Dinner Gigs

[Texan]

Last night I jammed with a guy who does primarily acoustic duet and trio dinner and restaurant gigs. Things went well and he offered me the gig via email this morning. I have never done this type of gig, I'm used to full band situations. I'm not concerned about learning the songs as I already know 90% of them. He is a very nice nice guy and great musician and the money is very good. No negative points at all.

My question is who has made this transition and do you have any advice?

[skychief]

Keep the volume under control.

[livinitup0]

Originally Posted by skychief

Keep the volume under control.

QFT.... read this over and over again.

[elgecko]

Originally Posted by livinitup0

QFT.... read this over and over again.

Yup! Remember, you're "background music".

[livinitup0]

I also would highly suggest NOT interacting with the audience in any fashion. Keep your head down, dress nice, keep the bright pink ibanez at home, play your part and just add to the ambience....thats all your job is.

[DiabolusInMusic]

Keep to yourself as livinitup said, these people are there to eat not have to bass in their face.

Also, do not turn them down, they usually provide awesome meals and good pay. Plus, no drunks.

[timbros]

My only recommendation is to figure out how you might handle the acoustic guitar players in advance. My experience with duo guys is that their time isn't as good because they haven't always needed to lock in with a drummer or bass player.

Sometimes they just drop a beat out, speed up or slow down. No biggie so long as you already agree in advance who is going to follow who if that happens.

Take Care,
Timbros.

[Texan]

Originally Posted by timbros

My only recommendation is to figure out how you might handle the acoustic guitar players in advance. My experience with duo guys is that their time isn't as good because they haven't always needed to lock in with a drummer or bass player.

Sometimes they just drop a beat out, speed up or slow down.

I mentioned that last night and thankfully, it was acknowledged. There is a month before the first show.

[Downunderwonder]

Learn upright bass. Restaurants go gaga for uprights.

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by Texan

No negative points at all.

Sounds pretty good, so far!

My question is who has made this transition and do you have any advice?

I do this often, with a couple of singer/songwriters, another guy who's a piedmont blues stylist, and another who does jazz standards. Great, low pressure, good paying (ie, no bar owners to hassle with), and fun gigs.

Gotta agree with the comment about the upright ... that's what I prefer for these gigs. At many places I don't even need my little amp. Keep the sound level down, people should not have to raise their voices to converse at their tables while having dinner. No long song intros, bios, etc, etc ... just play ... and if you're the sideman, say nothing at all.

I'm not real keen on being the jukebox in the corner, and prefer concert or home concert settings, but these gigs can be lucrative and enjoyable. I like to think of them as "doing what I'd be doing for free at home".

[Texan]

Thanks guys, I'm grateful for your comments. The only issue with the upright suggestion is that I don't have one.

[Bass of Ace]

Originally Posted by livinitup0

I also would highly suggest NOT interacting with the audience in any fashion. Keep your head down, dress nice, keep the bright pink ibanez at home, play your part and just add to the ambience....thats all your job is.

Could you please expand on this? I sense an interesting story or two behind this strongly-worded advice.

[lowfreq33]

Originally Posted by Bass of Ace

Could you please expand on this? I sense an interesting story or two behind this strongly-worded advice.

In other words, it's not a concert, you're background music, so don't tell stories, don't try to have conversations over the mike or tell jokes. It's like waiting tables in a fine dining restaurant, don't call unnecessary attention to yourself. Just do your job in an unobtrusive manner.

[sobie18]

Dinner gigs are a blast! Being able to hear each other, feed off each other's energy, have fun with the songs, etc. I LOVE doing these gigs!

Plus the scenery is generally pretty darn good...

[busmandan]

Originally Posted by Bass of Ace

Could you please expand on this? I sense an interesting story or two behind this strongly-worded advice.

It's pretty simple. Restaurant gigs are the polar opposite of bar gigs.

Think about it like this - What do club owners always harp about? Drawing an audience and keeping them there - the longer they stay, the more they drink and the more money the bar makes.

A restaurant is exactly the opposite - they make their money off of food. As such, they want their tables turning over every 45 minutes - the last thing they want is a band who is good/appealing enough to want people to stay.

While they can be lucrative/consistant gigs, they are also soul-killing to a large degree. If you expect applause or some acknowledgement from a restaurant audience about how you're doing, you're not going to get it - they are not there for you.

[MrLenny1]

A gig is a gig!

[Tampabass]

personable duo/trio partner, great musician, "very good pay" - 3 out of 3! what's not to like?
a
Also, it's not always true that you're never acknowledged or applauded by a dinner audience.

I've played restaurant gigs with two jazz trios - mine, and as a sub in another -- and we played quietly but frequently received applause. And the owners were happy that folks liked us, because that meant that the patrons would be interested in coming back to hear us - or another group of similar quality.

[Factor88]

About half of my gigs any more are at restaurants. I agree with everyone above, excpet that at least for the combo that I am in (we play accoustic pop-rock of the last three decades) I would never bother to lug in my upright when it is just as easy to bring in a small combo amp and my electric in the gig bag. Even in a restaurant/dinner setting you will occasionally out of nowhere get groups of dancers, so I like having the ability to turn up a little (stress a LITTLE) that I have with an electric (of course, if it was a more "jazz" oreinted combo, the upright is killer).
And although you will have the occasional positive crowd response, you do have to generally get used to the idea that you will get little acknowledgement from the patrons while you play. To me that's fine, but for some people they are so wired into crowd reaction that being ignored thows them off. It's all about the paycheck- and along the way plenty of patrons will compliment your band....they'll just do it when you are on a break.

[MNAirHead]

This is mostly what I gig

1-dress appropriately
2-have the bar manager give a sign for too loud or quiet
3-streamline gear and plan a smooth way to get it in/out
4-eliminate all stage amps
5-focus on vocal harmony
6-go overboard on being warm and congenial to the people
7-never plan on any supplied stage gear

[Kawai-chang]

Do it, sounds like a great gig. If noone claps, who cares? You guys can just get into your music, and let rip.