How was your gig last night?

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Its one of the main reasons i attend the gym 3-4 times a week for past 3 yrs. At 64 things were getting too hard. Doing a lot better now tho.

To be fair you do experience a lot warmer weather than we do. At the moment we have 18 oC (circa 65 oF) so its just nice.

Dave 

 

I can definitely handle 65°.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, Jack said:

Another week, another dead pub. Not sure how many more of these I can take. Flat singing (not me) and spending too much time messing on with the mixer (me), no energy from the crowd which we are all definitely reflecting. Humbug!

 

Setup (it did get a little busier!)

Stage

Video

 

 

No energy or engagement from the audience.  We all hate that.

 

Daryl

[Chienmortbb]

Firstly apologies. I always forget to take a money shot before a gig.

 

Last night was an odd one. The Rebbels played an old coaching inn  in Blandford Forum, The Greyhound. It is in the open air, under a huge umbrella. We usually mange a nice warm evening but last night was cloudy and a little chilly, however the crowd was good and we played well.

 

I was using my usual rig of a Bugera Veyron into my LFSys Monza. Now the Monza has never disappointed but this was the first outing in the open. I had the volume up much higher than usual as expected but the Monza took it all in its stride. I was shocked at such a huge bass sound from a single 10. I can understand the  "need" for a stack, and one day I will try another Monza but really I don't need one.

 

Of course there was a problem. Firstly I used a cable from the pedal board to the amp that I had not made. Big mistake, The signal kept cutting out when I stood on that cable. I also must have moved the control on my M2 bass in transit. Switched to passive and all was well.

Edited August 5 by Chienmortbb

[Jack]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

No energy or engagement from the audience.  We all hate that.

 

Daryl

It's at least partly us. Early days yet, that was our 7th gig. But I'm wondering if the truth is just that we're not very good.

[Chienmortbb]

1 minute ago, Jack said:

It's at least partly us. Early days yet, that was our 7th gig. But I'm wondering if the truth is just that we're not very good.

Just keep at it. If you are enjoying it and gigging, you will get tight. To use the football analogy, you can train/rehearse till the cows come home but you need to be match/gig fit and the only comes from playing.

 

I have two bands. The newer one gigs regularly and has done since just after lockdown. We must have been OK as we were getting re-booked but the last few gigs it has changed. It like we really know what each other is doing and the sound just seems so tight without trying.

 

My pre lockdown band gigged  a lot and we had a rehearsal about 6 weeks ago as someone remembered us and asked us to do a party. The party went well and although we did it as a favour, we did get paid. We enjoyed it so much that we played an open mic night last Thursday, No new songs but the muscle memory was still there and I can never remember a more enjoyable night. Thee scary thing was about half way through, three people walked in. One was a superb drummer that also teaches, the other was a really good guitarist and they were very complimentary.

 

So keep on keeping on and it will click.

[Jackroadkill]

36 minutes ago, Jack said:

It's at least partly us. Early days yet, that was our 7th gig. But I'm wondering if the truth is just that we're not very good.

 

Keep going, fella.  It'll come together.

[Chienmortbb]

1 minute ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Keep going, fella.  It'll come together.

The other thing I will add is that any band is better than the sum of its parts. Average musicians can make great bands.

[dmccombe7]

12 hours ago, Jack said:

It's at least partly us. Early days yet, that was our 7th gig. But I'm wondering if the truth is just that we're not very good.

The band sounded good to me on the vid. I did hear the vocals being out a little but not a major blow over a full set assuming it was a rare deviation.

I sometimes think bands don't research the venues enough before taking a booking. 

From what i hear on your short vid you posted the songs are aimed at a younger age group than me at 64 yet most of the people in that particular venue looked older than me. That's why i suggested you look for venues with a younger audience rather than "old man pubs" altho i'm exaggerating a bit there. 

If you are playing songs from 1990 onwards then aim for an audience age group around 30-40 yrs old and they'll be more up for it. Sometimes a widely varied age group works very well too but it all depends on your set list what works best.

Have a discussion with the rest of the band and see what comes out of it. At 7 gigs in you should be tight enough by now if you've rehearsed enough beforehand. You should already know what songs work best and then tweak your set with similar style of songs. 

