How was your gig last night?

[Gottastopbuyinggear]

Friday night Fortunate Sons played the Wicked Lady in Bridgend.

Bit of a mixed bag - started out badly after we'd set up and done a quick sound check, when the pub asked us to move about 6 feet right so the drums weren't by the window - concerns about the sound carrying apparently. Then something happened on the singer's channel on the mixer during the first song so nobody could hear him, and after the first song we were asked to turn down. So we were a bit subdued through the fist set.

However, to be fair the lower volume probably helped the sound overall (we only put vocals and keys through the PA and play to the volume of the drummer, but he can get pretty loud), and the second set started well with a few people up dancing straight away. We managed to keep the momentum going for the whole set, dropping a couple of slower songs on-the-fly to keep a good number of people dancing, and by the end we were all really enjoying it and felt we'd really turned it around after a dodgy start.

Best part, however, was the encore - we had quite a few calls to "go on, play one more", and quickly picked Roadhouse Blues from our limited list of possibles. Almost simultaneously a guy came out of the audience, fairly inebriated by his own admission, and asks "Can you play Roadhouse Blues?".
"Er, yes" was the slightly puzzled answer.
"Can you play it in E?"
"Erm, yeah?"

I kept my eye on the punter as we launched into it - he went and delved into his coat pocket, pulled out a couple of harmonicas, picked the right one and came back at us with a questioning look on his face. It would have been rude to say no, and as it turned out he was absolutely spot on - knew how to play, and didn't out stay his welcome. Good result!

[BigRedX]

Played at The Bodega in Nottingham with my new band "The Death Notes" supporting Scriptures for the album launch gig.

Excellent on-stage and FoH sound and almost enough room to throw some shapes on stage:

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/IMG_0075_zpsj9ordml3.jpg[/IMG]

A really good evening all-round. I particularly enjoyed the set from the band on after us - The Madeline Rust.

[blue]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1494233330' post='3294099']
Another social club gig, left me feeling a bit fed up with it all really
[/quote]

We do a couple of legion hall gigs, which might be like your social club gigs.

Mostly seniors that are not engaged with the band.

I know, not a lot of fun. But the pay is good, I can't complain.

Blue

Edited May 8, 2017 by blue

[Swijn]

Travelled to Swindon and played the Victoria to a full house - always a good crowd here that are up for some Floyd.

The PA is excellent here - as to is the resident engineer. Monitoring was perfect - something of a rarity! Just took the small Ampeg Rig and cut through no problem.

[LewisK1975]

We did a 3 date mini tour last weekend with 2 other bands, great time had by all.

1st gig (Thu) was at The Pit, in Swansea. Should have been at The Scene, but venue was changed due to the Scene being trashed by some clubbers the week before. Great gig, good FOH and engineer.

2nd was at The Musician in Leicester, another great venue, but we (being 1st on) were pushed for time at soundcheck and were unable to use our sequencer (used in a couple of tunes) so had to improvise a little, still a great night. Strangely enough we had a hotel for the night too, and at Breakfast we realised that we were sharing a hotel with McCanns! That was a bit of a shock!

3rd Gig on Saturday was at Surya, in Kings Cross London, small venue, again a great FOH and engineer.

Overall we had a blast, and a lot of sleep on Sunday!

[FinnDave]

Some rather mixed feelings about tonight's gig. On the one hand, I enjoyed our playing and the audience loved us, on the other, I was using a brand new amp, delivered to my house half an hour before I left for the gig, which worked at home and for the first 30 seconds of the first number, then stopped dead. Fortunately, I had my old amp in the car, and it was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Then in the break, someone complimented me on my bass playing and said I sounded like I was channelling Duck Dunn, which is the best compliment I've ever had, followed a few minutes later by my seeing from a distance my year-old Fender US Jazz bass and stand falling gracefully onto the drum kit. One string damaged by a cymbal and a couple of small dents in the fingerboard. Fortunately, I had a spare bass in the car, and that too was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Moral is always carry a spare!

