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Gig start time...

A

AndyMopley

Nov 30, 2024
179
183
68
Sydney AU
#1
What is the latest (or earliest) time you've had a gig on? I once played at sunrise, with an orchestra, and on a beach. It was quite an amazing experience.

What prompted this was a discussion we were having about (primarily jazz) musicians working hours. Except perhaps for classical players, the generalization was that musicians are night owls, often with main sets beginning around 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM and "late sets" going past midnight. Speculation is that this is due to a combination of historical, cultural, and economic factors designed to create a specific atmosphere and maximize revenue. Not sure if this still holds today, or as we get older, gigiing time starts to take on a different connotation! ;-)

Regards to all
 
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#4
rodl2005 said:
We had a regular 3-4am Saturday night/ Sunday morning gig back in the 80s. That was tough!
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that does sound tough! what kind of gig was that one? TIA

per the OP: i think i've rocked all around the clock, pretty much --- one band (way back when) played a bunch of HS after proms for a couple of years, and the start times ranged from 1am - 3am (2-4 hour gigs). the money was good, but all of us were often fatigued from the thought!
 
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#7
In local original rock/metal scenes it is normal for gigs to start late and finish well after midnight, with 1am or 2am not uncommon depending on the specific area or venue, and even later happening from time to time. We also have a smaller local venue located in the same plaza as a much larger venue that mainly gets national acts, and the smaller one sometimes schedules local-band shows that don't start until after the larger venue's show the same night ends, to serve as a sort of after-party, so those can run super late.

Edit: Earliest would have been some church gig or another.
 
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#8
I have 6:15 AM call times on Sundays (I get up at 4:45). I have also played gigs where I didn't get home until about 6:30 AM (a bar with a 5 AM license where our last set ended at 4:45; it was on the other side of the city), so I've played the whole cycle time wise.
 
#10
There's a famous dive bar in my town where the opening band doesn't take the stage until 10pm, the "headliner" plays next and then there is traditionally a third band that starts around Midnight Thirty. On a Tuesday night. It's a hard gig but people do it just to play there. Every wall in the place is covered with play bills for famous bands that played there when they were coming up. You can spend hours trying to see them all. RHCP, 311, Kings of Leon, the list goes on dating back to around 1980. Anyway, everyone fights over the opening slot.
 
#11
Most gigs are at night because performance groups are there to entertain people…who are usually working during the daytime hours. An exception might be working sessions that could be going on at most any hour. So, working musicians could be “playing” at most any time, but gigs (performance) are probably most often in the evenings. Weekend festival gigs are the reason I have played a gig before dinner time most often.
 
#12
The only hours I haven't performed during are 6 to 9 am. I think think the classic 8 to midnight/ 9 to 1 club and bar slot is losing its appeal to audiences and fans appreciate earlier shows. I've been getting book for a lot more 6 or 7 pm starts, and on later gigs noticed a late night attendance drop off after like 11.
 
#13
I've done all sorts of start / finish times. The toughest is usually early morning. My voice just isn't right at 6:00am when we played all day / night benefits. Several bands were playing twice in one day @ 2 hours each. 6:00am and a second call in the evening anywhere from 9:00pm to say 2:00 am. Usually no load in or out was a God send!
 
#17
Earliest I've played before was probably 8am on a Saturday for a Rock n' Roll half marathon; and latest was probably around midnight in an original band playing one of those 4-band bills at a smaller club.

Since the pandemic, though, I've definitely enjoyed the change in performance times. Most of the cover band stuff I do now is 7-10pm, instead of the past which was more like 9-midnight or 1am.
 
#18
My first paid gig was in high school, Easter Mass with a sorta early call time, probably 7:30 or 8 a.m. Then many years in clubs, starting no earlier than 9 p.m. and going till 1:30 a.m.

These days I'm surprised to find club dates often start at 8 or earlier and I can be home in bed by midnight. I kind of miss the late night vibe, but I didn't miss loading out at 2 or 3 a.m. and getting home to the birds chirping.
 

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