No more bar gigs!!!!

Ian Hall · #1 07-02-2002, 10:33 AM

Last night I played the first gig with a local band that I've joined and we all have decided that we never will play a bar again. We have a very complex rig, and showed up at six to do set up and sound check for the show at nine. The owners refused to help us with their non working electrical outlets, and told us not to sound check because it might upset all of the old yokels at the bar. Not that the old yokels don't have a right to be there, but this gig has been scheduled for weeks, and they knew about it just as well as anyone. So we did one anyways (2-18"bins,2-15"bins,2x10+1x15 for drum triggers, 2-15" monitors) and blasted em'. We would have been polite and not done it if we'd been treated politely in the first place. We have a fairly good local following so about 200 people eventually showed in the bar which on a monday usually has about 20 or so. We played about half of our show, which went fairly well besides some technical difficulties (drummer ran out of duct tape to hold triggers on his heads) and then took a halftime beer break. The owners made us pay for the beer, and told us to turn down or else we couldn't play anymore(we were quiet enough for bar calls, so what more do you need?) and the whole time they were being incredibly rude. I am friends with one of the waitresses and she said that they didn't make as much bar profit on an entire saturday as they had in the last hour. Seeing that the bar owners were generally being power freak jerkoffs, we got on the mic and told all of our friends(most of the crowd) that the show was done and that they could leave because the bar owner didn't want us to play anymore and wasn't paying us anyways, and that they should all stop purchasing drinks. The crowed did a good deal of booing and cussing,and then all of a sudden one of the owners sends the waitress over with a couple of free pitchers and has her tell us to stay. Funny, eh? So we finish up the rest of our set with free beer, and then go out to the parking lot to find that the drummers truck has been broken in to, and his registration, wallet, my guitarists wallet and car keys, and even my drummers shirt were stolen. We all pitch in to a pool at shows to pay for broken gear(strings,drum heads,cables) and that money was stolen also. Somehow, through all of this, we still managed to have fun though. Oh well, looks like we'll be sticking to venues.

Ray Salamon · #2 07-02-2002, 10:48 AM

Way to be man! Ha, I wish I could have that much power, we just never have enough people at our gigs to influence the owners. So we have to end up turning down and such...Sorry to hear about the break-in though, I had a similar thing happen at a NYC gig.......hope you can get it all replaced!
Ray

Ian Hall · #3 07-02-2002, 11:07 AM

Oh, and I forgot also that our DJ/sound guy had too many beers and kept missing his cue on a song, which took us two restarts to get right. We usually can cover up foul-ups, but that song is very intolerant to being off time in even the smallest little bit. My guitarist is a perfectionist, and was all irritated for the rest of the night too. I didn't mean to portray that we are a bunch of conceited drunken jerks, it's just that when we play a free show and make all of that money for the bar, we should get at least a tad bit of respect. We also hold a bit of a monopoly on the music scene where we live because it is about 90% crappy punk bands(high desert in southern california, north of Los Angeles), so when people want to listen to a decent local alternative/metal band, we're just about it. Oh well, we'll just have to work some overtime to make up the money and keep on going

LiquidMidnight · #4 07-02-2002, 03:56 PM

I wouldn't let that incident discourage you from playing bars ever again. Most club/bar owners I find are really nice people and appreciate you coming to play. You just were unlucky enough to play at one of those bars that was managed by A**holes. Besides, bars is where you make most of your money.

It does suck though that your drummers truck was broken into, though.

Munjibunga · #5 07-02-2002, 09:47 PM

Hmmm ... who sucked more, you guys or the bar owner? I'll get back to you on this.

Munjibunga · #6 07-02-2002, 10:16 PM

OK, I've thought about it. You came into someone else's territory with an over-powered rig, got upset because he wouldn't rewire the stage for you, defied his desire for you not to play while his paying regulars finished up their last brew before the music started, played louder than you needed to, got drunk and screwed up your performance, sent away paying customers intentionally, and got boo'd by your own fans.

Man, that bar owner is a MAJOR a-hole.

Ian Hall · #7 07-02-2002, 11:38 PM

You may want to think just a bit more yet- the fans were booing the bar owner- not us. Evidently you misinterpreted what I said. We were playing at a volume which was quiet enough so the bartender and the two waitresses could hear the bar calls- we were told our volume was not too loud by them-the ones actually working. We were specifically told to show up after happy hour so that the regulars would be gone, and we did. There were four or five of them left at the bar when we were getting ready. The ***-hole owner, as the others here have accurately referred to him in their posts, was in the back room doing paperwork or something, and evidently was upset with himself for booking a band since the noise was keeping him from concentrating or something. What are you talking about rewire the stage??? He just wouldn't bother to turn on the circuit breaker for the stage outlets, so we had to run extension cords. His indifference was his rudeness, not just his demeanor. I've rarely played a gig where the owner was as grumpy and sour as this guy. This was the first time I've had to deal with the grumpy sour ass owner instead of somebody more polite that works for him. By the way- we were invited in to the territory. We were asked to play there, I think the word used regarding our demo was "badass" or something of that sort. The only people who had any idea that we srewed up were the two or three other musicians in the audience. The one song that we obviously screwed up(I would hope that the audience would realize that stopping the song means screwing up) was because it involves a lot of drum sampling and a bit of off time beat work by the drummer. The drum sample was put in at the wrong spot by the DJ and killed the song twice in a row. Third time was a charm and he got it right, and then so did we. The DJ isn't even a member of the band, so no, we did not screw up our performance, our hired sound man did. You can also bet that we had a word with him after the show. Do you feel the need to make any more unsubstantiated claims about the event? You sure do seem to know a lot about the show for not having been there.

