How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, martthebass said:

Ahhhh...the complexities and beauty of club land in the North.

 

I'd say we do about 70% of our gigs in WMCs now though the differential in 'pay' between them and pubs is not what it was.  Unfortunately there are still a number of the 'bingo comes first' outfits, and I still scratch my head at why they pay out for a band....though a sizable number are now opting to cheaper solo/duo backing track jobs to cut down costs.  While these can be a disappointing gig they have their moments, though Gladis and Wilf rushing off a quarter into the last spot to catch the last bus can be unnerving - I've never understood the rigid set times that put us on too late when this is a factor.  These sort of places seem to be dying on their arses with closures every week and implosions of the committees due to finances/reducing footfall.

 

Conversely some WMCs are still thriving, do less or no bingo type activity and concentrate on good entertainment.  We love these places and try and support as best we can.

What we've found as a similar type of show is that Sunday afternoons are a great time for people of a certain age. Weve now played a few well attended Sun afternoon gigs and it suits everyone from the band to the audience.

Dave

[peteb]

On 16/12/2025 at 19:56, dmccombe7 said:

What we've found as a similar type of show is that Sunday afternoons are a great time for people of a certain age. Weve now played a few well attended Sun afternoon gigs and it suits everyone from the band to the audience.

Dave

 

I've always thought that the Sunday afternoon / teatime gigs made a lot of sense, even before I reached a 'certain age'! 

 

I remember doing a few places back in the 80s, playing to bikers in places like Burnley on a Sunday teatime, and it always made sense, then as it does now. A punter can go out and have a few beers, see a band and still get to bed home at a reasonable time to get up for work on Monday morning. From a muso's point of view, a two hour drive home at eight o'clock is better than driving home at midnight, especially for semi-pros who have work the next morning. 

 

Edited yesterday at 18:41 by peteb

[Muzz]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Here's an example of a club that does it right. One thing they do is allow promoters to puit on gigs in 'the Hall'. In the last few months we've had Focus and Curved Air (not tributes).

I've got five gigs there across three bands next year. It's a brilliant place to play.

Two notes from the above (which looks great, I'd be there quite a lot) - Ozric Tentacles? Are they still going? Blimey Charlie, I'd be tempted.

 

And, of course, my new favourite Sabbath Trib name, Children of the Gravy... 😀

[Muzz]

4 hours ago, Len_derby said:

oh dear, poor old Basschat, the future isn’t looking bright …😂

Still, it's a lot easier to sit at home and post hoohah than actually get dressed and leave the house... 😀

[Stub Mandrel]

26 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Two notes from the above (which looks great, I'd be there quite a lot) - Ozric Tentacles? Are they still going? Blimey Charlie, I'd be tempted.

 

And, of course, my new favourite Sabbath Trib name, Children of the Gravy... 😀

 

Oh yes... I missed the Ozrics

[martthebass]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

What we've found as a similar type of show is that Sunday afternoons are a great time for people of a certain age. Weve now played a few well attended Sun afternoon gigs and it suits everyone from the band to the audience.

Dave

We get the odd Sunday Afternoon Dave but most clubs seem to want us on a Saturday night.

[Stub Mandrel]

I've got loads of Sunday afternoon gigs lined up for '26. They are great - don't interfere with my social life or work!

[12stringbassist]

16 hours ago, Muzz said:

Ahhh, Dobbies...one of those dinosaur venues with a power-mad Conc.Sec. and everything*...you can get a reaction out of the crowd, but with pliers and gritted teeth. For the majority who don't know the place but will know many similar (still), there's total silence** for the bingo but they talk through your first set unless (metaphorically) grabbed by the collar, and the general vibe from the management is 'Why can't you be Matt Munroe? I liked him.'

You got it bang on...

As for the smoke machine, I made it clear that it was NOT to be put on while I was near the stage.

Edited Wednesday at 01:12 by 12stringbassist

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I've got loads of Sunday afternoon gigs lined up for '26. They are great - don't interfere with my social life or work!

