I Hate Gigging!

[neilray]

Much as I hate to admit it , I prefer the full band rehearsals to actually playing in front of people . Don’t have to wear the monkey suit , or have a three hour ride home at two in the morning having just played to 100 wedding guests who only actually notice you are there 5 minutes before you have to stop playing . 

[Woodinblack]

22 minutes ago, neilray said:

Much as I hate to admit it , I prefer the full band rehearsals to actually playing in front of people . Don’t have to wear the monkey suit , or have a three hour ride home at two in the morning having just played to 100 wedding guests who only actually notice you are there 5 minutes before you have to stop playing . 

 

Maybe the type of gig you do is the problem then? 

[nilorius]

Interesting, how many real gigs have You made? You don't like to watch at people who possibly are not interested in your music playing at gig. The thing could be, that Your band is not progressing needed as much. In reality every gig You play must give You more advantage for the next one, playing (not technicaly) to keep those listeners more interested in Your music. If You like to play, just change something in Your music as You would think someone would like better at next gig. It's not a standart problem, it is "time" and experience.

[bassplayer76]

I love gigging, but avoid playing music I don't like.  I managed to filter out the gigs that really whizzed me off and now I gig regularly but not too much.

I do sympathise though with that feeling of losing the thrill - my advice is to only do gigs that you are proud to be doing and that are well rehearsed.

[Ralf1e]

On 14/07/2019 at 11:47, Deedee said:

That’s a little harsh. There are plenty of ‘retired’ musicians who don’t gig.

I bet you there are plenty of retired musicians who play golf as well. 🤣

[Woodwind]

I don't know how I haven't clocked this thread before.

 

Just had a good delve.

 

Sadly I LOVE gigging 🤣.

But I'm playing my own music. There's a lot that can leave me disappointed after a show, but the act of performing my compositions is life affirming for me.

 

It isn't something I'd ever do, but if I was playing covers in pub or wedding formats I would definitely end up hating it all.

 

 

[Bluewine]

4 hours ago, Woodwind said:

I don't know how I haven't clocked this thread before.

 

Just had a good delve.

 

Sadly I LOVE gigging 🤣.

But I'm playing my own music. There's a lot that can leave me disappointed after a show, but the act of performing my compositions is life affirming for me.

 

It isn't something I'd ever do, but if I was playing covers in pub or wedding formats I would definitely end up hating it all.

 

 

 

 

Woodwind,

 

I've read the posts here. I don't think anyone hates gigging.

 

I think we all struggle with certain aspects of gigging. The only exception would be for those who have a real fear of being on stage. Who hates a well paid 40 minute gig with first class dressing rooms and sound and lights provided ?

 

I struggle with the longer gigs. 3 hours is our limit and even 3 hours are tough for me at my age ( 69 ).

 

I also struggle with places that book bands but don't understand bands or how to treat them.

 

Blue

Edited November 23, 2022 by Bluewine

[oldslapper]

It’s ok to not enjoy gigging.
I have played most genres, in most European countries, in pubs, at weddings, festivals, functions. I’ve been paid well, paid badly and not paid at all.

I enjoy the camaraderie, playing with other musicians, the opportunity to visit interesting places and meet some interesting people. 
But once on stage with an audience and having to perform, I lose all enjoyment. I’m not nervous, I’m diligent and learn my parts (and often others parts), I look good so I’m told, and hold my own with anyone I’m on stage with. 
But I don’t enjoy gigging. 
There’s nothing “wrong” with me, and I get a bit tired of the lack of acceptance that some people don’t like gigging. It’s nothing to do with not having found the right band/people/venue/pay/underpants/

burger relish or whatever. 
 

I accept that probably a majority of musicians here love it…good, I’m glad for you, truly. I hope you get many opportunities to do the thing you love. 
 

Just stop telling people that they should all be the same as you.

 

There. Hope that clears that up (said the pharmacist to the bishop) 

Edited November 23, 2022 by oldslapper

[Lozz196]

I love gigging, love the being on stage bit, but recently have found that I seem to find rehearsals more  overall fun.
 

It’s probably down to not having to hang around for ages both waiting to go on, then afterwards waiting for the other bands to finish before finally packing up & going home.

 

So I suppose it’s more that  what I really like is playing music, whether with an audience or not.

