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Gig Cancellation

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phoenixgraves

Apr 6, 2011
57
0
#1
First off, a ****** punk rocker, who just sings over his electric guitar, that's it, just him, asked us to play tomorrow (a Tuesday). He set this up a 2 months ago. We started out playing 3rd but this douche kept adding bands. Now we go on 5th, show starts at 7. That puts us on at about 12:30am on a Tuesday at a punk rock venue. My band plays prog hard rock.

On top of that! I read in a local Portland newspaper and on the venue flyer that our name is all wrong. This ****** punk rocker reported it to the venue backwards and spelled wrong! This is after many emails with our name as the email address AND me signing our name under my name in each email.

I want to cancel this ****** show. We all have 8-5 jobs and live an hour away from the show and this is just the cherry on top. I preach to the band that we need exposure, get our name out there, let's play anytime anywhere. But this is just the icing on the cake.

Anyone have any thoughts? We probably won't make any money, in fact lose money, only to play to an empty venue under a band name that isn't ours.

Help.
 
#5
elgecko said:
Definitely sounds like **** gig but if you committed to it two months ago...well. :hmm:
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So what would you do? He just emailed me and said he misread our name. I've sent him about 10 emails with our name in each email twice!!

Idiot. And when we signed up for this show we were signed up as us (not some random jumbled up combination of the name) and there were 3 bands. Not 5.
 
#7
Mulebagger said:
Rock the gig and show them how awesome you are and how professional your band is.
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Not worth it at all, and it's not "being professional" by playing a gig like this. It's, "being a sucker." The guy booking the show was not professional at all by pushing the band further and further back - there was no way that they could have known that they would be playing that late when they first committed. They simply don't want to play that late, and wouldn't have signed on had they known. If we're talking professionalism, the oral contract was breached, and they don't owe him a show by any stretch of the imagination.

Drop the gig.
 
#9
Win over the crowd ( even if its only a few peeps ) and kill it. Lesson learned. Next time have something in writing or at least a better agreement of the parameters of the gig.

I played a talent showcase with a band in May. There were 20 bands in 2 days. The person promoting it ran it like clockwork. Everyone had wristbands, very strict stage times etc. It was in a great venue. But, so poorly promoted that there were literally 5 people there that weren't musicians. I was pissed that I had even bothered to schlep my gear, but then I thought, this is about the music. So we put on a great set. Supported the other bands that had traveled hours to play, and exchanged web info, etc with the other bands.

Sure I would have liked it to have had the 1200 people the place can hold, but I did my best for the 5 that were there.

Hopefully, you guys can turn it into a positive experience for your band. If you can't then I'd at least talk to the guy and say hey, we are cancelling because of xy and z. That way you can just put it behind you and be done with it.

If you rock it, let us know how it went.
 
#11
The thing is if you cancel at the last minute, you and your band are making a bad name for yourself.....also what the about the people who come out (if just 1!) especially to see you and they drive for an hour and find out you didn't show at the last minute?

I'd say just bite the bullet, put on a good show, and go home proud of yourself-and tell him to get it right the next time. Your music is worth it.
 
#14
No no no.

You didn't commit to playing THIS show.

You committed to playing a show with 3 bands, with a reasonable expectation of your set time, and with a reasonable expectation that he would competently handle the promotion.

He has since changed the number of bands, shafted you on the set time, and F'ed up the promotion.

Plus the show is an hour away, you expect no compensation, you have day jobs and expect to play after midnight on a Tuesday.

It is DEFINITELY bad to cancel at the last minute, but IMO you are perfectly justified in canceling this show.

Maybe, just maybe, the guy will learn to 1) stick to a sane number of bands, 2) stick with a reasonable set time, and 3) get the names right when he does promo.

I assume you have no written contract for this "gig". Well, the old mantra "get it in writing" cuts both ways. This guy is a complete joker - let him look like the idiot who can't get bands to show up.
 
#15
Breach of contract???? Go back and renegotiate. Be nice but assertive.

He has 4 other bands so your not puttng him in a pickle by canceling but he needs to know why your canceling. The fact that the show is getting rearranged is a common phenomena.
 
#16
Mulebagger said:
Win over the crowd ( even if its only a few peeps ) and kill it. Lesson learned. Next time have something in writing or at least a better agreement of the parameters of the gig.
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Bingo. I can't remember how many times I've agreed to play and it was so simple I didn't need a contract ... and wound up getting screwed. ALWAYS have a contract.

The only people that won't do a contract are the ones that won't honor it and you don't want to play for them anyway. Having a contact puts people on notice that you are professionals and expect the terms of the agreement to be honored (not that it always works out anyway).

I agree, suck it up, play the job and never play without a contract again - now if I would only follow my own advice!
 
#17
phoenixgraves said:
So what would you do? He just emailed me and said he misread our name. I've sent him about 10 emails with our name in each email twice!!

Idiot. And when we signed up for this show we were signed up as us (not some random jumbled up combination of the name) and there were 3 bands. Not 5.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have booked it in the first place but that's beside the point. If I committed to it, I would do it...but maybe that's just me. At any rate, this is an important lesson in booking gigs.

BTW, for some reason, it's not uncommon for idiots and ******bags to have all the gigs.
 
#18
Moving your time slot when you have to work in the morning is grounds for a cancellation . Picking appropriate gigs is also important so that the time and energy involved serves a purpose.
 
#19
Tell him you agreed to time slot x to y. You will play that time or pass on the gig, unless he wishes to renegotiate the entire thing with you.

If he renegotiates the deal, stick to the letter of whatever you decide - started 45 minutes late? Well you lost 45 minutes of us playing buddy.
 

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