Bad gig

[heroincredible]

So we had a gig last night at this place we hadn't played before, a couple doors down from this amazing little bar where we play at least once a month and they love us there. Anyways, we were told to get there 2 hours beforehand to set things up before it gets packed. So we set up and everything, its still pretty quiet. And with the layout of this place, it is a microbrewery(excellent beer there) and has 2 bars, one main bar(fairly large, thats where us and another band where playing) and the smaller bar(where they put the Reggaefest windup in). Sound check goes ok and apart from several replaced cables on the soundguys part we are good to go. Not many people are there...yet. 15 minutes before we go on, still nobody there...and all of a sudden, this guys start hauling big speakers into the side bar, large influx of people...and they are all in the side bar. So we start playing, a couple guys come in and watch us play, they're digging it(one of them stayed for our whole set and seemed to really dig our stuff). Guitarist breaks her string on the second song, we play a couple more songs before she finally decides to change strings. I go up, entertain the crowd a bit, they laugh...take a look back and about 6 people are in the corner trying to change this string. This is about the time the reggae starts up. Very loudly. So everything is set, we start playing...and the side bar gets so packed people are constantly coming in and out to get beer, so about every 5-6 seconds we are overpowered by really loud reggae, and although I do love reggae, it does not mix with our sound well and kept screwing us up. At one point it got so bad that we all kinda stopped mid-song, waited for the door to close and then started up again(luckily it worked well with that particular song). We finish at about 12:20...next band sets up, soundchecks and leaves for 10 minutes. About 12:45 they go on, 1:10 they get off the stage and start packing up their stuff, because the partition between the bars was taken down and you couldn't hear them. Argh. And since the other band was touring and broke, we let them take a bit more of the cover(and since there wasn't much to begin with seeing as how everyone went in through the other doors where they weren't taking cover) we basically got paid...nothing(besides the half pitcher of beer I got donated). Great venue, but they should've done a better job booking things. Sorry about the long none paragraph ramble, just had to get it out. ALso our performance was less than spectacular, although I was able to pull off my 'contemplating the fate of all existance' face several times.

[Boom Belly]

That sounds very familar to a gig we did once at one of those
hugh video game places that are springing up all over.

Before we started our set I asked the guy who booked the gig if they were going to turn the music off on the in-house
speaker system and he informed me that it was'nt music, but
rather the sound of all the games.

With all the bells and bleepers and buzzers I thought it was some kind of weird ambient trance music or something.

It was very distracting to say the least and nobody in the place was there for live music.

I think the only people who paid any attention to us were the
cocktail waitress's (God luv em)

[bucephylus]

Well, that's paying dues; assuming you learned something...

such as, don't work for that club anymore; unless you want the exposure and don't mind playing for free.

For a lot of club owners, it is strictly business. They could care less what you are doing on the stage. Their emphasis is filling their till. Don't work for them anymore.

[Masher88]

That story sounds like about 3/4's of the gigs we play around Cleveland, Ohio! In the last 5 years or so, the clubs around here have taken to putting on "Fests" for every show. This is where they have 10-20 bands on the bill and have 2 stages in two separate rooms...both playing at the same time. So the crowd just stays where the bar is...which is not close to either of the stages! No bands get paid...in fact, bands have to pre-sell tickets for the clubs...and they don't even get a cut of the money that they have raised...they just get a better time slot for selling more tickets. It's basically like L.A. back in the 80's where bands would pay the club to let them play! Clubs just don't appreciate that musicians work hard to sound good and would like to get compensated for thier time and effort. Sorry for the rant. All us musicians in Clevo are at our wits end....there needs to be a strike or something!

[Dkerwood]

And unfortunately, when the bands go on strike, enter the DJs who will "play" for less than most bands ask for...

And honestly, most bar patrons don't care where the music is coming from.

[fraublugher]

and by exposure , he means the combined radioactive waste
that was the environment