Poll: There is NO STAGE

[Reedt2000]

It's nice to want things.

At the end of the day, you go where the work is...

Yup this^

I'll be playing on the floor after tables are moved tonight

 

[Fxpmusic]

Some of my favorite gigs have been stageless or on a very short stage at a packed venue with a sweaty crowd getting down...

 

[Lowandfat]

Still quite the fragile flower, I see. Who booked it? The person looking to play for fun and money. What's the big beef? I've seen drunks literally climb a step ladder to interact with us mid song. Part of the job. In the last 2 months alone I have played multiple sold out theaters with full production, to a total list of 3 at Wednesday's open mic hosting slot. Whatcha gonna do? My month in the rotation is January this cycle, and you deal with the dogs the same way you deal with sole opener for Little Feat in front of 19k: Show up with a smile and ready to work, and then play like it's your last gig until they make you stop. The last time I cared about whether or not I was set up on a proper stage was never.

 

[Charlzm]

I won't play places that I know have no lights/sound/stage. We do originals and this type of gig has proven time and again to be useless to us for building/maintaining a following.

 

[SBassman]

A stage comes secondary

View attachment 3271565

Yes. And as you age, this becomes exponentially important.

 

[Lowandfat]

I won't play places that I know have no lights/sound/stage. We do originals and this type of gig has proven time and again to be useless to us for building/maintaining a following.

I agree, but as you know, that is a totally different scene than what the OP is talking about.

 

[somegeezer]

If their money is green, then yes.

A fiver isn't much. Give me some blue at least. Ideally red.

 

[SBassman]

... Starting at 8, you still have a large dinner crowd and a bunch of people who frankly are not there to see live music. They all flee by the third song, leaving you playing for the waiters and your 3 buddies. Then at 11, when people want to watch bands, you're done. ...

This is my gig life these days.

 

[jd-ns]

I find it much worse playing on a big stage with lights/smoke, etc, in front of a small dead crowd than on the floor to a good crowd.

 

[RissKippery]

I prefer no stage. The floor is my friend. More personal. More intimate. More connection to the audience. But I don’t play covers in bars.

 

[theduke1]

We all want a stage, and people in hell want ice water
Rock on
Duke

 

[wmhill]

I do 70 -80 gigs a year, we have a stage for 2 or 3 of those

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

My gig tonight and tomorrow night has no stage.

My gig on New Year's Eve had a stage, but it was so small (even for a 4 piece) I was afraid I was going to fall off the side all night!

 

[lermgalieu]

The existence or non-existence of a stage has literally zero to do with

building/maintaining a following

But attitude certainly does.

 

[bolophonic]

I love playing on the floor. I would say that ~90% of the shows I have played and/or attended have had little to no stage.

 

[JPaulGeddy]

Not having a stage doesn't bother me near as much as having one with a dozen TVs behind it. But a gig's a gig. If you're not enjoying it, don't do it. On a bit of a break m'self.

 

[2cooltoolz]

There are places where you don't expect a stage; poolside at a country club party, for example, but I really, really prefer a stage. We played a venue recently that had been a fairly well-known dinner/dancing place, where the tables were arranged around the stage, show bar style.

A new owner bought it and converted it to a sports bar (what a novel idea! ). I walked in expecting the stage where i had remembered it, but no...it had been torn out and they had cleared out a place aginst the floor to ceiling front windows, on the concrete floor.

It worked out fine; kinda hard to get the sound dialed in, but no big deal.

Prefer a stage.

 

[bobdabilder]

I -cough- don't always get along well with others.

Can't be true.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Host: we need to wait until the people at that table leave, and then we'll move it, and that's the stage.
Me: Who booked this? WHO BOOKED THIS???? HEEEYYYYY!!!! AAAUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!! WHO BOOKED THIS?????
Host: Is there a problem?

I’ve played where not only was there no stage, there was no room for the band. Picture a 5 member band on an ‘6x6’ square. I tried to cheat with one foot out of the square, but it took all of 30 seconds before the owner told me to either get my foot in the square or I was gone. What is worse, this was a 5 night engagement which we completed our obligation. I played with my bass literally perpendicular to the ground.

 

[edro]

There is a lot more stuff in this world to be concerned about rather than festering over lack of a stage... Pay's the same...

True 'perspective' story:
Two buds of mine had a duo thing happening... Damn good old veteran musicians and studio munkys...

They had a gig at a small hole in the wall amongst other holes in the wall 'cool' pubs (specialty food and fancy beers and such) on one city street....

Their stage was a pool table... I ain't kidding at all. They would put a big plywood platform on the table and add extra supports on the corners... I went to hear em and have a beer and fancy pizza, walked in, and thought "you gotta she bittin me... That's a freaking pool table."

I told em on break, I had played a hell of a lot of gigs but never on a damn pool table....