How was your gig last night?

[tubbybloke68]

Nice little NYE dep job for a great local cover band, here in Sussex. Very slow start crowd wise for the first two sets but it all came good in the end. Pretty pleased with my performance and the stingray sounded fab through the LFsys Monza. Appy new year folks ! X😊

Edited Wednesday at 03:05 by tubbybloke68

[Bluewine]

On 30/12/2024 at 12:25, Bluewine said:

Our 2024 NYE gig. 4-7

 

OF COURSE we’re doing an early NYE show! Happy to be back at The Precinct in Germantown again this year to get the party started with an afternoon of high energy rock & blues!

Here’s what you need to know this time around:
-first come/first serve for all tables&seating
-reservations NOT accepted this year
-doors open at 3:30pm sharp! 
-don’t campout overnight but don’t be late!😆
-music starts at 4! 
 

Great night, great gig.

 

Daryl

 

Edited Wednesday at 15:15 by Bluewine

[mikebass456]

4 hours ago, KingPrawn said:

Not long in. A jam-packed night at this legend of a boozer in Bromsgrove. Great crowd on their feet from the start.

 

There's three 'e's in December.....🤪

[dmccombe7]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025 everyone.

Hogmanay gig for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam band in Airdrie working mans Club. 

Sold Out and according to the organiser its the first time they've ever sold out for Hogmanay.

Left house 3pm, got there 4pm, doors open 7pm then found out we were not going on until 9:30-10:30pm then back on 11-11:45pm and then 00:15 to 00:30am ish to allow for the DJ to play some traditional old Scottish songs for the bells at midnight. We decided to mix with the audience at midnight rather than sit in changing room which turned out good fun with many wanting hugs and kisses from the band as well as pics.

Band played well, no noticeable mistooks. 

During the 3rd song a woman came up to me and attempted to hand me a note while i was playing the chorus of Cat Crept In so my wee fingers are up and down the neck. Not sure how she expected me to take the note mid song but luckily the singer clocked it and came over and took the note requesting a song by Fleetwood Mac. This was a sold out, fully ticketed night with advertising and posters well in advance with the band on stage in full outrageous Glam gear so why would you make a request for Fleetwood Mac. ? Sometimes there are just moments during a gig where you wonder. 

We've been booked same gig next Hogmanay since 2023 so that's good. Other surprise was we got paid £100 more than the agreed fee for some odd reason. That was nice.

Usual gear Sandberg VM4 into Keeley comp, Shure wireless, Mesa TT800 Boogie channel, Mesa 210/115 cabs.

Packed up and on the road by 01:30am and home 02:30am. Quick coffee and biccie and bed.

Dave

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 10:30 by dmccombe7

[ezbass]

8 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Good gig at a retirement village tonight in Bedford. 
 

Not sure what time we will get home though. 

😬

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

During the 3rd song a woman came up to me and attempted to hand me a note while i was playing the chorus of Cat Crept In so my wee fingers are up and down the neck. Not sure how she expected me to take the note mid song but luckily the singer clocked it and came over and took the note requesting a song by Fleetwood Mac. This was a sold out, fully ticketed night with advertising and posters well in advance with the band on stage in full outrageous Glam gear so why would you make a request for Fleetwood Mac. ?

 

I think this is one of the joys of gigging, some people you have to wonder how they basically function. We aren't a specific genre group, so in general we will play anything but so many times its 'can you play x'. 'no sorry, we don't know it', 'but its easy', and so many people try to talk to you while you are actually singing and playing. Sorry pall, my head hasn't got any spare capacity here.

 

My bugbear is people putting drinks on my PA. Because I have the evox 8, there is a big bass box and a pole. I have two, the old one which is wood an entirely flat and a handy table, and the new one, which is plastic and shaped, with no flat area. I keep the black one near me and put things on it to stop people putting stuff on, or I can tell them not to and the white one further away because only an idiot would try and put a drink on a non flat surface that I put the bass through. Turns out the level of idiots is quite high at a gig, so a woman did just that yesterday, put a full pint glass on it. I didn't see or I would have gone over there, apparently it managed to balance almost 10 seconds before crashing to the floor, luckiy missing going in the PA. I need signs up but I guess noone would read those either.

