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Another gig where we quit early because the crowd left.

I've seen Buddy Guy do that. Buddy could flat out play. Can your guitarist? If not, put a dog "invisible fence" collar on him, so he stays on stage.

Does it really matter? If Buddy Guy does it, it doesn't matter because people go to see Buddy Guy. He could throw up on stage and people would probably stick around. Some rando in a bar? Not so much.
 
I am exactly half the age of the OP. If 37 years from now people still want to hear live music played by humans, my body still works, and I have a gig with a full band I will be letting all kinds of stuff slide.

That said if you have another band opportunity maybe its time to roll the dice.

If any of your significant others patronize and sit near the front you could put this DB Meter on their table facing the guitarist! Keep em under 70DB.
 
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Well last night was considered too quiet by the venue but its a boomy stage in a difficukt room so a pass on that.
What is harder to pass on is lack of chemistry on stage..haven't got to the bottom of that..but thats a vibe killer despite the tapes of the evening sounding presentable and the band having their moments. Last few numbers crowd woke up and called for more.
Weird, weird gig..
Not going to tolerate too many more like that though.
 
Getting back to the original post, you don’t say what time frame your gig is. If you start late and play until after midnight, well, people my age just don’t stay out that late anymore, especially post-Covid. And young people who do, aren’t blues fans.

As far as the long guitar solos, if you are a cover band, the GP should be playing the solos pretty much note for note. Extended solos get old quick.

In my area, the most successful bands are variety bands. And yeah, it’s the same old song list of crowd pleasers. Audiences want to hear what they’re comfortable with, and they’re comfortable with it because they’ve heard it all before.
 
Sounds like the kind of band that influences "done gigging/playing in bands because [insert complaint]" threads.

People who start those threads generally overlook their part in these situations.

If I were to allow a band to get into my head and rattle around to the level where I regularly created forum threads complaining about it, that'd be on me.

My choice.

Under the circumstances, my choice would've also been to find another band long ago.
 
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Well last night was considered too quiet by the venue but its a boomy stage in a difficukt room so a pass on that.
What is harder to pass on is lack of chemistry on stage..haven't got to the bottom of that..but thats a vibe killer despite the tapes of the evening sounding presentable and the band having their moments. Last few numbers crowd woke up and called for more.
Weird, weird gig..
Not going to tolerate too many more like that though.

Were you playing Whiter Shade Of Pale ?
 
2 x 1 hr for NYE and then a silent disco after the clock strikes.
Young drunk kids made it work..kind of.

Reviewed a few tapes of the previous difficult night. The bands playing wasn't a problem so putting it down to pre NYE gig ...
Will just be a bit more circumspect about what the gigs bring and how we want to target them..or not.

Not going to quit on first band yet...but will pass on the offer of last nights band.
 
2 x 1 hr for NYE and then a silent disco after the clock strikes.
Young drunk kids made it work..kind of.

Reviewed a few tapes of the previous difficult night. The bands playing wasn't a problem so putting it down to pre NYE gig ...
Will just be a bit more circumspect about what the gigs bring and how we want to target them..or not.

Not going to quit on first band yet...but will pass on the offer of last nights band.
Silent Disco.
What's wrong with the kids of today?
*Old man yells at clouds
 
Yep, sounds a horror...but..
enabled us to pack down and load out and it was kinda funny to see these people dancing..but no idea what to.
Every now and again everyone would be singing..so at least you knew what was playing.
But yep, pretty funny.
 
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Yep, sounds a horror...but..
enabled us to pack down and load out and it was kinda funny to see these people dancing..but no idea what to.
Every now and again everyone would be singing..so at least you knew what was playing.
But yep, pretty funny.
Were they listening to a simulcast being played through their earbuds? Curiouser and curiouser...
 
Did not delve into who was feeding the music but people had wireless earphones and i think the controller was hired in.
But yep, not had much to do with them before and obviously they keep people in the venue drinking whilst being kind to local residents by stopping booming music after a certain time.
We were on a strict 12:00 shutdown..and only went over by 10mins.... courtesy of event manager.
Apparently its a thing now
 
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We already have bookings at that venue for 2024. Not many but we do have them. For 2023 Friday night was band night and Saturday night was karaoke. For 2024 bands will play on Saturday night and j don't know what they will have on Friday nights.

I don't but the BL has a wireless and goes out into the audience a couple of times a night when he's into one if his long guitar solos.

four thoughts here.

your BL is pretty clueless. i wouldn't trust him to know when it's too loud for the average bar goer, and after years of playing loud, i expect his hearing loss would mean he can't tell anyway.

the solo wouldn't be the part of the show i'd want to check for volume - i'd be checking the loudest part of the music where everyone is playing full tilt.

as others have said, playing mostly blues at a non-blues venue won't hold a crowd. crowds want popular songs that they know and that make them dance.

can you come to terms with being part of a band that always drives audiences out the door? because that's the band you're in, apparently. staying with them will mean years or decades of playing songs most people don't want to hear with guitar solos that bore them and audiences leaving. from your posts, that's pretty consistent. the rest of the band are happy with that. can you be?