How was your gig last night?

[asingardenof]

On 11/01/2026 at 23:27, martthebass said:

Great first gig of the year for me last night. New venue for us, The lion at Cas Vegas (Castleford), a well known music venue in these parts. Known as a bit of a rockers venue so booking a glam band was a bit of a punt, however it was banging with a full house and happy smiling punters. Booked back in October and already looking forward to it.

I've tried getting in there as I live in Cas, but their rates were a bit crap for our five-piece (£200 + a bucket handed round is what they suggested to me). It's a shame as I'd love to have a gig only five minutes down the road.

[Norris]

6 hours ago, asingardenof said:

I've tried getting in there as I live in Cas, but their rates were a bit crap for our five-piece (£200 + a bucket handed round is what they suggested to me). It's a shame as I'd love to have a gig only five minutes down the road.

£200? Is it the 1970s?! 😂

[Wombat]

£200 is pretty normal for a pub gig here. Anymore and I’d be thinking about giving up the day job! Well, I would if I wasn’t retired….

[peteb]

6 hours ago, asingardenof said:

I've tried getting in there as I live in Cas, but their rates were a bit crap for our five-piece (£200 + a bucket handed round is what they suggested to me). It's a shame as I'd love to have a gig only five minutes down the road.

 

To be fair, the bucket in that venue can be quite worthwhile. I used to play there several years ago with a hard rock covers band for £150 plus the bucket. The bucket was always considerably more than the basic fee! 

 

Oh, by the way, no one cares if its a three-piece, four-piece, five-piece or eleven-piece! You get paid to generate value for the venue (i.e. bring in people they can sell beer to). No one cares how many band members are on the stage, just if they can entertain the crowd. 

 

[Rosie C]

Playing at a local Wassail this evening. I'm right in front of the camera.

 

[dmccombe7]

14 hours ago, Rosie C said:

Playing at a local Wassail this evening. I'm right in front of the camera.

 

I have absolutely no idea what's going on there. Less said the better i reckon 😂

Dave

[Chienmortbb]

26 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I have absolutely no idea what's going on there. Less said the better i reckon 😂

Dave

It is the  "Old Religion", danced just before they sacrifice a virgil. 

[dclaassen]

27 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

It is the  "Old Religion", danced just before they sacrifice a virgil. 

Which one is Virgil? Poor guy!:)

[Woodinblack]

18 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

Which one is Virgil? Poor guy!:)

 

 

Hes going to burn well!

[MacDaddy]

18 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

Which one is Virgil? Poor guy!:)

 

 

 

 

[Lozz196]

F.A.B!

[Rosie C]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I have absolutely no idea what's going on there. Less said the better i reckon 😂

Dave

Celebrating the old ways! Pouring cider over the roots of apple trees and singing songs to bring a good harvest, scaring away woodland spirits by banging saucepans, drinking mulled cider and Morris dancing!

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

4 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

 

 

 

 

"You've put on weight, Virgil."

 

"F.L.A.B. Scott."

[Bluewine]

On 16/01/2026 at 06:35, asingardenof said:

I've tried getting in there as I live in Cas, but their rates were a bit crap for our five-piece (£200 + a bucket handed round is what they suggested to me). It's a shame as I'd love to have a gig only five minutes down the road.

 

All situations with bands, band members, bookings and money can be different for a myriad of reasons.

 

I have a buddy a senior guy who's band doesn't gig much and he says ," I'll play for  50 bucks" because he just wants to play. Me, I'm not in that situation and would diplomatically decline 50 bucks a man gigs.  And some guys are not in this for money at all.

 

I'm not sure, but I think the tipping culture over here is a little different.  And it depends on the venue, the crowd and the vibe  of the room.

 

I've seen $1,000.00 tip jars more than once. Stuffed with 20s and even a few 100 dollar bills. I've also seen empty tip jars at the end of the night more than once. 

 

It sounds like a great gig but the business part is a little weird. 

 

Daryl

Edited 16 hours ago by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

On 11/01/2026 at 14:49, MacDaddy said:

I’ve been following this thread since New Year’s Eve, mainly looking for reassurance. January gigs can feel like a leap of faith at the best of times, pubs are usually quieter, the first week (and first full week) can be especially thin, and then there’s Dry January doing its best impression of a killjoy.

 

So it’s been genuinely heartening to see reports of decent audiences turning out. That gave me a bit of optimism going into my own gig last night, of which I will post about later 😁

 

 

I sort of know what you mean. The winter months seem slow to me because we don't play much in the winter. 

 

My last gig was New Year's Eve. I have an acoustic gig next weekend.

 

Daryl

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

All situations with bands, band members, bookings and money can be different for a myriad of reasons.

 

I have a buddy a senior guy who's band doesn't gig much and he says ," I'll play for  50 bucks" because he just wants to play. Me, I'm not in that situation and would diplomatically decline 50 bucks a man gigs.  And some guys are not in this for money at all.

 

I'm not sure, but I think the tipping culture over here is a little different.  And it depends on the venue, the crowd and the vibe  of the room.

 

I've seen $1,000.00 tip jars more than once. Stuffed with 20s and even a few 100 dollar bills. I've also seen empty tip jars at the end of the night more than once. 

