Pretty sure My Gigging Days are Over...

[M-Mittlesteadt]

After 45 years of playing and taking a brief hiatus, I've been working towards playing some light, short, early gigs again. A bunch of my old friends and bandmates (of various bands through the years) got together to play a wedding for one of them over the weekend.

I was only going to play about 4 or 5 songs. I only had to bring one of my basses and it was just to play some ZZ Top, SRV and a couple of loose blues jams. So I brought my 4 string P/J bass. I had a stool to sit on as standing (especially in the 90+ degree heat) was not good for me, But at the last minute a mandolin player took it as a stand for his little amp. The bass player had a nice upright and a killer Rickenbacker 4003S and played through a little Bergantino amp and 110 cab. Of course his URB didn't need much additional volume and his Rick was strung with flats so his tone controls were set flat or very bright with little to no low end dialed in.

My Precision is strung with bright roundwounds and it a very bright sounding bass, so when I first started playing my bass sounded so anemic and irritatingly bright (and I had little chance to dial in anything even remotely tolerable). Ugh. I sounded like total crap through his amp (no FOH support). I had to quickly roll my tone control all the way back, turn down the highs and boost the lows a lot just to get by. I know Berg's are great amps and cabs, but this one totally sucked tonewise (as dialed in anyway).

I was already having a bad day physically, but mentally, after talking with so many old friends and bandmates it was really depressing. 3 of my 4 old bandmates are dying of cancer. Others are are just in really bad shape (far worse than me) so I had nothing complain about (and didn't want to). But it was just so sad. We should have called the impromptu band, the "Rest Home Rockers". My right plucking hand was giving me a hard time with my nerves and tendonitis. My (fingertips were numb and limiting my ability to play). But you know the old saying,.. "The show must go on". I played the tunes and everyone said it sounded great (friends in the crowd and bandmates) but I can only assume everyone is deaf as well. LOL.

I've spent the past couple of days contemplating what to do. I can't see myself playing an entire gig at this point. I'm still not convinced I can't play and I'm not giving up without giving it everything I have. The drummer's whole body is riddled with cancer and he was actually inspiring as he said he was going to keep playing drums until someone pulls him off his stool. If he ain't quitting I'm sure not going to.

But unless the perfect situation and opportunity presents itself, I'm pretty much done gigging. This entire last weekend should have been a very good time, but it was just plain depressing and I'm still having a hard time dealing with it.

Vent/rant over.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Sad to hear from anyone that they have to make the decision to give up something they love.

I'm getting to the point where I no longer want to haul all the gear necessary for even our small 3 pc. I'm the one with the majority of the workload because I bought and own our PA and lights. Lots to consider. A full time sound person would be great but there's issues to consider with that too.

Maybe after reading your post I realize I CAN still do it at 60 so I should to stay active. Somehow that both does and doesn't make sense at the same time.

Best of luck finding a way to make things work for you and your situation.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Right there with ya friend.
I had the the exact same realization about 5 years ago. Still have the desire, but no longer able to realize that desire. My run lasted about 45 years too.
All things must pass. But its a bitter pill to swallow.
On the sunny side, I've also got a group of old friends that are either retired from gigging, or close to it. We get together on occasion and play for the joy of it. It helps.
We take looong breaks.
"Rest Home Rockers" is a great name. We call ourselves "The Greybeards ".

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

Sad to hear from anyone that they have to make the decision to give up something they love.

I'm getting to the point where I no longer want to haul all the gear necessary for even our small 3 pc. I'm the one with the majority of the workload because I bought and own our PA and lights. Lots to consider. A full time sound person would be great but there's issues to consider with that too.

Maybe after reading your post I realize I CAN still do it at 60 so I should to stay active. Somehow that both does and doesn't make sense at the same time.

Best of luck finding a way to make things work for you and your situation.

Yeah. It's going to have to be the ideal situation. My knee is so shot, standing is not really an option any longer. In hindsight I should have brought my 6 string instead as I have more control over the tone on the bass itself, but I can also play everything right in the middle of the neck without having to reach.

