I'm posting this in miscellaneous because it seems to concern matters that would fit multiple forum topics and not just one...
Anyway, this isn't about anything really important...
I'm not one for participating in big public holidays, especially ones where large numbers of annoying drunken people are likely to be involved, but over the past several years I've actually had pleasant NYE experiences that were live shows, often @ a place like a VFW hall rather than a standard venue, involving bands that played music people typically will swing dance to. I'm not a dancer myself at all, but I am a huge fan of old-school big band-style swing music, western swing, rockabilly, etc. and the shows I've attended on past New Year's Eves have been very fun... great music, non-annoying crowds, lots of good vibes, sometimes potlucks, etc. Tonight there were a good handful of such events within reasonable distance of home, but the one I chose was one that was announced first, several weeks back... Very reasonable cover charge (especially for early ticket buyers), 20 minute drive from home, a venue I've seen plenty of good similar live acts at before, a band I've seen before and super enjoyed... like what could go wrong??
So I get to the venue almost 15 min. late (i.e., 15 min. after announced band start time), get a good parking spot, but I see that the band is still setting up onstage, so I count myself fortunate to not have missed any of their set. But then I see it --the dreaded headstock of a bass guitar, a solidbody no less...
Now these small swing ensembles are known to have revolving lineups around a core of one or a couple permanent members, and when I've seen this band in the past (and in all videos I've seen of this band), they had an upright bassist. I don't know if their usual current bassist had a prior engagement, or if this was their current upright bassist but whose double bass was currently in the shop, or whatever. But my heart sank and I prepared for the worst, although i still had hope...
Now I play bass guitar and have absolutely nothing against them in particular, but for this style of music (mostly unamplified small band 1930's-style swing, played relatively quietly), a double bass is definitely par for the course. But I am not a gear snob -- I know that it is certainly possible to get a passable bass sound for traditional swing music out of a bass guitar... I don't really care much about the gear used in any context; if a good result can be achieved, that's really all that matters to me. But to get that passable result in this specific situation, certain measures must be taken to ensure that the result occurs --- measures involving string choice, playing technique, tailoring amplifier settings to dial in a suitable tone, fitting the bass sound into the overall band mix, etc. Otherwise, the result will be something that sounds very wrong, if not terrible.
Of course, since I am making this post, you can pretty much guess how it sounded.
I could only endure about two and a half songs before I had to leave. For this style of music, the bass sound is SO vital to making the music sound right overall. It needs to have that pulse, that beat that moves the music and fits in with the drums and the rest of the band. This night, it did not, at all. But it didn't have to be that way, even with a bass guitar. I was willing to give it a chance, and I was certainly hopeful that they would make an effort to make it sound passably OK, given the circumstances... I really wanted them to sound good, as they've sounded fantastic in the past, and I've enjoyed many similar bands at this particular venue before... But in the end, it just sounded like caca, and I had to flee and head home early (my budget for the night was already spent, so no alternative event for me).
Anyway, that's enough of my lamentation... I just wanted to vent, as I was really looking forward for the past few weeks to hearing amazing live music tonight, like at other NYE events of recent years. Tomorrow I will try to find a place that's open for dim sum as consolation...
Anyway, this isn't about anything really important...
I'm not one for participating in big public holidays, especially ones where large numbers of annoying drunken people are likely to be involved, but over the past several years I've actually had pleasant NYE experiences that were live shows, often @ a place like a VFW hall rather than a standard venue, involving bands that played music people typically will swing dance to. I'm not a dancer myself at all, but I am a huge fan of old-school big band-style swing music, western swing, rockabilly, etc. and the shows I've attended on past New Year's Eves have been very fun... great music, non-annoying crowds, lots of good vibes, sometimes potlucks, etc. Tonight there were a good handful of such events within reasonable distance of home, but the one I chose was one that was announced first, several weeks back... Very reasonable cover charge (especially for early ticket buyers), 20 minute drive from home, a venue I've seen plenty of good similar live acts at before, a band I've seen before and super enjoyed... like what could go wrong??
So I get to the venue almost 15 min. late (i.e., 15 min. after announced band start time), get a good parking spot, but I see that the band is still setting up onstage, so I count myself fortunate to not have missed any of their set. But then I see it --the dreaded headstock of a bass guitar, a solidbody no less...
Now these small swing ensembles are known to have revolving lineups around a core of one or a couple permanent members, and when I've seen this band in the past (and in all videos I've seen of this band), they had an upright bassist. I don't know if their usual current bassist had a prior engagement, or if this was their current upright bassist but whose double bass was currently in the shop, or whatever. But my heart sank and I prepared for the worst, although i still had hope...
Now I play bass guitar and have absolutely nothing against them in particular, but for this style of music (mostly unamplified small band 1930's-style swing, played relatively quietly), a double bass is definitely par for the course. But I am not a gear snob -- I know that it is certainly possible to get a passable bass sound for traditional swing music out of a bass guitar... I don't really care much about the gear used in any context; if a good result can be achieved, that's really all that matters to me. But to get that passable result in this specific situation, certain measures must be taken to ensure that the result occurs --- measures involving string choice, playing technique, tailoring amplifier settings to dial in a suitable tone, fitting the bass sound into the overall band mix, etc. Otherwise, the result will be something that sounds very wrong, if not terrible.
Of course, since I am making this post, you can pretty much guess how it sounded.
I could only endure about two and a half songs before I had to leave. For this style of music, the bass sound is SO vital to making the music sound right overall. It needs to have that pulse, that beat that moves the music and fits in with the drums and the rest of the band. This night, it did not, at all. But it didn't have to be that way, even with a bass guitar. I was willing to give it a chance, and I was certainly hopeful that they would make an effort to make it sound passably OK, given the circumstances... I really wanted them to sound good, as they've sounded fantastic in the past, and I've enjoyed many similar bands at this particular venue before... But in the end, it just sounded like caca, and I had to flee and head home early (my budget for the night was already spent, so no alternative event for me).
Anyway, that's enough of my lamentation... I just wanted to vent, as I was really looking forward for the past few weeks to hearing amazing live music tonight, like at other NYE events of recent years. Tomorrow I will try to find a place that's open for dim sum as consolation...