[Woodinblack]

Weird. New venue, sort of a community center / working mens club. Most gigs have a quiet half and build up to the end. It was a short gig for us at 2.5 hours. The first half was dancing and audience reactions right from the sound check, just after the second half we were asked to turn it down a bit, and we played all our dull blues and classic songs and didn't seem to have to much reaction from the audience (apart from drunk bloke who loved it).

Afterwards when grumpily breaking down, the landlord came over, said how much they loved it, apologised that everyone went at 10 as that is how it worked there, gave us our money plus £50 extra because "we were excellent" and asked us back to do a function for them downstairs.

You never can tell!

[lurksalot]

It great to be back in this thread !!

The new line up were out tonight , effectively the old lineup less rhythm guitar , so a bit more space and a bit more work , new songs and new arrangements of old ones.
It went well enough , a new venue as well , so getting the sound right proved a bit troublesome , but after about 6 songs we dialled in and it worked really well .
Back on the road again😊

[FinnDave]

Just back from a late booked gig in Swindon. The pub seemed unaware that the original band had cancelled and been replaced, still had their posters up and told any punters who asked about us the wrong name. Those enthusiastic enough to talk to us were given business cards, though, so they know who we are.

Small but enthusiastic audience, possibly caused by Eurovision being on TV, also a party at the club behind the pub and a packed Weatherspoons opposite with beer less than half the price of the pub we played in. We weren't allowed off without a couple of encores, so we were appreciated. Short break until Tuesday now.

[colleya]

Absolute belter. Small pub in Horwich with an amazing crowd who sang and danced all night. We've shifted the set to be more 80s pop and it seems to be working. During Dead Ringer For Love we had to move back to make room for all the dancers.

Mix was just right, I used my handbox through 2 barefaced compacts and the contour setting is doing a treat at taming the natural mid boost that my playing g style seems to produce. I was sat much better in the overall sound last night.


After a really quiet one last month it's gigs like this that remind me how easy it is to play when the people there are into it, you really feed off the energy.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 28, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Muzz]

Gig with the Rawk band in a biker/music pub in Morecambe. Early days gigging with this lineup, but it worked well. We didn't have a zillion songs, but went down well, and have been invited back. The all-too-familiar hollow stage to contend with - the foam under my cab worked well, though the two guitards have JCM100s and 412s, and the bottom end from them was a bit much. Once I'd got them to dial it back in the low end it got better. No bass in the PA, the Super Twin meant the Walkabout could go very, very loud...300w goes a long way into a very efficient cab

Oh, and one punter took exception to the Shukerbird's neck "It's not a proper Gibson any more". I pointed out that there isn't a molecule of it that's Gibson anyway, and we discussed precedents a la Entwistle and Wilkeson. Then I showed him the Dingwall, which had been sitting in its case, and he was pretty much speechless...

[gary mac]

Despite me having a fairly serious chest infection, a good one for us last night in Hertford. If it hadn't been for a hefty dose of Steroids, I don't think I would have been able to do it.
A sofa day today.

[colleya]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1494760254' post='3298329']
Gig with the Rawk band in a biker/music pub in Morecambe.
[/quote]

The Bath?

[Muzz]

That's the one!

[squire5]

Don't know how many of you know who Mike Masse is,but check him out on youtube.Basically hes a guy with a great voice and a nice acoustic guitar who duets with a bass player and they do acoustic/bass versions of many great songs.
Well me and our guitarist do a similar thing though not quite the same calibre as Mike.Last night we were doing our version of 'Africa' by Toto,(again,inspired by Mike Masse) when,in the chorus, where me and Paul, the guitarist, launch into a strong 2-piece harmony,a guy in the crowd stood up and launched into a 3rd harmony,and continued to do so throughout the song.We play quietly usually,so the guy didnt really need a mike.Suffice to say,its always good when somebody in the crowd reacts to what you're doing in a positive way.