I didn't get to sit in until really late in gig with no rehearsal and no opportunity to warm up or get my sound dialed in a bit more before hand. Plus I was pretty much sitting on my ass all afternoon (temp in the 90's and high humidity) which didn't help any. I'm sure the bass player they had used his upright more acoustically and only used the amp to dial in a little extra top end on that. And his Rick (which was really beautiful) was strung with flats so I'm quite sure his amp/cab was perfect for him, but my tone was total garbage (irritating actually) and sounded nothing like when I play through my own Rumble 100. I quickly rolled off the volume on my Jazz pup and the tone control completely while also trying to add a lot of low end on his amp while playing. LOL.

Ideally, if I could find a band that only plays short gigs, (early in the day/evening as this one was) and was more blues oriented, where I can sit and have total control over my sound, I could probably make it work. And sadly, there aren't a lot of musicians in my area to work with (much less wanting to do the same kind of music/gigs) who aren't slowly dying off (literally). Seems like everyone around here is either much younger and/or still stuck in the stale old rock cover band garbage I left behind.

I guess you just never know, so I'm not giving up quite yet.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

Right there with ya friend.
I had the the exact same realization about 5 years ago. Still have the desire, but no longer able to realize that desire. My run lasted about 45 years too.
All things must pass. But its a bitter pill to swallow.
On the sunny side, I've also got a group of old friends that are either retired from gigging, or close to it. We get together on occasion and play for the joy of it. It helps.
We take looong breaks.
"Rest Home Rockers" is a great name. We call ourselves "The Greybeards ".

Thanks. I'd play for free if the right situation came around. Difficult to find many like-minded musicians in the limited pool of them around here. I'm on the shallow end of the pool, and close to the hot tub. LOL.

 

[TheReceder]

I'm sure there's some saying about old musicians... I'm in the same boat.

 

[J Wilson]

Once it became clear to me that . . .

A) I'd got to the point where I DREADED going out there and spending low 4-5 hours in a room with drunk idiots, and . . .

B) The world of music I grew up with worked in and loved had passed on to new things I really didn't like . . .

I walked away.

I still play around the house when the notion strikes me, but everything I loved about it has passed on to a new reality I don't like. I have new interests, have found a whole world out there that could care less about bass, music, etc., and it's fun to find new interests I never had time for when I ate, drank, and slept music.

I very occasionally miss the rush of playing when it really was rolling, but nothing else about that life. Time and taste and the business have moved on, as they will and should, it's just left me and the world I knew. That's completely normal, but it makes me feel like a steam engineer watching the new diesel locomotives roaring by.

And honestly, I am enjoying new things, new interests, and a whole 'nother world that's been out there that I missed. In the back of my mind and at my core, I'll always be a player, can't turn that off, but I'm content I took my shot but stayed at the fair too long.

 

[Wasnex]

It seems like you may be looking for excuses to stop playing. There is no need. If your done, it's no big deal and you should not feel in shame or regret. Play if you want, don't if you don't.

I mostly stopped performing on bass around 2008. I had a good long career, but it was feeling more and more like work. Since then I have done a handful of jobs on bass to help people out. My recollection is playing sub gigs seemed like fun for about 5 minutes; then it started feeling like work again. I could have continued on bass, but I was a lot happier running audio and not having to deal with the interpersonal BS that often goes along with being in a group.

I am retired now. I still pick up a bass almost every day and even manage to learn a bit now and then. I will continue for as long as I can, or until I no longer feel the need. If I had to gig, I still could. But luckily I don't have to.

I had a stool to sit on as standing (especially in the 90+ degree heat) was not good for me, But at the last minute a mandolin player took it as a stand for his little amp.

If the mandolin players needs a stool they should bring one, or find some other option rather taking advantage of your good nature. But if you don't stand up for yourself and say no, it's on you. There is no reason to be a doormat. You don't necessarily have to be rude, but you do have to establish and defend reasonable personal boundaries.

My Precision is strung with bright roundwounds and it a very bright sounding bass, so when I first started playing my bass sounded so anemic and irritatingly bright (and I had little chance to dial in anything even remotely tolerable).

I assume you knew the bass was bright before the gig, so this should not have been a surprise. FYI I fiddle with tone controls for my amp at every gig. This is to adapt the sound to the acoustics and situation. IMHO it should be an expectation that you need to make some sort of adjustment, especially if you are using an unfamiliar bass rig that is dialed in to someone else's instruments and tone goals. However, it's sort of rude to adjust someone else's amp. I would ask first. If they say no, then you deal with it. Rolling off the tone on your bass was the right call IMHO, and it seems totally reasonable. If you want a familiar sound, bring your own rig.

after talking with so many old friends and bandmates it was really depressing. 3 of my 4 old bandmates are dying of cancer. Others are are just in really bad shape (far worse than me) so I had nothing complain about (and didn't want to).

