How was your gig last night?

[mcnach]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1478522570' post='3169567']
We played at a well known rock bar in the East Midlands which in the interests of professionalism I'm not going to mention. It was our second gig there, having been rebooked following a gig earlier in the year. In short, it was the worst gig I've ever played and I'm pretty cheesed off with the whole situation.

We arrived to find that the person who booked us had gone home, and nobody else on the staff seemed to know or care who we were. We bought four friends with us which was good because they outnumbered the clientele for most of the night, and provided the only applause / audience noise etc. The songs we played when they went outside for a smoke were greeted with complete silence from the remaining punters, and I mean absolute silence, no acknowledgement whatsoever. The bar owner/ manager started complaining that we were too loud (we weren't). We explained to him that our amps and PA were balanced volume wise with the drum kit (unmiced, apart from the kick) and that we couldn't turn the drums down. He then proceeded to walk around the venue for the rest of the set with his fingers in his ears, which he clearly thought was very funny, but I thought was f***ing rude.

From that point on it was a shambles, constant mistakes and general sloppiness on songs that we've been playing for 18 months since I joined, and three years before I joined. I was furious, embarrassed, and couldn't wait for the gig to end so we could get out of there. For the first time ever I didn't enjoy playing a gig. Not happy.
[/quote]

when the person paying you says it's too loud, it is too loud. Even when they're wrong

[peety]

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1478522489' post='3169566']
^^^^ 'Interesting' - my feelings about a return would be something on the lines of
'fvck that for a game of soldiers'......
.....but each to their own.


[/quote]

Yes sort of my original feelings to be honest

[KevB]

[quote name='peety' timestamp='1478531168' post='3169637']
Yes sort of my original feelings to be honest
[/quote]

Make it clear to future bookers what they are getting. We make it pretty clear that for what they are typically paying us they will get 2x45 min sets maybe a few mins more for pub gigs. We sometimes extend to 2x60min if it is a well paying agency gig at a wmc etc but this is rare. It is up to the venue to decide when they want us to finish and if they want to fill the down time with other acts or background music.

[peety]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1478606601' post='3170191']
Make it clear to future bookers what they are getting. We make it pretty clear that for what they are typically paying us they will get 2x45 min sets maybe a few mins more for pub gigs. We sometimes extend to 2x60min if it is a well paying agency gig at a wmc etc but this is rare. It is up to the venue to decide when they want us to finish and if they want to fill the down time with other acts or background music.
[/quote]

I'm used to that scenario with functions where everything is pre arranged and nailed down, this band is a young band and quite a new venture so they are doing as many gigs as possible to get a reputation which will make it easier later on and in terms of next year is already paying off and i think they are accepting gigs so that further down the line they can be nore selective

, i originally said i would help out as they had no bass player that was in january and i'm still here as such i really try not to get involved with any of the organisation.

To be fair most gigs we have done have been 45 minute first set followed by 1 hour this was slightly different being a town centre bar however you are quite right any future gigs there will have to be set in stone before we commit certainly from my point of view.

i guess the thing is it's a learning curve for them at the moment so all advice is greatly appreciated so i can pass it on.

Cheers Steve

[leschirons]

Thursday night gig for us, a bit strange midweek but it was a last minute thing. Really tiny French pub / restaurant with the drummer taking up 80% of the space Nice vibe in the place. Not exactly overcrowded but very appreciative and up for it. Good pay and fabulous food.

I personally love the gigs where we're forced to play quietly. It's a great exercise in discipline. We played well so all in all, a good'un.

[blue]

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1475931646' post='3149863']
One of those nights where a great gig is spoilt by a couple of twunts! We have a girl that comes to see us and many other bands and just dances all night. Of course there's a knob who decides to try and dance with her and writhes around trying to copy her moves. No problem so far, she's got a lovely temperament and gets it all the time. It's going well, good response, people up dancing and cheering. Get to the penultimate song and right at the end the above twunt gets pushed by his twuntish mate straight into our guitarist and they're all over the place, guitarist regains his balance, finishes song, puts down his guitar (top end PRS) and goes for them! Our singer (his missis) sees what's going to happen and manages to cut him off at the pass before it all kicks off. Damned shame, always a good gig there but spoilt by a couple of knob ends!! Let's hope tonight is less eventful!!
[/quote]

So you guys have "nut jobs" (people oblivious to others and don't know how to act in public)in the UK too.

Happens occasionally over here. It's why my pedal board is wrapped in plastic.

Blue

[FinnDave]

Just back from my first gig with the Bob Bowles Band. Great to play in a three piece that believes in improvising around the songs. Had a very enjoyable time, I was actually hear exactly what we were all playing, which is rare in my other band. Paid well, and we're doing two more in the next couple of weeks.

Edited November 13, 2016 by FinnDave

[ezbass]

New venue for us tonight and we went down really well, punters and guvnor extremely pleased. Lots of compliments and a great sound, albeit on a small stage, I could hear everything I was playing and singing, shame I forgot a bunch of words in China Girl; oops! Looking forward to getting back there soon.

