Attendance Concerns

[Dad3353]

12 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

He was certainly board (I'll get me coat).

 

Maybe half-cut..? 

[JPJ]

I think we’ve all played the gig to the bar staff and the gig to a rammed out room. My own highlights include travelling 50 miles to play in a remote Northumberland village pub to the bar staff and pub dog because two local lads were having a birthday party in the village hall (at least the dog seemed to like us), and playing to 4,000 Hells Angels in a big top tent on a Thursday night in Stafford.

Locally, live music is often seen as a way of saving failing pubs with the result that you get three or four pubs all offering live music of varying standards within a 1 mile radius. This splits the local audience with reduced numbers all round. Suffice to say that most fail and eventually close or get new management. We’re blessed with a few pubs and clubs with a reputation for good quality live music, and as both of my bands are shall we say ‘niche’, then we prefer to wait for gigs in these venues than take a gig in a dying ‘flat roof pub’ where the meagre audience are not going to appreciate your efforts.

But I think we have a huge role to play in attracting audiences. The prevalence of social media means that marketing/advertising your gig doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Timing your advertising is important too, too early and folk will forget, too late and they will inevitably already have other plans. Also, all band members have to share the workload of marketing as whilst we have many common connections, if we all hit the like and share on our bands posts, we will hit the widest possible audience. Oh and posters, many venues still rely on bands sending posters to advertise inside the venue.  

[police squad]

yep, it happens

I had a Policed gig at a rugby club fun day. They all got plastered and went home, promising to return

Organiser offered us the full fee and to go home. We agreed to do the first set and see if any of them come back.

They didn't, so we gave it our all for the bar staff.

 

And more recently a St. Patrick's day beer fest in Derby this year.# with The U2 Tribe boys

You'd think U2 / St paddy's day were a good match

It was a repurposed warehouse and freezing cold and it was rammed with people

We were due to start at 8.30.

I counted 23 people left but we did the whole set (they said to stop after an hour) but it was my 2nd or 3rd gig and I need the runthrough

Got paid 400 quid each though

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I was in a couple of bands in the ‘90s / early 2000’s who played in the Grey Horse in Kingston ( not Jamaica ). 
I was told by a couple of band mates at various times briefly that it had Legendary name  Musicians who played there .

To me the bar looked okay, but the gig area was like a rundown social club . Most of those legendary musicians are either dead or in care homes.

It meant nothing to me . All we ever experienced there was bad band promotion , dodgy bar managers resulting in a few punters. Yes, we played to the bar staff exclusively as well .  We gave it our all so to speak , treated it like an extra practice session with payment fluctuating to allow for shady managers.

That was the worst . We just took in on the chin and moved on ,and refused to go there again . 

[ricksterphil]

Played a gig in Hinckley to the proverbial 3 men and a dog and I've done gigs where the crowd is standing on the bit of floor that passes as a stage it's so busy. I was in a fairly successful Bowie Tribute band for 5 years and we usually got great crowds, but that's because we were pretty good and it's the draw of Mr Jones himself. I imagine most decent tributes get the same lift in attendance from fans of the original band or artist being tributed. I'm now in a Country Rock band and we get pretty good crowds, including 130 at a ticketed event in Melton Mowbray. Again, we're not too shabby and Country is hot right now in the UK.

 

On Daryl's point, it is soul destroying to play to thin air. I get upset if the venue is full and I don't see heads nodding and feet tapping.  However, as has been said, the show must go on and there's no excuse for not putting in 100% (or for wearing shorts on stage unless you're the drummer 😂)

[petebassist]

13 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Please share any new thoughts on dealing with poor attendance at gigs. I've been dealing with it for years, yet I still struggle with weak attendance. 

 

I know it's part of the job. Take a look at the contrast we've all had to deal with.

 

Daryl

 

 

That's a beautiful venue (the theatre one :-)). The outdoor one though... I'd have to laugh that one off.

I play mostly original music so I'm used to small crowds, which I don't mind if we get an occasional amazing gig.

[cybertect]

3 hours ago, thodrik said:

I was in a band that literally played to a barman, one man and the man's dog. 

We did sell album to the man. We didn't ask if the album was for the dog.