 

It sounds like a great gig but the business part is a little weird. 

 

Daryl

 

£100 tip jar is exceptional here, but the uk is reticent about tipping.

[Norris]

Standing room only at the Griff and Coton Club in Nuneaton. We were half expecting an empty room, but far from it. It seems we had drawn a few in - we overhead one woman say it's the first time she had been in the place in over 30 years! 😂

 

 

A really good crowd. It took a little while to get them dancing, but then they didn't stop.

 

 

My sound was strange in the first spot, which I put down to the really low ceiling in the "stage" area and fact I wasn't on top of the amp for a change so could hear it better. However then I noticed the knobs for the mids had been knocked up accidentally. I set them back to flat and all was well in Rumble world again.

 

Many compliments and shaking of hands afterwards.

 

The only slight disappointment were the cheese and onion cobs - we've had better.

[Bluewine]

4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

£100 tip jar is exceptional here, but the uk is reticent about tipping.

 

Stub, Over here you have to tip everybody for just about anything over here.

 

Daryl

Edited 9 hours ago by Bluewine

[Franticsmurf]

Another dep gig last night with my 'new band' (I'm getting to be more regular than their regular bassist) in the smallest venue I've ever played. There are a number of small shops, coffee bars and alcohol bars in Mumbles that appear to have been set up in former domestic housing. This one was in a terrace of 'houses' and was pretty much the living room and dining room knocked into one. We were a 5 piece with keys set up across the narrow width of the room at the back, with keys, electric drums and me against the beer wall (see photo) and the singer and guitarist in front of us. I was at the end that bordered on the narrow space between the end of the bar and the passage to the toilets. Fortunately, I'd been warned about the space and took my EHB1000S. Even so, I felt like a drawbridge all night, having to lift the neck as people went past.  By the end of the night, I had two people stood next to me and another three directly in front, effectively blocking the route to the loos. Having been hit in the mouth by my microphone as the stand was jogged by a drunken dancer in the past, I'm never happy when the audience is so close and for the last 30 minutes or so I stopped singing (BVs) and moved the mic stand. Shortly after, it was hit by a drunken punter who had already lost her balance. Had she not been grabbed by her partner, she would have become part of the drum kit.

 

All this said, it was a very friendly audience and there was no hint of ill will or aggression that often happens with such a crowded... er... crowd. From the off the place was bouncing and by the end of the night, all the chairs and most of the tables were occupied by dancers. The owner was dancing on the bar. The set was mainly 90s and 2000s rock covers with a few oldies thrown in. As I have mentioned previously this era of music passed me by at the time so when I first started with this band I had a lot of catching up to do. But there are some great songs that I missed out on first time around. That said, my two favourites in our set are 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Born to Run'. At the end of the night, after the landlord had climbed down off the bar, we were given extra money over the agreed fee which is, perhaps, the most telling feedback.  

 

Once again I was really pleased with my sound, which was nice and punchy without booming. With a keyboard and drums going through the PA the potential for lower mids and bass 'mush' was high but we managed to keep the mix nice and clean.  I was using the two TE 1x10" cabs fed by the power amp stage of my Peavey Minimax 600. The signal chain into the FX return was slightly modified because of the lack of space; instead of the floor pedal board, I had pedals on the amp itself (I have velcro strips on it for just such and occasion. The chain was Behringer TU300 tuner/mute > Ampeg classic pre-amp > Sine HPF (set to 40hz) > Behringer DI. We were debating whether to DI the bass but I didn't think the size of the venue warranted it. The option was there just in case. This was the first time I'd tried out my new XVive U45 IEM system. Paired with a set of KZ SAR earbuds, it was plugged in to the headphone out of the mixer and I had a nice vocal/drum/keys mix and some protection from the stage volume. On the feet last night were a pair of black Skechers.  

 

I had some nice compliments on my playing and on the sound of the kit. No photos or videos of the band have surfaced but here are a couple I took of the set up pre-gig. 

 

 

This is the width of the 'stage'. Beyond the speaker stand on the right is the entrance to the toilets. I was stood under the speaker with my head just brushing the underside of the cab. Sadly, the beer wall was not our rider. 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Do the speaker stands actually light up? Or is it an illusion?

[Woodinblack]

51 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Do the speaker stands actually light up? Or is it an illusion?

 

You get those AJD lit up speaker stands, looks like that:

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/ADJ-Colour-Stand-LED-Speaker-Stand-With-LED-Legs/27VU

 

[Rosie C]

4 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

You get those AJD lit up speaker stands, looks like that:

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/ADJ-Colour-Stand-LED-Speaker-Stand-With-LED-Legs/27VU

 

 

Oh, I so need those! Our speaker stands get yellow/black hazard tape stuck on the front-most leg for some gigs. 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Yellow reflective tape on mine but it isn't very robust.

[steantval]

23 hours ago, Rosie C said:

Celebrating the old ways! Pouring cider over the roots of apple trees and singing songs to bring a good harvest, scaring away woodland spirits by banging saucepans, drinking mulled cider and Morris dancing!

 

 

Brings back thoughts of this.

 

[Rosie C]

1 minute ago, steantval said:

Brings back thoughts of this.

 

 

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention the ritualistic sacrifice at the end of the evening!   😉