Festival Question

[mcnach]

OK, I've had some pretty constructive and useful posts up until now, but I am almost fifty, and have played quite a few festivals.

Some have very tight limits, and some don't. Asking which kind we are playing is now INSULTING?

I posted the thread because I wanted to get some feedback, but some of you are missing the obvious here.

At every multi-band show I've ever played, some bands started late, and the times became more fluid as the day or evening went along. Even big ones like Three Rivers Fest don't just start each act on the dot.

I was hoping for feedback from people who have actual EXPERIENCE in playing these types of festivals, and I'm starting to notice a lot of posts from people who sound like they don't have any.

Again, to be clear, I am talking about the POSSIBILITY of going TWO minutes over. If we start right on time, and tear down quickly, that should NOT take time away from other acts, and none of you seem to be looking at the flip side of this:

If we promise 45 minutes, and then play 42, didn't we shortchange them by 3 minutes?

As to the whole "taking Freebird too seriously" thing, you either care about a song enough to play it right, or you leave it off the setlist.

We're proud of how well we play a song that most bands won't touch.

I think maybe we'll work up the definitive versions of Brown Eyed Girl and Mustang Sally too, while we're at it.

You worry too much and go on and on too much about basic matters for someone with as much experience as you claim... and now you start being bitchy at the people who gave you their opinions, at your request?

:lol:

 

[bluewine]

OK, I've had some pretty constructive and useful posts up until now, but I am almost fifty, and have played quite a few festivals.

Some have very tight limits, and some don't. Asking which kind we are playing is now INSULTING?

I posted the thread because I wanted to get some feedback, but some of you are missing the obvious here.

At every multi-band show I've ever played, some bands started late, and the times became more fluid as the day or evening went along. Even big ones like Three Rivers Fest don't just start each act on the dot.

I was hoping for feedback from people who have actual EXPERIENCE in playing these types of festivals, and I'm starting to notice a lot of posts from people who sound like they don't have any.

Mellowinman,

I think there is a significant number of TBers that not only have no festival experience, some are not in bands or not in actively working bands and haven't been for some time. Many by choice.

I actually find comments and feedback from guys that are not in bands pretty objective.

blue

 

[bluewine]

You worry too much and go on and on too much about basic matters for someone with as much experience as you claim... and now you start being bitchy at the people who gave you their opinions, at your request?

:lol:

Interesting, festival work can vary. Personally I don't think there are any basic matteres when it comes to festivals.

blue

 

[jazzbill]

I've played at several festivals. In every case the stage manager controlled the timing. Generally he will give hand signals near the end of your time telling you how much time you have left. He will discuss this when you go on. Usually you will get a five or ten minute warning so you can plan your conclusion. At the festivals we play no one goes over time.

 

[bluewine]

Depends on a lot of issues. I think you said this festival is hard to get into. If that's the case I wouldn't suggest going over or under.

My band is preparing for Milwaukee's SummerFest ( also very hard to get into ), we are rehearsing the set, making tweaks to make sure it's exactly 50 minutes.

blue

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

...but I am almost fifty, and have played quite a few festivals.

No offense or disrespect intended, but judging solely on the op You gave out an impression for this 40 years old of a first festival gig (perhaps the first ever) and in the band members being in their late teens/early twenties.

The setlist kind of confirmed that for me .

I was hoping for feedback from people who have actual EXPERIENCE in playing these types of festivals, and I'm starting to notice a lot of posts from people who sound like they don't have any.

All the hoping and wishing in the world won't change the fact that every bit of feedback in/on the 'net is going to be a roll of a dice. A loaded one at that it often seems...
There's no way of knowing the experience level of the participiants of the discussion in an site where everyone can remain absolutely anonymous.

That said, I will continue to claim that I do have some festival experience on both sides of the coin spread thinly ove a two decades, and IME un co'operative and communication skill challenged bands or band members are only tolerated if they're really, REALLY big names, if even then.
Otherwise they're just regarded as jerks and their contact information is either removed or put onto the long list of "DO NOT CALL" acts.

I don't know who originally said it, probably some later to be be-headed medieval court musician, but: "Be kind and humble towards the people You pass on Your climb upwards on the ladders of fame, for they're still there to greet You when You fall back down".

...and no one of you seem to be looking at the flip side of this:

If we promise 45 minutes, and then play 42, didn't we shortchange them by 3 minutes?