 

Anyway, last night, as previously mentioned, we had found out that our NYE gig had been given to soneone else without even telling us, so expected nothing, but luckily the guy in a local pub who likes us heard we weren't busy so opened the pub up, so we gigged from 10 to 12:45ish. Crowd were good, looked a bit light earlier so a bit of a concern but then people started streaming in and it was packed, also seemed up for a dance. After the countdown we had a agreed to do some version of old lang syne, so basically just written the chords down but no chance to practice - we figured the first verse and the chorus is all people know. Kicked it off straight and slowish to get the crowd going, verse and 2 choruses, then went into a punk version for a verse and chorus, then into a ska version for a verse and chorus and back to the straight version to end (basically this wasn't agreed, just what the drummer did!). Went down great, shame you can't use that song much!

 

Finished at ¼ to 1, took a while to break down as a lot of drunk people insisted in singing into the singers mic (tried with mine, I don't have that) which was a bit pointless as I had turned the PA of straight away, but out of there by 1:20, home by 1:25!

 

Great night, I am glad we got to gig, it has been a very quiet december!

[Obrienp]

I did my NYE dep gig with Backtracking at the Spreadeagle in Erpingham (in the middle of nowhere). It is a long carry from the car park, which was full when I arrived at 6pm: funny, the pub wasn’t. In fact there were only about a dozen people there? How did they manage to drive two cars each?

 

Anyway we set up and got the soundcheck out of the way by about 7:30 by which time the place was filling up nicely. This band has a full time sound man (he knows his onions) and for the evening a lights technician as well! It was a ticketed event with a buffet, which the band were given access to and we were all allowed to bring a significant other for free! The landladies were very welcoming and concerned that we had everything we needed. I wish other venues would take notes!

 

We kicked off at 9pm and did about 1 hour 45 for the first set. A bit of a slow response for the first few songs but then people started to dance and kept going. The room went from pretty chilly to sauna hot quite quickly. I was dripping by the end of the first set and had to go outside to cool off, where it was blowing a real gale. We started our second set a bit after 11 and went through until about 0.45 am. People were dancing all the way through, which was great. I could have gone on but I think the drummer was feeling it by then. I actually got home about 2:15 but what with unloading the car and unwinding with a large Irish whiskey, I didn’t get to bed until about 3:30. Up this morning to start the 100 press ups a day challenge: challenge being an understatement for me today!

 

I went nuclear on gear because the drummer is quite loud: Blackstar U700 head; LFSys Monza on top of a Barefaced Two10; MB LM3 500 on hot standby; HF/LF filter pedal and Boss TU-3 tuner; Maruszczyk Elwood 4a (32”); bitsa 32” P bass as spare; DI into the PA. Not unsurprisingly I was asked to turn down a bit. I think the master was at about 9 o’clock. I was really impressed with the difference the HF/LF made to the sound. It seemed to really thicken it up, while taking out any brittle upper end. I had it set around 30 Hz HF and 4Khz LF. I made a few mistakes: worst was messing up the intro run to Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me). I’ve done it so many times and then when I do a dep gig…. doh!

 

Picture now added. My nuclear rig 😀 I know it’s only 3 x10 but you can hear it alright. Fortunately the U700 can handle the 2.7 ohm load.

Edited Wednesday at 15:22 by Obrienp
Added a pic

[dmccombe7]

That was a good turn up getting another pub opened just for your band. I like that.

Love the Auld Lang Syne thing. That would have been a great version to hear and must have gone down a treat.

Our encore is a medley of Scottish songs over the bass and drum riff to Bay City Rollers Shang-a-Lang and it always fills the floor completely. Last night the full venue was on their feet, floor was full so they danced at their tables. It was a good sight to see.

Dave

[casapete]

Played at The Palm Court Hotel in Scarborough last night for a NYE dinner dance.

