How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

10 hours ago, FinnDave said:

 

Nothing in the books at the moment, most of the post-lockdown gigs have been relatively short notice ones. Can't commit to anything more than ten miles away as my wife is having to drive me around until I get my eye fixed, otherwise the main band would be out every week.

Have you got a date for getting your eye fixed. ? Hopefully soon.

Dave

[FinnDave]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have you got a date for getting your eye fixed. ? Hopefully soon.

Dave

Supposedly this week, but not a word from the hospital; yet. I'll get in touch with them in the morning as our post has been all over the place so a letter may have gone somewhere else.

 

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, FinnDave said:

Supposedly this week, but not a word from the hospital; yet. I'll get in touch with them in the morning as our post has been all over the place so a letter may have gone somewhere else.

 

All the best with it Dave and hopefully this week.

Dave

[neepheid]

It was the 'Spoons first post-lockdown gig last night.  It was a mate's wedding - no pressure then!  It was unusual circumstances all round - we are an originals band (although we do know some covers that we like to do for fun) and we've never played a wedding before!  Thankfully, the drummer and I are also in a covers band so we're happy to set up PA etc. and used to doing it on a regular basis.

 

We went to the venue the day before to set things up so as to minimise the disruption on the day (the whole shebang being in the one big room) and were a bit worried about how echo-y and boomy the room was (albeit when empty).  When we got down to playing all together and with bodies in the room it turned out fine.

 

We really weren't sure how we'd go down - sure, the bride and groom like us (that's why they asked us to play) but people who go to weddings generally expect a covers band.  Thankfully we had a very generous, open-minded audience who didn't only dance to the covers but stayed on the floor for most of our songs too.  The second set went great - after the post buffet mini coma had passed (around half way through) we played "Hard to Handle" and they stayed up for the rest of the set, bless 'em.  Got two "one more choon"s, and we dared them to dance to "White Room" - challenge was accepted and they gave it a right good go - some quality robot moves during the 5/4 bolero bits  

 

We had a fabulous night - no major fluffs, the bride and groom were very happy (main objective, tick) and we're off and running again.  I don't think we'll make a habit of playing weddings - it was a very select circumstance where we knew the bride and groom and I don't think it would have worked at any other wedding.  Also, one of the guests was a fellow bass player so I got to talk shop for a bit in the break so that was cool.

 

Next gig - this Saturday with the covers band, Dec 11th for the 'Spoons.

Edited October 4, 2021 by neepheid

[Woodwind]

Dust is settling from my show on Friday the 1st.

 

First public performance in just under 2 years. It was wonderful to play again. Capacity crowd at Kings Place Hall 2. Superb venue!

 

Dealing with the slight anticlimax now as my diary is still basically empty.

[Muzz]

Not a gig last night, but the last rehearsal (of two) for Red Sky, the originals band we brought back from the dead for a 30th anniversary gig in 2019 - we're playing the McVention in Glasgow on Friday night. It's a Quo convention, we're the only non-Quo band on, our singer/guitarist and drummer play in State Of Quo, and they're doing the Saturday night, but the organisers are fans of Red Sky, and asked us to play on the Friday. The keyboard player and I will roadie for State of Quo on the Satdy night. Looking forward to a weekend in Glasgow immensely... 😃

[Staggering on]

I'm enjoying all these posts about gigs and absolutely green with envy. Unfortunately over here there are almost no gigs yet except outdoors and those are rare and now that fall weather has arrived those gigs will end soon. Both my bands have been back to rehearsals for a while but only one potential gig so far, before Covid we would have up to 5 gigs a month between the two bands. Capacity limits for many venues are still low so they simply can't afford bands and in the case of the seven piece, we would be counted as occupants and therefore further reduce the number of paying customers allowed in. Most big concert bands and symphonies are rehearsing in sections only or doing it on line, no idea when regular concerts and shows will resume in Ontario. 

Sigh...🙁

[Woodwind]

3 hours ago, Staggering on said:

... no idea when regular concerts and shows will resume in Ontario. 

Sigh...🙁

I feel for you.

 

Coming from an originals context, rather than function or covers, although gigs are happening it is very, very difficult to build up sequences of dates.

 

Too many things can get cancelled last minute.

 

I'm using this lull to work up a new set specifically for less, but more select shows next year.

