Kill a whole day playing a bar gig?

[hrodbert696]

Can't remember ever doing that. If I'm bringing PA, I'll show up 2 hours ahead. If it's just my bass stuff, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I do like to pack up and load out promptly, but depending on the venue, I've been known to hang around afterwards and have a drink with the management. Altogether that might mean arriving at 7 or so and staying till 1 am, which makes it a 6-hour night, plus whatever the drive is.

 

[bassfran]

I call those gigs "all-day suckers".

I can't count the amount of times a club calls a 6pm load-in with promise of a soundcheck for a 9 or 10pm hit and there's no one there to even open the door. So, then you wait around like a schmuck. WAAYY too old for that anymore.

Nowadays unless it's necessary to be there early to set up a P.A., etc., I show up 1/2hr. before the hit. Enough time to set up, hit the head, grab a beverage, tune up, and play.

 

[Robroy]

I have to confess that when I first started playing bar gigs, I could not get there early enough. It was just too exciting. I got over that after, I believe, one gig.

And a dirty little secret about guys that show up really early is that a lot of them use the time to get hammered before they even go on stage. Since I'm not much of a drinker and actually have very little in common with people who hang out at bars before the band starts, there is nothing motivating me to be there any earlier than is required to put on a good show.

 

[Robroy]

I call those gigs "all-day suckers".

I can't count the amount of times a club calls a 6pm load-in with promise of a soundcheck for a 9 or 10pm hit and there's no one there to even open the door. So, then you wait around like a schmuck. WAAYY too old for that anymore.

Nowadays unless it's necessary to be there early to set up a P.A., etc., I show up 1/2hr. before the hit. Enough time to set up, hit the head, grab a beverage, tune up, and play.

I was in a band once where I was the band's official sound man. On one friday night gig, I had to go straight from work to the gig. I got there 20 minutes before we were to start. I changed my clothes, set up my bass rig and checked all connections to the main board and got a good sound check - and we went on only five minutes late.

 

[Mark_70]

90-120 minutes before the gig (we set up our own PA), 60 min afterwards (we have to break it down).
That's still a pretty full days' worth of work - but a fun day at the office it is

Regards
Mark

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Generally 1 to 1.5 hours before start time and 45 minutes after finishing. Maybe a little more if I am chatting with people or the band.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

60-90 minutes before, 45-60 after. I really try to keep it as minimal as possible unless there are lots of friends/family coming to the show. I'll take a little more time pre & post for that situation only.

 

[Odinbass]

If I was on tour I'd do the daykiller approach to get good soundchecks and do something besides sit around in a van.

However as a weekend warrior I ain't got time for that. If we hire sound I'm there an hour before and bail as soon as the $ hits my hand.

 

[Jakeman]

Nowadays, I show up in time to hang out a little bit and meet some of the bar staff - especially the guys working the door, so they don't keep bugging me during load-in - before setup and soundcheck, maybe like 30min - 1 hour. If the place serves food, I'm there earlier, lol. I pride myself on how quickly I can pack and bail afterwards, though.

Back in my drinking days, I'd show up to the bar as soon as it opened and would immediately start with my Jim Beam/PBR combo. Woof, those days were rough - band members would show up and ask each other, "So how long has he been here?", knowing that that corresponded directly to how well I'd be able to play. Don't get wasted before getting on a stage, kiddos!

 

[dan1952]

Many years ago, when I was much younger, I enjoyed the process so much that I would go for the longest day possible. Now I want to get in, get set up, huddle backstage with the other players for 10-15 minutes, play the gig, 15 minutes to tear down and load up, see you later alligator!

 

[ArtechnikA]

I prefer to be methodical and hate being rushed setting up the PA, because it takes twice as long finding and fixing a problem if you overlooked something - and it seems like 4 times as long because everybody is waiting, staring, and asking "why isn't it working?..."
I can do it all in hour but it feels rushed, 1.5 for everything is good, and 2 is luxurious. (The PA is a little more complicated than it could be, with 3 1kW powered towers, mixer, and 4 powered monitors in its full 'big room' glory, which we rarely use.) Breakdown is fast because I just stuff all the cables in a big bin and sort and wrap them the next day.

 

[JGbassman]

Years ago I played with a hobby band that did that. I pitched in and helped a few times, until I realized there was only one or two showing up and doing the lions share of moving the pa in. The guitarist owner of the pa was meticulous and it took him forever to get things set up. It was literally four hours before the gig, and I did more standing around than anything. Tear down was equally brutal with them being around until 3 or 4 am.

I did that twice.

After that, I showed up at 8 pm for a 9 pm show. I still got my gear set up and ample time for a line check, as the band didn't want to play an hour before the show...

After wards, I would help for an hour. Needless to say after I heard the whining I told them I didn't have the time they did to waste on a show like that. I only lasted a few more shows before I called it quits. It drove me nuts.

When I toured I didn't touch gear besides my backline, and was up and ready to go in about 15 mins from the time we hit the venue. Sound check when we had one was 10 minutes tops.

These days I get to the club an hour before showtime. Setup of my backline is 20 mins, sound check is ten, so easily 20 minuets left before showtime. Tear down is 45 minutes if we haven't rented a pa and use the bands system.

