How was your gig last night?

[neepheid]

On 18/01/2026 at 21:34, Cat Burrito said:

The only low point was when I made a flippant joke about Red Hot Chilli Peppers (who, whilst not really being a fan, I certainly don’t have an issue with) and it transpired that everyone in the venue liked them! The bar man even put them on the stereo after our set! I never criticise other acts normally so I don’t know why I said it, but we soon clawed it back. No harm done. 

 

Ha ha, a swing and a miss, it happens.

[Cat Burrito]

1 hour ago, roger said:

I guess an audience has its views too, bit like some ppl in a band randomly feel need to bleat ‘f@ck Trump’ cus it’s their opinion 🤦 go figure🤣

Absolutely. I am normally more reserved with my views but got a bit carried away thinking about battles for the stereo in the Sixth Form block 35yrs ago. That is literally how little it meant! 
 

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

Ha ha, a swing and a miss, it happens.

I always say, you put yourself out there and they either get you, or they don’t. I kind of had that one answered for me! 

[Bluewine]

On 19/01/2026 at 17:48, Bluewine said:

Acoustic gig Friday night.

 

Guys, I'm not good with Legion Halls. I haven't played one in awhile.  In the past they've always reminded me of an Assistant Living Facility or what we use to call Old Folks Home.

 

OMG, and it's a 7-9 show.

 

Daryl

 

 

They canceled the Legion Hall fish fry acoustic gig this Friday due to cold weather. 

 

Daryl

[Wombat]

Well, us oldies feel the cold!

[Bluewine]

8 hours ago, Wombat said:

Well, us oldies feel the cold!

 

 

It's  -5° right now and will be colder by Friday.

 

Daryl

[colleya]

On 18/01/2026 at 15:51, colleya said:

Recorded the whole thing, I'll post some stuff once it's all edited down.

 

Another friend of the band rocked up with his trumpet, jumped in for a couple of songs and absolutely blew the roof off. He also stood on the end of the line and hogged the camera angle!

 

Here's a quick clip:

 

 

[Bluewine]

On 18/01/2026 at 09:01, dmccombe7 said:

I've never actually seen a band use a tip jar here.

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

 

Here’s a little more info on the tipping culture over here.

 

While we command a nice fee for a 4 peice,  the tips just make the gig a little more lucrative. Tips can turn a $150.00 a man gig into a $200.00 a man deal. Tips are acceptable,  actually expected by the venue and the punters. 

 

Here are our exceptions.  We don't use the tip jar at Theatre gigs, charities or private events events.

 

Obviously the Tips are much better when you're playing to the more affluent clientele. If you’re playing at Freddie's on Martin Luther King Blvd and Cherry St. there won't be any tips. You'll be more worried about if your car will still be there at the end of the night. Lol

 

I'm getting my hair cut today and trying to figure out how much I can afford to tip my barber.lol

 

The pic is my new AI band . Lol

 

Daryl

 

Edited Wednesday at 17:52 by Bluewine

[Wombat]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

It's  -5° right now and will be colder by Friday.

 

Daryl

I’m taking an educated guess that you mean Fahrenheit which most people here wouldn’t ‘get’. So that’s MINUS 20!

I was in -23c in NYC once, with windchill, and I was able to break off bits of the moustache I had at the time 😂.

[Bluewine]

9 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I’m taking an educated guess that you mean Fahrenheit which most people here wouldn’t ‘get’. So that’s MINUS 20!

I was in -23c in NYC once, with windchill, and I was able to break off bits of the moustache I had at the time 😂.

 

Yes, Fahrenheit. 

 

Daryl

[Wombat]

😂

We get -5 here. Quite regularly. But the Celsius variety! You might have to scrape your car windows but it will still start without you worrying!

[Staggering on]

5 minutes ago, Wombat said:

😂

We get -5 here. Quite regularly. But the Celsius variety! You might have to scrape your car windows but it will still start without you worrying!

 

Forecast for Friday night is -31C and Saturday night will be -30C. I'll be going through a lot of firewood in the next few days with daytime temps between -15 and -20 C and lots of wind. Not starting a contest or trying to prove anything but this has been a cold week, don't think I'll be doing any skiing on my trails for a couple of days.☹️

[Wombat]

A friend from Alaska said it was cold when you spit, it hits the ground, then ‘cracks’. They said it’s really cold when you spit, it cracks and then bounces 😂

[dmccombe7]

On 20/01/2026 at 00:32, Stub Mandrel said:

 

British Legion/Ex-servicemens clubs are a mainstay of local music these days, many are open to all. 