 

Despite horrendous weather warnings we made it there okay, the 50 mile journey

affected mainly by high winds. Got set up in the hotel lounge whilst the guests were 

dining - took my usual Rumble 100 combo to use with a Squier SS Jag bass which

has been given to me on permanent loan by a friend. Sounded fine and easy to play

for the three long sets we did, starting around 8pm through to 12.30am. 
We were well looked after by the hotel manager - we took our partners and they were

given lots of bubbly and stuff, and we had a few drinks too although as I was driving

I stuck to water and coffee. 🙁

Playing wise it went okay. Had a keyboard player with us ( old mate Steve ) as

well as singer guitarist Doug who is well known in the Scarborough area.

Songs requested and played were the usual dance standards ( Sinatra etc)

right through to slightly more recent stuff. I got a request to sing ‘Dead Flowers’

by the Stones - slightly unusual choice for a NYE do - so duly obliged , along with 

some other 60’s and 70’s stuff and of course ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at midnight.

Got packed very quickly and then had a dreadful journey home - roads were 

virtually rivers in places, with biblical amounts of rainfall. My trusty Skoda didn’t

 miss a beat though, so back around 2.30am, absolutely knackered!
Not the best of gigs I’ve done recently, (made worse by wearing dinner suit and

bow tie which I despise!) but a lovely venue and being well paid made up for it. 
Mrs CP had great fun too, and after the terrible few years she’s endured health

wise it felt like we were celebrating the start of better times. Here’s hoping. 😃

 

 

 

A very Happy New Year to all BC people, may 2025 be a great one for you. 
 

 

Edited Wednesday at 12:37 by casapete
Photo

[dmccombe7]

4 minutes ago, casapete said:

Played at The Palm Court Hotel in Scarborough last night for a NYE dinner dance.

 

Despite horrendous weather warnings we made it there okay, the 50 mile journey

affected mainly by high winds. Got set up in the hotel lounge whilst the guests were 

dining - took my usual Rumble 100 combo to use with a Squier SS Jag bass which

has been given to me on permanent loan by a friend. Sounded fine and easy to play

for the three long sets we did, starting around 8pm through to 12.30am. 
We were well looked after by the hotel manager - we took our partners and they were

given lots of bubbly and stuff, and we had a few drinks too although as I was driving

I stuck to water and coffee. 🙁

Playing wise it went okay. Had a keyboard player with us ( old mate Steve ) as

well as singer guitarist Doug who is well known in the Scarborough area.

Songs requested and played were the usual dance standards ( Sinatra etc)

right through to slightly more recent stuff. I got a request to sing ‘Dead Flowers’

by the Stones - slightly unusual choice for a NYE do - so duly obliged , along with 

some other 60’s and 70’s stuff and of course ‘Auld Lang Syne’ at midnight.

Got packed very quickly and then had a dreadful journey home - roads were 

virtually rivers in places, with biblical amounts of rainfall. My trusty Skoda didn’t

 miss a beat though, so back around 2.30am, absolutely knackered!
Not the best of gigs I’ve done recently, (made worse by wearing dinner suit and

bow tie which I despise!) but a lovely venue and being well paid made up for it. 
Mrs CP had great fun too, and after the terrible few years she’s endured health

wise it felt like we were celebrating the start of better times. Here’s hoping. 😃

 

 

 

A very Happy New Year to all BC people, may 2025 be a great one for you. 
 

 

Hope Mrs CP is all good now Pete and 2025 proves to be a great year for you guys. All the very best for 2025.

Would love to see you guys do the request set which just sounds like so much fun, but maybe not in such "formal" surroundings. 

Dave

 

[casapete]

8 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Hope Mrs CP is all good now Pete and 2025 proves to be a great year for you guys. All the very best for 2025.

Would love to see you guys do the request set which just sounds like so much fun, but maybe not in such "formal" surroundings. 

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. Most of our gigs are quite the opposite really, I’m not great at ‘formal’ ( until I see

the money of course!) Done lots of them though, and they’ve been my ‘day job’ for a long time.

 

The duo has plenty of regular gigs lined up for 2025, so if you’re ever down this way then give me 

a shout. Also playing with the blues band too, so my diary is so far looking healthy. 😀

Edited Wednesday at 12:53 by casapete

[dmccombe7]

30 minutes ago, casapete said:

Thanks Dave. Most of our gigs are quite the opposite really, I’m not great at ‘formal’ ( until I see

the money of course!) Done lots of them though, and they’ve been my ‘day job’ for a long time.