Anything more is a waste of time.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I load in my gear and the sound equipment except for the mains. The guitar player brings them.
If I hustle, I can have it all set up and checked in 1 1/2 hours. It is up to the guitar player and drummer to get the mains on the poles I have set up and the cables are run and ready to plug in.
I like a little slack time before downbeat, so I show 2 hours before. It takes about 45 minutes to break down and load out. The most time breaking down is coiling all the $%#$# cables. I do it myself, so they are all done correctly.

 

[Altitude]

I'm in and out; I arrive an hour before downbeat and get out ASAP after. I have my rig downsized to 2 car trips and I'm angling for 1 if I get the right single cabinet.

In the 80s and 90s when I began playing out in Austin, the culture was to set up in the mid afternoon, go home and change, and return a half hour before the downbeat. I figured the bar managers didn't like people carrying equipment in while customers were there and most of the 6th Street bars have no rear door. As bad as the traffic is down there now, it must have changed - I can only imagine driving up MOPAC at 4:30 just to drive back down at 8:00.

 

[HeadWind]

One thing on the load out: It doesn't take me long, but I never leave until all the drummer's stuff is loaded up in his car and/or all the PA pieces are loaded up with whomever is hauling them. I figure it's right to share those load-out responsibilities. But that gets done pretty quickly.

Only time it makes sense getting somewhere real early is if you've never played there before.

 

[Altitude]

One thing on the load out: It doesn't take me long, but I never leave until all the drummer's stuff is loaded up in his car and/or all the PA pieces are loaded up with whomever is hauling them. I figure it's right to share those load-out responsibilities. But that gets done pretty quickly.

+1.

 

[Robroy]

One thing on the load out: It doesn't take me long, but I never leave until all the drummer's stuff is loaded up in his car and/or all the PA pieces are loaded up with whomever is hauling them. I figure it's right to share those load-out responsibilities. But that gets done pretty quickly.

Only time it makes sense getting somewhere real early is if you've never played there before.

This is my rule of thumb as well. I say "rule of thumb" because I do make exceptions. Typically it is people who fillyfart around after the stuff is all rounded up and ready to pack into the van/trailer - but are too busy to actually pull the thing up to be loaded. I just say I gotta go and leave at that point.

 

[David Jayne]

Almost all of my gigs involve house PA/sound guy. I roll in one hour before start. In the unusual event we supply PA I will show up earlier if asked, but it's never like what the OP has described. I suppose if you don't gig often you might worry more/leave more time but in my experience things usually go pretty smoothly.

 

[Carl Hillman]

A recent thread about renting vs. owning a PA got me to thinking.

How may of you guys kill most of the day playing a bar gig? I fill in with a few bands that do this. They show up mid afternoon OR EARLIER to set up. They take a reeeeeeeeally long time to set up. They do a reeeeeeeally long sound check. Then they grab something to eat. Then play the gig. Then they take a reeeeeeally long time to tear down and drive home. If the show is an hour drive from the house, they will spend literally FOURTEEN HOURS or so playing a bar gig. (If you're making a hundred bucks you're at around $7.00 an hour.)

Not this guy. I prefer to get to the gig an hour or so before we start. Set up my rig. Grab a burger and get to playing. Even if I am working with a band that brings a PA, I like to get there 7:00 p.m. at the earliest (for a 10:00 p.m. set). Do the dang thing then tear it down and roll out. With an hour drive on each end that's still NINE HOURS. Plenty, if you ask me.

How about you? Are you an all day gig kind of player? Do you just LOVE it so much that you would rather leave for the gig around lunch time? Does the staff have to kick you out at 3 a.m.? Would you rather just hang out all day doing a gig? Or are you more of a hit and run kind of guy (like me)?

I'm not berating you if you like the long day approach. It's more of a curiosity than anything. Reading back through I can see where it looks as though I'm putting you down if you like the all day thing. I couldn't think of a way to word it that eliminates that. But that's not my intent. Just offering up what works for me. You do you.

If you're a freelancer, you've GOT to consider the total turnaround-time-to-pay ratio. That includes the round trip drive, set up, sound check, gig, and load out.

Somebody recently offered me a Saturday gig which sounded good. Then they called three days beforehand and told me there was a two hour rehearsal at noon, a sound check, an hour-and-a-half trio at a different location, then the main show, and a dance set afterward.

With the drive time, it would have ended up being a 16 hour day. It didn't pay like a 16 hour day, so I backed out of the gig and didn't feel unjustified in doing so.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Our usual bar gig has us arriving 1.5-2 hrs before start time. Even this sometimes leaves some unnecessary down time. I am definitely a hit it and quit it kind of gigging guy. i don't want to be there too early, and i rarely stick around long after.

If there's no PA involved, like on some jazz gigs or big band, i arrive about 45 mins before start time.

There's a venue in town with strict rules, requiring you to be there for sound check at like 4 pm for an 8 pm start. They say they don't want the musicians hanging around the room when the audience is coming in(this is a sort listening room bar restaurant.) Makes it a real drag to play there because by start time your energy is drained from sitting around with your bands mates trying to make conversation for multiple hours. Torture to me.