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The Joys of Playing on a Small Stage

BAbaracus

BAbaracus

Supporting Member
Mar 25, 2011
148
78
Lynnville, IN
#1
Ever played one of those gigs where the stage was so small or crowded that you literally had nowhere to set up? It seemed like one of my old bands was especially talented at finding gigs at places where we could honestly barely fit onto the stage(or maybe it was just that we were so bad that those were the only gigs we could get.) Either way, I found myself perched atop my old peavy combo on several occasions due to lack of space, such as this one at our local American Legion about 5 or 6 years ago.

230758_1017035183904_6906_n.jpg


Anyway, I found this picture and it made me chuckle, so I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences or stories about playing on small, crowded stages that they would like to share.
 
#2
There was one place I played many times where I always had to stand sideways between a ride cymbal stand and one stack of PA speakers.
They have since changed where bands set up so this isn't a problem any more.

There was another place where the neck of my bass always stuck out in front of the singer, on a very small stage with a railing around it.
The singer once hawked up a big gob and spit it right down my fretboard (accidentally), so I used his towel to clean it off.
I don't think they even have bands any more there.
 
#5
There is this little bar in our town where we used to play on occasion and the "stage" was just an area that was sectioned off with tape between some tables that were fixed to the floor and a pool table. I'd say the "stage" area was about 6'x6' or so and we fit drums, guitar, keyboard, a singer, and me perched on my amp once again. It was really pretty comical since we were all pretty big guys anyway. But, that was probably the most enjoyable place we played. The tiny little bar was always packed when we played there, because it was our hometown and all our friends, families, and neighbors would come out. It was really a blast, even with the lack of standing room.
 
#6
In my last band, every place we played was super small. And, most of the time there was 6 of us! The drummer and keyboardist (who also played guitar and sang) took up 98% of the "stages" (if you can call them that). The singer and guitar players usually went out into the crowd but I still had about 12 inches of space.
 
#9
There are six of us and we've got a Hammond B3 rig in the band so stage size is always a consideration. Stages where we don't have enough room are either not considered or, if the event warrants, we specify what size the stage has to be in our rider.
 
#10
We currently play on some unbelievably small stages or set up areas. Fortunately, we are a 3 piece band but there isn't enough room for us let alone a 4 or 5 piece band. What makes it worse is when the dancers are also right up next you our mic stands and the clubs have no place to store our cases.
 
#12
Richland123 said:
We currently play on some unbelievably small stages or set up areas. Fortunately, we are a 3 piece band but there isn't enough room for us let alone a 4 or 5 piece band. What makes it worse is when the dancers are also right up next you our mic stands and the clubs have no place to store our cases.
Click to expand...

We ran into the same problem with a place for our cases at the small bar I mentioned above. We started putting our cases in a cage they had in the back where they kept their extra liquor locked up.
 
#13
We have a semi-regular gig at a bar that has an upstairs and downstairs. If we are upstairs, everything is good. If we are downstairs there is no room for me on "stage". The stage is a raised area for one table that has a railing at the front. So I make sure I can reach the mixer and my bass amp through the railing and I play at the bottom of the stairs or against the back wall.
 
#14
I just played a place that can generously be described as miniscule. There wasn't even room for the keyboardist to get on stage and behind his rig, as it had railing and was slightly raised from the floor. He basically had to scale the railing b/w sets... pretty awesome! I had the same railing on my right, and the ride cymbal as well as singer to my immediate left. Of course, drunk people getting their feet all over my pedals (which had nowhere to go, natch!)... oops, that octaver wasn't supposed to hit there.
 
#15
I don't mind small stages too much, as long as the band members cooperate. I've been running our sound lately, and without fail, the drummer (who just today decided to hang it up) decides that our mics and monitors are too far out front and tries to move everything back.

I like running our sound, but stay out of my way if you want me to do it. Don't attempt to tell me how to do my job, especially if what you're changing doesn't even effect you.

Back on topic, though, small stages stink, but they also mean an intimate gig.
 
#16
Yesterday I played an outdoor party. I expected we'd have a generous amount of space because...outside. I was wrong. We were tucked in a 30 square foot area. We had 3 guitarists, a bassist, and a singer. And we sing on different songs, so we were all shuffling around each other between songs. Luckily the drummer was on a small elevated deck. I was going to join him up there, but between him and our mixer there was no room. Last year I had a similar situation. all six of us, and all our gear were crammed on a 4X8 deck. In the middle of August. In Maryland. Not fun.
 
#18
We play at this pub with no stage, just on the floor. Our singer and guitarist are fine because they have mic stands to put some distance between themselves and the crowd. Me? I constantly have people dancing on my toes, bumping into me, knocking my headstock, shouting "PLAY MY SHARONA!" in my ear, and generally being annoying. Some people are so oblivious they have me backing right up to my amp just so I can keep playing while they obnoxiously dance like idiots in my way. Fun.
 
#19
I hate small stages. I like room to move around, also makes it easier to see the other members and take cues from them. I played a gig last year on a tiny stage, where I needed to squeeze my amp between the wall and my amp do the guitarist could put his amp on top of my cab because there was no room anywhere else (5 piece band).

We ended up playing a very very short set and calling it a night. Though that had probably more to do with the lack of monitors than the size of the stage. We're an originals band, so it's slightly different from most of you guys.
 
#20
Played a show with Kings X and the stage was so tight, my guitarist and singer moved two feet and smacked their head stocks, luckily both guitars were ok....fun show but had no were even to put my backup bass and left it in it's case.
 

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