Complaining On Stage

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I once saw punk rock legend Lars Frederickson as an audience member to take their coat off his wedge monitor on the front of the stage. He even said please and thank you. 

Does that count?

For a scary looking chap Lars is actually a very nice chap.

[TrypF]

Complaining on stage is an absolute no-no for me, and I'm never going to be endeared to bands who do it when I go to see a show. I know performers can be driven mad by lazy sound engineers, chatty audiences or inattentive band members, but you can't rescue anything by mouthing off. If you have a crap sound, a finger point up or down, followed by a thumbs up to the SE is favourite and, if you have to, a very polite request early in the set. If it's not happening, take it on the chin.

 

The only thing I think is more unprofessional is soundchecking in front of an audience, but that's for another thread I guess.

[dmccombe7]

16 hours ago, TrypF said:

The only thing I think is more unprofessional is soundchecking in front of an audience, but that's for another thread I guess.

Had to do sound checks in front of people at gigs as we had no other option in some venues. The venue doesn't want the band there till 6:30 - 7pm and they open the doors at 7pm. Band starts at 9pm.

The last gig we were there at 5pm and the sound engineer had so many probs with the PA we didn't get a sound check started till 7pm and doors opened at 7pm so people started coming in. We simply did a very quick sound check and ran thru part of a song and altho it wasn't sounding perfect we had to hope the Sound engineer was able to sort any issues out once we started playing.

Played in front of Blue Angels on Sat night. No option but do the soundcheck in front of a full clubhouse as its one of their guys that does the PA. I certainly wasn't gonna say anything that night. Turned out to be quite a good gig and would play for them again.

Dave

Edited November 11, 2021 by dmccombe7

[SteveXFR]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

For a scary looking chap Lars is actually a very nice chap.

 

Like most punks really!

I really want to book a tattoo session with him at his shop in London. Seems like a top bloke.

[TrypF]

9 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Had to do sound checks in front of people at gigs as we had no other option in some venues. The venue doesn't want the band there till 6:30 - 7pm and they open the doors at 7pm. Band starts at 9pm.

The last gig we were there at 5pm and the sound engineer had so many probs with the PA we didn't get a sound check started till 7pm and doors opened at 7pm so people started coming in. We simply did a very quick sound check and ran thru part of a song and altho it wasn't sounding perefect we had to hope the Sound engineer was able to sort any issues out once we started playing.

Played in front of Blue Angels on Sat night. No option but do the soundcheck in front of a full clubhouse as its one of their guys that does the PA. I certainly wasn't gonna say anything that night. Turned out to be quite a good gig and would play for them again.

Dave

I get that entirely, but I've seen too many bands that knew the people were coming in/had come in, didn't give a monkeys (or ackknowledge the people) and still took their time, fannied about and made punters ask the question 'is this the gig?'. I once took a load of people to see a very good funk band (featuring some good friends of mine) who usually did high-end functions but who occasionally put on their own brilliant 'revue' show. I talked them up all the way there and when we got in, they were taking an age to soundcheck, hadn't dressed up and basically treated the whole night like a rehearsal in front of a paying audience. They put in the most half arsed set I've ever seen them do. As you can probably tell, I still haven't quite forgiven them.

[dmccombe7]

Just now, TrypF said:

I get that entirely, but I've seen too many bands that knew the people were coming in/had come in, didn't give a monkeys (or ackknowledge the people) and still took their time, fannied about and made punters ask the question 'is this the gig?'. I once took a load of people to see a very good funk band (featuring some good friends of mine) who usually did high-end functions but who occasionally put on their own brilliant 'revue' show. I talked them up all the way there and when we got in, they were taking an age to soundcheck, hadn't dressed up and basically treated the whole night like a rehearsal in front of a paying audience. They put in the most half arsed set I've ever seen them do. As you can probably tell, I still haven't quite forgiven them.

Have to agree i prefer not seeing a band soundcheck after i'm in. With the Glam band its a full show for us as you can see from my pic.

I always give it as much as i physically can. Someone's paid to see me and they deserve a proper show no matter how bad the sound is on stage you just get on with it and do the best with what you have. An audience probably appreciates a band enjoying a gig even if the sound isn't quite 100%. If the band are into it then its gonna be a good night.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

9 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Like most punks really!

I really want to book a tattoo session with him at his shop in London. Seems like a top bloke.

I'd love a tattoo but i dont like pain so its always put me off. 

Dave

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by dmccombe7

[SteveXFR]

10 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I'd love a tattoo but i dont like pain so its always put me off. 

Dave

 

 

Find a good dot work artist. Most of mine are dot work and it's a much more gentle method of tattooing, so much so that I've dropped off during tattoos before plus I can sit for six hours and it's my butt that gets most uncomfortable!

[bartelby]

It's a nice pain though. 

[Lozz196]

24 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I'd love a tattoo but i dont like pain so its always put me off. 

Dave

 

They don’t hurt that much Dave, ok it’s sort of pain but similar to Steve I’ve nearly dropped off having one. I’m not the toughest skinned individual, (apparently I’m easy to tattoo which means I’m not an armadillo) and I have about 30, if they hurt that much I’d only have the one.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Lozz196

[dmccombe7]

6 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Find a good dot work artist. Most of mine are dot work and it's a much more gentle method of tattooing, so much so that I've dropped off during tattoos before plus I can sit for six hours and it's my butt that gets most uncomfortable!

