How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Pah, speak for your own band

 

Just the good ones 😎

Dave

[dmccombe7]

23 minutes ago, chaypup said:

How does this set up work better than stacked - What's the science behind it?

I was wondering about that too. I'm no expert on PJB rigs but i think the smaller box also has speakers facing upwards thru the grill part so i'm guessing you hear it better when its on the floor than stacked on the extension cab.

Just guessing tho.

Dave 

[ezbass]

50 minutes ago, chaypup said:

How does this set up work better than stacked - What's the science behind it?

The smaller ‘head’ section has 2 up-firing speakers, which seemed to help with on stage monitoring. That said, when stacked, it’s not exactly very tall, so I suspect that there’s some floor coupling going on too, with this arrangement.

[Norris]

We've done this New Year's Eve Eve gig for a few years now and it's always a sell-out. It's in the small village of Twyford and seems that most of the villagers were there, probably for the excellent buffet!

 

 

 

I'm glad I took the day off as we do it all again tonight...

[Bluewine]

On 29/12/2025 at 12:37, dmccombe7 said:

That's the bit i  don't understand with some bands. If we find a song isn't working or the audience all of a sudden sit down because we started a song then we have a discussion on whether to remove the song or put it on standby. The full band will feel when a song isn't working.

What i find over here is that the Glam bands can be great party night fun but with Blues / rock then a lot of people will be watching and admiring the musicianship rather than as an overall show so its swings and roundabouts really. Its different audiences for different styles.

Dave

 

 

It makes no sense. They can see the audience isn't in to it with no exceptions. Just drop the song.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

On 23/12/2025 at 22:35, Bluewine said:

New Years Eve 

 

Daryl

 

 

TODAY’s THE DAY FOLKS!! Come get your EARLY NYE PARTY started with us at Precinct - Tap & Table!! Doors open at 3:30 and show starts at 4! It fills up fast and seating is limited so don’t be late!

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

It makes no sense. They can see the audience isn't in to it with no exceptions. Just drop the song.

 

Daryl

 

Some songs are inexplicable. I hate playing All Along the Watchtower (as I can't touch Hendrix's random bassline and I feel ours is just a pale imitation) and Simple Man (which repeats three chords forever) - but audiences love them both.

[ezbass]

Just home from the dreaded Hogmanay gig. We have to do this as a 3 piece as our keyboard player always spends NYE with his extended family and fair play to him, I’d rather spend it with them too. Not a terrible gig, always interesting playing with more space in the mix, but I do miss the keyboards. As ever, some idiot insists on trying to speak with you whilst you’re playing, always a request that you can’t/won’t do. However, this was balanced out by a nice guy, who was interested in my bass (he was a guitarist, it turned out) and he looked up my bass, a Maruszczyk, while we were playing. Who says bassists never receive any attention? Anyway, we played OK, although the drummer is really starting to become clumsy (lack of home practise I suspect) and the groove often takes a break in these instances. The thing that gets me is the amount of folk repeatedly going to and from the toilets, with only moments spent in there. Who are they kidding? Perhaps they had bad colds, but I suspect the red nostrils were courtesy of Colombia’s finest marching powder. I’m not a prude, but a little moderation wouldn’t go a miss. Glad it’s over, only 365 days until the next one. At least it was an easy drive home. Rig as per Saturday’s gig earlier in the thread, with the side by side setup, which worked a treat again.

 

 

EDITS: OK, maybe it was because I was tired (I wasn’t) but just read my post to find numerous autocorrects that made it seem that it was me on the illicit substances. ‘Have to’ became autograph () but more amusingly, groove became ‘groom’ . 

Edited 7 hours ago by ezbass

[YellowLedBetterBass]

Just got home from what, in my opinion, was our best gig ever. 2 lots of hour-long sets at an old-timey inner-city pub here in Brum that has outlived the new developments around it. Proper small room crammed to the rafters with paying punters and it was party atmosphere all evening.

 

Played up until about 11.57 and then had a quick break for the ball drop before finishing up our set. Had an absolute blast.

 

Rig was Fender MIM P Bass > Tonex One > DI Box > desk. Footwear was Dune Chelsea Boots which have shredded my feet up but looked the part.

Edited 5 hours ago by YellowLedBetterBass

[MacDaddy]

Just back from my NYE gig. 

Awesome 😎 

Will write more later today.

Happy New Year y'all 😁

[tubbybloke68]

Great fun NYE job , officially my first gig as a full member, been depping for them over the last year here and there . Storrington West Sussex . Appy new year folks! 

[Norris]

"Have you improved?" - one of the stranger questions I've been asked. It turns out he thought we had since he last saw us. Anyway NYE proper (we played last night too) was a great night. The place was rammed, plenty of dancing. Mrs Norris even had a couple more glasses of prosecco than she would normally drink.

 

 

The small stage extension I was on made for an interesting sound.

 

(Photo taken during drum solo)

 

The place had apparently not been as full since covid. Fabulous night, lots of nice comments and compliments.

 

Have a great new year!

