Kill a whole day playing a bar gig?

[jnuts1]

I will set up my bass rig and my PA in less than half an hour. I am not showing up at some bar to drink or eat before I play. I try to keep my time and expenses to the bare min.

and yes I own a PA even though I don't sing a note. so tired of singers not having them or barely knowing how they work.

 

[Robroy]

1) I ain't driving an hour each way to play a $100/man bar gig - 30 minutes max.

2) We ALWAYS bring the PA, and usually arrive 7pm for a 10pm start time

3) I tear down as fast as humanly possible. Around here at least - the bar wants you out. The employees are cleaned up and leaving within an hour of last call.

So I'm usually there from 7pm - 2:30am, and we're playing 10pm-1:45am.

This hints at why I am kinda serious about the one hour thing. Virtually all gigs are around an hour from my home. And there was one we used to do that only paid $25 per band member. But it was a lot of fun and we were helping out people that needed it, so it was kinda worth it.

 

[jnuts1]

and weddings are a bit different. I will show up way early and leave way late but the pay is about 5x what a bar gig is.......

 

[monsterthompson]

Current gig requires my group to rent a space for our performances. We get a 4 hour rental window for 90 minutes of noise. It forces a quick turnaround. However, I still end up with picking up and dropping off band mates, with maybe a meal before.

I'm worried about our upcoming gig, where we are bringing an extra sound guy to help us set up, but the sound rig he is bringing is bigger and more involved than I'd like. Our tech rehearsals with his PA were longer than I expected. Previous gigs were two passive mains and a powered mixer. This is two powered mains, two passive subs, the crossover and power amp for the subs. The rack housing all the gear is a little big, and it wasn't wired up right when we first plugged it in. Fingers crossed that it hasn't changed since we sorted it. We should be able to plug and play if all is as it should be. If.


Also, this thread proves the old point that musicians don't get paid for the time they play, they get paid for the time to pack-in/out, and rehearse. Those who want to camp out during those hours clearly have nothing better to do, which is fine (but not how I'd spend my time).

 

[two fingers]

and weddings are a bit different. I will show up way early and leave way late but the pay is about 5x what a bar gig is.......

Yeah at $300-500+ I get much more diplomatic.

 

[justjake]

let's say 4 hr. gig , 1 hr. in/ 1 hr. out, plus drive time ( let's say 30 min each way ) = 7 hr. minimum .
if your making $100 per , that's a little better than 14 bucks per hour , then subtract expenses ( gas , etc.)
= man are we under paid ! so it looks like all day affair to me either way.

 

[twinjet]

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.

I will show up for a soundcheck and play my parts, but if everyone else expects an 8-hour day out of me for $100, then they're gonna need to hire a sub. Thankfully, no band I've ever worked with has needed more than 60 minutes for setup and soundcheck beyond our setlist.

 

[bmac314]

I've actually had a few of those gigs as a sub and the band wanted to do a 2 hour last minute rehearsal the day of the gig, pack up and then head straight to the gig.....yea...No.

 

[waveman]

Depends on the gig and other things. Personally, I try to take a day off or at least the afternoon if I am playing a Friday night gig. So in that sense, I can burn a day on a gig, but I have a job that can do that with.

Now to the point:
1. If it is a local gig we frequent, and we have to setup PA, then I get there about an 1 1/2 hours before the gig. This allows me to set my rig up, get something to eat and drink, and then help setup the PA. We usually sound check, then roll into the gig. Sometimes a sound check can be less than 5 minutes, other times longer with our larger PA setup.

2. If it is a local gig, and we don't have to provide PA, I get there 1 1/2 to 1 hour before to get setup before the sound man arrives. I get there earlier if it is some place new or relatively new for us.

3. If it is an out of town gig, yeah a day is burned, and while we do get paid more, and usually lodging is provided, then yeah a day is burned getting there, setup, eat, rest, play...

We do have to setup by 3pm at one of our out of town gigs, but that is the exception, rather than the rule. Depending on the situation, I might or might not go along with that as a normal thing... meaning well paying gigs and fun band to play with.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I'll be leaving home at 6:15, tonight, mainly because there's always construction on I-91 in Springfield, and it can take no time at all or 15 minutes to get through it. Show up at the club at 7:30, everybody pitches in to help the sound guy get the PA up. We play the same 9-10 clubs in the area all time, so it's not like we have to experiment. At 12:30 we down tools and get out as fast as we can. BL may schmooze a bit with the owner (while collecting cash), but generally we're out in 30 minutes or less, and I'll be home by 2. With travel, it can end up being an 8 hour day. Do it all over again tomorrow at another joint, except starting at 8 pm, an experiment by the club, and just fine by me.

