40 Degrees....too cold to play outside?

[51PRI]

We have a gig booked for next weekend at a restaurant with an outdoor seating/dining area and a place for a band to set up and play. They have no indoor space for a band. One of our band members has already checked the extended forecast and 40 degrees is predicted that night. He sent out a text to the rest of us asking if 40 degrees is too cold to play. Nobody responded but I think that 40 degrees is too cold for a band to play outside, even with heaters going. This same venue cancelled us last weekend because of rain and storms and the season for gigs here is winding down. I'm thinking that we probably should tough it out and play if only to get us set up for playing there in regular rotation next year.

Thoughts?

 

[DirtDog]

At that time of day? At this time of year? In this part of the country?

No way.

 

[five7]

Is anyone going to want to sit and eat outside in that weather? Venue owner is High!

 

[Tom Gallo]

I did one of these gigs and never want to do it again. Guitars wouldn't stay in tune, cold fingers making hard to play, etc. It might have been ok if there were good heaters, but alas not.

 

[Hot Rats]

That's 8 degrees above freezing. That's a no go.

 

[klokker]

We've played gigs where the temps are in the low 50's, wearing long sleeve shirts, hoodies, caps etc. and that really wasn't too bad once we got going. But we did it for the money, not too many have ever showed up.

Doesn't sound very fun. If you get some wind etc. you're up a creek. Yeah, I guess not.

 

[Pocket Dave]

We do 40 degrees outdoors from time to time, though the big concern for us is whether or not there are working propane pole heaters or the crowd - otherwise there will be no crowd.

For me personally, I dress in thermals with layered clothing and a hat - and set one of these tent heaters a couple feet in front of me:

Below 40 without a good spread of propane pole heaters, including near the stage? Yeah no.

 

[G Aichele]

Without gloves you will lose all feeling in your fingers after about 45 minutes. No joke.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Nope!

 

[Plectrum72]

Is the venue expecting to seat people in the outdoor seating/dining area at 40 degrees? Is your sound piped inside the venue? Might want to have a conversation with the venue before cancelling, but I'm thinking this gig is gonna be a bust regardless.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I think that 40 degrees is too cold for a band to play outside, even with heaters going.

How many heaters? and what type? (e.g., ceramic space heaters vs. propane patio heaters, etc.)

I can easily imagine playing in 40°F ...if there were at least a half dozen propane patio heaters scattered around the band onstage. Those things put out a lot of heat!

But any venue that can spare six heaters just for the band would have to have two or three times that many for the audience. And I just don't see that as a likely scenario. Maybe at some swanky ski resorts in Vail?

You'll probably freeze your asses off. Just say "no"

 

[Jeff Hughes]

I have done gigs in that temp, and luckily on bass you can play with gloves. People think propane heater is the way to go, but I find those are susceptible to wind blowing the warm air away from you.

Try a heat lamp aimed right at your hands. But consider the effect on your bass finish if it happens to be too hot though. A poly finish will probably be fine, but lacquer is going to cracker.

 

[JazznFunk]

I've played in that type of weather. On upright. It was miserable. Cold metal strings and cold hands.... it was like playing fence wire with frozen hot dogs. Last time I ever did that!

Conversely I played in that type of weather on electric, wearing fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm-ish, and I kept a couple of Hot Hands warmers in my pockets. It was..... not fun, but we got through the gig. There were no heaters on stage, and it definitely got to the point where we were all struggling to play because our fingers and hands were too cold. Dexterity goes out the window.

The main question is..... who will be sitting outside eating dinner and listening to music when it's 40 degrees? My guess is no one, especially if there aren't heaters for the PATRONS.

I have played outdoor weddings in tents with heaters that went just fine in cold weather.

No heaters, no chance to move inside.... I'd be communicating about rescheduling and offer reasonable reasons why this might not be good for you AND them.

Lastly, and most importantly: how much is this gig paying? Is the juice worth the squeeze?

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Remembering the last time I did this; probably 2013. Outdoor gig at Wofford College in Spartanburg SC. Early March, could see my breath by the beginning of the last set. At some temperature at or near freezing, we got to the second to last song in the set and all of us froze up at the same time. I wore a down parka, knit hat, fingerless gloves, at the end it just didn't matter. Between sets, the kids played "Thrift Shop" over and over. Cute the first couple times. Not so much after that. Never again!

 

[FullumMusic]

I won't do it.

It is totally doable with the correct preparation. You need a way to keep each individual member of the band warm. A single heater on stage probably won't do it. I often tell people it should be warm enough on stage that you can play in a T-shirt no matter what the weather is.

You need to get heat to each member of the band, and you need to make sure warm blood is flowing to your extremities. That's the whole reason we should warm up before we play. That's not just a phrase meaning "getting ready." We're literally getting blood flowing to our fingers and warming up your muscles and tendons. If it's too cold out, your muscles and tendons will never warm up and you run the risk of injury.

It could be heaters on stage for each band member. It could be heated clothing. It could be hand-warmers taped to your wrists. There's a million other ways to prep for playing in the cold. But, personally, i don't do it. I've done it when i was younger and it sucked. I have nothing to prove and would rather pass up the gig. That's me, though.

 

[Road Hat]

Anything below 50 or over 100 for an outside gig is a no-go for me.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Is it a covered? What time is the gig? Just because the temps are getting down to 40 doesn’t mean it will be when you’re playing…unless it will.

I like playing outdoor fall/winter gigs, but the place needs to be covered with a heater.

 

[Kevnn4]

Talk about playing for "free exposure!"

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

In high school I was in jazz band and we did an “outdoor spring concert” in similar temperatures, but that was on upright. Never again. Big red capital F that.

 

[Andy114]

We have a gig booked for next weekend at a restaurant with an outdoor seating/dining area and a place for a band to set up and play. They have no indoor space for a band. One of our band members has already checked the extended forecast and 40 degrees is predicted that night. He sent out a text to the rest of us asking if 40 degrees is too cold to play. Nobody responded but I think that 40 degrees is too cold for a band to play outside, even with heaters going. This same venue cancelled us last weekend because of rain and storms and the season for gigs here is winding down. I'm thinking that we probably should tough it out and play if only to get us set up for playing there in regular rotation next year.

Thoughts?

Are you going to have an audience if it's 40 degrees? Can you ask the restaurant for a "rain date"?