How was your gig last night?

[stewblack]

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

[warwickhunt]

7 minutes ago, stewblack said:

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

 

I generally play in a 3 piece (other band is essentially a 3 piece with the 4th member being the vocalist), I'm pretty sure if they couldn't hear me they'd be stuffed!   

 

We do however regularly use dep drummers and I have to say that if they aren't listening to me and the guitarist and reacting to how we play a particular song (is that valuing us?), they generally don't get asked back.  The drummers who know what they are doing and listening for nuances are the ones I want to have in a band with me. 

[neepheid]

7 minutes ago, stewblack said:

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

 

I don't get it, you "changed the setup and put everything through the pa" - did you set the levels?  Didn't you just give them some bass anyway then (not in a narcissistic way, just as a start from here kind of thing)?

[stewblack]

11 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I don't get it, you "changed the setup and put everything through the pa" - did you set the levels?  Didn't you just give them some bass anyway then (not in a narcissistic way, just as a start from here kind of thing)?

Sorry I meant I did away with my amp and cab. So if they wanted bass they had to ask for it 

[neepheid]

4 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Sorry I meant I did away with my amp and cab. So if they wanted bass they had to ask for it 

 

Perhaps whoever was in charge of levels gave them a default amount of bass and they nailed it?  Trying to be positive here...

[BigRedX]

How was your gig last night?

 

flipping brilliant!

 

Hurtsfall were playing Goth City 7 in Leeds on the main stage at Boom, opening for Promenade Cinema and Auger. We did Goth City two years ago at a different venue which was good, but this was overall in another league.

 

Sound check was a bit rushed, but we're quick at setting up and as long as our singer can hear himself and we can all hear the drums on the backing track, we can make do. Managed to get a decent on-stage sound just before doors opened. An hour later when we actually came to play, we were surprised to find that not only was the room filling up but there were people right at the front of the stage - normally our singer will try and get them to shuffle forward about half way through the set. By the end of the first song the room was pretty much full and people were cheering like mad - unbelievable! There were a few people done the front who we had never seen at our gigs before, singing along to all the songs - although the very new one had them a bit stumped!

 

Mad applause and whooping and cheering followed the end of every song, and if it wasn't for the fact that the whole evening was on a tight schedule and we'd over-run slightly as our singer has a tendency to waffle a bit between songs, I'd have been tempted to do an encore. I don't like bands that come back to play another song just because a couple of their mates shout "more" - I'm a firm believer that both the band and the audience should earn an encore, and if there hadn't been the time constraints I think in case we'd have been justified.

 

Afterwards we sold nearly all the merch that had brought with us, and lots of people asking when we would be releasing a full album.

 

Both Promenade Cinema (who I'd not seen before) and Auger were excellent, all-in-all a great night of goth-influenced music.

 

No photos so far, but there a couple of professional looking photographers there, so I'll probably be posting some later on.

[Len_derby]

Yesterday was The Nailed It festival in Belper, Derbyshire. 65 acts across 9 venues , all free entry.

The originals band I’m in, Diamond Bridges, did a 45 minute set at The Nags Head. We opted for a 3pm start because our guitarist had an evening event to go to. The pub was already very busy at 2,  as were all the venues I saw. It was the usual setup, back-line supplied, and I had a ratty Behringer combo to play through. Everything worked properly though, the soundman knew his job and we went down well. The upside of supplied kit was that I could use the bus, just a 15 minute journey for me.

The whole festival across the town was very busy, in spite of intermittent thunder storms, and I was able to meet up with old friends, have a beer and wander around the venues. 

 

[Thor]

Uncle Jack played at The Foresters Arms in Andover last night, it’s one of those venues that can either be really really good or  indifferent, with punters disengaged - thankfully last night was really good! A good sized crowd continued to swell as the evening went on, the gremlins that seemed to plague my IEM’s last outing didn’t manifest so that was cool, and gratefully no excessively oiled up punters spilled beer over kit - so all in all a great night. We all played well, the singer (who is depping for us from the second band I’m in) is starting to enjoy himself and is familiarising himself with how we’ve changed certain song structures - it’s probably the first gig I’ve really enjoyed in the last 4 months with that band😊👍🏻

 

A little snippet taken by our rhythm guitarist:

 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/49274076451/permalink/10159806882926452/

[jimmyb625]

Fine Lines played a small, local gig in a tea room last night. We'd originally intended to play outside, however the weather had other ideas, so we ended up inside, albeit with a pair of satellite speakers set up under cover for those who hadn't booked a table.