I suspect this is probably the biggest demotivating factor for you. Dealing with loss is a heartbreaking aspect of life that affects everyone who survives long enough. You are not alone in this and I can definitely empathize.

Most people need a social circle to create a sense of belonging and well-being. If you are going to stop playing music, it's probably a good idea to pursue other avenues of social connection. If you decide to keep playing, you probably need to make some new contacts. Do what is right for you.

What's right for me is to noodle on my basses at home.

Good luck.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

Once it became clear to me that . . .

A) I'd got to the point where I DREADED going out there and spending low 4-5 hours in a room with drunk idiots, and . . .

B) The world of music I grew up with worked in and loved had passed on to new things I really didn't like . . .

I walked away.

I still play around the house when the notion strikes me, but everything I loved about it has passed on to a new reality I don't like. I have new interests, have found a whole world out there that could care less about bass, music, etc., and it's fun to find new interests I never had time for when I ate, drank, and slept music.

I very occasionally miss the rush of playing when it really was rolling, but nothing else about that life.

And honestly, I am enjoying new things, new interests, and a whole 'nother world that's been out there that I missed. In the back of my mind and at my core, I'll always be a player, can't turn that off, but I'm content I took my shot but stayed at the fair too long.

I do have a lot of other interests/hobbies like art, writing, and astronomy but none of those really fill the void left without music. I still write and record, but am still feeling a need for that "live" energy of performing for an audience, no matter how small , short or intimate it may be.

Ideally I'd kind of like to do a more blues/jazz "Unplugged" kind of living room vibe gig.

 

[turf3]

Well, maybe it's time to look outside that little rock-and-roll-in-bars-shaped box.

Consider that pretty much every genre of music uses basses.

Jazz (1917 to last week) - I list this as a single thing but there are at least 12 major threads within it; it's not all atonal noodling for hours, no matter how hard the jazz-haters try to portray it as such.
Musical theater
Concert bands
Bluegrass
Country (if you can keep away from rock-and-roll-in-bars-with-hats-and-fake-accents country)
Klezmer
Folk/singer/songwriter (there's also a sort of Venn intersection of this, bluegrass, and traditional country, "Americana")
Norteno/Conjunto, etc.
POLKA!
and I'm sure there's a lot more.

 

[GretschWretch]

I just turned 76 this Sunday past and am wondering when the "use a stool or can't play at all" moment will arrive for me, but I'm not cashing in my chips yet. Like others here have posted, the music I grew up on, learned to play on, and love is largely a thing gone now. The point of light is that I am migrating more and more to "folk" music (loose constructionist). It is mostly small-venue, small band, acoustic music, but it checks all my boxes at present. And the nice thing about folk is that it is more accepting and forgiving of aged players. For pop/rock relics, why are you still touring when you could be drawing Social Security?

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

It seems like you may be looking for excuses to stop playing. There is no need. If your done, it's no big deal and you should not feel in shame or regret. Play if you want, don't if you don't.

Not excuses...just trying to find some kind of niche that works, and around here there are extremely limited opportunities.

I mostly stopped performing on bass around 2008. I had a good long career, but it was feeling more and more like work. Since then I have done a handful of jobs on bass to help people out. My recollection is playing sub gigs seemed like fun for about 5 minutes; then it started feeling like work again. I could have continued on bass, but I was a lot happier running audio and not having to deal with the interpersonal BS that often goes along with being in a group.

I am retired now. I still pick up a bass almost every day and even manage to learn a bit now and then. I will continue for as long as I can, or until I no longer feel the need. If I had to gig, I still could. But luckily I don't have to.

I took a hiatus for the same reason. Aside from the cover scene becoming very boring and tedious, it was feeling more like work. I don't need the money...I'd play for free.

If the mandolin players needs a stool they should bring one, or find some other option rather taking advantage of your good nature. But if you don't stand up for yourself and say no, it's on you. There is no reason to be a doormat. You don't necessarily have to be rude, but you do have to establish and defend reasonable personal boundaries.

The mandolin player had to come from out of town and played most of the gig. I only played 4 tunes very late into the gig. It was an old bandmates wedding but not really a wedding "gig". It wasn't my stool. I just saw it onstage and thought I might be able to use it for a bit.