 

I've seen things are happening in certain cities in Canada, but it seems a similar situation to here - treat shows as one offs

 

[casapete]

We played at Billingham Forum Theatre last night - a full house, great crowd and no fuel problems getting there! Happy days.

[Len_derby]

51 minutes ago, casapete said:

We played at Billingham Forum Theatre last night - a full house, great crowd and no fuel problems getting there! Happy days.

Great pictures. I like your dapper style too. No tw@tty hat. 👍

[bass_dinger]

I had a gig!

 

Proper stage, PA, foldback, audience who could choose whether to listen or walk away, new songs to learn, and some great vocalists.  

 

This was my first time on a proper raised stage and it was was hard work, for sure.  I struggled to hear the other musicians a little, and until yesterday I had no real concept of how long it would take to set up the kit - an 8 hour day for 90 minutes of playing.

 

I have a new respect for people who play on stage, hats off to you all!

 

It was fun.  I want to do it again - but better!

[Dad3353]

Not last night, but last Saturday, a three-hour afternoon 'invitation only' private do, organised by our 2nd guitar/keys. The hall, originally, in bygone days, a stable for coach and horses, it's quite spacious enough for the fifty or so folks attending. Firstly, though, a clean sweep...

 

 

Plenty of access from the wide-open side door...

 

 

 

S'not as easy as all that, this 'ere keys stuff...

 

 

... but it all works come the sound check ...

 

 

A first outing, too, for the newly-built and as yet unpainted, Hartke-driven bass combo (more on that in the Build section of the forum...). Unproven for 'live' work, we'd hedged our bets with the Ampeg, just in case, and just as well, as the combo isn't up to the task on its own. Maybe with the planned 4x5 extension cab..? The Ampeg was fine, of course, so no worries for the evening...

Some pre-gig ambience from our LED PAR lights...

 

 

An unusual format for this, our first outing for a couple of years, with a two sets alternating two or three as The Daub'z, with all five of us, and two or three songs as a solo or duo, giving a sort of cabaret feel to the occasion. A first outing, too, for one of my e-drum kits, for a more cut-down, one-hand set-up, which worked quite well. No need for a massive FOH for such a small room; it's the Behringers on sticks that you see in the corners. This meant, however, no foldback, which makes e-drums a little... erm... 'delicate' to play. All I hear is the clickety-flack of the nylon tips on the pads, and nothing at all from the bass pedal..!
The event went off well, with a good turn-out, despite hard rain all day, and a splendid time was had by all. If I get any decent shots of us playing, or, even better, any video, I'll add them here. As a group we shared a marine choucroute for evening meal after breaking down the gear and I was home at half-past ten. 
A format to be repeated, with some slight technical adjustments. I'm not sure it would work quite so well with a 'cold' audience, but we're unlikely to be playing out again for some time yet, in any case. Altogether a very satisfactory, if modest, event, so 'Happy Daze'. 

[dmccombe7]

And a nice wee BMW bike in the shot too. Bikes and bands..............a great combination IMO of course.

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

3 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

This meant, however, no foldback, which makes e-drums a little... erm... 'delicate' to play. All I hear is the clickety-flack of the nylon tips on the pads, and nothing at all from the bass pedal..!

 

Could that have been a use for the Hartkombo?

[Stub Mandrel]

We must have been half-decent last Friday, the landlord has booked us for New Year's Eve. 🙂

 

[Dad3353]

34 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Could that have been a use for the Hartkombo?

 

If it wasn't driving the Ampeg, maybe..!  I have other small powered monitors I could have brought, but the idea of the cut-down kit was to be a simple, plug'n'play rack, and it's our first time out with e-drums, so it's part of the learning curve (who'd 'ave thought it, eh..? Still learnin' at that age..!). If I have to go complicated, I might as well bring the whole caboodle laptop an' stuff and have Superior Drums to play. Or bring the Camco back into the swing of things and give everyone a treat..! 

[dmccombe7]

First gig with the new punk band last night. Support to a Ska band. Decided on using the Geddy Jazz with Mesa Mpulse and Subway 210/115 rig.

Not sure what was happening but when digging in the bass seemed to be losing its low end as if over compressed. Was fine at lower volumes. Might need to raise string height a bit for the punk band. I've never experienced that before but i was playing quite hard fingerstyle. Any thoughts welcome

As we were a support only an hour and 15 mins set most of the punters were there for the Ska band but we got a pretty good response after each song and several people on the dancefloor too. The Ska band were doing a 2 nighter and were in theFri night too and the club was exxtremely busy.