Despite the massive amount of work involved with setting it up (by me) it was a really enjoyable evening. There's something about these intimate gigs that makes it really good, especially as the audience are there to hear us, as opposed to us being a distraction from eating, drinking, or waiting for the main act to arrive.

Most of the bass went straight into the PA, the RCF's do a great job handling it. I used the one10 for a tiny bit of monitoring, but took the main feed from the pedal board.

We had the first and most likely last appearance of the Jimmy B bass solo during the intro to one of our songs, with the drummist using a glass to replace the more often used cowbell! Obligatory picture of said event below.

 

[taunton-hobbit]

Six apartments in Denmark Street are being marketed for a £19,250 a week 

 

😎

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Perhaps whoever was in charge of levels gave them a default amount of bass and they nailed it?  Trying to be positive here...

I appreciate your positive vibes - thanks man.

But I do the pa 😅😅

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

I appreciate your positive vibes - thanks man.

But I do the pa 😅😅

 

As low bass isn't directional they probably heard a decent amount of bleed from the pa and assumed you knew what you were doing. As long as they here themselves most musicians tend to accept the mix they get even when it's bad enough to compromise their playing.

 

Problem is most of us part timers rehearse songs but don't rehearse our sound.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Stub Mandrel

[Stub Mandrel]

Stuff humblebragging, I'm just going to boast. The gig we did last weekend has had so much good feedback face to face and on Facebook. I've even had people who didn't go telling me they heard how good it was. That's never happened before, feels like we have "levelled up" 😁

 

Must all be down to my bass solo 🙄

[taunton-hobbit]

Random -

 

 

😎

[gafbass02]

Solo acoustic gig last night at a venue I’ve not played since pre covid times. Apart from one gobby punter who seemed to be upset by the fact that I was getting attention not him, it was a cracking night

[Bluewine]

8 hours ago, stewblack said:

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

 

I'm a 60s/70s guy. I think bass guitar was much more prominent back then. I'm not sure younger folks understand the importance of bass. 

 

I get the same thing,  they don't want

bass in their monitors or I'm asked to move my monitor away from them. Most of the drummers I know that are over 65 get it and want to hear allot of bass.

 

I've also heard from some punters I'm too low in the house mix.

 

Blue 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Bluewine

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'm a 60s/70s guy. I think bass guitar was much more prominent back then. I'm not sure younger folks understand the importance of bass. 

 

I get the same thing,  they don't want

bass in their monitors or I'm asked to move my monitor away from them. Most of the drummers I know that are over 65 get it and want to hear allot of bass.

 

I've also heard from some punters I'm to low in the house mix.

 

Blue 

Perhaps its because the younger generation are listening to MP3 downloads rather than vinyl or CD and don't generally hear the low and high ends.

In my day we all had Hi-fi separates with decent speakers so we could hear the bass and treble clearly.

Nowadays its all earplugs or smaller bluetooth speakers.

Something has got lost in the translation. They don't know what they're missing.

Dave

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

Fine Lines played a small, local gig in a tea room last night. We'd originally intended to play outside, however the weather had other ideas, so we ended up inside, albeit with a pair of satellite speakers set up under cover for those who hadn't booked a table.

Despite the massive amount of work involved with setting it up (by me) it was a really enjoyable evening. There's something about these intimate gigs that makes it really good, especially as the audience are there to hear us, as opposed to us being a distraction from eating, drinking, or waiting for the main act to arrive.

Most of the bass went straight into the PA, the RCF's do a great job handling it. I used the one10 for a tiny bit of monitoring, but took the main feed from the pedal board.

We had the first and most likely last appearance of the Jimmy B bass solo during the intro to one of our songs, with the drummist using a glass to replace the more often used cowbell! Obligatory picture of said event below.

 

 

We use RCFs for our smaller profile acoustic gigs. No amps we're all DI. They are great !

 

Blue 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

21 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Perhaps its because the younger generation are listening to MP3 downloads rather than vinyl or CD and don't generally hear the low and high ends.

In my day we all had Hi-fi separates with decent speakers so we could hear the bass and treble clearly.

Nowadays its all earplugs or smaller bluetooth speakers.

Something has got lost in the translation. They don't know what they're missing.