My social life is the gigs. You mean there's more to having a Social Life. ? 🤩

Dave 🎅

[dmccombe7]

Looking forward to 2 sold out gigs this weekend.

 

1st at Cambusnethan Club in Wishaw area with 200+ tickets sold. This was actually where i had my wedding reception back in 95. Wife's Aunt was Bar Manageress so we got a great deal.

 

2nd at our Fav venue the famous Rock Club, The Dreadnought in Bathgate that have been booking us every year for past 4 yrs and already booked for next years. Always a great night and always a total party night.

 

Both within 45mins from me so that's a bonus. Got our PA guy doing the hard work at Camby Club and PA is supplied at Dreadnought so no heavy lifting this weekend. Life doesn't get much better than this. 

I tell a lie - i pick up my new car on Sat morning 11am. A lovely Subaru Outback that has more loading space than my Volvo V90. The dealer suggested i take the demonstrator home and load my gear in to make sure 100% that they fit rather than relying on measuring it at the dealers. 

This is one seriously exciting weekend.

Dave 

[tubbybloke68]

Great first show of two this weekend at the lovely Trading Boundaries venue in East Sussex, fairly local for us. Roy and Rob the sound guys are great and always do us proud. Fantastic sound out the GB Spitfire /puma/LFsys Monza set up. Very receptive audience as always, nice not to have to break everything down, just take my basses home . Looking forward to tonight’s one now . 
Happy Christmas everyone! Xx😊

[dmccombe7]

Last nights gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band in Cambusnethan Miners Club. Was sold out with 200+ tickets sold. Not an empty seat in the hall. It was crammed full.

Mostly women in the audience and a mixed age group too. Looked like a few Xmas party groups in.

Dancing from the first song all thru the full show. One pair of dancers dressed for the occasion were literally dancing every song of a 2.5hr show. They were on their feet more than us. 🤩

The atmosphere was literally electric and it makes you feel better and put more into the show. The singer was on top form with his audience participation. Not bad considering he drove there straight from work.

We had so many people chapping our dressing room door to have a chat and thank us for a fantastic night. Was quite over-whelming but still nice to hear.

Sound was incredible from our Sound Engineer And PA guy who is now our new permanent 6th band member.

People that saw us there 2 yrs ago said the sound was much more full this time around and you could hear the difference between backline and full PA use.

Feed back was sensational with many requests for contact details with the venue wanting to book for next Xmas too. Another woman that asked if we would play the club she manages as she was so impressed by the band and the show. This was a club i played back in early 80's. Similar sized Club too. She's adamant she'll have us booked for 2026 and was so complimentary. And she made a point of telling me she was teetotal and sober so that sounds promising. Will see what else comes out of it all.

Tonight at The Dreadnought so hopefully will see the same reaction from the audience tonight. We're already booked in for next Xmas so no worries there. Think this is 4yrs in a row so far we've played the Sat before Xmas.

My usual gear Sandberg MarloweDK - Shure GLXD wireless - Bassist Comp - Handbox WB-100 - BF 212 cab. 

Dave

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Last nights gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band in Cambusnethan Miners Club. Was sold out with 200+ tickets sold. Not an empty seat in the hall. It was crammed full.

Mostly women in the audience and a mixed age group too. Looked like a few Xmas party groups in.

Dancing from the first song all thru the full show. One pair of dancers dressed for the occasion were literally dancing every song of a 2.5hr show. They were on their feet more than us. 🤩

The atmosphere was literally electric and it makes you feel better and put more into the show. The singer was on top form with his audience participation. Not bad considering he drove there straight from work.

We had so many people chapping our dressing room door to have a chat and thank us for a fantastic night. Was quite over-whelming but still nice to hear.

Sound was incredible from our Sound Engineer And PA guy who is now our new permanent 6th band member.

People that saw us there 2 yrs ago said the sound was much more full this time around and you could hear the difference between backline and full PA use.