I had no idea there were different methods. I'll look into that.

Thanks

Dave

[Nail Soup]

6 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I once saw punk rock legend Lars Frederickson as an audience member to take their coat off his wedge monitor on the front of the stage.

Similar case of audience using the stage as personal storage area.....

I saw Robyn Hitchcock recently and a woman marched up to the stage during  break between sets and put her large handbag on the bass players pedal board. 

His face was  picture when he got back on stage!

[Bassfinger]

1 hour ago, bartelby said:

It's a nice pain though. 

Like being spanked? 🤪

[dmccombe7]

42 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Like being spanked? 🤪

Is that part of the experience 

[wateroftyne]

3 hours ago, TrypF said:

The only thing I think is more unprofessional is soundchecking in front of an audience, but that's for another thread I guess.

 

Hate, hate, hate doing it, but sometimes the only alternative is not to do the gig.

[Count Bassy]

On 09/11/2021 at 20:03, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Ha ha. Yeah, I saw that too. I guess that is PJ approved behaviour 😂

I thought it just sounded dire. Mainly due to PJ herself.

[bassbloke]

On 08/11/2021 at 13:51, Lozz196 said:

The other thing that really annoys me is bands complaining “why don’t you all move forwards/come down the front of the stage”. They would, except you’re shyte. Rehearse a bit more and focus on the songs rather than the backstage beers.

This.  Let people enjoy your set however they want, as long as it isn't spoiling things for others.

[bassbloke]

7 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

 

Hate, hate, hate doing it, but sometimes the only alternative is not to do the gig.

I've done plenty of gigs where due to the ridiculous number of bands booked and the tardiness and lack of professionalism of other bands has meant insufficient soundcheck times.

 

In those circumstances, sometimes the most professional thing to do is offer to just do a quick line check before playing.  Guarantee you'll gain a new ally in the soundman and he will try and look after you. 

 

We accepted a last minute gig on Saturday after main support pulled out due to illness.  Headliners turned up late and spent time pissing around at the bar, particularly drummer. 

 

They went onstage to soundcheck and had to cut it short because doors opened. Not a great look. 

[BreadBin]

1 minute ago, bassbloke said:

I've done plenty of gigs where due to the ridiculous number of bands booked and the tardiness and lack of professionalism of other bands has meant insufficient soundcheck times.

 

In those circumstances, sometimes the most professional thing to do is offer to just do a quick line check before playing.  Guarantee you'll gain a new ally in the soundman and he will try and look after you.

Standard festival drill. Set-up, quick line check and the first number is the soundcheck. I've run many a festival stage, tardy bands get their gear moved before they know what is going on! 

[wateroftyne]

23 minutes ago, bassbloke said:

I've done plenty of gigs where due to the ridiculous number of bands booked and the tardiness and lack of professionalism of other bands has meant insufficient soundcheck times.

 

In those circumstances, sometimes the most professional thing to do is offer to just do a quick line check before playing.  Guarantee you'll gain a new ally in the soundman and he will try and look after you. 

 

We accepted a last minute gig on Saturday after main support pulled out due to illness.  Headliners turned up late and spent time pissing around at the bar, particularly drummer. 

 

They went onstage to soundcheck and had to cut it short because doors opened. Not a great look. 

 

Ha ha... I'm very well versed in festival etiquette, thank you. I was referring to those gigs where the audience are already in the room when you arrive 🙂

[bartelby]

17 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I once saw punk rock legend Lars Frederickson as an audience member to take their coat off his wedge monitor on the front of the stage. He even said please and thank you. 

Does that count?

 

I once watched Lars spend 2 hour swearing at his sound guy during a soundcheck, thus using up all three band's soundcheck time. 

My band opened with the Bristol PA company's main man, the legendary Paul Jocelyn, sorting things out during our first song. 

[SteveXFR]

19 minutes ago, bartelby said:

 

I once watched Lars spend 2 hour swearing at his sound guy during a soundcheck, thus using up all three band's soundcheck time. 

My band opened with the Bristol PA company's main man, the legendary Paul Jocelyn, sorting things out during our first song. 

 

When was that? Maybe he's mellowed in his old age.

[bartelby]

19 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

When was that? Maybe he's mellowed in his old age.

 

2005 maybe...

He was a total tosser, to be honest.

[ubit]

14 hours ago, TrypF said:

The only thing I think is more unprofessional is soundchecking in front of an audience, but that's for another thread I guess.

 

 

 

Most of our gigs we sound checked in front of the punters. You are playing in pubs and clubs and people are in already. What choice do you have? It's either sound check in front of them or have no sound check.

[Woodinblack]

3 minutes ago, ubit said:

Most of our gigs we sound checked in front of the punters. You are playing in pubs and clubs and people are in already. What choice do you have? It's either sound check in front of them or have no sound check.

 

Same here - come in, set up, sound check, then have a break and then start the gig. We can't control the people in there, it is a pub, they are open all day. It is in effect for them, still part of the show