mep Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 After a few years break from NYE gigs we were offered one at a pub we play in Brixham a few weeks ago. Our drummer wasn't able to play due to work shift arrangements so we called on our dep drummer, our son, who was up for it. The evening went well with plenty of people getting into the swing of it. Met a few old faces and made some new fans. I used my Stingray through my TC Classic 450 and BF 210, with a DI into the PA. We played 2 x 1 hour sets, finishing at 11.45pm. After midnight we finished with that classic Christmas no. 1 Killing in the name. Had a great stage and FOH sound and watching everyone enjoying themselves made it a great night. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: $100 tip aint too shabby. Maybe we should start a tip jar for our bands. Not something i've ever seen over here in Scotland altho i know some bands do it. Dave It's becoming more common in Wales. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 21 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said: It's becoming more common in Wales. A few places over this way I suspect use it to get out of paying full whack band fees, where we'd have to hope the tips would make up for accepting below-par payment from the venue. We aren't keen on this approach. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 hours ago, asingardenof said: I meant the London fireworks, sorry 🤭 So did I. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Just now, 12stringbassist said: So did I. Sorry, I completely misunderstood what was going on it seems. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Well, after the previous misgivings about the NYE gig (agency gig, 5 x 30 min sets with 30 mins between each, plus DJ-ing; total band entertainment time 8pm - 1am*) it went...OK. Venue were a bit twitchy at first, but relaxed when they saw we had it covered, and no objections to the iPad/Playlist DJ parts. Turned out it was £25 to get in the pub (inc one free drink and some circulating nibbles), it was maybe 2/3rds full of locals, but certainly no passing trade at that sort of money. The 5 x sets with half an hour in between was complained about (to us) by quite a few people, it really did kill the vibe, we just directed them to the bar manager, perhaps they'll rethink it. Oh, and nowhere to sit between sets was a pain in most of the lower extremities, we were literally on our feet from half six till half one. No disasters, the musical bits of the gig were fine, and it went off (politely, this is Cheshire with a £25 cover charge we're talking about here) at midnight, plus the load in/out was right next to the door, so it was logistically easy; we were mostly loaded (all bar the mixer, one PA speaker and the iPad) before the last DJ set finished at 1am. Not a gig I'd choose to do again, but hey, we got paid. * Sorry if I sound a bit wet here, @Bluewine, but that's a chunky shift for the UK... 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 22 hours ago, Muzz said: Well, after the previous misgivings about the NYE gig (agency gig, 5 x 30 min sets with 30 mins between each, plus DJ-ing; total band entertainment time 8pm - 1am*) it went...OK. Venue were a bit twitchy at first, but relaxed when they saw we had it covered, and no objections to the iPad/Playlist DJ parts. Turned out it was £25 to get in the pub (inc one free drink and some circulating nibbles), it was maybe 2/3rds full of locals, but certainly no passing trade at that sort of money. The 5 x sets with half an hour in between was complained about (to us) by quite a few people, it really did kill the vibe, we just directed them to the bar manager, perhaps they'll rethink it. Oh, and nowhere to sit between sets was a pain in most of the lower extremities, we were literally on our feet from half six till half one. No disasters, the musical bits of the gig were fine, and it went off (politely, this is Cheshire with a £25 cover charge we're talking about here) at midnight, plus the load in/out was right next to the door, so it was logistically easy; we were mostly loaded (all bar the mixer, one PA speaker and the iPad) before the last DJ set finished at 1am. Not a gig I'd choose to do again, but hey, we got paid. * Sorry if I sound a bit wet here, @Bluewine, but that's a chunky shift for the UK... People don't appreciate that for some bands a gig is a 10-12hr day for the band if travel is included even when gigs are reasonably local and its a standard band venue. Possibly longer for wedding bands who need to set up before the happy couple arrive and are there until the end of the night. Dave Edited January 3 by dmccombe7 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) NYE was the usual annual shindig at the 5* Grand Hotel in Eastbourne with The CoStars. A great night, we all played well, happy punters and hotel.... and good food and drink enjoyed. Home at 4am and slept through till early afternoon Edited January 2 by cetera spelling 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I'm in a couple of bands, and one (sadly the quieter one) is a trio where we've all made efforts to simplify the setup (whilst keeping the quality - and even improving it - with new tech), so we can be loaded in, set up, soundchecked and good to go in half an hour, tops, but the other's much more of an 'event', which, to be fair is a selling point in itself (a 4-piece with congas/bongos/percussion, lots of lights, even smoke, and a geetard/singist who also plays the sax - the punters love it), but requires much more gear, and a longer setup/breakdown. Given the choice, I know which I'd rather be in, but a gig's a gig... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I'm approx 1-2 hrs drive to any gig because i live in countryside. The Glam band has costumes and make-up to be sorted before playing so that takes approx 30-45mins. We tend to arrive 2hrs before doors open and have a costume change at the break so on our feet usually from the get go. Only time i sit down is to put my Glam boots on and sometimes i need to stand for that bit too. Dave 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 ...and people think Glam just happens... 🙂 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 20 hours ago, markbunney said: We started doing doing it as we played our first few gigs for free, just to get going. so we took the tip jar (a £1 bucket from B&Q with a flyer stuck on it) to try and make a little bit of cash and have just taken it ever since. The most we have got is £90 and the least was £0 It depends on the gig. Overall the tip jar can turn a $100.00 a man gig to a $200.00 a man gig. However we have left some gigs with an empty tip jar. Daryl Edited January 2 by Bluewine 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Some of the places I play we'd need someone to defend the tip jar if there was more than ten quid in it... