New Years Eve Shows

UncleJimmy · #1 11-09-2011, 09:12 AM

Hey everyone. My cover band just booked a show for New Years Eve. It will be at a cool bar which I enjoy quite a bit. Tends to have a good crowd on any given night, they pay well and are pretty good to the musicians. All sounds good right?

The issue is I HATE playing New Years Shows. Over the years I've done quite a few and have never had a good turnout, good show or good time. I swore a few years back that my News Years playing days were done. It seems like the night can never live up to the hype that surrounds it, people get too drunk, get into fights and general chaos ensues. The band is really getting going with some good paying gigs and I feel obligated to do this one, against my better judgement.

I'd like to hear some of your stories, advice, cool things to do at a New Years show. Maybe I've gone about it all wrong in the past, or just been unlucky. Let's hear it!

jaywa · #2 11-09-2011, 09:19 AM

Anymore it has to be really REALLY good money for me to leave the house on New Years Eve.

I already know my band won't have a New Year's Eve gig this year, and I'm OK with that. Especially with it falling on a Saturday night this year.

kcole4001 · #3 11-09-2011, 09:20 AM

It's usually the highlight of the year in terms of pay scale, but often lacks the 'good times' atmosphere in my experience.
More of a formal wear type of gig around here, not usually as much fun.
It's also frequently very cold here (unless I have it off).

I don't mind having this New Year's Eve off.

nobodysfool · #4 11-09-2011, 09:23 AM

Usually, NYE is the one night when a band can get a bigger paycheck. I've played some really good NYE shows, and I've played some that weren't much to get excited about, but the pay was always very good. The last few years, we haven't played any NYE shows, and have opted instead to just get together, and take the wives out to dinner.

This year, I'm slated to work on NYE. Strange situation, but in this economy, work is work, and I don't turn it down...

Vintage Guy · #5 11-09-2011, 09:23 AM

We did a show last year at a bar we play at every 3 months or so. We had a decent crowd,and had a great time. Ended up playing a half hour over. Any way,we must have done something right as we were asked back for this New Years Eve.They even offered free dinner for the band members,along with our usual free drinks.

MNAirHead · #6 11-09-2011, 09:31 AM

I"m not booking the full band this year

Doing an acoustic duo...starts earlier... pays better.. home to watch the ball drop with everyone else.

IF you're gigging be very careful...

jaywa · #7 11-09-2011, 09:40 AM

That's what my BL is doing too. Taking his side project (a keyboard duo) out for some sort of private NYE gig in centeral Nebraska. I'm sure they'll make plenty of coin but IMO they're more than welcome to make that 5-hour drive in the dead of winter while I stay home.

soulman969 · #8 11-09-2011, 09:59 AM

I've done a ton of them over the years and the money is always good. The worst ones were back in the Midwest traveling 100+ miles to the gig in -25 degree weather and worrying about drunk drivers or worse yet, car trouble.

I think being selective about where you play makes all the difference in the world. I gave up traveling out of town to NYE gigs. No matter how good the money was it wasn't enough. Ended up playing several years in a row at a club a mile from my place where we played a regular monthly gig and had a great following. Even though we could have gotten twice as much traveling a bit this was always a far more enjoyable way to spend this night.

JakeDPR · #9 11-09-2011, 10:07 AM

NYE is a great money night, but one of my least favorite of the year, that and Thanksgiving Eve brings out the amateur drinking crowd, and people get foolish!

jaywa · #10 11-09-2011, 10:09 AM

I played last New Years Eve. It was one of the last gigs with my former band.

There was a blizzard going on... they closed the interstates while we were setting up and we only had about 20 people in the place all night. Our drummer was off on his tempos and got pissed at the lead guitarist and me when we called him on it. Windchill was about 25 below at load-out and we had to get hot water from inside to unfreeze the padlocks and trailer doors that had frozen shut.

I'll stay home this year, thanks.

sanderic · #11 11-09-2011, 10:14 AM

back in my club days, NYE was the one night, every band knew they could get a paycheck. If you could not get a gig NYE, you KNEW you were not any good. NYE, along with charity fund raisers, weddings, etc, comes with the territory when you decided to be a musician.

bassdog · #12 11-09-2011, 10:25 AM

I am happy to play nye unless I have a girlfirend who will spend the evening on the couch or in the bed with me and bring in the nye. Playing a gig this year and am happy about it. Maybe I'll get lucky.

mellowinman · #13 11-09-2011, 10:32 AM

We have one scheduled this year, and it's twice our normal paycheck. I keep a tire iron next to me on the stage, so I'm not too worried about drunks. I usually avoid NYE, but I'm actually looking forward to this one. It will be our first show out with Drummer #5, and we're pretty sure 5 is our lucky number.

NYE is commonly referred to as "amateur hour," because of all the people out partying who don't normally do that.

jaywa · #14 11-09-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellowinman

NYE is commonly referred to as "amateur hour," because of all the people out partying who don't normally do that.

Same here and even worse on St. Patty's Day cause it's usually a lot nicer weather than on NYE.

Richland123 · #15 11-09-2011, 10:45 AM

I look at New Year's Eve gigs as no different than any other normal gig but with slightly more money. I usually book low key private club venues for New Year's Eve where club members come and are always a well behaved crowd and we get to eat as well. Normally, they pay us a non-refundable 50% deposit a few months prior to the gig. This year, we are playing at an Elks Lodge.

Toastfuzz · #16 11-09-2011, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassdog

I am happy to play nye unless I have a girlfirend who will spend the evening on the couch or in the bed with me and bring in the nye. Playing a gig this year and am happy about it. Maybe I'll get lucky.

I like this guy's thinking

mrpackerguy · #17 11-09-2011, 11:34 AM

I've gotten two requests to play NYE so far, private events. But I'm asking a lot as it's a nearly 2 hour drive for me, a 6 hour drive for the sax player and a 4 hour drive for the vocalist. When we were in high school and college (same band as now 34 years later), we always played NYE for the local Elks Club and they always had a great NYE party for their members and we always had a blast.

jaywa · #18 11-09-2011, 11:56 AM

IMO the best NYE gig a band can possibly score is a private or corporate job at a big hotel where the band gets a nice paycheck, gets fed, and gets comp'd rooms on site. That way you can have a nice meal, do the gig, go straight to bed and not have to deal with all the drunks on your drive home.

I've never personally played a NYE gig like this but I know they exist (or at least, they used to), and I'd jump on one of those if offered. Otherwise, the basic NYE bar gig I'm pretty much done with.

Jazzdogg · #19 11-09-2011, 12:02 PM

NYE gigs lost their appeal when I was in my twenties. The pay is OK, but not enough to compensate for the the drink-until-you-puke mentality, and the inordinate risk posed by drunk drivers.

For several years, I played with a band that had a NYE gig at a venue that required live music to stop at 10:00. They paid double, and I was home in bed before midnight. When I was a young pup, I might have dismissed such a gig as not exciting enough. But at this stage of my life, those kinds of gigs sound appealing.

These days, the perfect NYE gig is one with an audience full of mature adults who are there more for a pleasant evening with live music than an evening of debauchery. Add a hotel room, so I won't have to worry about drunk drivers when the gig is over, and I'm a happy camper.

dmusic148 · #20 11-09-2011, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanderic

back in my club days, NYE was the one night, every band knew they could get a paycheck. If you could not get a gig NYE, you KNEW you were not any good. NYE, along with charity fund raisers, weddings, etc, comes with the territory when you decided to be a musician.

+1 to all that. But I haven't done one in years, and I hope I never do another. Or a wedding.