Next weekend we have a wedding on Cape Cod, and that will be a long one; 3 1/2 hours each way, afternoon runthrough with the wedding planner, then play from 5-9. They're paying for motel rooms for us that night. (And they're paying almost 4x what we make on a bar gig. We're really not a wedding band, but the groom saw our videos and decided he wanted us anyway )

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I much prefer to give the entire day to a gig. Although given that we have enough gear to fill a C-130 or so it seems we really need the whole day. My rig is relatively simple but keyboards and guitar very much aren't, and of course drums are still only supplied in kit form (pun intended so LAUGH). So it's lucky we don't play bars I guess...

I also like to give the day after a gig to chilling out.

 

[fhm555]

Typical bar job for me these days is two guitars, me, and drums. A couple of vocal mics, powered mixer with two mains and a monitor per singer. Mains on tripods monitors on the floor, mixer on a small table BL brings with. We are wholly self contained, no borrowed chairs or tables. After everything is in drummer gets his basic setup and we just build around him. Setup takes no more than 30 minutes and thanks to an organized BL, we are ready to load out in about 15 minutes.

 

[petrus61]

Get in and get out.

 

[40Hz]

I think familiarity breeds contempt most times. I'd like to show up with a reasonable amount of time in advance for a setup and soundcheck. Once that's done I prefer to vacate the place if it's more than a half hour before you go on. Ask how early before the show they want you back, and then scoot. Take a walk, grab a burger or smoke, scope out the block, hit a bookstore if you're lucky enough to see one close by, or whatever. Then return 15-20 mins before showtime. When done I think it's essential to pack up and load out as quickly as possible.

Most places I've played seem to prefer you get in and out fairly quickly. End of shift, most employees just want to go home. And the club owners want the staff off the clock earlier rather than later since time is money. (Minor point: the female staff have been hit on so many times by the patrons and band members most nights that they usually don't want to get to know anybody by the end of the evening. So spare them all your best opening lines. They've heard them all at least a hundred times before. All of them. So if you really want to impress that exceptionally cute bartender, the best way to do it is: Don't even try. )

Post show, my rule of thumb is unless somebody with influence - like the manager or the owner - specifically asks us to hang, we don't presume on the hospitality of the house. We pack out, collect our money, skip the drink, say our thanks you, leave our business card and current open dates, and get the heck out.

I've found the less you try to act like buddies, and more you come across as competent and trustworthy employees, the more the places tend to ask you back.

Other's experiences may be different than mine. But this is what I've seem most times. There are exceptions to the above. But the number of times I've seen bands turn management off by acting overly familiar with the boss and staff, or hanging out too long afterwards, are too many to for me to count. The number of bands I've seen hurt themselves by acting totally pro, getting in and out fast, and keeping the chit-chat and schmoozing to a minimum after a show is: zero times.

YMMV.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

When we were on the road, we wouldn't even play a gig unless it was for 3-4 nights. There were times when we would pull into town, set up the night before, and be ready to go. One nighters ain't worth it.

 

[Commreman]

Generally an hour before the show starts, max. We generally play larger rooms or casinos that have their own sound reinforcement, or we will hire a separate sound company that knows us. At the end of the night, I break down and am out of the club in one trip like a vapor trail.

 

[Marc valero]

My band shows up 2 hours ahead with PA, takes one hour to setup and sound check, then we eat at the venue or I pack something to eat. If we are running a little late we still have time to setup without rushing too much.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Long hang days are for touring. Local shows it's in/ out.

 

[Nephilymbass]

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.

With the exception of opening for some national acts that want the bands there earlier the majority of our gigs Are 7pm load in for a 9pm start. Load in, backline if possible, get the merch booth setup, then get a bite to eat before doors open. And normally the only band that really gets a proper sound check before the doors is the opening band.

Tonight for example we may not even backline because it's a Friday show and my guitar player has to get off work, go home and loadup, then drive an hour to the town I live in which is where we're playing tonight. So he won't get there by 7. But usually around 8pm for this venue on a Friday.

Now when all of us travel 2 hours to play gigs at the beach once a month we do make more of a trip about it. Typically eat lunch on the way or right before leaving. Load in, eat dinner together, and crash at the singers family's beach house after the show. Then drive back in the morning. Sometimes we eat breakfast together sometimes not just depends on what everyone has going on.

 

[MrLenny1]

Nope. I show up an hour before the gig.
Set up, have a beer and play.
Get paid, pack up and leave in less than an hour.