what's the biggest gig you've played?

[15000volts]

I've been wondering about this subject, what's the biggest audience you've played for?

for me it was an 800+ crowd at a sort of school festival. outside school was a 300-400 crowd in a show my music-school gave. (i'm writing school waay to many times)
other than that, it was all very small audiences

so how many was it for you?

[Tampabass]

To this date (and probably forever) the biggest crowd I ever played for was with the UF (Florida) Jazz band, when we played the annual Gator Growl AKA "world's largest pep rally." Something like 80,000+ people attended.

It was a big student-oriented entertainment event, with guest stars, usually comics - in early '80s, Robin Williams, George Burns, etc. -- held at the old Florida Field. It was amazing looking out there and hearing & seeing the huge crowd. I had the privilege of doing that three times with the "top" jazz band (of 4 then at the school).

[jvanick]

my old band would regularly play for 1300+ plus people, and we had a few 4500+ people shows as well, we also played for a boat party that had 900 boats (nobody is really sure how many people were there)

My new band is just getting started (all originals) so it'll be quite some time before we're playing for audiences like that.

[jnuts1]

about 850-900 at the house of blues in chicago.

[15000volts]

these days I'd be happy if I could gig regularly for 100-ish people. big crowds are awesome, but small venues have a certain magic to them. being able to see everyone, being closer to the audience and to interact more with them

[Lemoore-on]

3000 salors on the flight deck of the USS Saratoga as she passed thru the Suez Canal in 91.

It was a "Steel Beach" BBQ

[unbridled]

About 4500 at an outdoor festival. Fun gig.

[crijan]

Biggest crowd so far was last October for 14,000 people at a radio station promoted Guns N Roses tribute concert in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

[bound'n'blocked]

two equally big gigs for me in about two weeks time this past summer....

A place in downtown Huntington WV for their Summer Concert Series. It's held at a mall, and with all of the restaurant verandas and such about 4000 or so.

Then on the 4th of July fireworks show in my hometown, 4-5000 there. It was actually kinda scary the first couple of songs. I'd never really seen that many people from stage, but by the end of the show I didnt want it to end....

BnB

[tom once dead]

Not as big as some others, but got a gig this weekend at a bike show expecting 600+ with a band from finland and another big Australian band.

[deaf pea]

There were said to be over 300,000 peaple at the anti-war rally/free concert in Golden Gate Park on November 20, 1969 . . .
I played with the San Francisco cast of "HAIR" . . . CSN&Y were the "headliners" of the event . . .

[Kael]

Downtown OKC right before the ball went up on New Year's Eve (ball goes up not down here). There were 70K people there.. I was too busy freezing my ass off to notice.

[ElMon]

Originally Posted by Kael

Downtown OKC right before the ball went up on New Year's Eve (ball goes up not down here). There were 70K people there.. I was too busy freezing my ass off to notice.

I was JUST getting ready to post about the EXACT same gig and I froze my everloving buttski off as well with the OCU Percussion Ensemble. Plus, I received a concussion while taking a vibraphone offstage and getting hit in the head when the other guy dropped his end and i compensated on mine.

Don't know if this counts towards 'big', but my other gig of note was a small one at the Roxy (200 people), but with Lou Adler (Mamas and the Papas producer/Sam Cooke's Manager/producer/etc) and a handful of industry execs in the audience judging every move/sound.

[Kael]

Originally Posted by ElMon

I was JUST getting ready to post about the EXACT same gig and I froze my everloving buttski off as well with the OCU Percussion Ensemble. Plus, I received a concussion while taking a vibraphone offstage and getting hit in the head when the other guy dropped his end and i compensated on mine.

Don't know if this counts towards 'big', but my other gig of note was a small one at the Roxy (200 people), but with Lou Adler (Mamas and the Papas producer/Sam Cooke's Manager/producer/etc) and a handful of industry execs in the audience judging every move/sound.

Yeah that gig is COLD. Downtown so all the OK wind is funneled between the buildings and on a stage elevated where you get to take full advantage of the lovely December breeze. It was in the lower teens when I played it with around a 20mph wind. Had no feeling in my fingertips whatsoever.

[DavidE]

I've been playing guitar in bands since 1976, but the biggest crowd I ever played for was as a bass player for my country band July 4, 2010 in Hilliard, Ohio. We were on a stage that had speakers facing front and rear, so we could be heard all over the public park where people gathered to watch the fireworks. It got dark, so all we saw were a few thousand people. One of the guys had the idea to start a cheer with the group in front competing for volume with the group behind us that was in the dark and we really couldn't see. The roar of the crowd for that was unbelievable. Sounded like an arena. They told us after the show that there were over 20,000 people there, but we don't know if that's a real number. I'll take it though!

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Tampabass

To this date (and probably forever) the biggest crowd I ever played for was with the UF (Florida) Jazz band, when we played the annual Gator Growl AKA "world's largest pep rally." Something like 80,000+ people attended.

It was a big student-oriented entertainment event, with guest stars, usually comics - in early '80s, Robin Williams, George Burns, etc. -- held at the old Florida Field. It was amazing looking out there and hearing & seeing the huge crowd. I had the privilege of doing that three times with the "top" jazz band (of 4 then at the school).

Well, if we're going to count marching band, I guess it'd be about a million people at the Rose Parade. Otherwise, about 1,200 at the NAMTO convention. No, not NAMBLA, the National Association of Mini Truck Owners.

[pedro]

Around 1972 we opened for BB King at BBC.

[elgecko]

I opened for Steely Dan at the 65,000 seat Blockbuster Pavillion in Devore, CA...kind of.

I was playing in college jazz combo on a small stage set up at the entrance to the lawn area, between the bathrooms.

[James Judson]

Solo gig at Run 21, biker campout. Approx 2500. That wasn't playing bass though.

Largest group I played bass for was opening for David Allen Coe. Promoters said about 4,000 but looked more like 1500 to me. Nasty weather so many probably stayed home.

[zephyr_words]

10,000 but I was playing Tuba in a stadium. Bass is like 600 but I never really pursued being in a band. (Trying to now though since I stopped playing travel hockey...)