The story: I get an email saying that the X festival would like us to play there, no money but free ticket + some food. We played it a couple of years back and it was fun. Although I am available my wife is working so I'll have the kids that weekend so everything is going to be a bit more complex. The gig is in South wales so I'll be paying to cross the bridge and probably won't be able to stay over , so I won't get to use my free ticket.
Our lead guitarist can't make it but we might be able to get a really good electric fiddle player in as a dep, she knows most of our stuff anyway.
At this point I'm still happy to do the gig.
Then I get an email saying that one of the festival organizers wants to play "two or three" numbers with us on ...tea chest bass.
This is a 45 min slot (it probably incudes the sound check) , it's getting to a point where I have no interest in playing the gig.
I told them that as it's not the full band anyway and my attendance is tricky that weekend how about they do it as a smaller acoustic lineup and I'll sit it out. the others think it will get us brownie points but I just think it's a naff idea that I just can't cooperate with.
I think I'm being fairly diplomatic here ( some I've told about this said "if they said that to me I'd tell them to F#CK @FF!")