Feed back was sensational with many requests for contact details with the venue wanting to book for next Xmas too. Another woman that asked if we would play the club she manages as she was so impressed by the band and the show. This was a club i played back in early 80's. Similar sized Club too. She's adamant she'll have us booked for 2026 and was so complimentary. And she made a point of telling me she was teetotal and sober so that sounds promising. Will see what else comes out of it all.

Tonight at The Dreadnought so hopefully will see the same reaction from the audience tonight. We're already booked in for next Xmas so no worries there. Think this is 4yrs in a row so far we've played the Sat before Xmas.

My usual gear Sandberg MarloweDK - Shure GLXD wireless - Bassist Comp - Handbox WB-100 - BF 212 cab. 

Dave

 

You're lucky Dave. Gigs like that for us are far and few in between. 

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

On 16/12/2025 at 17:43, Stub Mandrel said:

I've got loads of Sunday afternoon gigs lined up for '26. They are great - don't interfere with my social life or work!

 

I love outside Sunday afternoon gigs.

 

Daryl

[Norris]

The Plough in Ashby is a tiny pub so we do it "acoustically" to have a smaller footprint. It's also rather fun playing songs a bit differently on the "Rocket Music by Stagg" EUB.

 

 

A few random requests, a few Christmas songs and lots of happy people in the crowd drinking & dancing. In fact it was the busiest we've seen it.

 

 

One more tomorrow, before Xmas

 

Edit to add this photo - AI has turned us into elves 😂

Edited 23 hours ago by Norris

[martthebass]

The last gig before XMas at the Hilltop club in Dronfield for Glam Viva! last night. This is a great club and was packed to the rafters with enthusiastic dancers. I said on here last week that the silly season gigs can be a bit hit and miss but fortunately this was a hit. Booked back for next NYE with the promise of a mid year gig also.

Next Saturday we’re back to pub land, a nice venue we played mid year in Worksop….they’ve asked for some XMas songs so maybe Xmas isnt over band wise just yet.

Edited 4 hours ago by martthebass

[alant]

10 hours ago, Norris said:

The Plough in Ashby is a tiny pub so we do it "acoustically" to have a smaller footprint. It's also rather fun playing songs a bit differently on the "Rocket Music by Stagg" EUB.

 

 

A few random requests, a few Christmas songs and lots of happy people in the crowd drinking & dancing. In fact it was the busiest we've seen it.

 

 

One more tomorrow, before Xmas

 

Edit to add this photo - AI has turned us into elves 😂

Danny makes a good elf!

[Ed_S]

I think I've been fairly lucky with my '25 gigs and had almost forgotten the common reality of being in an originals band; putting in a lot of time, effort and distance only to end up playing to a very select crowd rattling around in quite a big room. Well, 'Mad Friday' was spent 70 miles away doing just that. We were very much reliant on the two home bands bringing a home crowd, but possibly due to the time of year, specific day, general level of circulating illnesses, £7adv/£10door ticket price etc. it just didn't happen. We nipped into another pub on the same stretch of road and that was dead as well, so it wasn't like everyone was just camping out next door. Ho-hum.

 

I've injured my back so the whole thing was a literal pain, but it was fun to slim back the gear to an absolute minimum and see (with a provided house cab) what I could get away with. In the end, it all went in two Mono Vertigos and one Tick bag. Ear protection worked better for being a size larger in the new material they've started making Doc Pro's out of. Footwear was a pair of the wonderfully named Skechers 'Wascana Benen' tac boots. They're refusing to break in and are absolutely eating me alive.

 

RB Vampyre 5 (Streamer LX 5 on the K&M Heli 2 this time) -> Joyo 5GHz bugs -> T21 FlyRig v2 {DI -> PA} -> TC BAM200 -> Hartke 4x10

 

Have to hand it to the TC BAM - it's a great little amp and I'm just glad that I didn't let my dislike of the TE Elf stop me giving it a try.

[Steve_nottm]

On 14/12/2025 at 22:13, Norris said:

Great: we had a fabulous time at the White Hart in Melton, rocked the place out, hot & sweaty.

