Opening Gig for As I Lay Dying

[FighttheSilence]

I know alot of people here arn't metal heads, but there a rather famous metal band (just releasaed their 5th album, they have a live DVD and have done multiple world tours). Anyways, my band has a chance to play a side stage at one of their concerts. Its a big tour, about 8 signed bands are on it. Problem is, its 8 hours away. It's at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom, a huge place. We want to take it, but to get the gig, they have the local/regional openers buy a small amount of tickets, they give them twice as many tickets as they pay for, then they make their money back, plus profit. Being as we live so far away, I'm not sure if we could sell alot. The guy hasn't emailed me back yet but when he said small amount I don't know what he mean (10,20,50, 100?). They are $29 a ticket, so getting ten would still be $290, and if we could even sell those, we sould lose alot of money (plus gas to get there, and the classic shadey motel). Is there a place online where we could sell the excess tickets? Or is it worth it (I think it would be). Or does a "small amount" mean alot more than that (I'm not sure which room the main stage is, but the two largest rooms are 4,000 people and 1,500 people).

[Codymb]

Dude, I say go for it. Sell the tickets online, AILD has enough fans that there will people beating down your door to get the tickets. So if you put them online people can get them easily and you can sell them easily. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off.

[mcrracer]

If you are a pro band, Then you should be paid for performing...end of story. "Pay to play" is BS and I don't for the life of me understand why so many of you guys fall for that line. When I was gigging I would either get paid or I would agree to play for free ( in some situations , family and friends or just a jam session )...but never Me paying for the privilege of playing somewhere. No freaking way! Now I play in church which I would do for free but they do take up offerings for us, which is cool as we are a small church.

[FighttheSilence]

Where should I put them? Ebay? Craig's List? I just don't know. Milwaukee is a big enough town to sell these tickets to. We could even offer them for less because we get double than we pay for (sell them for $25, we would have the competetive edge).

[MatticusMania]

Personally, I dont do shows where Im required to sell tickets.

Well, if they give you twice as many tickets as you have to sell, you could try and sell them all online in the area of the show. If you sell them at a discount (like $20 instead of $29) you might sell them faster and have some $ left over for your gas, room, and food. Lets say they want you to sell 10, so they give you 20 tickets. 10 tickets at $29 each is $290, as you pointed out. 20 tickets at $20 each is $400. Minus their $290 equals $110. Its something. Or if you sell all 20 tix at $29 each thats $580 and leaves you with $290 for food, gas, & room. Im not sure of the legality of any of that though.

Anyways, the main point i wanted to make, is try and sell the tickets closer to the venue you will be playing.

[M0ses]

I live round there. I knew a guy who did the same thing you are doing, playing a side stage at the Rave. I believe they received 50 tickets. Of course, they only had to drive an hour to get to Milwaukee. Personally eight hours seems like a ton to me, especially with their crappy pay to play system, but then again this could be a pretty big opportunity for your band.

I will warn you though, playing a side stage at the Rave is not even remotely the same as playing the main stage. The room is gonna hold maybe 100 people. Most of the people going to see the main act are not going to arrive in time to see you.

[ubado]

Originally Posted by Codymb

Dude, I say go for it. Sell the tickets online, AILD has enough fans that there will people beating down your door to get the tickets. So if you put them online people can get them easily and you can sell them easily. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off.

I agree ... as long as you don't have to purchase too many tickets. And if you are given enough time to sell them all. Just DO NOT go into hock doing so!

As far as the gas and lodging ... that's apart of giging. If you sell enough tickets you might be able to cover you costs. However be ready to take a loss, all around. Figure out what you are prepared to lose ... and not a penny more. Remember, a band is also a business ... sometimes you have to be willing to take financial risks to make your business grow. Just don't go over your head. If you don't think you can actually sell all or a majority of the tickets, and you can't afford to take a loss ... then just don't do it.

The question is ... is the gig worth it to you. Also, what you want to get out of it in the end. Most importantly, be realistic.

[FighttheSilence]

Quick question. Would StubHub.com be a good place to sell 20-30 tickets in 2 weeks?

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by FighttheSilence

I know alot of people here arn't metal heads, but there a rather famous metal band (just releasaed their 5th album, they have a live DVD and have done multiple world tours). Anyways, my band has a chance to play a side stage at one of their concerts. Its a big tour, about 8 signed bands are on it. Problem is, its 8 hours away. It's at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom, a huge place. We want to take it, but to get the gig, they have the local/regional openers buy a small amount of tickets, they give them twice as many tickets as they pay for, then they make their money back, plus profit. Being as we live so far away, I'm not sure if we could sell alot. The guy hasn't emailed me back yet but when he said small amount I don't know what he mean (10,20,50, 100?). They are $29 a ticket, so getting ten would still be $290, and if we could even sell those, we sould lose alot of money (plus gas to get there, and the classic shadey motel). Is there a place online where we could sell the excess tickets? Or is it worth it (I think it would be). Or does a "small amount" mean alot more than that (I'm not sure which room the main stage is, but the two largest rooms are 4,000 people and 1,500 people).