I've always said since i was a late teenager that if a venue can get women in and dancing then guys will automatically follow suit. Its life. Guys follow women when it comes to pubs and clubs. It worked for me since the 70's 

Dave 

Edited August 6 by dmccombe7

[Chienmortbb]

2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Guys follow women when it comes to pubs and clubs. It worked for me since the 70's 

Do you mean since the 1970s or since you became 70?🤣

[Jack]

Thanks guys, I wasn't looking for a pep talk but I'll be honest it was nice! I need to remember I've been in one band for 13 years and another for 7. No good comparing 4 months to that. 

[Bluewine]

4 hours ago, Jack said:

It's at least partly us. Early days yet, that was our 7th gig. But I'm wondering if the truth is just that we're not very good.

 

I get where you're coming from, but it's still a tough call for who's at fault. You guys sounded good to me.

 

Everyone here on bass chat has had gigs that didn't happen the way they were supposed to.

 

Here are a few examples of how a gig can go south on a band.

 

1. Where some guy just loves your band and wants to book you for his 50th birthday party. He didn't take into consideration that his friends and family are all duds.

 

2. The pub owner that all of a sudden wants to start booking live bands. He didn't realize his clientle have no interest in live music. 

 

3. Your playing in one room and the bar is in another.

 

4. Your a blues band. Lol

 

Please feel free to add more examples.

 

Daryl

Edited August 6 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

The band sounded good to me on the vid. I did hear the vocals being out a little but no a major blow over a full set assuming it was a rare deviation.

I sometimes think bands don't research the venues enough before taking a booking. 

From what i hear on your short vid you posted the songs are aimed at a younger age group than me at 64 yet most of the people in that particular venue looked older than me. That's why i suggested you look for venues with a younger audience rather than "old man pubs" altho i'm exaggerating a bit there. 

If you are playing songs from 1990 onwards then aim for an audience age group around 30-40 yrs old and they'll be more up for it. Sometimes a widely varied age group works very well too but it all depends on your set list what works best.

Have a discussion with the rest of the band and see what comes out of it. At 7 gigs in you should be tight enough by now if you've rehearsed enough beforehand. You should already know what songs work best and then tweak your set with similar style of songs. 

I've always said since i was a late teenager that if a venue can get women in and dancing then guys will automatically follow suit. Its life. Guys follow women when it comes to pubs and clubs. It worked for me since the 70's 

Dave 

 

I'm always in agreement with Dave. But let me throw this out there. Occasionally we work with an  agent. We knowingly accepted a bum gig from him because he was going to get us Bastille Days and Summerfest bookings. It was worth it.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

The other thing I will add is that any band is better than the sum of its parts. Average musicians can make great bands.

 

It also helps if your playing with musicians with above average intelligence.  

 

I've seen the bad side of that scenario.  Lol

 

 

Daryl

[BigRedX]

9 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

The other thing I will add is that any band is better than the sum of its parts. Average musicians can make great bands.

 

Unfortunately they can also be as poor as the weakest member. I've been in a band like that.

[rwillett]

27 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Unfortunately they can also be as poor as the weakest member. I've been in a band like that.

Yes that's me.  Sorry about that

[dmccombe7]

7 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'm always in agreement with Dave. But let me throw this out there. Occasionally we work with an  agent. We knowingly accepted a bum gig from him because he was going to get us Bastille Days and Summerfest bookings. It was worth it.

 

Daryl

Cheers Daryl, we do seem to share a lot of views on things. Must be an age thing 

We've avoided Agents mainly because our singer has had bad experiences with them over the years and doesn't trust them.

We did try one but altho he got us a booking he didn't advertise it anywhere. Another gig we got ourselves he tried to claim a booking fee even tho he did absolutely nothing. We got shot of him the chancer.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

The other thing I will add is that any band is better than the sum of its parts. Average musicians can make great bands.

100% with this. I find the prima-donna's don't work well with others. Any successful band i've been in has had members that are all just nice people and easy to get along with.

You don't need to be THE best at your instrument, just competent and reliable.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Do you mean since the 1970s or since you became 70?🤣

I'm only 23. Had a hard life tho. 

Dave

[Bluewine]

15 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Cheers Daryl, we do seem to share a lot of views on things. Must be an age thing 

We've avoided Agents mainly because our singer has had bad experiences with them over the years and doesn't trust them.