[Bluewine]

52 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

It’s ok to not enjoy gigging.
I have played most genres, in most European countries, in pubs, at weddings, festivals, functions. I’ve been paid well, paid badly and not paid at all.

I enjoy the camaraderie, playing with other musicians, the opportunity to visit interesting places and meet some interesting people. 
But once on stage with an audience and having to perform, I lose all enjoyment. I’m not nervous, I’m diligent and learn my parts (and often others parts), I look good so I’m told, and hold my own with anyone I’m on stage with. 
But I don’t enjoy gigging. 
There’s nothing “wrong” with me, and I get a bit tired of the lack of acceptance that some people don’t like gigging. It’s nothing to do with not having found the right band/people/venue/pay/underpants/

burger relish or whatever. 
 

I accept that probably a majority of musicians here love it…good, I’m glad for you, truly. I hope you get many opportunities to do the thing you love. 
 

Just stop telling people that they should all be the same as you.

 

There. Hope that clears that up (said the pharmacist to the bishop) 

 

 Why not only play with bands that don't gig?

 

Blue

Edited November 23, 2022 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

45 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I love gigging, love the being on stage bit, but recently have found that I seem to find rehearsals more  overall fun.
 

It’s probably down to not having to hang around for ages both waiting to go on, then afterwards waiting for the other bands to finish before finally packing up & going home.

 

So I suppose it’s more that  what I really like is playing music, whether with an audience or not.

 

I don't think any of us enjoy waiting around to go on or waiting for other bands to finish before we can go home.

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

On 18/11/2022 at 06:03, bassplayer76 said:

I love gigging, but avoid playing music I don't like.  I managed to filter out the gigs that really whizzed me off and now I gig regularly but not too much.

I do sympathise though with that feeling of losing the thrill - my advice is to only do gigs that you are proud to be doing and that are well rehearsed.

 

Agreed, no band has to accept all gigs. We probably turn down more gigs than we accept.

 

Blue

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

I struggle with the longer gigs. 3 hours is our limit and even 3 hours are tough for me at my age ( 69 ).

 

It amazes me how long US gigs are. A standard UK pub/club gig is generally expected to be 2 x 45 minutes plus encores, although many bands usually end up doing 45 mins then an hour as standard.

[dmccombe7]

I love a gig where we arrive, set up, sound check and go on in 5 mins. Get the job done, pack up and head home.

Worst part for me is a long drive home. I struggle with anything more than a 2 hr drive home aftaer a 2.5 hr gig wearing all the Glam gear and sweating buckets. I drink 2 litres of water during a gig.

Dave

[chris_b]

45 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Worst part for me is a long drive home. . . .

 

I love driving. I love driving on empty roads and I love driving at night, so driving home after a gig (good or bad) is no big deal for me.

[peteb]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

I love driving. I love driving on empty roads and I love driving at night, so driving home after a gig (good or bad) is no big deal for me.

 

It depends on how tired I am (and motorway closures), but there is something quite satisfying and peaceful about driving home after a successful gig. 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by peteb

[msb]

I’ve been pretty selfish about what gigs I do and with whom I play. I’m retired , and don’t depend on the money. Not that you make a lot playing mid sized rooms. So if I don’t think I’ll have fun , I pass. 
And I tend to like the rooms I play. Generally know the regulars and staff, and am under no illusions in terms of what to expect. 
It’s still good.

[dclaassen]

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

It amazes me how long US gigs are. A standard UK pub/club gig is generally expected to be 2 x 45 minutes plus encores, although many bands usually end up doing 45 mins then an hour as standard.

Yup…we used to regularly play 4x45 mins….some places wanted 5. I much prefer the UK schedule!

[dmccombe7]

7 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

I love driving. I love driving on empty roads and I love driving at night, so driving home after a gig (good or bad) is no big deal for me.

Normally i love driving too but i think its because the Glam gigs take a lot out of me. The heavy wigs and wearing quite thick jackets and platform boots causes me to sweat a lot more than with the punk band and i think its just that i always feel that bit more tired after those gigs. We do have large fans (excuse the pun) at each side of the stage to provide some cooling which is now helping a lot to keep cool. Summer gigs can be hard  work LOL

 

Its fine driving on twisty country roads because you tend to be a lot more focused but when i hit motorways is when i have had that brain drift thing. That's why i limit my drive home to 2hrs after a Glam gig. (approx 100-120 miles which is a fair distance on twisty A roads in Scotland.