 

The duo has plenty of regular gigs lined up for 2025, so if you’re ever down this way then give me 

a shout. Also playing with the blues band too, so my diary is so far looking healthy. 😀

Just find the request gigs fascinating and the opportunity for a very varied song list. Not something i've ever seen with a band.

If i'm ever down your way i'll try and make a gig.

Dave

[Norris]

10 hours ago, Norris said:

 

I forgot to take any photos

As a coda to my update I now have some photos forwarded to me. So here is the lesser spotted Norris in DJ and DMs

 

 

The organiser decided to do the countdown to midnight, so we missed out on doing Auld Lang Syne. It's a shame because I rather enjoy playing it - we do a straight/reggae/punk version with a big rallentando at the end. Oh well, maybe next year 😃

 

Oh, and he also cocked up the countdown 😬. No excuse when everyone's mobile phone has the correct time these days! He's still a lovely chap though - we've known him since the 80s

[asingardenof]

NYE gig at Scholes Cricket Club last night. Arrived at 6.30pm at the suggestion of our singist to find the car park empty apart from his car and he and the drummist setting up the PA inside. The stage was large enough for the kit, my amp and the keyboardist, and over the next half hour the keyboardist and guitarist arrived and set their stuff up around a large Christmas tree in the corner. I'd forgotten my stand, but fortunately the guitarist had brought a spare so crisis averted. Somehow our guitarist managed to get her amp set up centre stage, but somehow I managed to be heard. I used my Siredowsky through the ABM and Two10S and it sounded great. Black Converse Chuck Taylors were the footwear of choice.

 

We'd been told that this was a ticketed event so I was expecting a reasonable crowd, but our drummist suggested we might only get about 50 people in. Ten of our regular friends and family crowd turned up, and over the next hour or so a handful of other people drifted in - and I do mean a handful. We were told to start at 9pm, but at 8.55 there were only 20 people there including our crowd, so we agreed we'd go on at 9.15 to see if anyone else would brave the weather to watch us.

 

They did not. So we played to a peak audience of 22 people, and to their credit they all seemed to really enjoy it and a few even got up to dance for a couple of songs. We debuted Mr Brightside and that went well, and apart from a couple of minor cockups from the drummist we all played pretty well, and we still got our full fee. Our lot had even brought a picnic as the club wasn't laying on food, and given the woeful attendance that's probably a good thing.

 

At our mid-set break I got chatting to the outgoing chair of the club committee and he complained that the committee was now largely compromised of younger members who think they know better than the more experienced hands, and decided that last night should be a ticketed event, but then made no effort to promote it or even turn up themselves. He said they usually have a bonfire night event at which they have up to 5000 ticket-buying attendees, but that's a longstanding fixture in their social calendar. I sympathised based on my own experience of committee memberships, and he announced at the end of the night that a few people would be getting an absolute bollocking today.

 

Home for about ten past midnight, with the stroke of new year passing as I was trying not to aquaplane on the M62. Obligatory "tonight's office" photo below along with a photo showing the maximum audience size.

[Woodinblack]

Lucky you had your crowd as well!

 

[Raslee]

Bland NYE gig in Cornwall. I did think it was a tad risky doing mostly ska & new wave originals in a pub full of partying young locals, especially as the majority of the material isn’t known or released. No surprise that the covers went down well. 
Obligatory rig pic, loving my lightweight Sandberg - no back pain!

Edited Wednesday at 18:36 by Raslee

[KingPrawn]

11 hours ago, mikebass456 said:

There's three 'e's in December.....🤪

HA! Not in Bromsgrove they only like two e's!!

[Bluewine]

18 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025 everyone.

Hogmanay gig for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam band in Airdrie working mans Club. 

Sold Out and according to the organiser its the first time they've ever sold out for Hogmanay.

Left house 3pm, got there 4pm, doors open 7pm then found out we were not going on until 9:30-10:30pm then back on 11-11:45pm and then 00:15 to 00:30am ish to allow for the DJ to play some traditional old Scottish songs for the bells at midnight. We decided to mix with the audience at midnight rather than sit in changing room which turned out good fun with many wanting hugs and kisses from the band as well as pics.

Band played well, no noticeable mistooks. 