We did try one but altho he got us a booking he didn't advertise it anywhere. Another gig we got ourselves he tried to claim a booking fee even tho he did absolutely nothing. We got shot of him the chancer.

Dave

 

Dave,

 

We'll use an agent once in a blue moon. We really can't afford an agent.  If we were consistently booking $2,000.00 gigs there'd be some "wiggle room" even after commissions were paid.

 

Daryl

Edited August 6 by Bluewine

[martthebass]

53 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

100% with this. I find the prima-donna's don't work well with others. Any successful band i've been in has had members that are all just nice people and easy to get along with.

You don't need to be THE best at your instrument, just competent and reliable.

Dave

+ the one on this.  A group of competent, friendly and professional individuals will always be my preference over the ego driven 'super-talent'. 

If it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing.

To the OP, I'm always wary of taking too much notice of vocal sound quality on phone vids; I've cringed on occasion on band vids I've been on in the past where I thought the sound was ok and the video 'disagreed'.  If the audience were dancing then don't worry.  The only comments I have on the vocal quality on the vid is that it was maybe mixed a little high and could have done with a bit more effect as it was a bit 'dry'...............nothing to get too hung up about though, especially with the length of time the band has been going.

[Obrienp]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

I get where you're coming from, but it's still a tough call for who's at fault. You guys sounded good to me.

 

Everyone here on bass chat has had gigs that didn't happen the way they were supposed to.

 

 

 

4. Your a blues band. Lol

 

Please feel free to add more examples.

 

Daryl

Absolutely with you on that. The blues band I play in got booked to play a wedding! It’s called Checkmate Kings and I can only imagine they thought we were a ska band because of the checker board thing (Two Tone). Guess that reference might not mean much to you in the States. Anyway, it was a disaster for all concerned. Pretty well cleared the marquee for the duration of our set 🤣🤣.

[casapete]

1 minute ago, Obrienp said:

Absolutely with you on that. The blues band I play in got booked to play a wedding! It’s called Checkmate Kings and I can only imagine they thought we were a ska band because of the checker board thing (Two Tone). Guess that reference might not mean much to you in the States. Anyway, it was a disaster for all concerned. Pretty well cleared the marquee for the duration of our set 🤣🤣.

I’m playing with a blues band soon at a wedding! Both bride and groom have seen & enjoyed the band at

many gigs, but I have a feeling their family and friends might not be so keen. Same as tribute bands doing

weddings / family celebrations really - you probably have very little chance of entertaining all ages and

tastes unless it’s a wide ranging genre such as soul / glam / disco etc. 

[Obrienp]

12 minutes ago, casapete said:

I’m playing with a blues band soon at a wedding! Both bride and groom have seen & enjoyed the band at

many gigs, but I have a feeling their family and friends might not be so keen. Same as tribute bands doing

weddings / family celebrations really - you probably have very little chance of entertaining all ages and

tastes unless it’s a wide ranging genre such as soul / glam / disco etc. 

Good luck! Our experience was super awks (as the kids say). The only people who appreciated it were the drunk oldies who kept asking for Mustang Sally 🤣. 

[martthebass]

1 hour ago, casapete said:

I’m playing with a blues band soon at a wedding! Both bride and groom have seen & enjoyed the band at

many gigs, but I have a feeling their family and friends might not be so keen. Same as tribute bands doing

weddings / family celebrations really - you probably have very little chance of entertaining all ages and

tastes unless it’s a wide ranging genre such as soul / glam / disco etc. 

TBH Pete, we've been convinced to do the odd Wedding do and even with Glam it's definitely a mixed bag.  We definitely push back on these days and recommend a good function band/DJ.

[Bluewine]

6 hours ago, Obrienp said:

Absolutely with you on that. The blues band I play in got booked to play a wedding! It’s called Checkmate Kings and I can only imagine they thought we were a ska band because of the checker board thing (Two Tone). Guess that reference might not mean much to you in the States. Anyway, it was a disaster for all concerned. Pretty well cleared the marquee for the duration of our set 🤣🤣.

 

I get the reference.  I've been following bands, trends and genres in England since 1963, not 64, 1963.

 

Daryl