What Is An Ideal Gig For You ?

[Bluewine]

I'm stealing this topic from Dave.

 

What is an ideal gig for you? Within the Bass Chat community we have different levels of experience  age and location differences that can impact what folks think is a great gig.

 

There are some folks and I know some who are what I call " I don't care I just want to play" guys. There's nothing wrong with that,I use to be one of those guys. However at 71 years old I'm not one of those guys anymore. .

 

Share your thoughts. 

 

Thanks

 

Daryl

[Rosie C]

For the last few years I've played in a church band and it really was ideal for me:

* 10am rehearsal, before the gig at 11am, home in time for lunch, no loading in the dark 

* large car park close to the back door for unloading 

* nice people, no drunks

* free coffee and biscuits 

* fabulous acoustics 

 

🙂

 

[kiat]

A big festival that goes brilliantly for the whole band, organisers and punters!

Back to reality, for the pub and function gigs I'm doing...

* a crowd, that nearly fills the place, that dance and with fun banter 

* no gear issues, operational or transport

* bandmates can hear themselves and everyone else without going out ears ringing at the end too much

* we all play really well, we entertain, we sound very good and get compliments

* a few punters effusively  enthusiastically book us for their function and others take our details

* we get paid a bonus (very rare)

 

[Elfrasho]

No matter the size of venue or what music im playing, if the crowd is into it then it's a top gig. 

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Rosie C said:

For the last few years I've played in a church band and it really was ideal for me:

* 10am rehearsal, before the gig at 11am, home in time for lunch, no loading in the dark 

* large car park close to the back door for unloading 

* nice people, no drunks

* free coffee and biscuits 

* fabulous acoustics 

 

🙂

 

 

I would love a gig like that. Unfortunately I need the supplemental income from gigs 

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, kiat said:

A big festival that goes brilliantly for the whole band, organisers and punters!

Back to reality, for the pub and function gigs I'm doing...

* a crowd, that nearly fills the place, that dance and with fun banter 

* no gear issues, operational or transport

* bandmates can hear themselves and everyone else without going out ears ringing at the end too much

* we all play really well, we entertain, we sound very good and get compliments

* a few punters effusively  enthusiastically book us for their function and others take our details

* we get paid a bonus (very rare)

 

 

I think the enthusiastic and engaged crowd is a big one for most of us. For me there's nothing worse than playing to a disinterested crowd.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Elfrasho said:

No matter the size of venue or what music im playing, if the crowd is into it then it's a top gig. 

Agreed. When the crowd is into it a lot of other things don't seem to matter.

 

Daryl

[Rodders]

One of the nicest and most chill gigs I've played is a Sunday afternoon set at a members only club. 
Nice change from midnight/1am finishes. 

[Lozz196]

Ideal gig for me is:

A 45 minute set, as main support to a bigger band

Guaranteed parking at the venue

Some form of backstage/dressing room (not so I can be a pop-star, but just somewhere I can sit down, due to back issues)

Provided back-line (again, not so I can be a star, just so that I have as little to carry as possible cos of said back issues)

Venue has at least a 3 feet high stage (so moshers don`t end up on-stage/knocking me over when they get over- excited)

Two monitors for each band member

Proper sound-check

Bottled water for on stage

 

 

 

 

 

 

[knirirr]

A couple of 45 minute sets to an audience who appreciate some hard bop, ideally in the afternoon so I can get away for a decent dinner and a few beers afterwards (no drinking and playing!). 
Some pay is nice but the top requirement is that the venue staff appreciate the musicians and we don't have any hassle about load in/out, some refreshments etc. etc.
Playing at the Rose & Crown in Oxford is good, but they don't have many openings. 
 

[SumOne]

I've played a couple of small outdoor festivals and they usually lack the energy and audience connection of a more tightly packed indoor venue (ideally I'd like 100 club on a busy night sort of thing, I expect most people would prefer to have seen bands like The Who, the Clash, Sex Pistols, Oasis etc. there than a stadium), so I don't think a massive crowd is necessarily on my wish list - but need a good up for it crowd is needed. Anything else is a bonus for the mundane stuff (good sound, easy access, not too far to travel, free food/drinks). 

[Bluewine]

19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Ideal gig for me is:

A 45 minute set, as main support to a bigger band

Guaranteed parking at the venue

Some form of backstage/dressing room (not so I can be a pop-star, but just somewhere I can sit down, due to back issues)

Provided back-line (again, not so I can be a star, just so that I have as little to carry as possible cos of said back issues)

Venue has at least a 3 feet high stage (so moshers don`t end up on-stage/knocking me over when they get over- excited)

Two monitors for each band member

Proper sound-check

Bottled water for on stage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have one of those coming up in September.  I'm not sure I'll get two monitors. 

