Did I do the Wrong Thing?

[Bill Whitehurst]

I have never missed a gig I committed to.
I did once show up 10 minutes late...
after my Mother had a heart attack!

( She recovered nicely went on to survive another 20 years.)

 

[Hounddog409]

I wanted to go to a concert but we were booked. I contacted one of our former bass players, who lives in town, to see if he could play but he was out of town. I didn't contact another of our former bass players, who lives out of town, but instead decided to play the gig, since I wasn't sure, didn't really feel quite right, about taking off anyway. The gig went okay but the crowd cleared out early and the management had us take off early. Not a good sign in my opinion. I kept thinking I wished I had searched more to find a sub so I could have gone to the concert. The money was good, though.

Did I do the wrong thing?

You are seriously asking if honoring your obligation was the right thing to do???

 

[Gluvhand]

You are seriously asking if honoring your obligation was the right thing to do???

Lol. Yes. Seriously. He is.

 

[Appogee]

Honouring your ethical commitment is never the wrong thing.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I cannot say you did right or wrong, but you acted professionally by showing up at your scheduled gig. I got two free tickets to a Metallica concert that I didn't go to because of work. Yes, it sucked, but work comes 1st.

 

[rodl2005]

People should do what makes them happy.
That said, I would never sub out of a gig to see a concert, even if they resurrected the two dead Beatles or the original 10CC reunited.

Just as an aside, I saw (current) 10cc play in my city a few weeks ago... they were awesome!
Played a wide variety of stuff and playing, mix and harmonies were superb

 

[Hevy T]

If any of my guys at the last minute subbed out without warning, they would be booted immediately! Even a two bit bar band should treat it as a business and a job! What happens if you dont show at your day job?

 

[StayLow]

Gigging or doing focused practice > than watching others gig.

Unless you stand to gain musically / somehow by attending the show, of course.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

As "Controversy-Of-the-Week"(s) go, this one is a little weak.

How could this even be a question? Any man over the age of fourteen meets his responsibilities and commitments.

 

[BobDeRosa]

You ultimately did the right thing, and that's what's most important.

 

[pepj]

What sort of commitment is it.
If it is your only gig or best gig, then its up to you how much you want to keep it, because conversely...and as seen in this thread, the band might not take you missing a gig so well.
If its a sub gig, you probably relegate yourself in the order of being called.
If its your only gig, and they want to hold you to a blow out of a gig, come what may, and regardless of whether you should even play such places, maybe you should part ways anyway.
Its not as black or white as it may appear.

 

[SpiderBass1965]

You did the right thing. Your commitment to the band was the right choice if you had already chose to play the show before going to the concert. I've had other members of other bands I've known who have chosen the other over their band and usually ended up with a breakup.

 

[PiquetBass]

Gigs in "first come, first served" priority. No distinction between playing or watching...

 

[Polfuste]

Taylor Swift is young and she’ll be around for a while

 

[gazzatriumph]

zzzz as long as you sent them a text you will be ok

 

[GregT]

You kept your word. Anything else is less.

 

[Egg250]

If any of my guys at the last minute subbed out without warning, they would be booted immediately! Even a two bit bar band should treat it as a business and a job! What happens if you dont show at your day job?

There's a big difference between making a living at a day job and playing $100 gigs in dive bars. I read in a different thread here, somebody booted a bandmate for last minute cancelation, which caused the band to fail. It seemed he was bragging about the lengths he would go to to fire someone. Instead of immediately firing, you begin looking for a replacement. You have a talk with the offending bandmate. Communicate. It may have been out of their control or they just might be flaky, in which case, why did you hire them in the first place? If that behavior continues, fire them and hire the one you've been cultivating.
Unless I'm making a living at music, it will be secondary. I gotta make a living and family comes first. In one of my projects, we are all of the same mind. I'm working towards going full time, will likely never make it there until I retire a second time. Until then...

 

[51PRI]

zzzz as long as you sent them a text you will be ok

Seeing another concert is easy...

Yes, but no. We don't have concerts come through here all the time like some areas do.

...Do you enjoy this band?

Yes, for the most part, even though I think there are things we could be better about or improve the band. BL played a song at the last gig that I'd never heard before (he used to do that all the time) and I didn't like that.

What was the concert?

Sierra Hull

What’s your bands name? Can I check you guys out on YT or Social Media?

Yes, but I prefer to remain private.

I'm not clear on what you're asking. Are you feeling guilty because you wanted to see a concert instead of perform one? Are you second guessing your decision to play the show?....

Yes, I wish I had gone to the concert. Bar gigs are a dime a dozen and losing the money wouldn't have hurt me one bit and I missed likely my only chance to see this artist in an intimate venue.

Going on some of your threads about the BL or members, I think you could have taken the concert....I'm not getting the impression this is a must must do gig.

You may recall that our lead guitarist opted out of a gig just because he didn't want to play it...we played 3 piece. Another time our drummer got a sub so he could play with his other band. So there is a history of 'questionable' subbing with no repercussions in this band.

If any of my guys at the last minute subbed out without warning, they would be booted immediately! Even a two bit bar band should treat it as a business and a job! What happens if you dont show at your day job?

I once got ticked off at one of the owners at work and just left. I intended to cool off and come back but I ended up taking the rest of the day off. The next day nobody said a word about it.

 

[ChrisB2]

Yes, I wish I had gone to the concert .... I missed likely my only chance to see this artist in an intimate venue .... our lead guitarist opted out of a gig just because he didn't want to play it...we played 3 piece. Another time our drummer got a sub so he could play with his other band. So there is a history of 'questionable' subbing with no repercussions in this band.

Well that "dedication" to the band is quite a bit different than the situations I've been in, and would definitely go a long way toward informing the answer to your question.

Based on the structure (or lack) of your band, and the info about how important the concert was to you, it appears you DID "do the wrong thing."

Context and details, yeah they really do matter.

 

[Knavery]

You did the right thing and are asking if you did the wrong thing? This is a strange thread.