Yep a lot if not most of our Glam gigs are in Legion / Ex-Services or Bowling clubs.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

On 20/01/2026 at 10:28, warwickhunt said:

The Diamond - Sutton in Ashfield.  

 

A great live music venue with a lovely family feel to the whole thing.  It was an early Sunday afternoon gig but there were still 70+ Cheap Trick fans in attendance despite a £10-£12 entry fee.  

First time i've heard of a Cheap Trick tribute band. Well done and sounding great.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

It's  -5° right now and will be colder by Friday.

 

Daryl

-5 F which is -20 C. Now that is a bit nippy out. 🥶

Dave

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Wombat said:

I’m taking an educated guess that you mean Fahrenheit which most people here wouldn’t ‘get’. So that’s MINUS 20!

I was in -23c in NYC once, with windchill, and I was able to break off bits of the moustache I had at the time 😂.

I remember in early 80's i had to work outside on a liquid Oxygen back up system to the steelworks and it was -26 oC. Even with gloves on your hands were freezing cold. I can still remember the inside of my nose freezing up and my eyes starting to nip. Didn't help that it was open to fields and a breeze blowing across us. This was a call out job during the night when i was early 20's. Not so happy memories working in those conditions. It took me hrs to heat up again in the workshop afterwards.

Dave

[warwickhunt]

22 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

First time i've heard of a Cheap Trick tribute band. Well done and sounding great.

Dave

 

To the best of my knowledge, the only one in the UK.

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

First time i've heard of a Cheap Trick tribute band. Well done and sounding great.

Dave

 

I've always been a CT fan. They're hometown boys. I was going to their shows when they were still playing bars. Stood right next to Rick Neilson at a Jeff Beck show at Turner Hall.

 

Daryl

[StingRayBoy42]

TONIGHT!

(Technically last night as it's past midnight but it counts as tonight)

Second gig with a new band (Midnight Mayhem (they were already called that when I joined, don't judge me)) at The Rose & Crown in Ludlow.

Lovely old pub that has lots of live music so they're used to it, fairly small stage  place where the band goes, decent mob there by the time we'd set up and soundchecked (The soundcheck (sixteen bars of 'All the small things') had people up dancing (!)) and from the off people were loving it - singing along, dancing and generally enjoying it.

Mid first set, a bloke came up and told me he appreciated my Bass playing (Not 'liked' it, mind you) which I tried to take as a compliment, then he stood right in front of me and watched me intently which meant I completely forgot how to play.

At half time a guy I'd genuinely never seen before came up and greeted me like a long lost friend ("I forgot you said you did this too!" ) so I had to pretend I knew who he was (because I am English and to say "I'm so sorry but I have no idea who you are" is about as appealing as stamping on a newborn kitten) which was...odd.

The set went down really well, it's a mix of (sort of) alt-80s type stuff (Back on the chain gang, couple of Blondie ones, Kids in America (Kim Wilde - absolute BANGER and tonnes of fun to play), There's a guy works down the chipshop swears he's Elvis, Doctor Doctor (Robert Palmer), Echo Beach, Sweet Dreams sort of thing), a few pub-cover chestnuts (Dakota, Teenage Dirtbag, Mr Brightside (which the guitarist started in the wrong key and then got horribly confused when it came to the chorus but he styled it out)), a couple of curveballs (Take another little piece of my heart, Crash (Primitives)) and an ABBA one for good measure.

I went for a wireless wander for the last song (Born to be wild) which got a good reception AND I got to fuss TWO Doggos *AND* a man told me my dreadlocks are "Really Cool".

We played really well, sounded good, went down a treat (Even the bar staff liked us) and the singer said my playing "brought them to another level" which was very gratifying to hear.

Played the StingRay -> Small board (I only used the Soul Food) -> Amp board (Thumpinator -> VTDI) -> Markbass CMD 121, footwear was the bright orange DMs (with glittery black laces).

An absolute corker of a gig!

Edited 1 hour ago by StingRayBoy42