[cheddatom]

Hereford on Friday night, home town on Saturday night... good fun but the crowds were thin, which seems to make the non-stop weekend even more tiring :-/

[Bilbo]

I did my Jazz East gig last Sunday with harmonica player Adam Glasser. I just got this feedback.

'Dear Rob,

Thanks once again for inviting me to play - you are my absolute favourite group of musicians for a listening supportive musical jazz experience, getting together on spec!'

How lovely!!! Makes it all worthwhile.

[Telebass]

Saturday's gig: shoehorned into the Rising Sun in Gunnislake, Cornwall. Hot, sweaty, loud! Excellent crowd well up for some raw, and they got it!

[lowdown]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1494913450' post='3299443']
I did my Jazz East gig last Sunday with harmonica player Adam Glasser. I just got this feedback.

'Dear Rob,

Thanks once again for inviting me to play - you are my absolute favourite group of musicians for a listening supportive musical jazz experience, getting together on spec!'

How lovely!!! Makes it all worthwhile.
[/quote]

Great stuff !!

Adam is a lovely player and that tone is just beautiful.
His Piano playing is pretty sweet as well.

[blue]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494633357' post='3297548']
Some rather mixed feelings about tonight's gig. On the one hand, I enjoyed our playing and the audience loved us, on the other, I was using a brand new amp, delivered to my house half an hour before I left for the gig, which worked at home and for the first 30 seconds of the first number, then stopped dead. Fortunately, I had my old amp in the car, and it was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Then in the break, someone complimented me on my bass playing and said I sounded like I was channelling Duck Dunn, which is the best compliment I've ever had, followed a few minutes later by my seeing from a distance my year-old Fender US Jazz bass and stand falling gracefully onto the drum kit. One string damaged by a cymbal and a couple of small dents in the fingerboard. Fortunately, I had a spare bass in the car, and that too was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Moral is always carry a spare!
[/quote]

Nice!

I would bet no one that comes to our shows would know who Duck Dunn is.

Blue

[FinnDave]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1494932512' post='3299652']
Nice!

I would bet no one that comes to our shows would know who Duck Dunn is.

Blue
[/quote]

I was surprised, to say the least. Surprised and very flattered!

[blue]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494633357' post='3297548']
Some rather mixed feelings about tonight's gig. On the one hand, I enjoyed our playing and the audience loved us, on the other, I was using a brand new amp, delivered to my house half an hour before I left for the gig, which worked at home and for the first 30 seconds of the first number, then stopped dead. Fortunately, I had my old amp in the car, and it was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Then in the break, someone complimented me on my bass playing and said I sounded like I was channelling Duck Dunn, which is the best compliment I've ever had, followed a few minutes later by my seeing from a distance my year-old Fender US Jazz bass and stand falling gracefully onto the drum kit. One string damaged by a cymbal and a couple of small dents in the fingerboard. Fortunately, I had a spare bass in the car, and that too was the work of a minute or so to get it and swap it over.

Moral is always carry a spare!
[/quote]

Dave,

You had issues with your bass and amp at the same gig?

Blue

[FinnDave]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1494932659' post='3299655']
Dave,

You had issues with your bass and amp at the same gig?

Blue
[/quote]

Yes, amp failed early in first song, and the bass fell over and damaged fingerboard and string. I had and used spare amp and spare bass. I've just been listening to my recording of the gig ready to upload and it sounds fine. I did edit out the false start, as we had to stop about on minute into the first number while I changed amps.

[blue]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494932864' post='3299656']


Yes, amp failed early in first song, and the bass fell over and damaged fingerboard and string. I had and used spare amp and spare bass. I've just been listening to my recording of the gig ready to upload and it sounds fine. I did edit out the false start, as we had to stop about on minute into the first number while I changed amps.
[/quote]

Dave,

I hope there's no hidden damage to your bass

Just think if the hassle had you not been prepared with back up bass and amp.

I always have a spare bass and amp head in my car at gigs.

Guys, all it takes is one incident and being unprepared could be a nightmare.

Blue

Edited May 16, 2017 by blue