 

Sad: it's our last gig at the venue because the landlord and landlady are leaving.

 

They can't make the place pay for itself. Sunday evenings always draw a crowd for the entertainment, but they have struggled to get people in on other nights of the week.

 

Anyway we gave them a good send off. I took the smoke machine for a change, which made all the lights look even better. We didn't even keep track of how long we played. The only thing I forgot to do was to take a photo.

Played there many times and it’s a shame it’s closing.  We’re losing too many music venues as they just can’t make it work.

[Norris]

10 hours ago, alant said:

Danny makes a good elf!

If you follow Martin Turner's Menagerie - that photo was taken by Misha 😁

[WalMan]

[Let’s try this in the right place this time]
 

 Good gig last night at a new venue. Drummer won the reconstituted Cannon Trophy, awarded in the past for the person that had the biggest ‘mare on the night. Local gig for me, he lives 45 minutes away, and forgot his cymbals so had a mad dash home and back to get them…he made it back with 10 minutes to spare, at which point we admitted the potential for a late start was averted 🤣

 

FrankenJazz -> Darkglass Anagram -> Darkglass Microtubes -> BigBaby2. Started off with the pad switched in, but it was all a bit lost so turned it off and the whole thing came alive. Had one guitarist (both the other side of the kit) look over and say I was a bit loud but from where I was it sounded fine so left it. 😁

 

Went to a blues jam this afternoon. I’ve been threatening to go for ages but never have before, however I needed to go to get tyres sorted at Kwik Fit, which gave me an excuse to sneak a bass into the car and go down after. Only the house band bass player other than me there so I got called up a few times. Took the Tokai Hard Puncher which sounded nice from a clip I’ve seen on FB. Had someone come up to ask if I was looking for a band, so I may have dropped myself in the c@rp with ‘er indoors by saying maybe 🤦‍♂️

[dmccombe7]

Last gig before Xmas for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band at The Dreadnought in Bathgate was another great night of party fun.

110 advanced ticket sales at £10 a pop and quite a few walk-ins took it up to approx 120. 80/20 split to us on ticket sales so a good nights work if you would even call it that. Its just great fun doing Xmas gigs.

Great feedback from the audience at the end as always in this venue. Its our singers home town and her local at weekends when not gigging.

Fun stories of the night :-

#1. Our singer was in loo at start of the evening and a guy asked if he had seen the band before. He replied yes and that he'd seen them at every gig in this venue. The guy was none the wiser that he was talking to the singer. Wigs, make-up and outfits tends to throw them off the scent a bit.

#2. My wife and singer wife were sitting at a table with very few seats remaining when 2 guys asked if they could take the 2 spare stools at the table and they both said yes and they then asked if it would be ok for them to sit at same table as it was quite busy. While sitting there they then asked if the 2 women had seen the band before and just like the previous funny story they both said yes but elaborated that one was singers wife and the other the bass players wife.

We are already booked in for next year the Sat before Xmas plus a summer gig too.

Fingers a bit tender from Fri nights gig but managed ok without any issues. Tiredness was creeping in during 2nd set but managed to enjoy it all right to the end. 45min drive home and home for 1:15am, coffee and biccy then bed cause i was quite knackered TBH.

Next gig for us is Hogmanay which should be another busy one and then on 3rd Jan up to Dundee for what should be another great one.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas guys.

Until next year all the best.

Dave 🎅

 

  

[thumperbob 2002]

Our male singer couldn’t make the gig on Friday so Laurie our other vocalist sang like a bird for 90 minutes straight. Wish I could do that!

[mep]

@dmccombe7 Your Xmas gigs sound ace. I've never manged to get those sort of festive gigs in my bands, lots of other great ones for sure, but you can't beat a great party gig this time of year. 

[Stub Mandrel]

On selling tickets, seems I missed out on a banger of a gig by my brother's covers band & support on Friday. 110 capacity, the sold 100 tickets at £8 in advance and kept back 10 for the night.

 

They worried about struggling to sell them.