How was your gig last night?

[Bluewine]

On 09/04/2025 at 07:03, Rosie C said:

 

It's the first time I've been to something like this, but there was a really relaxed atmosphere about it. Some people did solo spots, but others just chose from the book. I must also admit to a bit of boredom at some folk clubs waiting 2 hours for my turn to play 2 songs when some of the performers aren't so good. 

 

 

" some of the performers aren't so good"

 

I've noticed that at a lot of the open mics in my neck of the woods .

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

30 minutes ago, Staggering on said:

A bit of an odd one last Friday for the seven piece swing/jazz standards band. ! 100 years ago North Bay was incorporated as a city and there are many events going on to mark this and we played at the Italian club's old style dinner dance at their hall. An hour of cocktail music and then they fed us and the 160 guests and at about 8:30 we started our dance sets that included some Italian songs. The crowd was older and although we had a few dancers and others who sat around to listen to us we knew it was going to be a  earlier night than they planned. We played two sets and finished not long after 10:30. Great food(prime rib) and I had chats with some of the attendees so all in all not bad and the ten or so Italian tunes we learned went over OK and we had some compliments on our music.

As usual my weapon of choice was my Shen SB100 straight into our Bose PA. We were set up in a corner in a fairly large hall so we had no idea how it actually sounded. 

Downside is that after 7 years as a band the drummer decided to quit the next day after enduring a lot of hassles and criticism from the trumpet player. I am also a target but so far I can handle it, she is a music teacher and sometimes likes to treat us like one of her school students. She is often right but her attitude is the problem and no one ever calls her on her mistakes, very frustrating but I like the rest of the band and the music so I am hanging in. We have a good dep drummer for the next couple of gigs in May and June and BL is starting a search for another drummer, the one who quit is very good and was an asset to the band.

Life goes on.

 

Very posh. Nice one.

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

43 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

We never call each other out on mistakes. I think it's one of the reasons we've stayed together since 2007.

 

Plus, with the amount of mistakes we make we'd end up spending more time calling each other out than actual playing. Lol

 

Daryl

 

We do in rehearsals! But it's done in a let's get better way and we also share what we are struggling with. The drummer and I are working on Hysteria which is causing us headaches...

 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

We do in rehearsals! But it's done in a let's get better way and we also share what we are struggling with. The drummer and I are working on Hysteria which is causing us headaches...

 

If we make a mistake whether at a gig or rehearsal we accept it if the person in question is aware of it and it was just a "mistake" rather than playing it wrong and not knowing what was wrong. No point in dwelling on genuine mistooks.

If its a recurring issue we would talk about it at a rehearsal or even on our private FB page but that's never really happened.

Dave

[Sean]

I went to a jam night and it was brilliant. I played my Zebra Spector through the house Peavey Nitrobass head and 410. The soundguy told me it sounded epic - HAZ clone and EMGs on a neck-thru? Come on.  I played 4 songs with people I'd not met before and very quickly felt like I'd been adopted. I ended up chatting with the regulars until nearly midnight.  I really enjoyed myself and it taught me that it's possible to leave Gloucestershire and have a good time.

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

We do in rehearsals! But it's done in a let's get better way and we also share what we are struggling with. The drummer and I are working on Hysteria which is causing us headaches...

 

 

That's a good approach.  I wish we had it.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

On 10/04/2025 at 13:27, dmccombe7 said:

If we make a mistake whether at a gig or rehearsal we accept it if the person in question is aware of it and it was just a "mistake" rather than playing it wrong and not knowing what was wrong. No point in dwelling on genuine mistooks.

If its a recurring issue we would talk about it at a rehearsal or even on our private FB page but that's never really happened.

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

Our dep drummer made mistakes in almost every song last Saturday. No one said a word. Even on the way home in the van it wasn't brought up. At the end of the day, he's been thrown into the deep end of the pool. It took me along time to get all the songs. It's his attitude and availability that make him the right choice.

 

Daryl

Edited 12 hours ago by Bluewine

[dmccombe7]

33 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

Hi Dave,

 

Our dep drummer made mistakes in almost every song last Saturday. No one said a word. Even on the way home in the van it wasn't brought up.

