'm going to be using someone else's amp and speakers. Normally I just plug this into the input and set the tone controls to flat unless the amp and/or speakers are very biased to a particular sound.

The other two rigs are based around my amp rack which is a Pod XT Pro in the effects loop of a Tech Sounsystems Black Cat hybrid amp - valve pre and 1k Watt digital power. This feeds either two small Dr Bass cabs or 2 large EBS ones.

My main sound is built around the Subdub preset with the drive rolled back just a tad and little extra high-mid boost. The great thing about gear sharing with my rig is that I can let the other bassists fiddle to their heart's content with the controls and then when I come on I hit the footswitch for the patch for our first song and I know it's going to sound right.
[/quote]

Excellent! I love the SubDub patch, I do the same as you actually, I add high mids to add some bite.

The POD and its volume pedal are such a part of my style now I think I'd be lost without it.

[gafbass02]

This Saturday's gig was an odd one, we were at a place that had begged us to return, only to be stared at, virtually NO applause, a real negative vibe, I was ready to knock gigging on the head by the end.

Came off stage and everyone was raving about us?!?!?

Huh!?

some audiences are just weird!

[Conan]

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1348499119' post='1814371']
This Saturday's gig was an odd one, we were at a place that had begged us to return, only to be stared at, virtually NO applause, a real negative vibe, I was ready to knock gigging on the head by the end.

Came off stage and everyone was raving about us?!?!?[/quote]

I've had that before. Does my bloody head in!! If you like a band - show them! You are left feeling very confused...

[Dudgeman]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1348499670' post='1814373']
I've had that before. Does my bloody head in!! If you like a band - show them! You are left feeling very confused...
[/quote]

We had a gig like that many moons ago. Big 8 piece soul band. Massive Christmas corporate do...approx 1200 people. We arrive to be shown a large raised stage..brilliant with big lighting rig etc..Dj on the left hand side with a huge rig. Sound checked and sounding really good. Going to be good this we thought. So we are on for 2 sets..Dj starts..he calls us on about 9.30-10.30 for the first set...We get up on stage..there must have been 500 people on the dance floor...within 2 numbers we had cleared it...lol

We were playing out of our skins...did an hour..by the time we had finished we had about 50-100 on the floor. So we wrapped up the first set ..did the usual...see you in a bit ..going to take a short break....As I wandered off stage the DJ put on Saturday night by Wigfield...I kid you not...600 people on the dance floor..bang. We were mortified....was it us..was it the sound...
So we hatched a plan to catch the dancers on the floor for the second set..assuming they would stay on...super slick hand over with the Dj and we were off...and...yes you guessed it... so were the punters. Took them 5-6 songs to clear off ...We stayed totally professional..banged out our numbers got some decent applause at the end....but Dj fired into some tunes and within a song the dance floor was packed with almost 1000 revellers....

I am not sure as a band we had ever played as well or as tight as that night....then the darndest thing.....As we were packing away we were inundated with compliments and hand shakes..pats n the back...business cards were passed...gigs secured. The organiser even gave us some extra dosh as a Christmas bonus..couldn't thank us enough. "Why was no one up dancing" asked out totally bemused singer...oh "everyone was watching" came the reply.."They all absolutely loved it"...makes you wonder eh??

[cheddatom]

I think sometimes you get an over-abundance of musicians in the audience, and a majority of them would rather watch you play than dance about.

We were supposed to have a gig on Saturday night in Salford. The headline act was bringing a drum kit and backline but never showed up!! 2 hours drive, 1 hour waiting around, all for nothing. Why would a band do this? I hope it was a f*** up at promoter level rather than fellow musicians screwing us over.

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1348563775' post='1815120']
I think sometimes you get an over-abundance of musicians in the audience, and a majority of them would rather watch you play than dance about.

[/quote]

that's me. I'm the one staring intently at the bass player!

[socrates]

A gig, in a local park, no stage, no marquee, just three chairs and three amps on the grass in between a queue of kids getting their faces painted and a 'test your strength' machine. Strong smell of dog poo coming from one us . . . Then driving partner, 5 year old son, baby, mate who had come to watch, bass, bass amp, pram etc. home in my Ford Escort. Wonderful!

[Steve G]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1348563775' post='1815120']
I think sometimes you get an over-abundance of musicians in the audience, and a majority of them would rather watch you play than dance about.[/quote]

Not sure it's musicians tbh. to a lot of people (me included tbh) people playing together in a band is as wonderous and fascinating as sword swallowers or magicians, something to be marvelled at and not necessarily jumping around like a loon to. A mark of respect maybe rather than not digging your sound.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1348248368' post='1811471']


They even had Old Peculiar on tap - dangerous for a school night!


[/quote]

A pedantic northern gobsh*te writes.....................

What they had was Old PeculiEr - not PeculiAr.
The A version meaning particular or strange , the E version denoting an area containing places of worship. Thus Old Peculier is named for the ancient parish of Masham.

[gafbass02]

Interesting point about people watching out of interest as it were.
A guy in the loos (while I was taking a piss!?!!)
Came up and said:
" I hate your kind of music, I only like R'n'B, garage and that sort of stuff, but watching you guts tonight made me realise how much work goes Into it and I loved every minute of that!"

:-)

Could've been timed better though, I didn't shake his hand

[Bassmonkey]

We played at our local on Saturday. Have had a few private parties recently which although ok we're not that well attended so felt quite hard work hence Saturday was keenly anticipated. We were not disappointed. The place was packed. Loads in. 4 birthdays. Proper cross section of people. Ended up in a drunken, dancing melee with people falling over the monitors. All good natured though plus the landlord tipped us handsomely. Loved it. Andy

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1348572908' post='1815306']
A pedantic northern gobsh*te writes.....................

What they had was Old PeculiEr - not PeculiAr.
The A version meaning particular or strange , the E version denoting an area containing places of worship. Thus Old Peculier is named for the ancient parish of Masham.
[/quote]

I was drinking it, not reading it