[Bluewine]

13 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

TODAY’s THE DAY FOLKS!! Come get your EARLY NYE PARTY started with us at Precinct - Tap & Table!! Doors open at 3:30 and show starts at 4! It fills up fast and seating is limited so don’t be late!

 

 

 

 

I got home at 8:30. It was a good gig. We sounded good ,had a great crowd, good food and the dep drummer was pretty good.

 

Daryl

Edited 10 hours ago by Bluewine

[martthebass]

Last gig of 2025 went to a large WMC, nice and local too! It was a ticket job and fully sold out, we had reservations as flu is still rife but we were happy to see a rammed club full of enthusiastic punters. 3 sets instead of our normal 2 and the obligatory Auld Langs Ayne, we were knackered at the end but it was a cracking night. That’s it for us Glam Lads until the 10th of Jan when we hit the Lion in Cas Vegas.

A happy new year to all youse in the BC gigging fraternity.

[dmccombe7]

8 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

I got home at 8:30. It was a good gig. We sounded good ,had a great crowd, good food and the dep drummer was pretty good.

 

Daryl

Happy New Year Daryl and all the very best for 2026. 

Is that a tip bucket there Daryl and i spotted a $100 bill in there. 😂

Looks like a busy wee night.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Last gig of 2025 and the first gig for 2026 with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam band last night was another SOLD OUT gig for us at Airdrie WMC. 2yrs in a row at this venue which is rare at this club. 2 sets with a stop at 11:45 to 12:15 to bring in the bells in our traditional Scottish way.

Dancing from the first song showed great promise for the night and we were not wrong. The floor was packed for a lot of the songs with dancers on every song. Great atmosphere the full night with a stream of requests in first set. I think we had a total of 6 to mention those celebrating anniversaries, birthdays etc. Best dancer of the night went to a guy who seemed to be on the floor from the start and even gave us his full Alvin Stardust impersonation and was rewarded at the end of the night with one of our T shirts.

 After midnight we went back on for our final 3 songs and had requests for more. but the club was closing.

Loaded up the car and managed to get home for 2:30am, coffee and a biccy and then beddy by bo time knackered having been at the venue from 3:30pm it was a long day.

Thought i would give the Godin Shifter PJ bass a wee run out and boy did it sound amazing thru the Handbox WB-100 / BF212. Nice deep tone with the sharp mids cutting thru the mix, it was the perfect tone IMHO of course. 

All in all a great night of party fun.

Dave

[Obrienp]

NYE dep gig with Backtracking at Bob Carter Centre in Drayton (Norwich suburb). Ticketed do with buffet etc. Sold out but quite a few non-shows due to flu/Covid/Colds/indifference. Touch and go whether I would make the gig as I was in hospital until the evening of the 23rd with sepsis. I only got released on virtual ward, so amused my bandmates by doing my vitals during the intermission between sets. I admit having to check my blood pressure and oxygen saturation between sets was a new one for me!

 

Very enjoyable gig with people dancing from the first number in set 1. Organisers actually provided a room to leave our cases, gig bags, etc and a room to change! We also got first dibs at the buffet. No stage, which was a bit weird but plenty of space. I put bright green gaffa tape on the floor round the band area and it worked as a barrier. Nobody crossed it, except at midnight for the odd random kiss from strangers!
 

Anyway, the punters seemed to love it. A full dance floor and several encores. The BL said the organiser had asked if the band could do next NYE. Think I might get a return dep for that too and the money was good. In bed by 2 am,so not bad for a NYE gig. No pics yet but will post when received. 
 

Gear: Maruszczyk Elwood 4a 32” and Hartwood Satellite with DiMarzio DP145 Will Power mod, Ashdown RM800, Blackstar U700 on standby, 2 x LFSys Monza, Soundcraft active monitor, Peterson Strobostomp HD, Boss wireless. Two LFSys Monzas proved to be total overkill: sound man had me turned down to about 9 o’clock on the master and my DI was just going to the monitors. Black Chelsea boots as trying to look smart.

Edited 3 hours ago by Obrienp

[Woodinblack]

12 hours ago, ezbass said:

Glad it’s over, only 365 days until the next one. At least it was an easy drive home.

 

So why bother next year? Why don't you just slope off to the keyboard players NYE family!

[ezbass]

32 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

So why bother next year? Why don't you just slope off to the keyboard players NYE family!

I’d love to, his family do sounds like an absolute hoot. However, word is that we’ve been booked for next year already. That said, after I’d left a couple of aggressive, coked up boys came up to our guitarist and said, “You were shite!” Our guitarist is a big lad and, unbeknownst to them, a former kick boxing champion. He just said, “Don’t do it,” and they took his advice. After that, I might just kick it into touch next NYE. What is with some folk, you’re perfectly entitled to not like us, but don’t come up and actually say it. The mind boggles 🤦🏻.

[markbunney]

Played at The Allington ACA near Maidstone for NYE and it was absolutely dire!

 

It was a ticketed event and there were less than 50 people in a massive room, including 10 kids!

 

We’d been booked for ages, for a decent fee, but it was a long night with no atmosphere, especially with having to do 3 x 45 minute sets which kills any momentum.