There's a "flip side" ? .

If You were an originals band, the main attraction on the #1 stage, drawing a HUGE crowd and ended prematurely, then someone might actually care.

IME when You're the supporting act, they just want You in and out of there as fast as they can.

As for the repertoar of Your choice, I've played covers for about my entire "career" (I can't write a tune worth the paper I write on), but:"If You can't say anything nice, it's better to say nothing" IMHO applies to the cover bands in festivals better than anything else, unless they play in the beer tent.
And in the beer tent no-one usually cares how long the set is, as long as someone is playing good 'ol familiar tunes instead of the originals crap the main stages pester 'em with .

Good luck.

Regards
Sam

 

[Joe Louvar]

I've played at several festivals. In every case the stage manager controlled the timing. Generally he will give hand signals near the end of your time telling you how much time you have left. He will discuss this when you go on. Usually you will get a five or ten minute warning so you can plan your conclusion. At the festivals we play no one goes over time.

+ 100. ^^^ This!!!

 

[kesslari]

I think I'm just going to go ahead and ask the dude in charge, and if he says, "don't go over," we will cut a song.

If he says, "don't worry about 2 minutes," we will go ahead as planned, as long as something doesn't go wrong.

That sounds like a plan.

Just one more thought - I've never been in the audience at a festival, checked my watch during a good band, and thought "damn, they finished after 43 minutes and they had a 45 minute slot - what a bunch of losers!"
Not once.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Boy Scouts know to act in good faith and be considerate of others, amongst many virtues. Asked and answered.

What kind of Eagle Scout cover band can't put together a 45min set from their vast repertoire?

 

[bigfatbass]

I see some good advice here, but even more green opinions. Bothering the "dude in charge" with this issue will most likely only annoy him. As the first band, the venue thinks your jobs are: 1. to not suck, 2. to help set up the vibe for the night (see the not sucking part), 3. to maybe help draw a few bodies that aren't on a guest list (see the not sucking part again), and 4. to give the house a chance to tune the system. Here is the issue: if you are micro-managing a cover set down to 2 minute intervals, you are probably not ready to be on the fest in the first place. You are assuming WAY too much. I have played and booked more of these than I could ever count. Trust me, nothing will go exactly on time, starting with the start. Be ready to go early for your time, and just ask the stage manager/monitor guy to give you a "last song" warning of about 5 minutes. Until that point, play hard and ignore the clock. When you get the high sign, play that last 3-4 minute tune, and then get out of the way as efficiently as you can. You very rarely (almost never) get a 45 minute set that is actually 45 minutes. Could be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, so just be prepared to kill for however long they let you stay up there. To worry about it down to a 2 minute grey area, is worry wasted. Plan on 30 minutes of your BEST stuff, and anything beyond that is gravy.

"short changing them by 3 minutes", and you are just a cover band? The time it took you to post the original message was more time than someone at age 50 who claims to have played a lot of festivals should have ever spent on such a complete and utter non-issue. I assumed this question was coming from a 19yr old kid. Total waste of worry/time/effort.

A side note regarding the set list: playing multiple covers in a row from the same band SCREAMS "rookie".

 

[Downunderwonder]

But the 'bird shall not be forsaken!!!! All 10 mins, micromanage that!

 

[xgator4u]

I understand not wanting to mess wit freebird.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I can only speak from MY experiences, but I have found damn little goes as planned at these events. The only constant, is change.

Do what you want, but I would personally make CERTAIN that I had MORE than enough time to play the finale'/banner song.
There is a lot of stuff going on at this type of event, stuff totally unrelated to the music or your band, but equally if not MORE important to the event organizers. They have a schedule to adhere to that is likely in print. This schedule has been established months if not years before, and must be adhered to.

How bad would it suck to be 7:59 into freebird, and they kill the FOH ?

I've SEEN it happen.


Take a chance if you feel lucky, but I advise against it.
Kill some other song to leave plenty of room.

IMHO

 

[BobWestbrook]

To put it in a professional context:

The CEO wants several people to give half-hour presentations at a rigidly-planned 3 hour meeting. Mr. Junior Executive BigshotWannabe, however, decides what he has to say is so important he should go over the 30 minutes allotted.

Should Junior (a) ask his VP boss if he can have more than 30 minutes (b) disregard the time allotment and go for it or (c) behave professionally and keep his presentation in the given timeframe?

