Slummin in St. Lou (p-lo's 3 Gig Weekend)

[p-lo]

EDIT: Sorry the pics are so big I will try to fix that. (Ok think they are fixed now)

Three gigs this past weekend for me. It has been far too long since I posted, and I took a bunch of pictures, so here is my minor league version of a @BassCliff style report.

Friday 10/5 was with the Meramec Valley Misfits at Odell's Irish Pub in Eureka which is about 30 miles Southwest of St. Louis. We play this gig the 1st Friday of every month from 8:30-11:30 p.m.

Bass, pedal board, cable box, stand and fan is all I need for this one.

Set list for the evening.

Loaded and ready to go.

I forgot to take a picture outside the venue so grabbed this one online.

There are two long narrow rooms separated by a bar. We play in the front window.

None of us run amps on this gig, very little volume is required. We all go direct into a JBL stick PA.

We need a couple more channels than the JBL has so we supplement with a small board.

There were a few folks ready for some music as we were getting set up.

We normally play this gig as a trio but brought Jason (he's really not that blurry) tonight because we have a gig Sunday we did not have a chance to rehearse for and wanted to get him up to speed on some newer songs. This gig is very low pressure and we use it to introduce new songs, etc. His kit for the evening was a cajon with kick pedal attached, snare, hi-hat and a small crash. He played brushes most of the night.

My pedal board (my Guinness snuck in there too).

2008 MIA Fender Jazz is my workhorse.

Jamie plays acoustic and handles most of the lead vocal.

Kevin (Jamie's Dad) plays electric, 6-string banjo (tuned like a guitar) and mandolin, and handles the rest of the lead vocals.

The place filled up pretty good throughout the night. It can be hit or miss, but the staff always treats us great regardless.

Goofing off with Jason.

Sorry, those last two were the only ones I took once we started playing, we try to keep the pace up once we start. We crammed 44 of the 48 songs we had on our list into the 3 hours with a break in the middle.

We don't get fed at this one so no food pics (sorry @dbase), but we all have a few beers and have never been asked to pay a bar tab. I'll be back with the rest of my weekend in the next post.

 

[p-lo]

Gig #2 of the weekend was supposed to be 12-4 for a block party on a trailer stage with my old friends that I used to gig with a lot more as Whiskeyfinger. It did not go as planned, but we made it work.

I got some texts Friday night towards the end of my gig that Saturday was in flux. Not only was there rain in the forecast, but the nephew of the person heading up the party was killed when a car pulled out in front of him on his motorcycle that night. Saturday morning I got word around 9 that we were going to play but they were starting the party later because of rain and not bringing the trailer in. We were instead going to set-up under a carport in the neighborhood and only play from 3-5 p.m. This was all complicated by the fact Tim and Scott (front man and guitar in this group) had a duo gig at 6 p.m. They went and set up for that gig prior to coming to the block party. Because of that we ended up borrowing PA for the block party.

Here is the revised invite from Facebook on Saturday morning.

I needed a little more gear today. SVT 2-10 AV and Tone Hammer 500.

Packed up and ready to go again.

Tim is the front man and plays acoustic.

Todd getting his kit set up.

The PA borrowed from our buddy Dan consisted of a couple QSC K-12s as mains and K-10s as monitors along with an old Allen & Heath board.

Scott brought his B or C rig since he had already set up for his later gig. He was still loud.

Scott and I after sweating through our 2-hour set.

Dan ended up convincing me to use his mark bass 2-10 cabinet with my rig as well.

These three told me to use the photo where they were looking at their phones, they didn't like the way they looked in the ones when they were looking at me. Last time we played this gig we were set up out in that street you see in the background.

It was a pretty somber day overall with the unfortunate accident the night before.

This is in the host of the party's basement. Our buddy Dan (who also plays bass and keys) jams with him so his PA we borrowed was a short distance away and I helped Dan get it back to the basement after we were done.

I didn't trouble our host for a photo, just gave him a hug and my condolences. He is a monster drummer who has played around the world. In the past I have been super nervous for this gig for that reason, but with all the circumstances surrounding this year I guess I didn't have time to be nervous.

One last gig for the weekend to come in the next post.

 

[p-lo]

Gig #3 was Sunday afternoon with the Misfits for the St. Louis Bartenders Guild Education Week Kickoff Party from 3-7 p.m. It was being held at Trust in downtown St. Louis. This was definitley the most fun and lucerative gig of the weekend.

I loaded up the car one last time for the weekend. I booked this gig so I grabbed the PA after our gig on Friday night and was arriving early to set up so the other guys could roll in a little later.

A couple pics on the drive.

Parking was a pain in the butt so I pulled in the alley behind the venue to unload. The side door was fairly close to the alley and convenient to where we would be setting up.

From there it was just a short hallway and into the main room right by where we were setting up.

Doors to the main room.

After I unloaded I went to find parking. I had plenty of time so stopped to take some pictures on my way back to the venue. One block south this was the view facing east.

And West.

This is the front entrance to the venue.

The building was a bank originally built in the last 1800s, the Mississippi Valley Trust Company. It has been a lot of things since then. I work close by and until a few years ago it was an advertising agency.

Time to get to work setting up. The room from the back door.

The room from the corner where they had us.

The architecture was pretty amazing.

The view from just inside the front door.

I set up the JBL stick PA and my rig, which I didn't end up using, and waited for the other guys to arrive. I brought it just in case along with a couple speakers to supplement the small PA but we didn't need them. The room was so live we could have gotten loud really easy.