[Painy]

Just got back from our first gig back at an old favorite venue in over a year after they'd stopped having bands for a bit.
After a few technical problems with our singer's guitar in the sound check we started playing to a completely empty room (it's a basement club within another club) but a couple of songs in it started to fill up and after about 20 minutes it was absolutely heaving with everyone in the place dancing and singing along. We decided to play straight through without a break to keep the momentum going and ended up playing an extra half an hour at the end too as none of us -or the crowd - wanted it to stop.
I was also pretty pleased when one of the staff came over to tell me that he played bass himself and to compliment me on my 'sick' bass tone.
Happy days and we're back there again next month and booked again all through next year!

[radiophonic]

First gig with a new band last night - I only joined about a week ago and we'd played together twice. No pressure. They are breaking me in / testing me out gradually with some low profile gigs, before a whole slew in December. Short set in a quite groovy underground arts centre type set-up. Several bands, some solo guitar, some poets and guy playing Chapman Stick over loops. Lots of quick changeovers. Very small stage. The bass player in another band generously offered amp share, which helped out the sound guy, but ultimately not me! He being a dubby reggae player, a wholesale settings mismatch resulted. Basically I couldn't hear a note for the whole of the first song, just a fog of low end, exacerbated by some complicated acoustics in the room . Fortunately the rest of the band are very well rehearsed and the rest of the set went ok - once the the sound guy had found our levels (some unusual instrumentation to deal with) - and the audience were enthusiastic and surprisingly numerous for a Sunday night.

[DaytonaRik]

Celebrated the 2nd Anniversary of Think Lizzy with a return to a venue we've played a few times. Quiet for a Friday night (landlord called it average for him) but peeps had a fun night, a few old faces turned up and we got paid...job done!

I returned to using IEMs after a while away from them and quickly realised that it's well worth the effort of spending 5 mins to put an AKG PP416 in front of each guitar cab and spending 2 mins dialling up a quick mix - no headache or shouting at my housemate the next day, no sore throat from forcing my vox trying to hear myself in the wedge against the backline, no kit-induced ringing ears - lovely!

Edited November 14, 2016 by DaytonaRik

[BrunoBass]

We played at The Red Lion in Brackley last night, just down the road so nice and easy. Good venue, decent crowd, went down well. We played well apart from a couple of drummer-getting-lost incidents. Horrible tone from me though, wooden floor making the amp boomy and hard to control. I eventually got it sounding about right after a few songs following lots of between song tweaking. Really feeling it this morning, I'm the oldest (47) in a band full of 30-somethings and I'm finding gigs harder and harder to get over the next day. Does there come a time when the negatives of being in a band outweigh the positives?

[FinnDave]

Played my second gig with Bob Bowles last night, this time on his home turf in Swindon. Used my new (to me) US Precision, which sounded great. First set was a little bit wobbly for some reason, but we pulled it together for the second which was a blinder. Calne next week!

[Graham]

Friday was a corporate gig for a software company in Brighton who were celebrating moving into a new building. They had three floors of this new office block and we played on the top floor which was their recreation area - ping-pong tables, VR game consoles, musical instruments, food drink etc. These young, tech firms seem to take care of their staff, who are also young - not sure I saw anyone over the age of 35. We played a good set, had a brilliant dep drummer: I've never played with a drummer for the first time and had it feel so natural; can't wait to play with him again.

Saturday was a local pub, turnout was lower than usual there, but the weather was terrible and it's the week before payday. Very much a gig of two halves, first half was rubbish, no-one apart from a drunk bloke in an Iron Maiden shirt dancing and real issues with feedback. Really picked up on the second half though, much more enjoyable and a lot more people up.

With baby number three due in December, next weekend will be my last gig until NYE

[tonyf]

Agency gig at a Masonic lodge in Moseley in Birmingham.

We don't do much agency work being pretty blessed in having enough work through our own efforts. This one was a new agency and it was painfully obvious that they'd just taken the booking and not done any client requirements. We'd had an email a couple of days prior to the gig telling us that we needed to turn up at 6pm but wouldn't have access to the room until 8:45pm at the earliest and had to be ready to play for 9:15pm. This meant that there was a load of hanging about. To be fair, we were really well treated and it was really interesting being in such a usually closed off place like a masonic hall. However, a tight setup and soundcheck.

The gig was amazing. Took us totally by surprise. Expected a relatively conservative reserved audience. Experienced the total opposite. The floor was packed from the word go and it was obvious that they were up for a serious night out.

Got the IEM and front of house mix spot on given such a tight setup. The traditional dance hall was surprisingly easy to mix for, some amazing slap back from the back made the kick, snare and my bass sound absolutely massive.

Huge compliments afterwards, loads of "you're the best band we've ever seen here" comments and have walked away with 2 firm bookings for next year with several other interested parties.

