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Bands - - - PerformanceTurn-Offs

#41
jaywa said:
I think he means when the drum kit takes up the whole stage and the rest of the band has to play on the floor.

I.e., too much drum kit for the room. I definitely think that's bush league but it's not something that's necessarily gonna send me for the door. Now, if the drummer isn't good, that's when I'm outta there... whether he's playing 4 drums or 18.
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nope, i mean they wait and set up every piece of the drumset on stage when its time to set up. instead of putting most of it together before hand. i'm talking bands that have taken 30-45 minutes to unpack every piece of the drumset while on stage and put it all together up there.. where as most drummers around here atleast start putting there drums together side stage about halfway thru the band before them's set that way when the other band clears off stage you carry up your drums set up to your liking plop them down and your ready to play
 
#42
DwaynieAD said:
nope, i mean they wait and set up every piece of the drumset on stage when its time to set up. instead of putting most of it together before hand. i'm talking bands that have taken 30-45 minutes to unpack every piece of the drumset while on stage and put it all together up there.. where as most drummers around here atleast start putting there drums together side stage about halfway thru the band before them's set that way when the other band clears off stage you carry up your drums set up to your liking plop them down and your ready to play
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I see what you're saying. My drummer is pretty good about that. He sets up most of his kit offstage even when we're the only band on the bill. So even though it takes him 20-25 minutes total to set up his kit, only about the last 10 minutes he's actually onstage getting in our way. ;)
 
#44
Auguste said:
Wifey and I went to a live band at a large bar, about 225 people

While the music was OK when they played

They tuned between almost every song

They noodled between songs

They told stories totally unrelated to the music they were playing

We left half way through their second set . . . And it is music we both like

WHAT ARE YOUR TURN OFFS?beside people typing in caps :)
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You saw my band!?:eek:

I need to take a deep breath.:help:

And maybe a strong shot.:crying:
 
#45
My band pet peeve is when they don't speak up into the microphone.
Speak loudly and clearly or don't speak at all.

I saw one band. There was some banter going on between the
musicians (generally good for killing time) but they weren't
speaking up and it went like this:

Bass player: Mumble, mumble, mumble, mumble.
Guitarist: Mumble, mumble, mumble.
Bass player: Mumble, mumble, mumble. Har, har, har!
 
#48
I don't mind a little banter between musicians so long as it is not between every song.

My biggest complaint (that I don't think has been covered explicitly yet) is when the sound guy has the drummers bass drum so loud that It rattles my rib cage. I just can't enjoy it when it feels like I am being continually kicked in the chest.

I'm looking at you Toads Place. There is no reason Johnny Winter's drummer needed to be giving me a heart massage.
 
#50
bassteban said:
I'm a bit confused- I guess you mean that 'for the purpose of this discussion' I *have to* give an opinion..? That's really not true either... but I digress. Also realize that you mentioned *discrimination* ... I am talking about semi-purposeful amateurishness- something one can choose not to engage in. :)


Edit: I'd be HIGHLY miffed if Rush lolligagged around tuning on my dime(assuming I'd pay through the nose for the show)- I hold the more-experienced musicians to a higher standard. Of course, younger pups/noobs also need to be put through the wringer to some extent(OPINON). :)
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No,I mean some people do not understand the writing and need to be explained to them.
And you do not have to engage in anything you do not want,but you are completely forgetting the times you were an amateur and started gigging,this things happened to you,and everyone else at that stage.
All musicians start being amateurs,and they do as they see others do,nobody can be new and invent new things,they learn by doing/gigging/experimenting.
Then come bands that spit and pee to the audience,**** on stage,and so on.
There is an audience for everything.And they paid for the show too.


And it seem you have NEVER had to wait for 2 hours for the "more experienced musicians" to show up on stage and start playing ,that's on your dime too,isn't? still you and all other people didn't leave .(how many examples do you want?)
And you will be pissed if they take the time to tune?
But surely people won't stay for starting guys.

You do not see the point,and you are welcome to give your opinion.
Is just if you do some things for ones and not for the other,it transform into discrimination,isn't? want to call it differently? makes no difference.
If they play without shoes and that;s the way they want you to look at them,well,is their decision (otherwise 80's punk would have never being born),just fon't go if you do not like it.

I repeat the only thing I care about is the music and its delivery.
Some people take it as a whole:the visual,the entertainment.
The entertainment part is secondary : there are tons of bands that are awfully looking,unmannered,but deliver excellent music.
Even when they still are amateurs.

I wonder those that find their instruments out of tune at the end of the song,what do they do? not tune knowing is a turn off for some people? or care enough about the music to take the time to tune?
"I only go to see bands that don't tune",yeah,right.

BTW,I see no reason to tune between songs when I play live,only at the beginning,unless I hit something with my bass (mic stands,other musician,the amp).
I find it never gets significantly out of tune in the hour long set.
Now,in studio,you must tune in every break you have.(a live stage is not a studio)
That's on your dime too,unless others are paying for the studio time.
I take any band that tune during songs on stage,I just wish they make enough money to buy better instruments in the future.
And shoes.
 
#51
whitedk57 said:
Given my druthers...

I would rather they take the time to tune than to be out of tune.
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For sure. Excessive tuning is quite unnecessary though. Particularly for bass players, but guitar players shouldn't have to tune their guitars in between every song either. Keep your instruments setup properly and once, twice at most, per set ought to suffice. For my part, I check tuning AFTER each set and other than tuning to drop d ( which we can do in approximately 8 seconds) I don't think about it again unless something sounds wrong.
 