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) I don't think the UK has that robust a tipping culture to support a bucket pass around. We barely tolerate tipping waiting staff, taxi drivers and hairdressers BECAUSE we're paying for something at the time anyway - to cold call people who have no direct business relationship with you, who believe that all music is basically free, magically happens and you're having fun so why should you be getting paid - I can see why the bucket comes back empty sometimes. Edited January 2 by neepheid 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 4 minutes ago, Muzz said: Most of the places I play we'd need someone to defend the tip jar if there was more than ten quid in it... FTFY 😎 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbunney Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 3 minutes ago, neepheid said: I don't think the UK has that robust a tipping culture to support a bucket pass around. We barely tolerate tipping waiting staff, taxi drivers and hairdressers BECAUSE we're paying for something at the time anyway - to cold call people who have no direct business relationship with you, who believe that all music is basically free, magically happens and you're having fun so why should you be getting paid - I can see why the bucket comes back empty sometimes. We generally push it most at the end of the gig, with something like "we'll play another song if you buy us a beer" kind of thing. The tip jar is labelled as "beer money" as well. The way I see it is that if people are having a good time and want to buy a beer/chuck in a couple of quid then that's great, but if not that's also great, as long as they are having a good time 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 4 minutes ago, markbunney said: We generally push it most at the end of the gig, with something like "we'll play another song if you buy us a beer" kind of thing. The tip jar is labelled as "beer money" as well. The way I see it is that if people are having a good time and want to buy a beer/chuck in a couple of quid then that's great, but if not that's also great, as long as they are having a good time 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbunney Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 24 minutes ago, neepheid said: lol - its non alcoholic beer as well as am always driving 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 21 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said: I’m probably being a bit thick, but what do the (X)’s indicate. It’s probably code for Sex on Fire 😀 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markbunney Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 On 01/01/2024 at 02:36, markbunney said: Back home from our NYE eve gig at The Oak in Sevenoaks. We had our first gig as a band here earlier in the year and so it was nice to be back. gig went well, the pub was very busy but it took a while for the dance floor to fill up, but when it did it was chaos. Drinks being spilled everywhere, mic stand & iPad knocked over, people walking across the band area and tripping over our cable etc, I am amazed that nothing got broken. the very drunk crowd did spoil the enjoyment of the gig due to constantly having to keep an eye on the equipment. I had to move my couple of pedals to the back of the stage by my amp due to spilled drinks. we ended up moving some of the songs around to try and be more adaptive and reactive to the crowd. We initially dropped Club Foot but then ended up playing it just before midnight. The crowd were singing the bass solo, which was a very bizarre experience as no one has ever sung along to a bass solo at a gig before! overall it was good fun and only half an hour from home. The main downside of today was getting some of the band lights out of the garage and discovering a leak one of the cameras that we set up to record our NYE gig got accidentally set to time lapse mode, so we ended up with a three hour gig condensed into 1 minute https://www.facebook.com/reel/7045610022162924/?app=fbl 1 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) 2 hours ago, Muzz said: ...and people think Glam just happens... 🙂 Its ok for me as i wear that gear every day anyway. ......... honest Dave Edited January 2 by dmccombe7 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 54 minutes ago, markbunney said: one of the cameras that we set up to record our NYE gig got accidentally set to time lapse mode, so we ended up with a three hour gig condensed into 1 minute https://www.facebook.com/reel/7045610022162924/?app=fbl Or maybe you just play fast Dave 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 5 hours ago, neepheid said: I don't think the UK has that robust a tipping culture to support a bucket pass around. We barely tolerate tipping waiting staff, taxi drivers and hairdressers BECAUSE we're paying for something at the time anyway - to cold call people who have no direct business relationship with you, who believe that all music is basically free, magically happens and you're having fun so why should you be getting paid - I can see why the bucket comes back empty sometimes. The argument might be, the travel, the load in and out are not fun. We've always been a tipping culture and it's gotten bigger. For our tip jar I've seen it empty at the end of a gig and I've seen it with $900.00 at the end of a gig. The tips make it a $1400.00 gig . Again, I understand that means very little to those not in this for the money. " I don't care about the money I just want to play". But for the few of us that are in it for the money a full tip jar certainly helps us get through the month. Daryl 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 (edited) Found another clip from NYE. It's long. You can see how tight we were for space. Good thing the hard working folks in the kitchen. 📸 Watch this video on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/7SHKV2WY3SYuLboc/?mibextid=qi2Omg Edited January 2 by Bluewine 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 21 hours ago, dmccombe7 said: $100 tip aint too shabby. Maybe we should start a tip jar for our bands. Not something i've ever seen over here in Scotland altho i know some bands do it. Dave Dave, I hope I'm not making tips a bigger thing than what they actually are. As you know. tips are not going to amount to much at a crappy gig. The big tips happen when your playing to an affluent crowd, the band is hot and you've created a cool vibe for everyone . We don't use the tip jar at private events, theatre gigs or large stage festivals. Love your comments Daryl 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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