Result.

[amnesia]

VBA400 failed at switch on with a pop - probably popped an output valve given that the symptoms are exactly the same as the last time it failed.

Noticed that I've chipped the finish on my Dingwall NG2. Arse.

Jack socket on the NG2 is also loose - so wouldn't work with my wireless but would with a normal lead.

Stage completed sucked my tone dead.

Pub fairly empty due to lots of local competition - probably 20 bands can be playing in Stoke on a saturday evening.

Joy. Not.

[blue]

Mamie's on 35th and National, a 9:30- 1:30 gig.

Cool respectful enthusiastic crowd for the first 2 sets, then things sort of went south.

Blue

Edited November 21, 2016 by blue

[blue]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1479000626' post='3173276']
Just back from my first gig with the Bob Bowles Band. Great to play in a three piece that believes in improvising around the songs. Had a very enjoyable time, I was actually hear exactly what we were all playing, which is rare in my other band. Paid well, and we're doing two more in the next couple of weeks.
[/quote]

Very cool Dave,

Blue

[radiophonic]

Now I'm back to gigging and the initial excitement has worn off, I'm re-experiencing all the irritation that I'd conveniently forgotten. Saturday night found us playing an exhibition opening in Rough Trade record store (Nottingham). So far so good. Decent sized crowd. Good stage. Very nice PA. Everything well designed for it's purpose. Unfortunately the sound guy (and I use the term loosely) appeared to be clueless. Neither myself nor our guitar player were put through the PA (no explanation) so in both cases we had to rely on excessive stage volume to project over mic'd/DI'd keys, violin, 2 vocalists and drums. Practical upshot - I couldn't hear [i]anything [/i]except for myself and the barest hint of vocal in the monitior. I watched the drummer's hands and counted bars all night. The rather cool audience seemed to get into it, but it was adverse conditions for me.

[cheddatom]

Barnsley on Friday, Nottingham on Saturday. Our guitarist uses a POD and plugs both his electric and acoustic through it, giving the soundman one DI. It seems they can't help themselves from adjusting the EQ, so when he switches we get feedback issues. It's not happened a lot this year, but both gigs this weekend it did. I guess the solution is to just give them two DIs. Anyway, that along with the flu sucks some of the fun out of it but we still went down well and sold merch etc

[stuckinthepod]

Last gig with my classic rock pub covers band. Singer/Rhythm guitarist snapped a string on a Floyd rose equipped guitar on the first song. Drunken Robert Plant wannabe invaded the stage every other song for the first set. Second set much better and small crowd of 20-30 got into it. Better than several recent gigs...but glad its over and I'm out now and on to more (I hope) fulfilling pastures.

[Iain]

Two gigs last weekend.

Friday night with HalfLife at the Bike N Hound in Hyde. First time as a 4 piece meaning a few tracks were dropped and a fee new ones in. Usual excellent crowd in fine form and voice. Drummer wore the skin of his fingers i had blisters forming from digging in. Awesome. The attempted crowd surfing during Ace of Spades failed but was amusing.

Saturday was the first outing of our acoustic trio. Bass, guitar and the singer also doing percussion. Wine bar in West Didsbury, Manchester. Both sets went great and the crowd had a great time. Good fun for me dealing from bass to guitar for various songs. Small space we were in so won't be taking my Helix next time... To much chance of it being fed a drink as things get rowdy.

Band 3, Trackside, playing this weekend at a regular spot that always enjoys the set.

Happy days.

[yorks5stringer]

Mid-week gig at The Crown in Sherborne with Hello Hopeville, the Americana band.
Made my vocal debut on 'Jackson' the Johnny Cash song with the repeated whispered 'Jackson' vocal line at the end. The song went down very well as much of our other material is not mainstream low-hanging fruit.
Also debuted the Markbass 802 which coped easily with the volumes (no drummer) line-up.

Slebs in the audience included Mickyboro and wife of this parish, who also left with a purchased Markbass 801 under their arms.

[DaytonaRik]

The last gig was an absolute nightmare - had a narrow window in which to load in (at a professional football club), people getting in the way whilst we were trying to set up, small lift, 1st floor venue, sound guy hadn't used his gear in a while wand was a bit at odds with it, awful monitor mixes, boomy everything, I had a headache which got worse with every note and people started to drift off around 10:30 to catch buses. definitely one I'd rather forget about and quickly.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1480004892' post='3180963'] Mid-week gig at The Crown in Sherborne with Hello Hopeville, the Americana band. [/quote]

I pass that pub every day, I didn't know they did gigs, although I thought they had open mic nights and blues things. I always wondered though, if you are loading into that pub, apart from the small area at the front, where do you park?!

I am in Sherborne tomorrow - the Cross Keys, it's their last night before closing and seeing as the last time we were here, security jumped on some guy and the police got called, I decided to not take an expensive bass