 

I have experienced pretty much this exact scenario! William Morris Club in Wimbledon 1988, and it was 7" single. The dog was well behaved at least.

 

Another time, about ten years later, with a different band, after a couple of pretty successful dates in the autumn, we were booked to play the small room at the Mean Fiddler on 2nd or 3rd January, so everyone was still recovering from New Year.

 

What's more it was a Tuesday night, freakishly cold (something like -7C IIRC) and quite windy to boot.

 

Unsurprisingly, I think we had about three people in the audience. I took a peep into the main room and even the headline act had pulled about ten people in.

 

We were told shortly after that The Fiddler wouldn't be booking us any more because we were not able to get enough people along.

Edited yesterday at 12:39 by cybertect

[MacDaddy]

I've played to a completely empty pub, because even the bar staff fecked off!

[Cliff Edge]

Some years ago I had a gig in a social club in North London. Attendance was practically zero in the hall. There were a few others in an adjacent room watching TV. A large venue opposite was very busy. They had something called Live Aid going on. 

[lurksalot]

11 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

…where we ended up playing to the livestock. 

 

Daryl

been there , ended up depping for the rockaoke , and think I accidentally joined a band …

 

 

 

it’s a fund raiser every couple of years organised by an old school friend , it’s great fun 

[Bluewine]

8 hours ago, ricksterphil said:

Played a gig in Hinckley to the proverbial 3 men and a dog and I've done gigs where the crowd is standing on the bit of floor that passes as a stage it's so busy. I was in a fairly successful Bowie Tribute band for 5 years and we usually got great crowds, but that's because we were pretty good and it's the draw of Mr Jones himself. I imagine most decent tributes get the same lift in attendance from fans of the original band or artist being tributed. I'm now in a Country Rock band and we get pretty good crowds, including 130 at a ticketed event in Melton Mowbray. Again, we're not too shabby and Country is hot right now in the UK.

 

On Daryl's point, it is soul destroying to play to thin air. I get upset if the venue is full and I don't see heads nodding and feet tapping.  However, as has been said, the show must go on and there's no excuse for not putting in 100% (or for wearing shorts on stage unless you're the drummer 😂)

 

I'm a 4 string 60s guy. I could never wear shorts for a gig. And nobody wants to see 71 year old legs. Lol

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

11 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IMO it doesn't matter if you are playing to just the bar staff and half of the other band on the bill or an adoring audience of several thousand. You have to give it everything. If you can't do that then maybe live performance isn't for you.

 

I've played my share of poorly attended gigs, and you never know if one of the two people who aren't venue staff or in one of the other bands is going to be someone important who will open the doors to better gigs, as has also happened to me.

 

I'll give it to the pros that can go from a packed room on a Friday night and emotionally handle playing to an empty room Saturday night.

 

This is an area I need a lot of improvement in.

 

Daryl

[Lozz196]

12 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IMO it doesn't matter if you are playing to just the bar staff and half of the other band on the bill or an adoring audience of several thousand. You have to give it everything. If you can't do that then maybe live performance isn't for you.

 

I've played my share of poorly attended gigs, and you never know if one of the two people who aren't venue staff or in one of the other bands is going to be someone important who will open the doors to better gigs, as has also happened to me.

Agree, every single person who attends the gig, be it few or many, they all deserve the best a band can deliver. 

[Dad3353]

28 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

...I'm a 4 string 60s guy. I could never wear shorts for a gig. And nobody wants to see 71 year old legs...

 

I'd be very pleased to see my own 71-year old legs again.

 

...

 

I'm 75. :-|

[ezbass]

38 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

I could never wear shorts for a gig

You are a man of great taste. I don’t like to see it personally, it just looks wrong to my eyes. I did it once, during covid, for one of those livestream affairs in the middle of summer, never again.

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'm a 4 string 60s guy. I could never wear shorts for a gig. And nobody wants to see 71 year old legs. Lol

 

 

Very sensible. Most people underestimate how bad they look on a stage wearing shorts.

 

I used to gig with a guitarist who had ultra thin, ultra white and hairless pipe cleaner legs. With his rotund torso he looked like a joke in his shorts. It was beyond embarrassing. I've done many stupid things in my life but gigging in shorts was never one of them.

