Gig Reports - How did your gig go?

[jeremy c]

How do the owners drive customers away?

 

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Expensive drinks, crappy food, lousy service, DeeJay Bear Lee Competent.

 

I'm sure there are owners out there that would rather have an empty bar. It's less work.

[BEMcCut]

There is that chance they will chase our crowd away, too. Hopefully that won't happen. In answer to Jeremy, they have a poor attuide when dealing with customers. They used to be the only bar in the area, so they had a where else are they going to go. About a year ago a new place opened. They treat everyone great. The owner of the new place has even given us more money than the job was booked for because we brought in a big crowd. People go where they are treated well.

[Seamy ALB]

I played a great gig on Saturday night past in what is becoming a legendary wee venue here in N Ireland. The Diamond Rock Club is a real great bar ran by great folk in a tiny rural village. Late last year one of the bar staff a young lad of 27 past away from sudden adult death syndrome. He had been as fit as a fiddle and played soccer regularly for his local team, he went home after a match had a lie down and passed in his sleep. The sadness of this was felt right around the community and on Saturday past they held a memorial tribute gig in his memory and to raise funds for a charity of his family's choosing. All bands played for free and the cream of N Irelands rock bands played.

 

A little Bitter played our first gig in 4 months and we had a real ball. I played through the House rig which is an all ampeg set up it is frigging brilliant!!

 

Here is a wee video, pardon the swearing!!:

 

[video:youtube]I played a great gig on Saturday night past in what is becoming a legendary wee venue here in N Ireland. The Diamond Rock Club is a real great bar ran by great folk in a tiny rural village. Late last year one of the bar staff a young lad of 27 past away from sudden adult death syndrome. He had been as fit as a fiddle and played soccer regularly for his local team, he went home after a match had a lie down and passed in his sleep. The sadness of this was felt right around the community and on Saturday past they held a memorial tribute gig in his memory and to raise funds for a charity of his family's choosing. All bands played for free and the cream of N Irelands rock bands played. A little Bitter played our first gig in 4 months and we had a real ball. I played through the House rig which is an all ampeg set up it is frigging brilliant!! Here is a wee video, pardon the swearing!!:

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Last night at an out-of-town Eagles. Lead guitar/vox shows up with the upper respiratory mung ... can't talk, let alone sing. That's half our set list. Guitar/lead vox gets a set list out from when we had with old lead guitar who didn't sing as much.

 

Much delay between songs as we tried to build/find songs that we could do under the circumstance. We got it cobbled together - we are "pro-like" that way.

 

During break #1, this guy comes up and asks us about old Motown. I let loose that we cover "My Girl" by the Temptations. Seem's the dudes stepdaughter teaches deaf kids and had a bit of a local rep of signing along with songs ... My Girl happens to be the one.

 

Song 3 of Set 2 we call her up on the stage. Put her center stage between lead vox and me and let fly with the V/I intro. I really couldn't get a good look being next to and slightly behind, but it was really cool to have that. Way cool.

 

Sometimes we take the gifts we have for granted and something comes along and knocks some gratitude back into us.

[jeremy c]

I played a great gig on Saturday night past in what is becoming a legendary wee venue here in N Ireland. The Diamond Rock Club is a real great bar ran by great folk in a tiny rural village. Late last year one of the bar staff a young lad of 27 past away from sudden adult death syndrome. He had been as fit as a fiddle and played soccer regularly for his local team, he went home after a match had a lie down and passed in his sleep. The sadness of this was felt right around the community and on Saturday past they held a memorial tribute gig in his memory and to raise funds for a charity of his family's choosing. All bands played for free and the cream of N Irelands rock bands played.

 

A little Bitter played our first gig in 4 months and we had a real ball. I played through the House rig which is an all ampeg set up it is frigging brilliant!!

 

Here is a wee video, pardon the swearing!!:

 

[video:youtube]I played a great gig on Saturday night past in what is becoming a legendary wee venue here in N Ireland. The Diamond Rock Club is a real great bar ran by great folk in a tiny rural village. Late last year one of the bar staff a young lad of 27 past away from sudden adult death syndrome. He had been as fit as a fiddle and played soccer regularly for his local team, he went home after a match had a lie down and passed in his sleep. The sadness of this was felt right around the community and on Saturday past they held a memorial tribute gig in his memory and to raise funds for a charity of his family's choosing. All bands played for free and the cream of N Irelands rock bands played. A little Bitter played our first gig in 4 months and we had a real ball. I played through the House rig which is an all ampeg set up it is frigging brilliant!! Here is a wee video, pardon the swearing!!