I assume you knew the bass was bright before the gig, so this should not have been a surprise. FYI I fiddle with tone controls for my amp at every gig. This is to adapt the sound to the acoustics and situation. IMHO it should be an expectation that you need to make some sort of adjustment, especially if you are using an unfamiliar bass rig that is dialed in to someone else's instruments and tone goals. However, it's sort of rude to adjust someone else's amp. I would ask first. If they say no, then you deal with it. Rolling off the tone on your bass was the right call IMHO, and it seems totally reasonable. If you want a familiar sound, bring your own rig.

I wasn't going to bring my small rig for 4 songs and there was a chance I wouldn't even play at all. I didn't even know when or if I'd play, so it was just an impromptu ("Hey, we're gonna have an old friend come up and play a few tunes with us") moment. I told my wife "Well, I guess I'm going up there now." LOL. It was just among friends and old bandmates. Nobody got paid for this gig. I did talk with bass player that played the whole gig, and he told me I could adjust his amp any way I wanted. Otherwise I wouldn't have touched it.

I suspect this is probably the biggest demotivating factor for you. Dealing with loss is a heartbreaking aspect of life that affects everyone who survives long enough. You are not alone in this and I can definitely empathize.

Yes, learning that some old friends are dying, was not exactly cheerful news and left me feeling a bit...mortal? It put a bit of a damper on the day for me.

Most people need a social circle to create a sense of belonging and well-being. If you are going to stop playing music, it's probably a good idea to pursue other avenues of social connection. If you decide to keep playing, you probably need to make some new contacts. Do what is right for you.

I've been trying to make some new musical contacts, but this area is rather devoid of other like-minded musicians and playing with others half my age (or younger) isn't really very appealing to me, nor are most of their choices in music.

What's right for me is to noodle on my basses at home.

Good luck.

Thanks.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

I just turned 76 this Sunday past and am wondering when the "use a stool or can't play at all" moment will arrive for me, but I'm not cashing in my chips yet. Like others here have posted, the music I grew up on, learned to play on, and love is largely a thing gone now. The point of light is that I am migrating more and more to "folk" music (loose constructionist). It is mostly small-venue, small band, acoustic music, but it checks all my boxes at present. And the nice thing about folk is that it is more accepting and forgiving of aged players. For pop/rock relics, why are you still touring when you could be drawing Social Security?

I agree. Ideally I'd like to do more light bluesy/jazz/original acoustic music in kind of an "MTV Unplugged" type of gig format. Coffee Shop/Cafe gigs.

 

[CallMeAl]

Sorry to hear about all those frustrations, and the illnesses of friends. Best wishes to you.

I ended up going on hiatus a few years back, due to second child and work responsibilities piling up. I was so tired of the grind, the rehearsal scheduling, the commuting and so many hours spent on a 1-2 hour gig…

I found a new inspiration in the electric guitar. It’s really refreshing to have a new musical outlet, challenging and stimulating, and something that can be done on my schedule without coordinating with others… my point being there are so many avenues to keep the musical fire alive, without gigging even in the picture. Good luck!

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

I still have some abilities despite some disabilities. I can do anything I want with my fretting hand so no limitation there. My plucking hand is another matter...tendonitis in my right (plucking) elbow and numbness in my fingers at times limits me, but I'm very good at the index finger "Jamerson" kind of approach. I can also do some chordal stuff, finger plucking chords on my 6 string bass using other fingers at times. I'm just not going to be riffing 16th notes at a 100 BPM.

My 6 string helps with limited reach of my fretting hand as I can play almost everything in the middle of the fretboard which means it's literally even a shorter scale than a typical short scale bass.

Other factors are a bad knee so sitting is a must (even if it's just resting on a tall stool). It also means no hauling heavy gear and the heaviest gear I have is a 22 lb. Rumble (which I love). But it also means no stair climbing unless it's limited to a few stairs (and a handrail is a must so no climbing up on stages that do not accommodate).

I love writing and recording, and really interested in playing originals, or redoing covers in my own style on the bass. I'd prefer earlier and shorter gigs in a more controlled and intimate environment without the need for a PA. Perhaps a monitor for vocals. I see a lot of solo acoustic guitar performances as well as small duets/trios in small venues, so I know something like this is very doable.