Dave

 

 Agreed, love your analysis 

 

Daryl

Edited July 16, 2023 by Bluewine

[FinnDave]

8 hours ago, stewblack said:

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

When I was playing for the Grateful Dudes we usually played venues with decent PA and sound man. As they were venues it was difficult to park near, I suggested that I leave my amp and cab at home and DI into the PA. This was soundly vetoed, mainly by the drummers, as they said they wanted to hear the bass clearly.

My current band's guitarist (The Wirebirds, who I have been with for most of the past ten years) insists on hearing plenty of deep rich bass, and usually expects me to bring my old white Precision, as he thinks that has the best sound. Because of arthritis in my fingers, I am no longer able to play it, so I was using a Mustang bass with round wounds, and he was very complementary about the sound. 

So, my band mates certainly to listen to the bass.

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

When I was playing for the Grateful Dudes we usually played venues with decent PA and sound man. As they were venues it was difficult to park near, I suggested that I leave my amp and cab at home and DI into the PA. This was soundly vetoed, mainly by the drummers, as they said they wanted to hear the bass clearly.

My current band's guitarist (The Wirebirds, who I have been with for most of the past ten years) insists on hearing plenty of deep rich bass, and usually expects me to bring my old white Precision, as he thinks that has the best sound. Because of arthritis in my fingers, I am no longer able to play it, so I was using a Mustang bass with round wounds, and he was very complementary about the sound. 

So, my band mates certainly to listen to the bass.

 

You are lucky Dave. 

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

When I was playing for the Grateful Dudes we usually played venues with decent PA and sound man. As they were venues it was difficult to park near, I suggested that I leave my amp and cab at home and DI into the PA. This was soundly vetoed, mainly by the drummers, as they said they wanted to hear the bass clearly.

My current band's guitarist (The Wirebirds, who I have been with for most of the past ten years) insists on hearing plenty of deep rich bass, and usually expects me to bring my old white Precision, as he thinks that has the best sound. Because of arthritis in my fingers, I am no longer able to play it, so I was using a Mustang bass with round wounds, and he was very complementary about the sound. 

So, my band mates certainly to listen to the bass.

Same here Dave. My current drummer says he has to to hear the bass. Same drummer in both bands so that's handy.

Dave

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Same here Dave. My current drummer says he has to to hear the bass. Same drummer in both bands so that's handy.

Dave

 

I guess my thought is, when a drummer indicates he doesn't need bass in his monitor, something is not right.

 

Daryl

[gjones]

8 hours ago, stewblack said:

How much are you valued by your bandmates? This has been a recurring theme of mine at recent gigs. Last night I changed the set up and put everything through the pa, no backline for me, just a monitor. 

The singer gave the sound a big thumbs up in soundcheck, and away we went.

Guess what? Not one member of the band asked for bass in their foldback.

This isn't always the case - some of my bands love the bass, but last night's bunch, not so much.

Audience enjoyed the evening and I got paid.

On stage sound is an interesting topic. At a venue, that I play at regularly with my band, I usually keep my bass amp at quite a low level (I use it just as a monitor as the bass is going through the FOH), as I like to hear the guitarist who is at the other side of the stage. Recently he was particularly quiet for some reason and I asked the sound engineer to put him through my monitor. I could hear him much better but it meant I had to turn up my amp significantly so I could hear myself. His loud guitar and my louder amp gave so much more balls to the onstage sound and we all had a great gig, which was full of onstage energy. The crowd really reacted to us that night and when I asked people, that I knew in the audience, why they enjoyed themselves so much, they said the sound was great (possibly my bass amp was so loud they were hearing that rather than the FOH). So next time I played there I set up the onstage sound just the same, yet again there was a great onstage sound and a lot of onstage energy, and we got the same response from the crowd. 

 

But as you say, I've never had a member of my band ask for any bass in their monitor, even when we've playing on a very large stage where we're playing far away from one another. I think many musicians are afraid to ask for a specific monitor mix and just go with whatever they're given, even if it detracts from the enjoyment of the gig.

 

So don't take it personally......and next time just take your amp and turn it up

 

[FinnDave]

12 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

You are lucky Dave. 

 

Daryl

Thanks, the band has been through a few changes, but at the last gig the new(ish) drummer suddenly got what we do and let go - it was great! Al, the guitarist, is a good friend as well as a band mate.