What does this have to do with a festival, you ask? Well, it doesn't matter the context - if you want to be regarded as a professional, act in a professional manner.

 

[mcnach]

Interesting, festival work can vary. Personally I don't think there are any basic matteres when it comes to festivals.

blue

when it comes to timing... I think it is basic: you stick to the times given. Especially when you are the opening act (i.e.: often little more than filler). Having got your foot in, at last, it makes sense to be cool, collaborative, and do a good show within the parameters dictated... that is, if you want the organisers to consider you in the future and climb up the ladder a little.

The OP asked a question, got a bunch of replies he did not agree 100% with, because somehow cutting another song will cause their universe to implode, and got a little sulky about it...

 

[troy mcclure]

There isn't a way to shorten anything? You play all your tunes exactly the same every time or with tracks? I am sure 2 mins will be ok, but as stated if you start late be prepared to cut a tune.

 

[Richland123]

There have been several recordings of Free Bird released of the full, single edit, and live version.

9:06 (album)
4:18 (single)
3:31 (radio edit)
10:08 (full version)
11:30 (live version on One More From The Road)

 

[onosson]

As a final thought on this thread: there is *always* room to cut two minutes of guitar solo from a set.

 

[fishtx]

OK, let's make sure the parameters are set here. Our last song is Freebird. It takes 10 minutes. We have one song before it. When I get to that song, I will look at my watch. If we were going to go 4 or 5 minutes over, I would cut the song, and go directly to Freebird.

Here is the setlist:

1. We Will Rock You - Queen
2. Tie Your Mother Down - Queen
3. Beast of Burden - Our version of Bette Midler's version of the Stones
4. I Hate Myself for Loving You - Joan Jett
5. Use Me - Bill Withers
6. Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young
7. Ten Inch Record - Aerosmith
8. Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
9. Train, Train - Blackfoot
10. Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

I have already cut "Yer Blues," because my wife didn't want to cut any other song than that. I am the anal one in this band. I am the OCD timekeeping person in this band. I am also NOT in charge of this band. I wanted to cut "Sweet Emotion," because it's long. I have begged them to shorten the jam at the end of this one, because we could get back a solid minute. I have a spoken section in the middle of "Rockin' in the Free World," and if I skip it, they have no choice but to move on, and that might save a minute.

Believe me, I am trying my best to make this come in at exactly 45 minutes. I do NOT have the attitude that we can play over by five or more minutes; in fact, I guarantee this will NOT happen. This is not a "big" festival; it's a free show, and it happens with multiple bands every year.

I kind of wanted to get some input from the Talkbass Boy Scouts, just to get a feel for this question, but remember, I am in a BAND, and that means three other people have opinions, too. Two of my band members, (the two with the most experience playing out live,) have the opinion that if you're too nice, in this business, you don't go anywhere, because everyone walks on you. To their credit, the three or four most successful bands in this town are universally loathed by all the other bands, for their superior attitudes and behavior.

Also to their credit, I made a big deal about us being nice, and working well with sound crews, and showing respect, and I witnessed how I personally got more abuse heaped on me than anyone else in the band. That's because of the cold fact that a lot of people in the business are jerks, and when you are nice, and respectful to them, they see it as a chance to take advantage of you.

So these two band members are a lot less "nice" than me, and they seem to also be more well-liked than me. Funny how that works.

I don't know what I'm going to do yet, and whether we are going to cut a song, or trim some fat and try to make it, or just go over by a couple minutes, but again, I GUARANTEE I will not be party to going over by five.

With ALL THAT in mind, what do you say?

Edited to add: I have been FORBIDDEN to ask the stage manager.

You have a lot of "jam" tunes that can be cut shorter, but the easiest thing to do is cut 2 minutes outta Freebird...who the heck will know?...

 

[SteveC]

You have a lot of "jam" tunes that can be cut shorter, but the easiest thing to do is cut 2 minutes outta Freebird...who the heck will know?...

Or care. That "jam" is way to long and boring.

 

[RustyAxe]

This post is to gather opinions, and not necessarily to change our minds. We don't want to go under, and getting it exactly is kind of difficult for a live show.

So why ask at all? Part of being a professional act is to abide by promoters' criteria ... one being set length. While you may not have a problem this time, there will come a time when those two minutes will cost you a second gig.