It's just a matter of the right situation and opportunity to arise. So I'm not giving up. It's not impossible, it's just a matter of being with the right person/people/situation and around here it's quite limited.

 

[Wasnex]

It wasn't my stool. I just saw it onstage and thought I might be able to use it for a bit.
...
I wasn't going to bring my small rig for 4 songs and there was a chance I wouldn't even play at all.

It's clear both of these issues added to your frustration or you wouldn't have mentioned them.

IMHO, only play when you are willing/able to do the work necessary to make it an enjoyable experience. That means if you need a stool, bring stool and if you want your sound, bring your own amp.

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

After 45 years of playing and taking a brief hiatus, I've been working towards playing some light, short, early gigs again. A bunch of my old friends and bandmates (of various bands through the years) got together to play a wedding for one of them over the weekend.

I was only going to play about 4 or 5 songs. I only had to bring one of my basses and it was just to play some ZZ Top, SRV and a couple of loose blues jams. So I brought my 4 string P/J bass. I had a stool to sit on as standing (especially in the 90+ degree heat) was not good for me, But at the last minute a mandolin player took it as a stand for his little amp. The bass player had a nice upright and a killer Rickenbacker 4003S and played through a little Bergantino amp and 110 cab. Of course his URB didn't need much additional volume and his Rick was strung with flats so his tone controls were set flat or very bright with little to no low end dialed in.

My Precision is strung with bright roundwounds and it a very bright sounding bass, so when I first started playing my bass sounded so anemic and irritatingly bright (and I had little chance to dial in anything even remotely tolerable). Ugh. I sounded like total crap through his amp (no FOH support). I had to quickly roll my tone control all the way back, turn down the highs and boost the lows a lot just to get by. I know Berg's are great amps and cabs, but this one totally sucked tonewise (as dialed in anyway).

I was already having a bad day physically, but mentally, after talking with so many old friends and bandmates it was really depressing. 3 of my 4 old bandmates are dying of cancer. Others are are just in really bad shape (far worse than me) so I had nothing complain about (and didn't want to). But it was just so sad. We should have called the impromptu band, the "Rest Home Rockers". My right plucking hand was giving me a hard time with my nerves and tendonitis. My (fingertips were numb and limiting my ability to play). But you know the old saying,.. "The show must go on". I played the tunes and everyone said it sounded great (friends in the crowd and bandmates) but I can only assume everyone is deaf as well. LOL.

I've spent the past couple of days contemplating what to do. I can't see myself playing an entire gig at this point. I'm still not convinced I can't play and I'm not giving up without giving it everything I have. The drummer's whole body is riddled with cancer and he was actually inspiring as he said he was going to keep playing drums until someone pulls him off his stool. If he ain't quitting I'm sure not going to.

But unless the perfect situation and opportunity presents itself, I'm pretty much done gigging. This entire last weekend should have been a very good time, but it was just plain depressing and I'm still having a hard time dealing with it.

Vent/rant over.

You didn't say but the "brief hiatus" was medically-induced? If so, continue to take more of a break and maybe it's too soon to come back to full gigs. Figure out if any, how much you can play before numbness or malady sets in, or makes itself known... or even impossible to ignore. If you don't have symptoms or major ones that don't present until you play, try to figure out what you do (consciously or unconsciously) that brings it on. And then try not to do that. Maybe try a different kind of bass that because it's THAT different makes the physiology different and not triggering the ailments. Maybe acoustic bass guitar. Maybe upright. Maybe short scale bass. Maybe a headless bass like a Steinberger.

Really sucks, and sorry to hear it. I'm thinking about options on how to continue to play, not knowing anything but what you've said.

I had a friend that had a shoulder/back malady, and he had to basically quit upright bass, but was still able to play electric. I could well imagine someone coming from the other side of that, who had trouble playing their electric (the weight, the position, the.... I dunno) and that person switched to acoustic bass guitar or upright or SOMETHING still bass, but which changed up their physiology JUST enough to stop enflaming an active/temporary flare up of a problem that was increasingly triggered by their longtime instrument, but still allowed them to play an instrument.