 

Very nice! (The swearing didn't bother me because as an American, I couldn't understand a word you were saying).

[Chad Thorne]

Last night we played at Gingko Blue in Portland, ME, a club distinguished by its commitment to jazz and blues. They don't book anything else. So we can go in and be a blues band and get a positive response, which we always do. We're booked there 2x/month throughout the year!

 

Last night was a miserable rain/snow/freezing rain storm and we feared for attendance. Not to worry; the folks came in, and stayed, and whooped, hollered, clapped, danced. One young 20-something lady requested Jimmy Reed! We played two for her.

 

Because there weren't a lot of people there when we started, we started at a pretty low volume. that seemed to ease everybody into the evening comfortable, so when we turned up later the crowd went with us.

 

The band seemed particularly inspired last evening, several guitar/harp "duels" and the guys played their asses off. Drummer and I locked in even tighter than usual. Lots of dynamics, bringing the music down low then building up again. A memorable night!

[EddiePlaysBass]

Here is a wee video, pardon the swearing!!

 

Seamy, that was really great!! Constantly Raining is one of my fave ALB songs and it's awesome to hear it live. Always dug that ending!!!!

[Ross Brown]

Great stuff Seamy!!!!

[Seamy ALB]

Thanks lads, it was a great wee gig!! I'll get subtitles for my American Brethren!!

[Danzilla]

Played in a "Battle of the Bands" last night. It was slightly different from most, in that they had "professional" judges and weren't just relying on how many people you get to show up to send the applause meter in one band's favor. Which is good, because we don't have a big following in the club scene in Baltimore (yet).

Backline was provided, which for me was a Sunn Concert head and an Eden 4x10 cab. The Sunn 2x15 cab that they normally use was apparently on the fritz. The head was pretty simple: Volume, Low Bass, High Bass, Mid & Treble. The EQ knobs, when all down, give you zero output. The Treble knob brought in a fair amount of hiss & hum when above 3, so I kept it at 2. The two Bass knobs were very functional and helped round out the tone without getting too boomy.

I mostly played the Schecter T5, with the EHX Black Finger compressor on. I thought the on-stage sound was ok, but not as articulate as I would have liked. One of the judges, who is a local "known" bass player, later talked and said he loved my tone, so I guess FOH was doing their job. I made a slight mistake of giving into "peer pressure" - I've been told by a few people that I wear the bass up too high and for hard rock, need to drop it for the rock image. I had it slung relatively low, and by the end of the night, my left hand was pretty strained form that different positioning. Strap's going back up, at least partway, vanity be damned.

We played a set of all original tunes. The next band was a female-fronted classic rock cover band. They had some good moments (Sabbath's "Heaven & Hell" was surprisingly good, sounded like Ann Wilson), and some really bad ones ("Sweet Child of Mine" with a guitar intro that sounded like it was played on a toy piano, and the bass line played correctly but without any feeling). Then a heavier band, which was apparently mostly covers that I hadn't heard. Not bad, but pretty loud and not all that "heartfelt" if you know what I mean (or not). Though they did do a cool heavy version of "Cheap Sunglasses".

Last band, Amaretto Meltdowns, was a power trio playing a mix of originals and classics (Zep, Hendrix). They were really good, and we felt they were going to win it. Apparently the judges were really torn between them and us, but ended up giving us the win. Surprised us! We got some good criticism from the judges, lots of compliments from the other bands & crowd, and move on to the finals in April (Prize: a good paying gig, radio interview, press, and I think even a block of recording time).

[Ross Brown]

NICE!!!!

[Phil W]

Lovely Delicatessen gig last night. Sold out for the second gig in a row! Though I hate to see people sent home who've come to see you play. Lovely atmosphere.

 

Here's a Turkish ballad...

[video:youtube]

 

And from the second set a medley of a Turkish tune and a Greek one...

 

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SZhu3k9TZc

[EddiePlaysBass]

Played a gig in the Netherlands yesterday! My first gig "abroad", even if it is just across the border. Upon arrival we were treated really nicely: the waiter made a point of getting our names and getting them right (and subsequently remembering them!)

 

We even had an opening act, a local blues band who had gone through severe last-minute line-up changes (including a sub on drums, a new guitarist and harp player with 4 and 2 rehearsals under their belt). Nice (and cute) female singer, though! She gained our respect for staying in the right key even though the bass player was really "jazzing" things up in some songs. Still wonder why she sang "Mush-tang Sally" though.

