How early do you get to a gig?

[PCR]

Load in for us is always 2 hours and generally includes (some or all):

- Clean or straighten stage area
- Lay down power cords
- Set up tents for outdoor gig
- Set up drums
- Set up PA and monitors
- Set up stage mics
- Set up lighting (2x lighting fixtures and pre-programmed DMX panel)
- Set up bass and guitar rigs
- Set up amp mics
- Sound check (tweak)
- Beer

Load out usually take roughly an hour.

 

[RickyWoo]

1/2 hour before the sound guy says they're there.

 

[Groove Doctor]

AFTER the gig I’m the first to finish packing up and leave first, so I don’t mind arriving early.

BEFORE the gig:
I set up after the drummer and keyboardist (same side of stage) has set up, so any earlier than 90 mins before a gig and I’m standing around waiting for them. Instruments have finished set up 1hr before the show.

We need plenty of time for the Lead singer to get his IEMs right and sound check done. Beers, jokes, hang time before gig. A great system IME.

 

[FingerDub]

Minimum of two hours
I would much rather be able to sit and relax before down beat then have something fail 10 minuets before we are to start and then try to be on time
Duke

Yep and I like chatting w people I know and regulars before we begin.

 

[matthewbrown]

I just played a trio date tonight, drums bass and guitar. I showed up 20 minutes before the downbeat. Plugged my little Contra into the wall, plugged the bass into it and started on time. Amazingly, the drummer was there only 5 minutes before I was.

 

[TAZ]

Just my gear and no gig constraint, 30 minutes before down beat.

 

[2cooltoolz]

Our drummer and the BL have some mysterious thing going on with the PA. They show up with different variations every couple gigs. So I basically stay uninvolved. But I have my own pretty nice (but very basic) system, that I bring as backup, which has come in handy at times.

So they are usually there 2 hours or so before the show, and I show up about half an hour after. Sympathetic, more than required.

Most times, when I arrive, they're all set up and the drummer is having a burger and a beer. The BL is a bit OCD and keeps fooling with stuff till go time (and on every break).

 

[saabfender]

One hour if the band doesn't have to provide PA, hour and a half otherwise.

 

[LUCE]

Tonite -- 90 minutes.

 

[FerK]

In the band that I'm leaving after our next 3 gigs it's anywhere between 3 and 4 hours. The BL is a total maniac: even for the smallest club he'll mic the entire drum, and that plus our 4 vocals and whatnot we end up with 26 cables into our stagebox. You can imagine what inevitably happens: 1 or 2 mistakes, and you have to backtrack the wrong routing, which takes 10 minutes each. Then IEM sound check. For our show tonight (it's our CD launch, so we're running the door, the bar, etc) we loaded yesterday (Friday) at 10AM, filled the fridges, set everything up and finished the lights-check at 10:30PM. And today we do sound check AGAIN at 3PM, for a show that starts at 8PM.

Another reason why I've quit.

 

[gumtown]

In the band that I'm leaving after our next 3 gigs it's anywhere between 3 and 4 hours. The BL is a total maniac: even for the smallest club he'll mic the entire drum, and that plus our 4 vocals and whatnot we end up with 26 cables into our stagebox. You can imagine what inevitably happens: 1 or 2 mistakes, and you have to backtrack the wrong routing, which takes 10 minutes each. Then IEM sound check. For our show tonight (it's our CD launch, so we're running the door, the bar, etc) we loaded yesterday (Friday) at 10AM, filled the fridges, set everything up and finished the lights-check at 10:30PM. And today we do sound check AGAIN at 3PM, for a show that starts at 8PM.

Another reason why I've quit.

Sounds like BL needs to get a life !!

 

[gumtown]

Usually 2~3 hours for us, loading in 8kW PA, lighting show with 8 bars of PAR cans, 12 lasers, video backdrop projection, setup, sound check.
Been doing it for years, so we always carry enough gear for a "plan B" option should any item crap out, so the show will always go on.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

When I played shows multiple times a week, we would get there as close to the start of the show as possible and stay as long as we could after we played, to support the other acts. That’s why there were shows so often because people came to listen to other bands. Local shows and small venues will eventually die off if you don’t put in the effort to be a bigger part of the music scene than just being one of the bands playing the show, you got to be a fan to some extent too! You get to make friends, get your bands name out there and more importantly you get to listen to different music, love of music is why we play music in the first place right? Anyway that’s at least how I feel. If you wanted to just get there for when your band goes on I would say at least 45 minutes. So you can scope out where you gotta go and all that. More than once one of the bands before us on the show have canceled last minute and our set got pushed up a few times we played 2 sets to fill in the time slot. So that may be something to factor in to lead time before a show.

 

[MegaSwing]

An hour before final setup time or start time, whichever comes first. I really only need a half-hour.

Variables can include traffic, parking, and ease of loading.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Got there two hours early. Set up PA and lights (including some power issues, since some outlets were in an odd spot and needed a different source of power for monitors). Still had an hour to twiddle thumbs.

 

[SunnBass]

Ask the club or bar when "load-in" is.
Be there at that time.
Not hard at all.

 

[Bassbubble11]

To set up everything an hour is usually more than enough time. If we are playing a place that has food we might show up a little earlier to chow down and share a couple brews. 2 hours seems like you will be standing around and waiting to play.

 

[Siggy]

The guys with the PA like to take 2 hrs for set up, It takes me 15min for my gear. I get there about 1hr before showtime to help wherever I can. At nights end we all stay until everything is loaded. I'm usually the paymaster and I learned early on to not pay anyone until everything is loaded. My current peeve is our new drummer. He dallies with tearing down his gear, walking around talking to everyone with his hands in his pockets and is always the last off the stage. He never helps with the load in or out. I have't even seen him roll up a cable.

 

[Snaxster]

We needed to [have] women on the floor by 8:03.

Wow, Wesley, that's pretty specific. I mean, maybe the requirement was 8:00 plus a 3-minute grace period. But usually things are scheduled to the whole or half hour.

Anyway, what did the place do if those women weren't out there dancing by 8:03? Throw out the band?

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

One hour, but our band travels reasonably light. If it's a corporate event and we need to be set up early, we charge extra... and don't tell us about it after we've set the price.