This reminds me of a situation Bluewine was in a year or so ago. As I remember, it didn`t turn out well.

[FighttheSilence]

I've did a search on the venue here on TB. Apparently they are know for doing this to openers and the like. I want to avoid the pit fall that many encounter, but still, the chance to open for As I Lay Dying, Underoath, Between the Buried and Me, and blessthefall! Then again, he said it would be on a secondary stage, so I'm very skeptical about the crowd we would recieve. I asked him what room the main stage was in, and what rooms the side stages are in and what the minimum amount of tickets we could sell would be. So far, after talking to people today, we can sell about 10-12 (being as its an 8 hour drive, thats more than I had hoped). I doubt he will let us only buy ten and get 20. But if he does we might take it. It's enough to payback the tickets. Maybe a couple bucks for gas, try and scalp some there for about $20 and make some off merch. Still, its looking like a sh***y deal.

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by mcrracer

If you are a pro band, Then you should be paid for performing...end of story. "Pay to play" is BS and I don't for the life of me understand why so many of you guys fall for that line. When I was gigging I would either get paid or I would agree to play for free ( in some situations , family and friends or just a jam session )...but never Me paying for the privilege of playing somewhere. No freaking way! Now I play in church which I would do for free but they do take up offerings for us, which is cool as we are a small church.

This.

Promoters need to start doing their damn jobs instead of passing the buck onto inexperienced bands (no offense intended to reputable promoters out there who actually do their jobs).

[FrigginChris]

i've played in a band that's done this, at this venue actually. Just two points.

1. you are NOT opening for as i lay dying. In fact the rave will specifically tell you not to say you are opening when you go to pick up the tickets you have to sell. this is just a way for the rave to sell tickets, and are hoping to get the starry eyed underground musicians to do it for them. if you were actually opening you would be getting payed to play, not pay to play.

2. there are going to be 4 stages with 4 bands playing at once, with 4 bands playing at each stage. you wont be told which stage or what time you play till you get there. coincidently you are just going to be playing to whichever fans of yours can find you, and to people getting their drinks before the show starts, in fact chances are the main even will start while your band is playing and then you'll be playing to no one.

if you think you can sell the tickets go for it, it's a great way to make a little money off of a big name show, but don't think it'll help you "make it"

[bassistloaded21]

not a good idea dude, if you have to pay to play, its not worth it, especially to drive 8 hours. Youre not even playing in the same room as the main act from what i get from what you posted, so youre gonna get a crappy slot. Sounds like youre setting yourself up for disappointment, ive been in your shoes many times. Its better to just keep working hard where you are and build up your band that way, you will get more chances at gigs like those, that im sure are closer. Theyre not gonna care about you at all, all theyre worried about is how many tickets you sell, and that to me, isnt cool.

[Floridabwoy]

when we do shows like that we just give the tickets away.... of course its never been more than 2.5 hours.

try selling them to a ticket broker like ticketstub.com

[FighttheSilence]

Just sent a text to my band saying not to ask anyone else. As manager/bassist (the ones with all the brains), I decided to pull the plug. Day started out great thinking I would be playing the main stage opening only 3 hours before AILD, ends in sheer dissapointment. But better here with our money then there with no crowd. Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to pass it along to other guys. Besides, we are playing our biggest two venues the week before anyways, best not to get greedy. Thanks again. Dakota Rockfest and Bobaflexfest here we come!

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by FighttheSilence

Just sent a text to my band saying not to ask anyone else. As manager/bassist (the ones with all the brains), I decided to pull the plug. Day started out great thinking I would be playing the main stage opening only 3 hours before AILD, ends in sheer dissapointment. But better here with our money then there with no crowd. Thanks for the help, I'll be sure to pass it along to other guys. Besides, we are playing our biggest two venues the week before anyways, best not to get greedy. Thanks again. Dakota Rockfest and Bobaflexfest here we come!

Sounds like you made a good decision. It probably wouldnt have been worth your time & effort.

[pin_head_47]

Hey, looks like you guys will be in my neck of the woods soon. Wish I could get out more, been that way for awhile but that's what happens after 2 kids. Sigh. I haven't seen Bobaflex in years, but I'd love to get out and see another TB member's band.

[jnuts1]

the rave is the biggest grift in all of milwaukee. they get 4 bands & make them each sell 350 in tickets only to have them spell EVERY band's name wrong & be treated worse than i have ever been treated in my entire life by all of the staff.

we "opened" for MMW. i told the band this was dumb but they wanted to do it anyways. luckily it was MMW & i was able to unload all the tix outside the venue last minute.

[thwump64]

Hey, if you get the chance to open for AILD, go for it. Losing a bit of money would be worth it for the exposure.

Also, is this on the Cool Tour?