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Gig start time...

#42
These days my church gig is 8am each Sunday. But back in the day a gig meant 8pm till 2am then the tear down. We were once hired by the local TV station to play for a televised event at 8am Saturday morning after a raucous Friday night gig. Wasn't so bad except the multiple tear downs and set ups. We had to be back at the club that night. These days if a gig goes past 9pm.... I am out!
 
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#43
We had a gig once a year that started at 7:00 AM for a long time, a regular corporate gig that paid great. I've done tons of gigs in my time that started at 2:00 AM and ended whenever..
 
#44
LordRyan said:
In 1971 I played a lounge in Sparks, NV. We played six nights a week. On Friday and Saturday we played from 9 PM to 6 AM. We got longer breaks but still had to be there the whole time.
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My buddy played a late-night club that was in a small city that was nothing but refineries, steel mills and bars. His country band played the 2-6 AM slot, and he said the joint was always packed with guys getting off their shift. There were also a lot of 'Gentlemen Clubs' nearby and the dancers would sometimes stop by after their night ended.
 
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#46
Years ago I subbed on a gig with an event band. They had been hired to play a wake. The funeral ceremony was at 8:00am, and then the wake started at 9:00am. For some reason they wanted dance music. Absolutely no one at the event was in a mood to dance, or party, or anything but have somber conversations while a dance band was over to the side kicking out modern pop, 70s funk and disco, 80s pop, 90s RnB, etc. It was an odd experience, not just for the setting, but also for the super early 9:00am downbeat. To make matters even weirder, it was an outdoor event, in October, in northwestern Washington state. It was super cold and foggy. Not a fan.

Not a gig, but I was in a music video for a band. The video was set in a bar, and because of some laws they couldn't allow us in until 6:00am, but they also needed us out of there by 10:00am. As a result we started filming a rowdy bar scene with the band at 6:00am. Not a fun gig, or even a fun band to be in if I'm being honest.
 
#49
AndyMopley said:
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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I have been playing at Sunrise, but the gig started at 10 PM. A private party set up way out in the country, with multiple beer trucks set up. Some long breaks though. We really didnt mind as the party was thrown by a wealthy kid who payed us well.
 
#50
JRA said:
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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We were playing Bubblegum music back then funnily enough. 1910 Fruitgum Co. The Archies The (early) Sweet etc 🤪

Another interesting one was in the mid 90s, from 1am till 4am.

We would be loading out when the growers market were setting up on the street outside
 
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#51
thebassgrognard said:
I wonder if the tendency of jazz gigs starting super late is the ability of the musicians to have other earlier gigs, then step into the late night. There's a midnight to 5a.m. jazz jam every Friday and Saturday night that's been around for years in KC.
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A lot of the clubs have an early show and a late show.
Bunk McNulty said:
It's probably the only good outcome from COVID. We used to go on at 9 or 10 pm. By the end of 2021, we were going on at 6 or 6:30.
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Not just COVID. Alot fewer people hanging around drinking all night in a bar.
 
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#54
buldog5151bass said:
A lot of the clubs have an early show and a late show.

Not just COVID. Alot fewer people hanging around drinking all night in a bar.
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I agree, but I was there, you know? 2020 was a disaster. And it was still around enough in June 2021 when the whole band got COVID at one of our regular venues. So going out now seemed a risky idea for a lot of people, including us. We either canceled or were canceled at a lot of indoor shows. Oddly enough, we picked up four or five outdoor events.;)
 
#55
I think the latest I started was 8AM (yes, we were up all night). It was a New Year’s Eve Last Band Standing situation. Other than that, I’ve played at all hours. Back in the 80s and 90s, we played til 4AM in New York at every club we played. I once saw Bootsy at the Wetlands in NYC start at 1:30AM and play until the sun came up.

Now that my band is playing mostly theaters and larger venues, we generally don’t go all that late. 11:30-12:30 or so.
 
#56
my latest/earliests maybe my Casio gig in the late 80s (Atlantic City) 10pm-5am (trading 1hr long sets with another act) / but my earliest consistent downbeat to-date is at my current church gig 6am Easter 'sunrise service'.
 

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