Doing All-Nighters with No Break?

I like the way you think. I also love biker gigs. Great audiences that know how to party.
Played a biker gig once, about four or five hours total play time. After we said good night, the head biker said here's your pay, and then handed me another stack, and said 'Can you stay?'. We played at least another two hours.

 

Performing music is my hobby, and I enjoy it, so I do it for free -- assuming I am paid for the following inconveniences: commute time to/from the gig, setup and teardown, gas (for my SUV I mean), wear and tear on my gear, etc. I wouldn't say the $100 I usually get is fair compensation, but it's the average rate for my various bands' bar gigs so it's gotta suffice. (No, I don't wanna play in a wedding band -- to me it would be work rather than fun).

I think I could go 4 hours with one or no breaks -- easy for me to say, because I don't sing lead (and still have good bladder control, knock knock ) -- but I'd have to make sure I didn't get carried away when rocking out, so my fingers didn't get fatigued.

 

To the OP: I know exactly what you're saying. Props to you for playing the right tunes. My bands mostly play classic rock, with not much in the way of modern pop/top-40. In one of my bands, the BL plays pop dance hits during breaks, and depending on the crowd there can be more people dancing during the breaks than when we are playing. That said, there are also gigs where folks drift out when we take a break.

 

I've done that a lot over the years and it's actually my main performance mode anymore. Like you said, it's great when you've got the dance floor jumping and can keep them going.

 

I used to play in a funk band where the leader liked to do three 1.5 hour sets with short breaks for this reason. Not exactly what you're describing, but maybe there's some middle ground to be had?

I say give it a shot and see how your typical crowd reacts. There are certainly some lessons to be learned there about set pacing, endurance, etc. Make a note of what breaks down first at the performance. The band, the crowd, the sound man, etc.

 

Last Friday we played a normal hour or so set, took a 15 min break and then played nearly two hours to finish the night. The crowd was great and playing through made it much more of a party. Owner and manager were very happy with us.

 

Break music.

 

Aw, Man! When are the real players supposed to go outside for a smoke break!

 

I've experienced bar managers saying that when the audience is on the dance floor they're not buying drinks - so take a break!

 

Do you guys have cast iron kidneys? Don't have the need to pee in a four hour period? Don't get tired at the end of a 1 1/2 hour set? You must be Supermen. I look forward to periodic breaks during the night, I probably would quit a band rather than play the entire night without a break. Then again, I'm 61y/o.Knock yourselves out.

 

Exactly. Those who can, have the option and those who can't, take a break when they need it.

General level of health is a big part of it, especially if you're the only lead singer, or at least, the main singer who is also singing backup on everything else. I can easily go for long hours if I don't have to sing lead too.

 

My band does weddings that way. The band will break down to fewer members while others take breaks. We go full band for the final two hours.