Edited 13 hours ago by chris_b

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'll give it to the pros that can go from a packed room on a Friday night and emotionally handle playing to an empty room Saturday night.

 

 

Depends on the musicians. Obviously a full room is preferable, but I can play easily to an empty room if the band, the drummer and the set are good.

 

Also, if the only person watching is the promoter then you've got to give 110%, to prove that the empty room is not your fault.

[Stub Mandrel]

My worst was a blues/jazz bar. 110 mile round trip. We played to three friends, two bar staff and a couple of locals for a decent fee. They depended on students and term had ended, and live music was the chain's schtick.

 

Worst bit... they had us booked three weekends in a row, the staff loved us and wanted us back and the deal was worth it.

 

But... they recommended us to the chain's venue local to us. Downside access was awful so after 2 gigs we stopped going there.

[Leonard Smalls]

22 hours ago, petebassist said:

Dragonflii in Pontypool

Funnily enough, it was...

However, we had loads when we played the Doll's House just up the road!

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Funnily enough, it was...

However, we had loads when we played the Doll's House just up the road!

 

Dolls House was two-thirds empty when I played it. Had another date booked a few months later, but it had closed by then 😧

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Funnily enough, it was...

However, we had loads when we played the Doll's House just up the road!

 

5 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Dolls House was two-thirds empty when I played it. Had another date booked a few months later, but it had closed by then 😧

Loved the gigs at The Dolls House, great venue, that`s a real shame that it`s closed.

[The fasting showman]

11 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

I'll give it to the pros that can go from a packed room on a Friday night and emotionally handle playing to an empty room Saturday night.

 

This is an area I need a lot of improvement in.

 

Daryl

I was watching a YouTube interview recently ( Questlove and Ad Rock from the Beastie boys) where it was said, it's easier to be booed at by thousands of people than a tiny audience in a small venue. 

I'd agree with this, having been put on a bill on a tour support years ago very early in the evening. The indifference or apathy from the audience can give a band a siege mentality that makes you dig in more. 

Likewise, on a tour support it's possible for you to go down better than you deserve purely down to the size of the event...they must be good as it's a big gig syndrome. 

 

As for small gigs to nobody...that's tough no matter what. I personally think it can look silly to try too hard; sometimes I have found pulling in the punters that ( hopefully) enjoy it, perhaps make it more intimate, make them feel they're eavesdropping at a rehearsal where you'd perhaps play more experimentally than you would have? All bands and situations are unique obviously. 

Yes Daryl, likewise I would love to be able to adapt better.

I think it highlights that the audience is the additional band member that makes it or breaks it.

 

Martin 

[Muzz]

The first warning sign is if the landlord/bar staff tell you when you're loading in 'It's quiet tonight, it must be because (select the excuse of your choice here ) it's just before payday/it was packed for the footy last night/everyone's on holiday/etc', at that point you brace for single-figure crowds. The real kicker is when you empty the place...or the place empties while you're on. You can tell yourself there's lots of reasons, but it still stings.

 

I always cyber-stalk the venue beforehand, and if 90% of their social posts are about the food or the footy, it's gonna be an uphill struggle...one such place was where we played two weeks ago to the singer's girlfriend and one punter (the other dozen or so punters were down the other end of the pub in the pool room), I went and sat with the punter in the second half (the joys of wireless), introduced him to the singer's girlfriend and we asked him if he had any requests (not something we normally tolerate, but we felt obliged because he sat there all night and seemed to be enjoying himself).

 

Couple of weeks before that an even more annoying crowd, 90% of whom who buggered off after the food service had finished, there was one table with the landlord/lady and half a dozen of their friends half way down the long room. We finished most songs to silence, not a clap, and then right at the end when they were all pisht and we said goodnight they were shouting for more encores (and I mean we did three and they wouldn't shut up). I asked them 'Where was all this noise half an hour ago? It was like a morgue in here.' We may not be invited back, but it's definitely no loss.

[Grahambythesea]

Is this an age thing/ type of music problem?

[BigRedX]

9 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Is this an age thing/ type of music problem?

 

How do you mean?