I'll be doing an outdoor gig next Saturday in Naples, Maine. It will be in the 30's - 40's F. I just ordered those gloves from Orvis.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Outdoor Gigs: How cold is too cold?
- Thread starter lo_freq_geek
- Start date
not outdoors, but years ago, i used to play with a buddy and sometimes some more players in his rented bungalow. my friend was a serious cheapskate, but it was only the night where it was so cold in his place that my fingers weren't moving right that he told me he didn't want to pay for heat. it was 39f in his house, and my fingers just weren't having it. they moved slowly, wouldn't flex all the way, and i finally told him to light the heater or i was out of there, and that would apply to the rest of the winter.
after that, he heated the house to a still-chilly 58 to 60 whenever anyone would jam at his place, but he wasn't happy about it.
after that, he heated the house to a still-chilly 58 to 60 whenever anyone would jam at his place, but he wasn't happy about it.
There's a famous story about Benny Goodman who was a notorious cheapskate. The group were rehearsing at his house in the winter, and it was really cold because Benny wouldn't turn on the heat. Finally someone (the stories vary on who it was) spoke up and said "Benny, it's just awful cold in here." Benny thought about it a second, said "you know, you're right. It's really cold in here", left the room, and came back in a couple minutes wearing a nice thick wool sweater.
When we lived in Masachusetts in an 80 year old house with its original oil burner and floor to ceiling single-pane windows, we would keep the thermostat at 60 in the winter and we'd still go through three or four tanks each winter. All our friends knew not to bother taking off their coats when they came to visit. There were a lot of cups of hot tea consumed in that house.
When we lived in Masachusetts in an 80 year old house with its original oil burner and floor to ceiling single-pane windows, we would keep the thermostat at 60 in the winter and we'd still go through three or four tanks each winter. All our friends knew not to bother taking off their coats when they came to visit. There were a lot of cups of hot tea consumed in that house.
You need to educate your BL. It’s her job to get all these details nailed down. No heating for cold outdoor gigs? No way of staying out of the wet? Then no music. No arguments.
@Pocket Dave
At the end of the gig i see you strapping that device on your back -queing 'Rocketman" and blasting off into the sky!
At the end of the gig i see you strapping that device on your back -queing 'Rocketman" and blasting off into the sky!
I realized a bit late that our October 8 outdoor show would drop to 42F. Instead of ordering nice gloves, I decided to pick up some typical winter gloves and cut off the fingertips. I have skinny fingers that are usually swimming in the normal correct-length adult gloves, and I didn’t want all that extra fabric in the way. But, cutting the tips off of these $10 children’s gloves from Target resulted in a nice snug fit:
I was surprised how much this helped! Here’s a shot of the later, colder set backing up a Blues Brothers tribute. The haze machine constantly blowing cold air nearby wasn’t exactly my friend…
A decent crowd stuck around too. Beautiful autumn day and evening, just colder than I’d like for playing bass.
I was surprised how much this helped! Here’s a shot of the later, colder set backing up a Blues Brothers tribute. The haze machine constantly blowing cold air nearby wasn’t exactly my friend…
A decent crowd stuck around too. Beautiful autumn day and evening, just colder than I’d like for playing bass.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I've decide this year after playing 2 outdoor gigs a week apart that 60 degrees F is my low temperature for comfortably playing without a sweatshirt. 55 is where my fingers get uncomfortable, can still function fairly well, but I'm gonna dress the part. Anything less and these are coming along, which work surprisingly well. They only take about 10 minutes to adjust to, and then become kinda fun...
A bassist I sometimes work with when I'm doing the guitar thing wears this on his fretting hand, regardless of temp. I could see how this would work while using a another thicker one with the finger tips cut out for plucking (really this is just an excuse to play this clip 'cuz he's a badass):
Well, I played outdoors yesterday at a bluegrass jam, wearing a wool sock hat and a canvas windbreaker, felt quite comfortable. Temp. fell from 60 to 55F during the period. Most people were wearing sweatshirts, one guy in shorts with windbreaker. Definitely no winter coats, but here in New England a "winter coat" is very different from what we think of as a "winter coat" in Texas.
Well, the outdoor gig I did on Saturday turned out to be much better than expected. I don't think it got below mid-40's. I put on the Orvis gloves that one of you recommended about halfway through the first set and my fingers were fine. I wore a base layer, jeans, rock t-short, and a thick flannel shirt the whole night and was almost too hot! But for Maine on a late October night, we couldn't have asked for better weather!
Couple of years back we played an outdoor festival in September; 3 sets on Saturday and 3 sets on Sunday.; temp in the mid 90's with high humidity. Three weeks later we played indoor in an unheated historic mill; temp 45 degrees. Oh the joys of the Midwest.
Thump on,
One_Dude
Thump on,
One_Dude