Everybody has arrived and is getting set up.

Here we are all ready to go.

The distributors/vendors sponsoring the event trickled in and got set up.

I'll be back in the next post to close this one out.

 

[p-lo]

This is Noah and Rob, they run Trust and took good care of us all day along with the rest of the staff.

This was one of the featured cocktails of the day. Not something I would normally order, but it was tasty and they were happy to make them for us.

The guests (mostly bartenders, so a great networking opportunity) sampled and mingled and had a good time.

This one is for @dbase

This is Mark who is the chairman of the bartenders guild education committee, along with one of the distributors. I booked the gig through him and he was our host for the day

Some photos of the band that showed up on social media.

We played 3 sets between 3 and 7 with a couple breaks. We were basically background music but we got a good response and a few leads that will hopefully pan out.

I hung out and mingled for long enough to have a cocktail and then tore everything down and got home around 9. When my alarm went off at 6 this morning for the day job it felt like I had just left on Friday and never had a weekend.

 

[JimK]

Good stuff...

 

[growlypants]

Outstanding posts!! (Folks, we may have a BassCliff competitor here!!) Nice looking JBL PA ya' got there, by the way. I hadn't seen one of those before. (Sorry to hear of the motorcycle incident, also.) Pretty astonishing set list, too. We only used to do 8 or 9 songs a set, way back when...!

 

[p-lo]

Outstanding posts!! (Folks, we may have a BassCliff competitor here!!) Nice looking JBL PA ya' got there, by the way. I hadn't seen one of those before. (Sorry to hear of the motorcycle incident, also.) Pretty astonishing set list, too. We only used to do 8 or 9 songs a set, way back when...!

Thanks!! We went with the JBL PA over a similar Bose system because it had more power and a bigger sub. This band is really about the songs and the vocals, there are some solos, but we don't really extend or jam out any songs. If we played 8 or 9 songs in a set it would probably be over in half an hour.

 

[Wisebass]

Gig #3

Hi p-lo

3 gigs + 3 reports =

Three jumpys!!!

Thanks a lot for sharing!


Wise(b)ass

 

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. @p-lo,

An excellent recap of your exploits over the weekend! Thanks for taking the time to share. I really enjoy low volume gigs where everyone goes direct and amps are not necessary. I'm a bit envious.

I'm sorry to hear the wind was taken out of the sails of your second gig. My condolences to the family. I was playing a gig once where the piano player got a call on our first break saying his father had died while we were playing. There was nothing to be done so he stayed and finished the gig, a block party, but it wasn't quite as fun as it could've been.

Do you always bring a rug with you? I've been thinking about getting one for myself. These old ankles and knees sure do tend to get sore when standing too long on a hard stage.

Downtown St. Louis is a pretty cool place. I haven't been there for decades and I've never been up in the arch but I think I will the next time I visit. I know, I'm such a tourist.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[mikewalker]

Great reviews... and the Misfits set list is an interesting mix!

 

[p-lo]

Hi Mr. @p-lo,

An excellent recap of your exploits over the weekend! Thanks for taking the time to share. I really enjoy low volume gigs where everyone goes direct and amps are not necessary. I'm a bit envious.

I'm sorry to hear the wind was taken out of the sails of your second gig. My condolences to the family. I was playing a gig once where the piano player got a call on our first break saying his father had died while we were playing. There was nothing to be done so he stayed and finished the gig, a block party, but it wasn't quite as fun as it could've been.

Do you always bring a rug with you? I've been thinking about getting one for myself. These old ankles and knees sure do tend to get sore when standing too long on a hard stage.

Downtown St. Louis is a pretty cool place. I haven't been there for decades and I've never been up in the arch but I think I will the next time I visit. I know, I'm such a tourist.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

The gig Saturday really made me appreciate the low volume of most of my gigs. But man I miss playing with those guys, just a great musical connection.

The gentleman who passed was only two years older than me, definitely sad.

I do always bring the rug. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I loan it to a drummer and sometimes it stays in the car if not appropriate. One of those rubbery black pads made for people on their feet all day would probably be better but I would worry about tripping on it when moving around.

Thanks for checking out my gigs.

 

[p-lo]

Great reviews... and the Misfits set list is an interesting mix!

It is quite an eclectic mix. There are 8-10 originals on there and a few songs way more obscure than I have ever played in a cover band. Everything we play has a folk rock/Americana kind of feel regardless of the original. I play more bouncy root 5 lines in this band than I have in all my previous bands combined. Lady Gaga with a banjo is a hoot.

We had a videographer come out Sunday to shoot some footage for a promo video. I'll share it when it's finished.

 

[scuzzy]

Another local! I know these places! Woo-hoo!

Nice work holding down the low end across our wonderful region. Carry on!

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Thank you for sharing! What a great weekend!

 

[pellomoco14]

Another local! I know these places! Woo-hoo!

Nice work holding down the low end across our wonderful region. Carry on!

+1
There has to be at least 5 of us around stl

 

[BassCliff]

Hi!

We had a videographer come out Sunday to shoot some footage for a promo video. I'll share it when it's finished.

Yes, please. Cool!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Ronnie681]

Thats cool thanks for sharing. Looks like a good weekend.

 

[Bassed in NZ]

Man - busy weekend! I occasionally get those too where you have to go back to work for a rest! Loved seeing St. Louis - cool looking place. Appreciate you taking the time to share, and look forward to seeing the video!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Playing for an audience of bartenders. Genius!

 

[Inky13]

Mmmmmmmm.... Guinness!!!