worst....gig....ever

[Tony In Philly]

Sometimes at a particular venue Friday's are Uproarious, and Saturdays are crickets chirping. Or, Vice versa. Maybe next time try and get the alternate night and see if that helps.

Amen to that. Bars are very funny that way.

 

[AKthunderFUNK]

I Play in a band that gigs a lot but 75% of the time its dead(weekdays. crappy places, etc) You have to love playing for playing sake. Technology has ruined the live band thing for the most part, you must keep in mind people in there 20's to 30's don't listen to blues and they are they are the ones that frequent bars. poopie I don't go to bars unless I'm playin or a friend is playin. I love blues but there's no market

 

[Basshappi]

It happens to all of us, just hang in there.

That being said, Tucson is where bands go to die.
I don't know about other cities but here the days of building a following by playing bars is over (country & western might be the exception, maybe.). Look for opportunities to play events like the local music festivals, the county fair, bike rally's, car shows and private parties. Those are the places you are likely to find an audience. Even then the market is tough so you have to bring your "A" game, Every. Single. Time. Network and promote like crazy and don't expect to get paid.

Good Luck.

 

[cycler]

Blues band......yes, I see the problem.

 

[ImNotJoel]

One thing to keep in mind the big thing is DJs so bands of all genre are feeling it. On top of that there are still a lot of bands just keep networking and keep playing and even if there's one guy deliver a good show.

Keep in mind it's not always about numbers sometimes it's about just entertaining the right person.

At a gig with about ten people a vegan cafe and we were playing rock covers like Alice in chains I felt so out of place. But it went over well with those ten people and one of them was in charge of booking a festival and we got offered to open for Dave Wiener (Steve Vai's guitarist). Too bad the band didn't hold up to long after that. If you have a solid band of guys who are real musicians not just guys wanting to play blues hero you will be fine. You got the right mind set you're paying dues and it's even harder with open mics and DJs.

Best of luck

 

[tmdazed]

So my blues band was booked to play at a sports bar Friday night. This is the third time we played there. First time it was memorial day weekend and turnout wasn't amazing. We chalked it up to everybody trying to get out of town for the weekend. Second time we had some people show up but it wasn't amazing. Third time nada, zip, zilch. There were a couple people but we were pretty much keeping the bartenders entertained. I don't think we will be called back again. I don't blame them. I check facebook and the following night another band has the place packed. What a slap in the face!

When we play other places we can get better turnout, but not this place. I can blame extenuating circumstances, there was a major blues concert going on that night, but I feel it's a failure on our part. We are weekend warriors. We play on average twice a month. I think we got the goods but what does it take to get people to show up? We have been on the scene for less than a year and I know it takes time to build a following but Friday was totally discouraging. We promote on facebook and limited paper flyers but what else does it take? I keep telling myself we are paying dues right now but I keep thinking there should be a better way to get people to show up. Tucson Arizona is a tough scene. I set my expectations low and it was even worse than that.

I know it's a hard road but how do you kind folks build a following and get people to show up? Right now I think talent is only 50 percent of the equation. I see absolutely horrible bands who can pack the place. What do they got?

we have played to ten person house parties and to bar rooms with 600 people in them , you build your following like you build a brick wall , one at a time. talk to other bands on the bill , work the crowd between sets , talk to people and put a product out there people like

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

This title is a little too drastic imo. It is a bummer for sure but, show biz it is. All good recommendations above to fix the situation.

Once we had a show that we were more people on the stage than the crowd! Basically it was the gf of one of us, her friend, the bartender and the sound guy. People die on stage, that's what I can consider the "worst gig ever"

 

[Pacman]

My band got mortared at a gig once. That was pretty bad.

 

[mysteryclock]

My band got mortared at a gig once. That was pretty bad.

You win! Glad you're still here!!