Add to that the Undertones were playing Edinburgh last night and many punks would be at the Undertones. Reckon there were about 100-125 audience.

On at 8:30 and off at 9:45 ish so and early night home by 11:15pm 

Only made one duffer mistake which wasn't too bad considering i only had 3-4 wks to learn the 42 songs in the set. 

Dave

Edited October 10, 2021 by dmccombe7

[Cuzzie]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

First gig with the new punk band last night. Support to a Ska band. Decided on using the Geddy Jazz with Mesa Mpulse and Subway 21/115 rig.

Not sure what was happening but when digging in the bass seemed to be losing its low end as if over compressed. Was fine at lower volumes. Might need to raise string height a bit for the punk band. I've never exxperienced that before but i was playing quite hard fingerstyle. Any thoughts welcome

As we were a support only an hour and 15 mins set most of the punters were there for the Ska band but we got a pretty good response after each set and several people on the dancefloor too. The Ska band were doing a 2 nighter and were in theFri night too and the club was exxtremely busy.

Add to that the Undertones were playing Edinburgh last night and many punks would be at the Undertones. Reckon there were about 100-125 audience.

On at 8:30 and off at 9:45 ish so and early night home by 11:15pm 

Only made one duffer mistake which wasn't too bad considering i only had 3-4 wks to learn the 42 songs in the set. 

Dave

Were you playing/digging too hard and causing the strings to move out the magnetic field of the pick ups pole pieces?

Edited October 10, 2021 by Cuzzie

[dmccombe7]

15 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

Were you playing/digging too hard and causing the strings to move out the magnetic field of the pick ups pole pieces?

That might have been the issue altho i'm not sure how to sort that other than not digging in so hard. Digging in with a punk band just seemed to come very naturally to me.

Dave

[Cuzzie]

8 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

That might have been the issue altho i'm not sure how to sort that other than not digging in so hard. Digging in with a punk band just seemed to come very naturally to me.

Dave

completely get you on that, but as a comparison (not punk and a guitar) look at Kim Thyall of Soundgarden - they have a heavy sound, but he uses really light strings like an 8 or 9 if remember right with a very light touch, but still delivers the hammer

[Cuzzie]

This is me thinking off the top of my head and could be absolute knackers - but by really forcing the strings are you actually taking away it’s ability to vibrate effectively?

 

Digging in with pick or fingers?

 

when I play between the two I have to have quite different settings due to the bass my sausages add to the note, plus with a pick I naturally play closer to the bridge

[zbd1960]

On 04/10/2021 at 16:29, casapete said:

We played at Billingham Forum Theatre last night - a full house, great crowd and no fuel problems getting there! Happy days.

Yay - celli 😄

[dmccombe7]

31 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

This is me thinking off the top of my head and could be absolute knackers - but by really forcing the strings are you actually taking away it’s ability to vibrate effectively?

 

Digging in with pick or fingers?

 

when I play between the two I have to have quite different settings due to the bass my sausages add to the note, plus with a pick I naturally play closer to the bridge

Using fingerstyle. Its not so bad with tone backed off but i like that click from the high end EQ.

I'll take to rehearsals next week and experiment a bit with it to see if playing lighter helps.

Something i did think of this morning is whether a slightly heavier gauge of string might reduce the movement of the strings across the pole pieces. What do you think.

I'm using D'addario nickels 40-100. Could take it up to med gauge 45-105 see if it helps.

Dave

 

[wateroftyne]

We played at a great venue in Jesmond (one of the posh bits of Newcastle) last night. A sold-out ticket do.

 

Can't help thinking if 'm going to get covid, last night be the night...

 

 

[stewblack]

Had one of those awkward gigs last night. The Tap Social in Oxford is a genuinely lovely place. Always a great atmosphere, staff and punters are friendly, there's a nice stage and a house pa. 

Unfortunately I have always struggled with the bass sound. First time I played there it sounded great on stage but was booming at the back of the room. This time I tried a different rig and it sounded thin and kind of  compressed no matter what I did.

But I did the best I could then just got in with enjoying the gig. Too easy to be derailed by sound issues and forget we're there to entertain.