 

We played 2 sets of about 50 minutes and then 2 encores (our traditional closers: Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" and ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" in a Bonamassa rendition) which concluded a very successful evening. The crowd loved us, the staff loved us and truth be told: we loved us :grin:

 

[edit]The singer announced "Sweet Home Chicago" with the following words: "Anyone who doesn't know this song, please leave the room now!" but then quickly added: "No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!" Makes me wonder what'd happened if he had NOT added that disclaimer :grin:

[TimR]

Had a bit of a day yesterday.

 

Started off with the possibility of me picking up a Warwick 211PRO cab to match my current one. Unfortunately the guy selling it wasn't back from his trip abroad..

 

....

 

First paid gig in a while.

 

So a 30min drive to my brother to pick up the PA then off to drop my son off at the in-laws and on to the gig. A 50th birthday - always good gigs. We played on a stage in quite a reverberant hall and spent a while sorting out the backcloth that had seen better days. Gaffa tape and safety pins are wonderful inventions.

 

The first set was hard going, we messed up a few tunes but covered up well and anyone not a musician wouldn't have noticed. Food at the first break sharpened us up and relaxed the audience. People danced and we stopped at the second break so the birthday girl could do a speech but she didn't want to so we decided to keep playing until she did.

 

Much later..... She decides to do the speech 30mins before the end. So 5 mins break and play to end - effectively a 2 hour set. Ouch!

 

Complements all round at the end and one muso impressed we had 3 hours of material. We have more, not sure why he was impressed really.

 

....

This morning involved a trip an hour up the motorway to pick up a cab. So I am now the proud owner of 2 2x10s. Happy days.

 

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Played a gig in the Netherlands yesterday! My first gig "abroad",

 

I consider Walla Walla playing "abroad".

[butcherNburn]

EddiePlaysBass,

Cortez the Killer, that's pretty adventurous. It's my favorite Neil Young song. To me it was always a perfect example of a guitar and voice being one in the same, Neil is one of the few that can pull that off and if you guys came half as close, that's monumental.

[jeremy c]

Played at a Purim party last week. This is a Jewish holiday in which the book of Esther is read. Costumes are part of the holiday and much merry-making takes place. The club was sold out. Everyone (including the band) had a great time.

Here's part of the band:

http://www.jeremycohenbass.com/images/purim1.jpg

And here's the poster advertising the event:

http://www.jeremycohenbass.com/images/occupypurim.jpg

[EddiePlaysBass]

I like the sign that says: "Come In Costume! (Or Not)". Reminds me of the Halloween party I attended a few years ago, dressed as Avril Lavigne ... You do not want to know how many 40-somethings thought I was dressed like Tina Turner and were actually hitting on me ... :freak: Men are pigs!

 

"Sadly", no pictures ... Oh and for the record, my girlfriend went dressed up as Elvis But I kind of forgot what this thread is all about :grin:

[Seamy ALB]

This is the feel good thread!! I love it!!

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

You get ALL the cool gigs.

[jcadmus]

Played at a Purim party last week. This is a Jewish holiday in which the book of Esther is read. Costumes are part of the holiday and much merry-making takes place. The club was sold out. Everyone (including the band) had a great time.

"Let's face it, the kids aren't exactly dressing up as The Scorcher for Purim anymore."

[TimR]

Played in a church last night. Had all the hallmarks of being a bad night.

 

The organiser had to be persuaded to put away the chairs so that people would be able to dance.

There was no alcohol.

He told us to turn down 3 times during sound check then again after we had finished sounchecking as people would want to chat.

 

Oh no we've been booked as background music? That wasn't the breif!

 

So we started and were so quiet that I couldn't hear either of the guitars. I had taken both my 211s so had no problem playing quietly whole still being clear.

 

At the beginning of the second tune HALF the audience got up and started dancing. They remained dancing for both one hour sets. Which is something I've never seen before.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how gigs never turn out as you expect.

[Nicklab]

Last night we were in a room in downtown NYC that we have never played before. The place has a little bit of cred by virtue of it's location, and some good word of mouth. That is, until we actually got in there and saw/heard the performance space.

 

The room was LOUD. Shout at one another in order to have a conversation LOUD. It's a basement that's been converted into a performance space with minimal acoustic treatment and plenty of hard surfaces. Regular stage volume translated into things being VERY LOUD out in the audience.