 

[salmon256]

I was already having a bad day physically, but mentally, after talking with so many old friends and bandmates it was really depressing. 3 of my 4 old bandmates are dying of cancer. Others are are just in really bad shape (far worse than me) so I had nothing complain about (and didn't want to). But it was just so sad. We should have called the impromptu band, the "Rest Home Rockers". My right plucking hand was giving me a hard time with my nerves and tendonitis. My (fingertips were numb and limiting my ability to play). But you know the old saying,.. "The show must go on". I played the tunes and everyone said it sounded great (friends in the crowd and bandmates) but I can only assume everyone is deaf as well. LOL.

I'm so sorry to hear that.
I understand music can evoke powerful emotions us humans are so odd truly. Maybe a genre change? A more simple genre can sometimes be better to play.

I wish you best of luck hope you still play bass for fun at home or maybe play for fun with others. Nothing is ever wrong with a new hobby. Also sometimes starting up again is the hardest part.

However always I say this you follow what is best in your heart and take our info however you like. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.

Also no shame in downsizing or stools. I love Barefaced great small cabs, also tons of blue guys play on stools. It's a norm in bars to be in the corner sitting down and playing on a stool. At the ripe age of 24 I have pelvic issues and shoulder pains if I go fishing and also just being too skinny so a stool somedays is a must for me with back pain.

Best of luck again man. Stay bless.

 

[Altitude]

I love playing out. I also love hanging out with my wife doing fun things on Friday and Saturday nights, and the two aren’t usually compatible. I’ve got loads of friends posting about their gigs every weekend and I do get FOMO for sure. It’s just hard to give up the time.

I’m developing what feels like the beginning of arthritis in the base of both thumbs, especially the left one. Not a surprise as many in my family have had it as they aged. It’s not at the point where it would affect my playing yet, but I do notice it a lot more than I did as few as two years ago, so the future might be challenging.

 

[Pep]

After 45 years of playing and taking a brief hiatus, I've been working towards playing some light, short, early gigs again. A bunch of my old friends and bandmates (of various bands through the years) got together to play a wedding for one of them over the weekend.

I was only going to play about 4 or 5 songs. I only had to bring one of my basses and it was just to play some ZZ Top, SRV and a couple of loose blues jams. So I brought my 4 string P/J bass. I had a stool to sit on as standing (especially in the 90+ degree heat) was not good for me, But at the last minute a mandolin player took it as a stand for his little amp. The bass player had a nice upright and a killer Rickenbacker 4003S and played through a little Bergantino amp and 110 cab. Of course his URB didn't need much additional volume and his Rick was strung with flats so his tone controls were set flat or very bright with little to no low end dialed in.

My Precision is strung with bright roundwounds and it a very bright sounding bass, so when I first started playing my bass sounded so anemic and irritatingly bright (and I had little chance to dial in anything even remotely tolerable). Ugh. I sounded like total crap through his amp (no FOH support). I had to quickly roll my tone control all the way back, turn down the highs and boost the lows a lot just to get by. I know Berg's are great amps and cabs, but this one totally sucked tonewise (as dialed in anyway).

I was already having a bad day physically, but mentally, after talking with so many old friends and bandmates it was really depressing. 3 of my 4 old bandmates are dying of cancer. Others are are just in really bad shape (far worse than me) so I had nothing complain about (and didn't want to). But it was just so sad. We should have called the impromptu band, the "Rest Home Rockers". My right plucking hand was giving me a hard time with my nerves and tendonitis. My (fingertips were numb and limiting my ability to play). But you know the old saying,.. "The show must go on". I played the tunes and everyone said it sounded great (friends in the crowd and bandmates) but I can only assume everyone is deaf as well. LOL.

I've spent the past couple of days contemplating what to do. I can't see myself playing an entire gig at this point. I'm still not convinced I can't play and I'm not giving up without giving it everything I have. The drummer's whole body is riddled with cancer and he was actually inspiring as he said he was going to keep playing drums until someone pulls him off his stool. If he ain't quitting I'm sure not going to.

But unless the perfect situation and opportunity presents itself, I'm pretty much done gigging. This entire last weekend should have been a very good time, but it was just plain depressing and I'm still having a hard time dealing with it.

Vent/rant over.

First of all, don’t quit. Pace yourself. Play a little each day working towards being able to play a complete gig. I’m 76 and still playing (and standing) through 4 sets up to 3 times a week so know you can do it.
Secondly, blame the guy who owned the Bergantino and the cabinet, not the amp. I’ve had 3 of them and not one of them was anemic. They all have plenty of low end.