Upcoming Gig - Aagh what's going on

[PalaNIN]

I'm gonna rant for a bit here, but bear with me - I've got questions to ask afterwards!

OK, so recently a few bands have taken interest in our music and have asked us to support them at some upcoming shows. Sounds good, and after a few exchanged messages online, we tee up a date with one of the bands, scheduled about a month in advance.

"Only a month?!" my bandmates say. "Never fear," I retort, "we can get an awesome live set going in no time!" Anyway, we bust our asses off at rehearsal to finetune all our songs, as well as the transitions between them, to be ready for our first show.

Two weeks before the gig (ie: about 10 days ago) I get a message from the other band letting me know that he'll send me the lineup and details about the gig in the next few days. I still haven't heard anything back from him, despite me trying to get back in contact with him several times.

Today, out of desperation, I e-mailed the booking guy for the venue, asking if they even knew if we were playing the gig, and if so, what the details were - what time to rock up, what gear to bring etc etc). I haven't gotten any reply from him either.

As of right now the gig is in four days and I still have no idea what's going on.

My question to you, TalkBass, is this: am I overreacting and trying to be over-organised, or does this sort of stuff always tend to sort itself out in the few days beforehand? Also, how long does everyone normally book their shows in advance, and when does all the small details get fleshed out with the venue/bands?

[Hillside_Loafer]

In my opinion you are not overreacting at all, it's always a good idea to know all the facts so you don't stand there with your pants down and have no idea what to do.

The more you know the more you can plan, especially if you need to know about when to bring the gear etc so there can BE a show at all.

I've not played anywhere myself, but i've been setting up and mixing a few live shows, and i know it's a real pain in the ass if someone messes up times, or decide how to do with backlines etc. You don't want to set up the drums 4 times just becasue there is a miss in communication, especially if you're tight on time which we luckily weren't then. If we were then that miscommunication could have delayed the show quite a while.

So try to be sure in advance, and call the day before so you know that all times you had were correct or any changes has come up.