 

Apparantly there had been some politics with the committee, which had led to a lot of people celebrating elsewhere, and people not wanting to pay £20 a ticket to go somewhere that they go to for free every other week when the pubs in town had bands on with free entry for NYE.

 

That said, we played well and a few people complimented us at the breaks, and also apologised for the lack of people there.

 

Took both of my Ibanez 5 strings, but just used the EHB all night.

[dmccombe7]

38 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I’d love to, his family do sounds like an absolute hoot. However, word is that we’ve been booked for next year already. That said, after I’d left a couple of aggressive, coked up boys came up to our guitarist and said, “You were shite!” Our guitarist is a big lad and, unbeknownst to them, a former kick boxing champion. He just said, “Don’t do it,” and they took his advice. After that, I might just kick it into touch next NYE. What is with some folk, you’re perfectly entitled to not like us, but don’t come up and actually say it. The mind boggles 🤦🏻.

How could you have been bad if you're already booked for next NYE. Some people are very narrow minded when it comes to live bands. If their particular juke box songs aren't in your set they just like to complain. I sometimes think the younger generation are too used to getting things "on demand" and expect every live band to play every style when they want it.

I'd put this down to excessive drink and rudeness, forget it and just move on to the next gig. 

Not everyone will be happy with a band but as you say "why actually say it" I certainly would never criticise a live band. All credit to any musicians that get up there and make the effort.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

1 minute ago, markbunney said:

Played at The Allington ACA near Maidstone for NYE and it was absolutely dire!

 

It was a ticketed event and there were less than 50 people in a massive room, including 10 kids!

 

We’d been booked for ages, for a decent fee, but it was a long night with no atmosphere, especially with having to do 3 x 45 minute sets which kills any momentum.

 

Apparantly there had been some politics with the committee, which had led to a lot of people celebrating elsewhere, and people not wanting to pay £20 a ticket to go somewhere that they go to for free every other week when the pubs in town had bands on with free entry for NYE.

 

That said, we played well and a few people complimented us at the breaks, and also apologised for the lack of people there.

 

Took both of my Ibanez 5 strings, but just used the EHB all night.

We've turned up to venues and played to 27 people. We even asked the organiser if she wanted to go ahead and she was up for it so we have a view that if people have paid good money then they get the full show and we just go for it. We always enjoy it and as it turns out so did the people that actually turned up. Paid rehearsal aint such a bad thing. Enjoy every gig is our motto. (well at least try to 🤩)

Dave

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Happy New Year Daryl and all the very best for 2026. 

Is that a tip bucket there Daryl and i spotted a $100 bill in there. 😂

Looks like a busy wee night.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave,

 

I think New Years Eve gigs are " slam dunk" for most bands. For me the fact the dep drummer did a good job was a huge relief. I'm looking forward to doing more shows with him.  Our band leader thinks he's a good fit for the band. They think he has the right stage presence for the band . He just needs to do a few more gigs with us to get more familiar with the songs.

 

Tips were generous an extra $125.00 for everybody. We don't do this but a punter walked the tip jar around the room. We also give some of the tip money to the bar and wait staff.

 

Happy New Year !

 

Daryl

[Norris]

8 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I'd put this down to excessive drink and rudeness

Coke has a lot to answer for too. It turns people into arrogant a***holes. We've played a few times in places where there's a bit of a "culture" - only the once though. We don't need that kind of hassle.

[MacDaddy]

13 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

Just back from my NYE gig. 

Awesome 😎 

Will write more later today.

Happy New Year y'all 😁

 

 

 

Ok, New Year’s Eve gig with Electrik Soup last night. We’re a 90s/00s indie classics band, and we were at The Hare & Hounds in Claygate, nice to get out of that London for a change.

Kick-off was 9pm, but we had an early load-in because the venue was doing a three-course dinner. I gave the vocalist a lift and we got there around 5pm; rest of the band were already in with kit and PA set up. I got my bass rig up but couldn’t soundcheck until later.

Fortunately, we had a band tab, so some complimentary food was very welcome. No booze for me though as I was driving.

I was using my TC Electronic BH800 bass amp with a SpectraComp in one of the Tone Print slots, honestly, how good are they‽ Great definition across all notes and it really cut through nicely, even with 2 guitars. 

Punters drifted in and out earlier on, but it started filling up properly around 9. First set got polite applause more than anything. It was the acoustic set that really warmed them up, and then we absolutely stormed the second electric set.

The Guvnor had asked us to give the usual “get your drinks in” announcement at 11:30pm as the bar shut at midnight. We finished the last song with about 20 seconds to spare before the countdown, then went straight into our own take on Auld Lang Syne. Started off mellow and ended in a raucous thrash 😁 Audience loved it.

Loads of nice comments afterwards. We played really well overall, no major mistakes. A couple of intros got extended, but the band just rolled with it and no one would’ve known it wasn’t intentional.

Load-out was brass monkeys. First time this winter I’ve had to scrape ice off the car windows. 

All in all, cracking NYE gig and a great way to see the year out.

 

Gear: Shuker 3 → Getaria wireless → TC Electronic BH800 → TecAmp 2x12 (upgraded speakers).

DI to PA from the amp. 

 

Footwear report: blue ASICS trainers.