ZuluFunk · #8 07-03-2002, 05:41 AM

Where was this bar? How about a nice anti-plug so's we can all avoid the spot?

Ian Hall · #9 07-03-2002, 09:09 AM

Zulufunk, It's in dusty Hesperia, California. Don't worry, luckily for you it's pretty far away. I don't think that you'll have to worry about booking there by accident. Munjibunga- sorry for being so snappy, I see that I was a bit now that it's in the morning and I'm rested, but if you jump on me about something it's a knee jerk reflex to jump back on you about it. I'm not on this board just to start fights with people. We really weren't the ones at fault in this episode a few days ago though. You could have just asked me for more details instead of instantly pigeonholing me as an inconsiderate jerk. Truce?

Munjibunga · #10 07-04-2002, 12:15 AM

Hey, I'm not offended if you're not. I was just trying to give what might have been the bar owner's perspective.

Now, Hesperia, gateway to Victorville. GOOD LORD! For those not in the know, this is about as red-neck as it gets. This town is out in the middle of the Mojave Desert. The people who live there do so because they want to be away from people. I did some geotechnical exploration for a pipeline out there, and the biggest sign of civilization was a streetside sign that said "Chivos for sale." That's goats. Crimenittly, how on earth did you end up with a gig way out there?

SuperDuck · #11 07-04-2002, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Munjibunga
Crimenittly, how on earth did you end up with a gig way out there?

"You sure we're goin' the right way?"

"Sure, it should be coming up any minute... there! There it is!"

"Bob's Country Bunker?"

Mike N · #12 07-04-2002, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SuperDuck

"You sure we're goin' the right way?"

"Sure, it should be coming up any minute... there! There it is!"

"Bob's Country Bunker?"

"So, what kind of music do you like here?"

"We like both kinds.....country and western."

Munjibunga · #13 07-04-2002, 03:34 PM

... country AND western, OR ELSE!

LiquidMidnight · #14 07-04-2002, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike N

"We like both kinds.....country and western."

One time when we walked into a gig, a lady at the bar asked our singer what style of music we played and he said "We play both kinds........Country and Western".

She didn't get the joke.

Ian Hall · #15 07-05-2002, 03:07 AM

Eh, it's kinda like Los Angeles with less gangs and less traffic but with more creosote bushes, tweakers, and lizards. What can I say?? The place is a friggin black hole man. Oh well, could be living in the lucerne valley or phelan.

Johnny BoomBoom · #16 07-05-2002, 09:25 AM

Sorry to hear about your show - that sucks! Hmm, about your break-in, and the fact the bar owner wasn't too friendly, do you see any chance of a connection, or do I just watch too much Scooby Doo????

Ian Hall · #17 07-08-2002, 01:27 PM

Actually, I was just about to post an update to my story which is pretty funny. Yesterday we got a call from one of the girls that works the bar and she told us that the owner now would like us to come back and play two saturdays a month @$300+beer. He sold more drinks on the monday night that we played than he does on most Saturdays and Sundays. He admitted to actually liking our music; he was just pushed in to irritation by the complaints of his regulars. The weekend crowd is mostly younger, which is good for my band(more appreciative crowd; don't have hicks yelling,"HEY! PLAY SOME MORE SKYNRD!!!" every five minutes) and good for him, in that the regulars don't come around on weekends because of all the partygoers. Well at least I can reduce his title from ***hole to kindofa jerk. Free Beer good. Mean grumpy hicks bad.

Munjibunga · #18 07-08-2002, 08:39 PM

Ian Hall · #19 07-08-2002, 11:40 PM

I know, I know.

jbplayer · #20 07-09-2002, 12:53 AM

Tell me something. Why on Earth would you leave money, keys or anything of value in a vehicle out in the middle of no where, in a strange town with strange people running around rubbing their necks to make them redder and on top of that ticking off the the guys that call that bar stool home for six hours every afternoon? I know you have to know better. Your on your own in towns like that all over the country. Could be the club owner asked you back so his bud's could creep out of the parking lot with more of your things. Sorry, I couldnt help it. Thats exactly what I would tell my daughter and her friends if it happened to them. Glad everything worked out in your favor even after all the crap you went through the first time.