 

My band background and age is so far removed from the rest of the band it's best I keep my mouth shut 

 

Daryl

Its a bit more difficult picking faults with a dep drummer. Probably more acceptable when he makes a mistake considering he's not a permanent member of the band and therefore doesn't gel the same and missing rehearsals etc.

Its something we don't do. I mentioned it once and it was severely frowned on by everyone. I guess the band just likes the close knit family approach to being in a band. The more a band plays together the tighter they should get.

I think if i was doing a gig where the drummer made mistakes in every song i'd have to either raise the issue with him and the band on way home or look for another dep if possible that puts a bit more effort in.

 

Were the mistakes noticeable by the audience or just minor fluffs that only the band noticed. ?

 

I guess the other thing with us is the fact we are all within 10yrs of each other age wise. Maybe not mentally tho .

 

Dave

Edited Thursday at 20:54 by dmccombe7

[Norris]

On 10/04/2025 at 16:51, Bluewine said:

We never call each other out on mistakes

We've been playing together for about 20 years and mistakes are few and far between. However we wear our big boy pants and can take the big OOOH face from the others when we drop one, and hand it out too. It's all part of the fun. No egos. I love it. The audience are usually clued up musically too, so they notice and join in the friendly barracking. It's all taken in good humour

[casapete]

10 minutes ago, Norris said:

We've been playing together for about 20 years and mistakes are few and far between. However we wear our big boy pants and can take the big OOOH face from the others when we drop one, and hand it out too. It's all part of the fun. No egos. I love it. The audience are usually clued up musically too, so they notice and join in the friendly barracking. It's all taken in good humour

In an old band I was in, if anyone dropped one then the culprit had to raise their hand to show it was them.

This sometimes led to some very funny moments, and our audiences often got it too. 

[dmccombe7]

If its noticeable to the audience i've seen our singer simply apologise at the end and say "its live music and sometimes it happens" Audience recognise the fun element and laugh with us but that's become quite rare these days.

Dave

[Linus27]

My gig last night I have to say was one of the most enjoyable gigs I've ever played. It was my first gig with a new artist called Andrew Maxwell Morris and we were playing at the Bedford in Balham. Both myself and the drummer are both new to the group as Andrew has decided to expand from a three piece to a full five piece band. So after two rehearsals, we were out gigging.

 

I've been super fortunate to have played some incredible venues in the past, including Brixton Academy, The Roundhouse, G Live, The Hacienda and various festivals to many thousands but wow, what an incredible venue The Bedford is. It's like The Roundhouse and Ronnie Scott's had a baby, so beautiful and intimate and the sound was out of the world. I was just using the in house Ampeg Rocket 210 which sounded great and my Japanese Fender 60's P-Bass strung with LaBella flats.

 

Anyway, they also film the performance so if anyone wants to watch then here it is.

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 23:45 by Linus27

[Bluewine]

On 10/04/2025 at 15:51, dmccombe7 said:

Its a bit more difficult picking faults with a dep drummer. Probably more acceptable when he makes a mistake considering he's not a permanent member of the band and therefore doesn't gel the same and missing rehearsals etc.

Its something we don't do. I mentioned it once and it was severely frowned on by everyone. I guess the band just likes the close knit family approach to being in a band. The more a band plays together the tighter they should get.

I think if i was doing a gig where the drummer made mistakes in every song i'd have to either raise the issue with him and the band on way home or look for another dep if possible that puts a bit more effort in.

 

Were the mistakes noticeable by the audience or just minor fluffs that only the band noticed. ?

 

I guess the other thing with us is the fact we are all within 10yrs of each other age wise. Maybe not mentally tho .

 

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks, that's all good stuff. When I make mistakes I talk about it, own up to it and apologize. 

 

 

Daryl

Edited 2 hours ago by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

On 09/04/2025 at 14:49, Bluewine said:

Acoustic gig this Friday at Edison Hall in Port Washington. 6-9.

 

Daryl

 

 

Very good acoustic gig. I was very happy with my performance.  Respectful size crowd considering the room is huge and usually used for wedding receptions.

 

I've put the G&L ASAT away for a while

 I'm playing my 2000 MIJ Fender P.

 

I've attached a few pics.

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks, that's all good stuff. When I make mistakes I talk about it, own up to it and apologize. 

 

For the amount of mistakes he made you'd think he would have said something.  I can't imagine it was fun for him.