 

Daryl

[MacDaddy]

A dressing room full of hookers and a mountain of coke.

 

As everyone else has said, if the audience are into it.

[HeadlessBassist]

Looking good for 71, Daryl! 🙄

 

I would also say it's the audience. When you have an audience, large or small, who are all up and dancing all night, you know you've cracked it. Their enthusiasm bleeds onto the band, which makes us play better and punchier. 

Edited 5 hours ago by HeadlessBassist

[christhammer666]

great topic

 

for me, an indoor all day doom/stoner/sludge festival type thing. set around halfway through the day so i have time to have a few (lots) of beers and catch up with some friends and bands.

play a set and sway around like a drunken tramp without missing a note and then see the rest of the day out watching the others bands,selling merch while people comment on our band and ask about what gear used etc.

 

this comment have made me realise how much i miss it

[Woodinblack]

An outdoor 1 hour gig in the afternoon sun with a PA designed for the job that someone else set up less than an hour from home.

Or a normal pub gig but starting at 7 instead of 9 with a responsive crowd

[Newfoundfreedom]

19 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

An outdoor 1 hour gig in the afternoon sun with a PA designed for the job that someone else set up less than an hour from home.

 

Throw in a BBQ and absolutely this!

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

I've played a couple of small outdoor festivals and they usually lack the energy and audience connection of a more tightly packed indoor venue (ideally I'd like 100 club on a busy night sort of thing, I expect most people would prefer to have seen bands like The Who, the Clash, Sex Pistols, Oasis etc. there than a stadium), so I don't think a massive crowd is necessarily on my wish list - but need a good up for it crowd is needed. Anything else is a bonus for the mundane stuff (good sound, easy access, not too far to travel, free food/drinks). 

Def, packed 100 Club gigs are great, really good atmosphere in there.

[Mrbigstuff]

Playing a 30 min set with jamiroquai at a French Riviera or Amalfi Coast private pool party with unlimited food and drink included, and unlimited dips in the pool. I would probably do it for free but a hefty cheque would also be nice.

[gjones]

Well I've played some large gigs, to large crowds, all who have paid for tickets to see us. The bass amp will be provided (usually an Ampeg with an 8x10). we're treated very professionally by the stage crew and we're usually paid reasonably well. The audiences are usually, civilised, appreciative and receptive, which is good. I like those gigs a lot.

 

On the other hand, I've played some fabulous gigs in, sweaty dives, to a drunken rabble, at 3 in the morning.......  and I really liked those as well.

 

I think the best gigs are the ones were the crowd is great, the band is rockin' and the onstage sound is excellent. You can't beat that.

Edited 3 hours ago by gjones

[chris_b]

An ideal gig?

 

One where the band (and especially me) played well and sounded good, the sound crew (if there was one), promoter and the audience went home impressed and happy, and the band got paid and rebooked, and I played with great musicians, especially the drummer.

 

That's happened quite a lot over the years.

Edited 3 hours ago by chris_b

[Hellzero]

An ideal gig is one where I don't play...

[Cat Burrito]

I do two very different types of gigs so I'm going to give two different answers (assume playing well is a given) - 

 

Local - Good crowd, getting paid so we can invest back into the band, happy for us to do the sound (unless there is an engineer who is used to bands that don't just do the traditional formats), not going to bed too late. 

 

National / International - No big egos from other bands / promoter / my band(!) etc, decent stage / sound, proper rider that follows the simple instructions (although I am a professional so I rise above it!), decent crowd, shift a load of merchandise, quiet hotel. 

 

I must confess that since hitting 50 a couple of years back, I am deliberately doing more of the former as the later seems to struggle ticking some of those boxes! I'm definitely more selective with age. 

[mep]

I've had plenty of my ideal gigs back in the day when I was in my mid 20's and lived in Hong Kong and gigged a lot on the ex-pat scene

 

PA & back-line provided, so only needed to carry my gig bag.

A busy pub with an appreciative audience who wanted a good time.

Free alcohol all night for the band.

Decent pay.

Spending my gig money in my favorite bar afterwards, usually accompanied by our drummer. The sort with Filipino dancers where you buy them expensive soft drinks for the pleasure of their company.

Enough left for a taxi home. For just me in case you were wondering about the above.

 

I'm now much older and drive to gigs so don't drink or go to any bars afterwards.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by mep

[BassTractor]

Only had two flawed gigs as "bass player", so this is about my classical "career" as a pipe organ player:
An ideal gig is one where I deliver the goods, or better, and afterwards someone comes over and says something along the lines of "I just learned something new about Bach".