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Beer on stage and the smart way to do it?
- Thread starter isky
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- beer drinking on stage drinks
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Depends on where you are, and if rideshare is prevalent, and if the vehicle you get when you request an Uber or whatever can schlep your gear effectively.... And how much it eats out of your gig pay. Easier to not drink on the gig, save money, and have zero risk of a DUI. But that's just my business plan, which it was even before I gave up drinking completely a tick over 3.5 years ago.
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For bar patrons maybe. Uber and Lyft surge pricing on weekend nights and early mornings can take a huge hit out of bar band member scale.
And not everyone has the luxury of carrying a backpack rig - some, in bars especially, are still stuck with a bass amp that needs a bigger, more expensive ride share vehicle.
And geography makes a huge difference in availability of drivers and distances to gigs. I'm loading up for a gig that's 67 miles away tonight. That's a $234 Lyft round trip, putting me in the hole for tonight's gig -$34, assuming I can get my rig into the car.
What was I thinking? Uber will be of no use to me during my 2026 residency up inside the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Why, The Statue of Liberty torch has always been electric, not run by gas lighting.
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This thread would have been 1 or 2 pages long tops if the OP had just asked for advice on the best way to keep a drink onstage and left out the word "beer."
On the floor, inside the legs of a cymbal sound.
I will not get through a pint though during sets.
I will not get through a pint though during sets.
In action yesterday, in it's twentieth year of sterling service! 
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
ask a loaded question, get loaded answers. there's a pun in there somewhere.
Stand-mounted cup / bottle holder...nobody notices, nobody cares.
It's the plastic urinal just below the crowd finds unsettling.
Riis
It's the plastic urinal just below the crowd finds unsettling.
Riis
It's like people asking for the 'best' (fill in the blank). And not naming a budget, or what they need it for.
These past 20+ years in the area, I'd been playing mainly with rock or modern country bands in beach and hotel bars, festivals, city sponsored street parties, private street parties, biker events, vet organizations, hole-in-the-wall joints, one gig opening for Molly Hatchet, local breweries, even had a yearly church festival and retail store corporate gig. Most of these gigs were relaxed about having drinks (beer, water, whatever) onstage. For the gigs that didn't allow it, we just didn't, no problem.
So my own method developed into buying a bucket of iced beer or water to place on the floor next to a cab. I set a bar rag on a serving tray, placed the bucket on it to absorb the bucket condensation. Opened beer was always (well...mostly...) placed back on the tray. If an open beer, drink, shot, or water spilled, it was contained within the raised tray sides. Bar rag was also useful for quick cleanup if some splashed onto the stage. The owners or managers really appreciate the effort to protect their stage. Points scored! Most bars will provide the tray and rag after explaining the reason. Otherwise, I kept a cut towel and medium size pizza pan in the car.
In addition, and since some Florida gigs can get hot (sez Captain Obvious), I had a personal face-wipe towel I'd keep wrapped on and around the bucket of drinks with alot of it directly on the ice. Not only did it slightly slow down the melting ice, I always had a refreshing wet and cold face wipe available.
Yeah, I had a system LOL. Kept the venue happy, kept me cool as possible, and provided all my drinking needs in one convenient location. Finish one drink, grab another from the bucket. Maybe play a few licks of slide bass with the empty bottle. (Pro Tip: Never full or partially full bottle. Awkward and sloshy LOL)
As many members posted, there's quite a few mic stand solutions available for you. A bandleader loaned me an extra mic stand drink holder. Convenient, but it bugged me seeing it on the mic stand, so I took it off after a few gigs.
However, the mic stand holder might be your solution. Unless, like me, you just don't like the look. Or if you don't mind bending down, as opposed to squatting, my method might work for you in keeping possible stage messes to a minimum or none at all.
Side note: I saw a band that used mic stand holders. But they had placards in front of the holder so the audience wouldn't see them. They were a larger version of those shirt name tags that say "My Name Is....". I thought that was funny as heck, plus you learned their names LOL.
If I did a placard, I'd have it say, "I'm The Bass Guy. I Do Bass Guy Things." Ya gotta be your own source of amusement in these trying times LOL.
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I got a drink holder that mounts to mic stand and a fake logo coozie to fit my Bud can in.I like taking a sip of whatever I'm drinking in between songs. Sometimes it's beer, sometimes water...
Ok, so, the band goes on stage, I have my beer in my hand...
First instinct is to put it on top of the amp - obvious pros: it's on top of your own property (assuming you're not using/sharing other people's backline), easy to reach, don't need to squat, etc.
But I always get paranoid ("Will the vibration from the amp/cab knock it off? I don't think it should, right? Don't remember it ever happening? But what if now it will?")
Dilemma.
So I put it on the floor. Another conundrum - do I put it behind, closer to the amp? Or in front, by the pedalboard / stage monitor?
It's the venues floor / stage, so spilling it there would be different than on your own stuff, especially if other bands are on the bill.
However, it's right in front of you, you got your eyes on it, floor is safer than top of the amp. But there's cables and stuff, and you end up squatting, sometimes it's tricky, with bass on ya, 99% of the time it's fine, but last time I squatted for a beer on stage I tore my ACL, pathetic, I know...
I ain't giving up beer or playing live, so I'm just curious how are you doing it?
Any specific routine / protocol / tips?
Cheers
Nobody can say I'm drinking on stage and some states liquor laws I believe do not allow alcohol on stage.
Uber or Lyft? What are these things of which you speak? In our very rural area we don't have those options from one small town to another so you need to manage yourself. I love a good beer when possible. But if I'm driving 45 mins to an hour on rural highways at midnight I can't risk it.
My normal practice is a pint during setup/soundcheck, after that water and soda only the rest of the gig.
If you're going to have it on stage throughout the gig just know your options for getting home or your intake limit before driving.
My normal practice is a pint during setup/soundcheck, after that water and soda only the rest of the gig.
If you're going to have it on stage throughout the gig just know your options for getting home or your intake limit before driving.
What is this "benefit" you speak of?
I'd likely not defile myself that way.
Where's my beer?
