Our Gig this past Saturday

[dbhokie]

My band has a great relationship with businesses in the area, bars and taverns and such. We had a gig this past Saturday at a very nice venue on a lake with all glass windows lining it and a beautiful view. Very nice place! When we started at 8pm there were about 80 people in there, now granted (this is not our normal playing area it is about an hour and a half away, so very few of our normal crowd came out to see us, and the guy that booked us knows this, because we bring out over 100 people to his other place regularly, and he loves us). Well these 80 people seemed to all be very old, and very wealthy...not saying anything bad about it...that's just how it was. We have never been asked to turn down our volume anywhere ever...it was a very big space and we got asked 4 times to turn down in the first hour..Our drummer was just doing rim taps, and I switched to a BA112 combo for a 2500 sq foot room. There was little to no applause (which not being vain, but we aren't used to), and we tried to cater to them by playing older, and slower songs..(we aren't a jazz band..more folk and alternative). During the first set when we kept getting asked to turn down, and I basically couldn't hear myself anymore hardly..it was a downer..it made us feel like wow..this crowd here, doesn't want any type of music..they don't want us here and are just waiting to get done with dinner.

Before the second set, the bartender came up to us to try and encourage us and tell us we sounded good, and that we are the first full band they have ever had there..they usually just have solo acoustic or piano acts.

The dinner crowd left and a small bar crowd came in and they enjoyed us a lot..as well as some of our regulars who traveled to hear us...so we had a fun last two sets, because they told us to turn it up, and our drummer was actually able to play, and we could hear ourselves.

Point is..why (even though the guy that owns the place likes us), why would he have us come there..it is so dissapointing and with a gig like that it kind of makes you feel crappy. I mean why didn't he just tell us to do an acoustic set, we would have brought a hand drum, a double bass and one acoustic guitar...just kind of a downer night.

[prd004]

It's just a learning experience for you guys, don't dwell on it. Music is very much based on personal taste, so inevitably even the best bands are going to play to crowds that don't appreciate them.
Also it is not uncommon to play a very mellow set to the dinner crowd and then ratchet it up a notch or two for your later sets, in venues like this. I have played in bands that do an acoustic set to appease the dinner crowd and get the night off to a mellow, yet good start. It actually impresses the masses when you have that kind of versatility and really makes for a dynamic show, when you plug in and rock out at the end of the night.

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by prd004

It's just a learning experience for you guys, don't dwell on it. Music is very much based on personal taste, so inevitably even the best bands are going to play to crowds that don't appreciate them.
Also it is not uncommon to play a very mellow set to the dinner crowd and then ratchet it up a notch or two for your later sets, in venues like this. I have played in bands that do an acoustic set to appease the dinner crowd and get the night off to a mellow, yet good start. It actually impresses the masses when you have that kind of versatility and really makes for a dynamic show, when you plug in and rock out at the end of the night.

+10
Don't dwell on it. These experiences are extremely common. Sometimes it's just bad communication between the person hiring and the person representing the band. But it can only help you as a professional.

About three weeks ago, one of the bands I'm in agreed to play at a benefit for cancer survivors. In advance, they saw our songlist, which is all Southern rock and classic rock, with plenty of jamming. We're not exactly small: two guitars, keyboards, bass, drums and a guy who switches between tenor sax and harmonica. When we arrived, I asked to put some of our promo material at the front where people checked in. The person in charge responded, "Okay, but we'll make a deal: you have to play a dinner set for the first hour and a half." (The gig was a total of two hours!)

We did our best, but still were asked to turn down three times.
Finally, we got the nod to play louder stuff, people got up to dance, and we got booked for next year, right on the spot.