To be fair most of my gigs are in and around Scottish Central belt area and approx 1 hrs drive.

Dave

 

[oldslapper]

13 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 Why not only play with bands that don't gig?

 

Blue

I do Blue. Mostly recording for peeps, more remotely these days. Bass, b/vs or guitar (rarely).
I LOVE this part of being a musician. I’m lucky that in a studio I don’t get “red light” nerves, and because of diligent prep tend to get my parts done quickly. 
 

[msb]

Generally three sets that can be from 50-75 minutes. Plus encore. 
 

We generally do the whole night , but many of the kids will have three or four bands split the night. They’re lucky to get beer money doing that …

Edited November 24, 2022 by msb

[TimR]

17 hours ago, oldslapper said:

Just stop telling people that they should all be the same as you.

 

Who is doing that? Practically every post I've seen has been from people saying why they do/don't enjoy gigging? 

[TimR]

I hate rehearsing. Playing tunes over and over again. Pointless. 

 

A gig is worth 1000 rehearsals. If it's rough round the edges you'll learn what you don't know when in front of an audience. You can't replicate that in a practice room. 

 

Practice new tunes in the practice room, get the tunes right then gig. Over rehearsing makes everything stale.

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, TimR said:

I hate rehearsing. Playing tunes over and over again. Pointless. 

 

A gig is worth 1000 rehearsals. If it's rough round the edges you'll learn what you don't know when in front of an audience. You can't replicate that in a practice room. 

 

Practice new tunes in the practice room, get the tunes right then gig. Over rehearsing makes everything stale.

I dont mind rehearsing if its producing good results but agree with everything else you've said.

Gigging makes you perfect things a lot faster.

Punk band i learned songs in 3 weeks and started gigging and i picked up on any mistakes i made and sorted them for the next gig.

Glam band rehearse more often mainly because of personnel changes over its 4 yrs but now we are settled we book a rehearsal every couple of months just to run thru every song we know and keep them all fresh. Obviously learning the Xmas songs and have a rehearsal tonight to tidy them up ready for our next gig on 3rd Dec.

Dave

[Kitsto]

20 hours ago, oldslapper said:

It’s ok to not enjoy gigging.
I have played most genres, in most European countries, in pubs, at weddings, festivals, functions. I’ve been paid well, paid badly and not paid at all.

I enjoy the camaraderie, playing with other musicians, the opportunity to visit interesting places and meet some interesting people. 
But once on stage with an audience and having to perform, I lose all enjoyment. I’m not nervous, I’m diligent and learn my parts (and often others parts), I look good so I’m told, and hold my own with anyone I’m on stage with. 
But I don’t enjoy gigging. 
There’s nothing “wrong” with me, and I get a bit tired of the lack of acceptance that some people don’t like gigging. It’s nothing to do with not having found the right band/people/venue/pay/underpants/

burger relish or whatever. 
 

I accept that probably a majority of musicians here love it…good, I’m glad for you, truly. I hope you get many opportunities to do the thing you love. 
 

Just stop telling people that they should all be the same as you.

 

There. Hope that clears that up (said the pharmacist to the bishop) 

This. I loved learning my parts, rehearsing, enjoyed the band, liked most of the set list but found the actual gig.... boring (admittedly I disliked the setting up, tearing down, travelling and hanging around - but that would have been ok if I'd relished the playing). Wasn't nervous or shy, just bored. This was quite a shock to me. I'd spent most of my life wanting to be in a band then in my late 50s joined one (a good one, better musicians than me) and just didn't enjoy gigging. It was then I started to understand Neil Peart of Rush - he loved the recording and rehearsing but once they got the setlist to a peak of rehearsed perfection he wanted to go home, not go on a 60-date tour. The other two and the crew were quite stunned when it became clear the last gig they did (in 2015) was really going to be the last gig. In my case I had to leave the band temporarily for family reasons... and never went back. Haven't missed it at all. Now play along to Karaoke UK mixes when I like, playing what I like. Yet it was a great covers band, gigged regularly, pleased the crowd, and they gave me a lot of freedom to play the bass lines I wanted. I still don't really understand my reaction to this day.