#52
ACalbass said:
No,I mean some people do not understand the writing and need to be explained to them.
And you do not have to engage in anything you do not want,but you are completely forgetting the times you were an amateur and started gigging,this things happened to you,and everyone else at that stage.
All musicians start being amateurs,and they do as they see others do,nobody can be new and invent new things,they learn by doing/gigging/experimenting.
Then come bands that spit and pee to the audience,**** on stage,and so on.
There is an audience for everything.And they paid for the show too.


And it seem you have NEVER had to wait for 2 hours for the "more experienced musicians" to show up on stage and start playing ,that's on your dime too,isn't? still you and all other people didn't leave .(how many examples do you want?)
And you will be pissed if they take the time to tune?
But surely people won't stay for starting guys.

You do not see the point,and you are welcome to give your opinion.
Is just if you do some things for ones and not for the other,it transform into discrimination,isn't? want to call it differently? makes no difference.
If they play without shoes and that;s the way they want you to look at them,well,is their decision (otherwise 80's punk would have never being born),just fon't go if you do not like it.

I repeat the only thing I care about is the music and its delivery.
Some people take it as a whole:the visual,the entertainment.
The entertainment part is secondary : there are tons of bands that are awfully looking,unmannered,but deliver excellent music.
Even when they still are amateurs.

I wonder those that find their instruments out of tune at the end of the song,what do they do? not tune knowing is a turn off for some people? or care enough about the music to take the time to tune?
"I only go to see bands that don't tune",yeah,right.

BTW,I see no reason to tune between songs when I play live,only at the beginning,unless I hit something with my bass (mic stands,other musician,the amp).
I find it never gets significantly out of tune in the hour long set.
Now,in studio,you must tune in every break you have.(a live stage is not a studio)
That's on your dime too,unless others are paying for the studio time.
I take any band that tune during songs on stage,I just wish they make enough money to buy better instruments in the future.
And shoes.
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WTL,DR(WAAAY too long, didn't read)- what I skimmed I still do not quite get... might come back. Anyone wanna decipher & abridge this for me?
 
#54
jaywa said:
Dead air between songs.

Instruments out of tune.

Individual spotlight solos by players who arent good soloists.

Bad drumming (tempos) and/or bad sounding drums.

Bass player not locking with drummer and/or overplaying.

Too many songs in the same tempo/groove/key.

Cheezy keyboard sounds and/or overplaying.

Lead singer with bad pitch and/or rhythm.

Bands trying to pull off arena rock theatrics in a storefront bar.

Bad FOH mix.

Any of those will send me to the door sooner than later.
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All of the above, and add:

  • RIDICULOUS amounts of dead time between songs, musicians trying to figure out what to play next onstage (seen this)
  • Frontperson who spews out streams of profanity just because they think it's cool, in reality, it comes off as stupid, lame and amateurish.
  • Songs that all sound too much alike and blur together
  • Excessively long solos
  • Horrible tone on instuments (like muddy bass, thin buzzy guitar, drums that sound like pizza boxes, cheesy keyboard sounds etc)
 
#57
boynamedsuse said:
Bands that take too long to set up. We attended a show with four or five bands and it took each of them from 30 to 45 minutes to get ready--and the equipment was already on the very large stage (although it had to be moved around a bit)--and a couple of the acts were all acoustic. We left before the last band played. It was more than we could take (and it was a headliner band with a current top hit).
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If I can set up 5 keyboards, including a Hammond and Rhodes, and be be ready to play in 15 minutes, you can set up your guitar stack in 10. Bands need to learn how to set up on stage quickly, and even more importantly, tear down quickly. Don't roll you cables neatly on stage while another band is waiting. Get that off the stage, and then pack it up as neatly as you want.
 
#58
My drummer and I actually went up and moved another drummer's kit off the stage ourselves last summer at a multi-band event. He disappeared after their set and it was a small-town deal with no stage manager or road crew to speak of. We couldn't do anything with our backline cause his kit was in the way and he was nowhere to be found so we finally just went up there and took it offstage ourselves. And none too gently I might add.
 
#59
Poor tone bugs me. I know tone is personal and subjective and I'm very forgiving and understanding of how getting good tone in some live situations is hard. I was watching a band that was opening for us and the bassist had a killer rig: big ol' 8x10 fridge and nice solid state head, nice ibanez bass with flats. I'm thinking this guys sound is gonna be great! Wrong. The most anemic lacking low end clanky bass tone I've heard out of such a setup. Even my drummer was confounded and had to ask " how come your little 2x10 rig has more balls and low end than his huge rig?" My answer "if you don't know how to EQ, bigger and better gear doesn't equal bigger and better tone" I told the guy he could crank his low end and he appeared to fiddle with his knobs but it didn't help. He looked like he was great player but all I could hear was clankity clank clank. Drummers who can't tune their drums properly are another peeve of mine. Being a lover and supporter of original music I try my hardest to not judge but some guys need a reality check before they play outside the basement. I'm not including young bands here... I'm talking guys we've payed to come play with us or expect to get paid. If you expect money I expect a good product.
 
#60
My personal thing is bands that swear and use profanity just for the sake of using it, or adding it into a cover song when it wasn't there originally. It's kind of a turnoff for me. If it's part of the song, okay, it's supposed to be there. But for myself, I just don't like it much.

And too loud is a thing I don't care for. I like LOUD music, but there is a point that it becomes too loud.

I tend to leave if a band has a member that gets so drunk/high that they can no longer play competently or even reasonably.
 

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