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

[logdrum]

Portable overhead propane heaters get surpassingly warm. We have done gigs when it got around that cold. I am sorta of cold person and in our case - we made sure our singer was sufficiently warm - but she is also an avid snowboarder, Drummer is a bear and I think only our wiry guitar player may have been cold but he rarely complains about anything.

 

[Ggaa]

A little wind makes it a lot worse.

 

[turf3]

Like others, I'd VERY SERIOUSLY question whether a restaurant with outdoor seating is going to have anyone out there at 40F. Or even 50F.

Now, I've played outdoor gigs in the cold - Christmas tree lightings and the like - where people are moving around and they're properly dressed. I don't find it particularly difficult to PLAY outdoors in the cold. But I'm fat and hairy and I like cold weather and I have a full wardrobe proper for it.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I have a few sets of fingerless gloves, those are useful. I'd also wear many layers to retain lots of body heat.

So I'd do 40 degrees if I had to, but would prefer not to. Frankly, the guitarists I work with would probably shoot that down immediately.

 

[subject42]

Guitars wouldn't stay in tune

I've actually played a few bookings in similar temps, and this has always been the biggest problem. You can pretty much give up on the idea of the guitarist using an acoustic. To make matters worse, trying to keep things warm with a heater only compounds the problem because the different sides of the instrument are expanding and contracting at different rates.

Even if you can get past that, once you get below freezing, you start having to worry about condensation in weird places, and plastic getting brittle.

And that's just the technical side of things. Even if you can solve for all that, it's uncomfortable and smaller band members are going to have a real bad time once the wind picks up. God help you if it was warm enough to make you sweat before sundown.

 

[mdogs]

Two gigs come to mind. The first one was about 15 years ago, the day before Thanksgiving. Very large one day festival, two gigantic circus tents end to end with about 10,000 people. We played at noon, it was about 45 degrees out, warmer in the tent with heaters, but still cold. It was literally the most money I have ever been paid for a single live event, we played for an hour., damn right I played it. Second was about 2 years ago at another large outdoor festival, temps were in the 50's on the shore of a very large lake, winds were nearly as high as the temperature. We played for 2 hours, got paid well, there was literally no one there, and I do mean no one. We played to the festival organizer who stopped by once on her golf cart and to our sound guy. We kept thinking someone would tell us to pack it in, we were the last band on the bill, but they never did. We played our 2 hours and left, not long after that they booked us to play the same slot the next year, much better weather and a few thousand people. There is no moral here I guess. But, if these 2 gigs were at some lousy restaurant with lousy pay, not a chance I would play it in 40 degree weather.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Interesting situation. I've played a few over the years. I actually have one tonight but temps will only drop to 45. I'll wear musician's gloves (if I can find them) and a coat. Did one last year where the temps were in the mid-30's and told the BL I wouldn't do it again. I almost walked off the gig. I recently left that band so it's a non-issue this year. I have no need to prove anything to anyone about dedication or stamina and setting up and breaking down gear is all the suffering I'm willing to do for my art at this point!

BBB

 

[VS]

Hard pass! I've played a few hundred gigs in the high country of western North Carolina and tri-cities of east Tennessee. These elevations are brutal in autumn with outdoor gigs. We probably played between 30-40 different venues over several years and by the end of our time together, we narrowed it down to about 6 venues we would play in rotation. Venues that treated us well and paid us well. A good venue wouldn't even consider booking a band outside in those temps, IMO.

 

[selowitch]

No.

 

[TheReceder]

Played a "Hockey days Minnesota" in february, dressed the part, had reasonable heaters and a good crowd. I had some wool glove liners that I cut the fingertips off to ease the cold. It was an exceptionally mild day at about 25 degrees.

I'd do it again anytime. I even gutted it out with a broken leg. Great crowd, and had a lot of fun.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Is 40 the forecast low, or the expected temp during the hours of the gig?

It was 54F at 10pm last night. It was 25F at 7am. Kind of a big difference, but the forecast is usually the coldest part of the "night", even if it's technically the morning of the following calendar day, IME.

 

[Joedog]

Talk to the owner! Suggest that in your experience, no crowd shows up in those conditions, and if you play, he will lose money. You'll be doing him a favor.

 

[micguy]

40 is borderline - if it's dry, calm, and you have heaters, you can pull it off, but if anything goes south at all, you'll freeze your fingers in very short order, and not be able to play well at all.

 

[micguy]

Talk to the owner! Suggest that in your experience, no crowd shows up in those conditions, and if you play, he will lose money. You'll be doing him a favor.

Unless you're playing after a Packer's game in Green Bay, where people will show up shirtless at those temperatures. And drink a lot of beer.

Unfortunately, just the guys....

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

Ain't no way I'd do it. There isn't enough money that would change my mind.

I won't even go out and get my mail at 40 degrees. Around here it's also very windy, bringing the windchill temps down even further.

 

[J Wilson]

40 degrees doesn't mean the same thing to different people in different parts of the country.

It would be a BIG deal in Destin, FL or Galveston, TX.

On the other hand, that's Indian Summer in Buffalo or Green Bay.

I've done gigs like that a few times, and past going deaf from all the complaining, it can be tough keeping instruments in tune. And no, Jack Daniels or Makers Mark or Jose is NOT anti-freeze for humans.

 

[DaveParker39]

I wouldn't do it.

 

[Clark W]

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?

Who is going to be dining outside in 40 degrees?

 

[turf3]

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

40 degrees doesn't mean the same thing to different people in different parts of the country.

It would be a BIG deal in Destin, FL or Galveston, TX.

On the other hand, that's Indian Summer in Buffalo or Green Bay.

I've done gigs like that a few times, and past going deaf from all the complaining, it can be tough keeping instruments in tune. And no, Jack Daniels or Makers Mark or Jose is NOT anti-freeze for humans.

I live 90 miles straight west from Green Bay. Even though I grew up here and have lived here most of my life, I HATE winter...the temps, the wind, the snow, etc. Some people who live here love winter. But they are just plain crazy and/or drunk...perhaps both.

My joints can't tolerate the cold. Playing my bass in those temps? Not a chance.