Poll: There is NO STAGE

[acleex38]

Here is a picture of "My Favorite Stage" - 2-3 times/day for 5 days every August, leading a bunch of teenagers in camp singalongs. Temp/humidity sucks, power/lighting sucks - and I'll still take it every time.

 

[SactoBass]

Good quote.
mine is,
"All the world's a stage"
William Shakespeare

It wouldn't surprise me if Neil had Shakespeare's quote in mind when Neil wrote that lyric for Limelight. Neil's insertion of the word "indeed" surely suggests it (as if to say "William was right!")

 

[neddyrow]

I tend to use low, unseeable kidney punches to express myself to people who abuse my space. Sooner or later, that will end up badly.

2. TRY IT!

r/IamVeryBada$$




my advice: be better

 

[Beersurgeon]

It wouldn't surprise me if Neil had Shakespeare's quote in mind when Neil wrote that lyric for Limelight. Neil's insertion of the word "indeed" surely suggests it (as if to say "William was right!")

I would say your thoughts are correct!!

 

[pglaser01]

Worst is during the playoffs (whichever one is on at the time) and games go into overtime....

“Yeah I know it’s 9:30 now but we can’t move the tables till after the game ends”

Awesome....

 

[lfmn16]

A venue that we played at kept doing this to us. I finally said to them, “well, we are booked to play until midnight, and that’s when we’re done, so that means more money for us, so I guess I’m ok with it.” It never happened again.

Good move. If I'm contracted to perform from 9:00 to midnight and can't because of the venue, they either need to shorten my hours or increase my pay. I've had places ask me to start late because there were still people eating. If they want to pay me to sit on my A--, that's OK with me.

 

[bassliner50]

I clearly am not Lady Gaga. A stage is nice but not necessary. The important thing is the opportunity to play.

 

[Pings Bass]

Proper wiring, an actual floor (not dirt or grass), protection from the elements. Those are my minimum requirements to call it a stage. And $$ of course.

 

[turf3]

I'm with whoever said sometimes it would have been better not to have a stage. I remember the half-year residency at a really cool bar near downtown. The stage ran all along one of the two long sides of a long narrow room (the bar was along the other long side). OK, but the problem was the stage was about 6 feet deep max.

Try putting a 16 piece big band (this was during the swing dance revival) on a 6 foot deep stage, all 16 of you strung out in a long line. Yippee!

There was the night the drummer had his car break down and we started playing without him (having left him a space to set up). He showed up about halfway through the first set, and we basically passed his drum kit overhead hand to hand to his spot. Whee!

 

[Slevage]

All my life’s a stage.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

A stage, who needs a stage when you can do this...

 

[Greyvagabond]

Lol. Depends on the group, I guess. Some of the most fun I've had playing is at house shows.

 

[mikeyjm2]

 

[sean_on_bass]

Man you got me all riled up remembering how we went through every stupid drunk engaging while we’re trying to play BS scenario:

- Girl is right beside BL/lead singer talking to him while he is singing. Of course he ignores her. She pouts, stamps her foot, turns to me and yells in my face “Why is he ignoring me?!” I yell back “we’re busy PLAYING MUSIC you idiot!”

- Dude comes up to ask if his buddy can sing a song with us. Mind you *while we are playing a song*. I say no. He launches into how his buddy is a great singer and do I know <some Bro country tune>. I tell him no we don’t know it. Then he’s like “oh c’mon it’s easy blah blah blah”. I tell him doesn’t matter because we don’t know it. He freakin persists- “he’s really good man”. So I say he should get his own gig then. He looked offended but finally walked away, right as the song was ending.

- Girl comes up, at least between songs, and asks if she can sing with us. I tell her to ask the BL but I don’t think so. Then she says she can play the tambourine, where is the tambourine. This is a complete pet peeve of mine, I feel the tambourine is a very powerful instrument and if played badly really trashes a groove. Fortunately we don’t have one and I tell her so: we don’t have a tambourine. Song starts. After the first verse I look back at my rig and she’s rifling through my gig bag looking for a freakin’ tambourine! Of course that’s where my wallet, car keys, and phone are so I get real sore at her and really yell at her to get the F out of my bag and go the F away. “I’m just looking for a tambourine!” “I F’n told you we don’t have one!!” The nerve of some drunks! And she was cute, too. I guess she was used to getting her way, and getting away with that kind of BS.

In my experience even 6” of height creates the separation needed to prevent these kinds of hideous interactions.

I live in RVA and can imagine a few of the venues that this might occur in on a Saturday night(maybe a certain irish pub in shockoe...). No stage or even barrier, encountering gussed up dudes and gals that can't handle their alcohol. Ok, now i get why a stage would be important. That would annoy me to no end.

 

[bdplaid]

there is one place we play occasionally where the stage is about 30" high, but there is no step or ramp to get up to it.

We played a place like this, had a hell of a time getting up onstage, I even fell getting down off it on one break and was helped up by a wonderful patron, then we overheard house staff ridiculing us for that as we loaded out and they cleaned up. That was when the fight started (true).

 

[Sixgunn]

A stage comes secondary

 

[chaosMK]

I dont care much about the stage or venue as long as I can crank my amp.

 

[electracoyote]

I say you tape the stage with your protected space (a la Les Nesman) and warn all others to stay away.

lol

In addition to the Les Nesman approach, maybe a little fake blood to emphasize the point a la Support Your Local Sheriff.

 

[HolmeBass]

I live in RVA and can imagine a few of the venues that this might occur in on a Saturday night(maybe a certain irish pub in shockoe...). No stage or even barrier, encountering gussed up dudes and gals that can't handle their alcohol. Ok, now i get why a stage would be important. That would annoy me to no end.

Ding ding ding! Certain Irish pub in Shockoe is *exactly* where this nonsense occurred!

I’d say I am glad we weren’t the only ones, but actually that is depressing.

 

[electracoyote]

How about when they won't even let you move the tables? This one was right IN FRONT of the bathrooms.

View attachment 3271385

Maybe your guitar player should remove one of those pedal boards? You could get a couple of tables and another musician or two in the space it would free up.

I'm a guitar player who likes his pedals too, but come on man. The accessories departments at my local GC's are jealous.