 

Daryl

Yep that's a good point Daryl. If i make a mistake i usually apologize in the dressing room and the guys do the same but its done in good humour and everyone accepts that sometimes we make mistakes. Its live music and it occasionally happens. When someone does that the rest of us are usually unaware of the mistake as its been such a minor issue.

Most of the time the audience never notice a band making a mistake provided you all look confident and just carry on as if it was meant. The Jazz version of a Glam song 

Dave

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

Very good acoustic gig. I was very happy with my performance.  Respectful size crowd considering the room is huge and usually used for wedding receptions.

 

I've put the G&L ASAT away for a while

 I'm playing my 2000 MIJ Fender P.

 

I've attached a few pics.

 

Daryl

Great view out over the marina area Daryl.

Dave

[Bluewine]

13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Great view out over the marina area Daryl.

Dave

 

Dave,

 

The marina is nice, however I like those steps up to the stage. 

 

Even 10 years ago,I didn't care about stuff like steps. But now when I get to a gig and I notice there's no steps, in my advanced years I'm like "Come on" guys

"Really ? ". Is that an unreasonable attitude for me and some of the pensioners here that have been out there gigging for 50 years? Lol

 

Daryl

Edited 21 hours ago by Bluewine

[Lozz196]

I agree, steps onto stage may seem a small thing but it’s those small things when all put together just make gigging so much easier. Plug sockets where needed is another, as is - and prob more for originals bands - hooks on walls for you to display merchandise. Tiny little things but make things go smoother.

[SICbass]

We did the opening show of a run of a 50s Rock’n’Roll show last night. Given that we only had three days to rehearse on stage (people had prepped at home beforehand) it all went pretty well. The tricky part isn’t the music, it’s the transitions between songs and does-singer-A-do-schtick-here-or-do-we-just-proceed type hesitation. Given that, it went OK.

A special mention in dispatches to the Jerry Lee Lewis - a great guy 82 YEARS OF AGE! He disappears during one of the medleys for so long that I’m beginning to think that something has happened, and then reappears in full drape jacket with tiger skin lapels, climbs onto the piano and completely (in a very good way) steals the show with his rendition of Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ on.
A nice, modest guy off-stage who shows us youngsters (I am a sprightly 58) how it’s done. Respect!

Edited 19 hours ago by SICbass

[WalMan]

On 10/04/2025 at 17:36, Stub Mandrel said:

 

We do in rehearsals! But it's done in a let's get better way and we also share what we are struggling with. The drummer and I are working on Hysteria which is causing us headaches...

 

Definitely this. Much discussion around song links, endings and any bits that might have gone awry at the previous gig

On 10/04/2025 at 19:27, dmccombe7 said:

If we make a mistake whether at a gig or rehearsal we accept it if the person in question is aware of it and it was just a "mistake" rather than playing it wrong and not knowing what was wrong. No point in dwelling on genuine mistooks.

If its a recurring issue we would talk about it at a rehearsal or even on our private FB page but that's never really happened.

Dave

If we make a mistake we look and laugh at each, safe other in the knowledge that it will have gone unnoticed by 99% of punters 🤣

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Dave,

 

The marina is nice, however I like those steps up to the stage. 

 

Even 10 years ago,I didn't care about stuff like steps. But now when I get to a gig and I notice there's no steps, in my advanced years I'm like "Come on" guys

"Really ? ". Is that an unreasonable attitude for me and some of the pensioners here that have been out there gigging for 50 years? Lol

 

Daryl

with you on that one Daryl. We need more steps or better still elevators onto stage level but that's just a pipe-dream 

Dave

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I agree, steps onto stage may seem a small thing but it’s those small things when all put together just make gigging so much easier. Plug sockets where needed is another, as is - and prob more for originals bands - hooks on walls for you to display merchandise. Tiny little things but make things go smoother.

On stage sockets is a must. I hate gigs that have 2 double sockets in a corner of the stage. If using valve amps it causes no end of buzzing when everything is being fed thru 4 or way extension bars.

Dave

[ezbass]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

The marina is nice, however I like those steps up to the stage.

A big step up to a high stage is a pain in knees going up and jumping down is likely to cause all sorts of damage. Steps at the side are the way of the future, good planning by the venue. 👍

[ezbass]

6 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

elevators onto stage level

I have visions of something suitably Spinal Tap if they were available .

[neepheid]

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