 

The house backline? Not great by NYC standards. There was a 4x12" guitar cab with an Epiphone amp head that didn't sound too great. The house drums had no hardware, so our drummer not only had to bring his own snare & cymbals (standard deal for NYC), but his hardware, too. The house bass rig was a Behringer head (UCK) and a Hartke 4x10" cab in which 2 of the drivers had been replaced. The club's website was none too clear about this, so I opted to bring my own amp head and decided to test drive my new Ampeg PF-500 head.

 

The sound situation? Well, the soundman was frankly kind of a dick. While we were setting up he never bothered to tell us about the limitations of what he could actually do for us. The room was so live with the hard wood & concrete surfaces that the only things going through the PA were the vocals and keys. The rest of the mix was dependent upon stage volume.

 

We went into the gig with a pretty specific set list. That quickly went out the window based on the volume issues. Oh, and either the power supply to my pedal board or the house power decided to take a crap, too. So I had to deal with loss of signal MID-SONG (in the first song, no less), and ditch my pedal board for the rest of the set.

 

All in all, not our best night. But we adapted and dealt with the challenges. We managed our own volume when it quickly became apparent that it was too loud. And we changed the set around to play some of our more low key material.

 

It was a clear example of Murphy's Law in practice. That, and that I do indeed need to get about the process of rebuilding my pedal board as I've been intending to do for a few months.

[Paul K]

Got a call Monday night for a Wednesday night gig at a place two miles from my home that I've been trying to get a gig at for more than a year. In spite of not remembering the power supply to my multieffects (with the tuner function!!), be proud of me that I did it all by ear. A little reverb from the board and all was good. The owner was pleased as punch, and I was home by 10:30. One table of people asked if I knew any older tunes. Really? Most of my tunes are over 30 years old. You want some Glenn Miller for christsakes??? I appeased them with a couple Chicago tunes.

 

And in the usual feast-or-famine arrangement, I've a gig tonight at a place about one and a half miles from my house. I'll be home by 11:30. That's cool.

[jcadmus]

One table of people asked if I knew any older tunes. Really? Most of my tunes are over 30 years old. You want some Glenn Miller for christsakes???

One outfit I play with, we keep Roger Miller's "King of the Road" in our hip pocket for just such requests -- and we do it great.

 

Instantly turns haters into lovers -- everyone digs that tune.

[Nicklab]

"King of the road" was the signature song for my elementary school band teacher. He had every band play that tune at the spring concerts and I think for the Memorial Day parade, too. It was pretty fun to play, too. Even if I was playing sax back then, and not bass.

[Danzilla]

My gig on Friday didn't happen. Guitarist/vocalist (and band leader) had a car accident on the way to the show; we had to cancel. Promoter was pleasant about it, and hopes to get us a couple more shows to help pay for repairs. Hope it all pans out next time.

[EddiePlaysBass]

We were booked to play this bar which frequently hosts all kinds of live music but mostly books blues bands. A bluesrock band in a blues bar sounds like a match made in heaven, no?

 

Got there and saw that they had a bass amp. I had brought mine just in case but this bar was in the city and parking was a craze. It was an older Eden combo (300W) and I figured it would do just fine so I left my own equipment in the car.

 

Earlier this week I had dislocated my shoulder during workout (popping it back in was about the most painful thing I have done so far - I damn near fainted) so I really hadn't practiced a whole lot. And it showed. I played a good deal of bum notes during the first set, and also noticed I had dialed in a completely wrong tone: way too much low and hardly any middle or high so I didn't hear any notes played on the D and G string. The fact that the guitarist next to me had turned up his volume considerably did not help matters either.

 

Back to that match made in heaven: we got zero response during the first set. Well, the band wives and friends who had come to see us hollered but that was it. But people were just standing there, staring at us. No singing along where we expected it, and the applause and cheers sounded awfully polite.

 

Granted, we had changed the set order a bit and the second set was by far the more interesting one (in retrospect a bad move, there was too little balance). And it showed. By the end we got em (everyone singing along to Sweet Home Chicago) and got the "We want more" chants going so did our usual encore duo of "Cortez The Killer" and "Just Got Paid". Afterwards almost EVERYONE said it was super and what a great job we did. Weird.

 

All in all, it was an interesting evening, though I will have to classify it as our least concert to date. We will need to work on figuring out how to win over a crowd, and I need to rethink using amps I don't know and how to properly set them to dial in a tone which will actually cut through in a live setting.

[Richard W]

I thought you were going to say you got back to your car and found your gear missing...