During the 3rd song a woman came up to me and attempted to hand me a note while i was playing the chorus of Cat Crept In so my wee fingers are up and down the neck. Not sure how she expected me to take the note mid song but luckily the singer clocked it and came over and took the note requesting a song by Fleetwood Mac. This was a sold out, fully ticketed night with advertising and posters well in advance with the band on stage in full outrageous Glam gear so why would you make a request for Fleetwood Mac. ? Sometimes there are just moments during a gig where you wonder. 

We've been booked same gig next Hogmanay since 2023 so that's good. Other surprise was we got paid £100 more than the agreed fee for some odd reason. That was nice.

Usual gear Sandberg VM4 into Keeley comp, Shure wireless, Mesa TT800 Boogie channel, Mesa 210/115 cabs.

Packed up and on the road by 01:30am and home 02:30am. Quick coffee and biccie and bed.

Dave

 

 

 Sounds like a successful  night and great gig Dave.

 

I left at 2:00, arrived at 2:19. Hauled my gear in. Easy load in but still a painful experience for me. 

 

We started at 4:00 and played till 7: 15

( 15 minutes over). With one 15 minute break. I stood upright the whole show. I didn't have to use a stool.

 

Great atmosphere tons of fans and friends.  I set up a little " meet and greet " area for myself in a cool booth with a cool chandelier hanging over it. Nobody wanted to talk to me. Lol

 

Daryl

Edited Thursday at 04:36 by Bluewine

[cetera]

On New Years Eve I played with the CoStars at our annual booking of the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne. A couple of hundred people (mainly in the 50+ age bracket) in full ball gowns/dinner suits enjoying a slap up meal with dinner jazz..... and then dancing to us afterwards. Kicked off around 10.30 and played a 50 min opening set then took a 20 min break and continued from 11.40, across midnight until 1am. A mix of tunes to suit slightly older tastes (Carpenters to Dolly Parton to EW&F to Sophie Ellis Bextor via Gloria Gaynor, The Beatles, Frankie Valli and more), with a punky 'Auld Lang Syne' followed by Sinatra's 'New York New York' and The Proclaimers' '500 Miles' at midnight and everyone seemed happy. Broke out my Spector Coda 4 for this one and was pleased how it handled the variety of styles. Home at 4.30 and in bed by 5am....zzzzz...

 

Edited Thursday at 10:50 by cetera

[Cliff Edge]

I’ve enjoyed reading this NYE gigs part of the thread. I have refused to play any gigs on December 31 for many a year. There was never a good one, so I’m happy to see some of you managed a decent evening. 

[mikebass456]

57 minutes ago, Cliff Edge said:

I’ve enjoyed reading this NYE gigs part of the thread. I have refused to play any gigs on December 31 for many a year. There was never a good one, so I’m happy to see some of you managed a decent evening. 

Fully agree Cliff! I stopped doing  NYE gigs about 6 years ago, mainly for the excessive hanging around, early start, late finish, and under appreciation (not that I ever did it for the attention!). 

Weddings were even worse - knocked those on the head even longer ago!

Pleased that folks are still out there entertaining on NYE though, and as long as they're doing it (mostly) on their terms, then crack on! 😁🤘

[Woodinblack]

I have never had a bad NYE, I have had a couple that weren't that great, but most have them have been just like a pub gig only busier and paid double for being up an hour later. Actually, that is the same with wedding gigs for us - not sure why anyone would book us as a wedding band, as we are going to do most of the same pub set in pretty well the same way with maybe a special song, but I guess for a wedding band we are cheap compared to the silly rates people can charge, and people who book us are people who have seen us anyway, so they obviously want what we do.

[Gasman]

Two days later I'm just about recovered from Mustang Sally's NYE gig in South Somerset so here's the report! 

 

Due to last-minute illness and domestic problems our usual 5-piece line-up was reduced to just three of us on the day before the gig - drums, bass+BV (me), plus electro-acoustic rhythm guitar+Vox, so no KB nor LG. I'd put a setlist together the week before to cope with having no LG  numbers, but that all went in the bin once we found the KB guy wasn't going to be able to play either so no sax numbers, and no second lead vox. All a bit nerve-wracking, but the show had to go on...

 

Luckily our lady singist cut her gigging teeth many years ago as a solo act (G+Vox), although very much in the Country/Irish/MoR pop vein. She sent me a list of the titles from back then she still felt confident in playing, from which I managed somehow to make up 2 x 60 minute sets using some of our standards as well. Many of her numbers had no keys against them - never mind, I said, you'll remember them once we start playing, just make sure I can see your fretting hand (although this involved me mentally transposing on the numbers where she used a capo!) Still, we got through and amazingly enough the punters loved it - maybe there's a takeaway there for us, a complete change of genre from our previous line-up where we played quasi-metal and hard-rock with an ex-stadium-rock gitrist...

 

Oh yes, so what about my debut on BVs with this band?  I've studiously managed to avoid doing BVs while playing with three other consecutive bands over the last 8 years, but needs must on the 31st, so I dropped a couple of VocalZone lozenges and went for it - a bit like getting back on a bike after years I suppose, I fell off a couple of times but once I got some decent foldback from our sound guy it went OK. Shame I suppose, as now the singist is thinking about us doing 3-part harmonies when the KB guy comes back!

 

Mrs G came along with me, determined not to let her Parkinson's get in the way of a night out, but leaving home at 19:00, 100-mile round trip, and getting home at 02:30 was a long session especially for her - but she enjoyed herself and thankfully had none of her balance problems, largely thanks to kind people who helped her through the evening.

 

So it's on to 2025 - next gig is near Minehead (North Somerset coast) on 25th January - another 100-mile round trip and new ground for the band, so let's hope for mild weather (the Exmoor area can be a bit wild in Winter) and a full band!

[Woodinblack]

36 minutes ago, Gasman said:

Two days later I'm just about recovered from Mustang Sally's NYE gig in South Somerset so here's the report! 

 

So where did you play Mike? your facebook page seems to be a bit neglected!

 

Sounds like a good night anyway, especially when you are winging it!

[dmccombe7]

Well that was the shortest gig i've ever done.

BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam were booked to play Mayfield Community Club near Dalkeith 5-7pm for a decent fee.

We struggled to get any details about whether PA and lights required plus running order so that raised some concerns and alarm bells were already ringing.

We turned up at 2:30pm to get set up only to find the event was already well underway since 12:30pm and there was a guy singing some great old classic 70's songs and i have to admit i was really enjoying it as we set up. There was a DJ filling in the gaps between acts. We did a very quick sound check at 4:30pm for approx 10mins and then went back to changing room

Organiser came in and asked if we would start 5:30pm as the other guy had ran a bit late and finish at 7pm. Apparently another band was on after us. There were 2 stages one in each corner of the back end of the hall so that was convenient. We had the larger stage.

Started at 5:30 and got to 6:10pm the organiser came over the DJ microphone saying one more song from the band. ??? We were actually shocked and thought it was a mistake but nope that was it. We had visions of not being fully paid but were handed an envelope with the full fee. 

Audience were shouting at the organiser to let the band play on as many had seen us before and had come along solely to see us. No joy. People were coming up to us as we packed up asking why such a short set. They had seen us before and we had played for 2-3hrs in some venues. We had to tell them it was down to the organiser who appeared well pissed when we arrived.

Singer saw him talking to the "other band" that turned out to be a guy and a woman with backing tracks. It was directly after that the organiser announced the ending.

We suspect they were friends of the organiser and they wanted us off stage long before they went on for whatever reason ?

They were on 7-10pm apparently. Either totally "up" themselves or didn't want to follow us who were putting on a proper show with all the glam gear etc. 

As we were packing our gear they started their set. Can't say they put any effort into their clothing. Old jeans and a black shirt ?

Anyways that was our first gig in 2025.

Very short and sweet but a decent full fee was paid.

We definitely won't return to that venue again. 

At least my fingers weren't sore after todays gig 

I do feel sorry for those that came along specifically to see us as it was a ticketed event.

We have learned a lesson tho. Pay more attention to any bookings we accept and thoroughly check what the event actually is. We don't want a repeat of that fiasco. We may now go down the route of proper contracts clearly stating what we do and when we start and finish.  

Dave