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How was your gig last night?


bassninja

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Just played a gig in the Metropole in Bournemouth. Was great, and I had my Ashdown 8x10 delivered there by the dude I bought it from, then linked it up to the other bands 8x10 for some awesome doomage. We were on a bill with two grindcore (fast and angry) bands, after our set a guy came up to me and told me we were really slow and loud and dirgey (awesome) then told me that was a bad thing and we are a terrible grindcore band, I pointed out slow and loud and dirgey is the whole point of doom, which is what we play, and he continued trying to tell me we were crap until I cut him off to talk to my lady friend. He then did the same to our guitarist, who punched him in the face when he said 'you have no riffs'. I still can't figure what this guy was trying to achieve.

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No gig last night - had to cancel it because the guitarist was too ill :P . At the last minute, he sent a very long text telling us about his stomach bug that he'd had all week and asking me to call the gig and give them the bad news. He couldn't do it himself for some reason so I sent a text back saying I couldn't do it either cos I'd lost my voice...ahem. So he text'd me back saying he'd get his wife to do it.

Next thing, I get a text from the singer telling us that the gig was cancelled and the guitarist had asked him to cancel it.

That's at least 3 text messages asking other people to do the dirty work for him. Too ill to ring the gig? Er...let's hope it's nothing serious like cholera, ebola or black water fever ;)

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finally i can contribute to this thread!

well... first gig last night... and the main reason i've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. in a moment of sheer madness three weeks ago i agreed to stand in for a bass player who was on his stag do last night. which left me with 3 weeks and 33 songs to learn.

it was a 40th birthday party at the malthouse in rishworth - really great venue except for the slightly odd 'stage' which was behind wooden beams. the staff were amazing and all our food and tea was free.. hurrah!

we didn't get on til 10 as the meal went on for longer than expected, and i was still suspiciously lacking nerves, despite the whole flippin' affair being opened by me on bass (2nd half of 'the chain').

i screwed up at various points during the night, but mostly during the root-notey type songs (they all got a little muddled in my brain), and i'm pretty sure noone was too bothered by it, i busked it well enough to be passable. the songs where the bass was more complex were great, and the singer bigged me up massively as i was retuning for 'somebody told me' by the killers - and the guests went absolutely nuts, they were screaming and clapping, even the staff came in to watch! that was such a thrill!!

it was such an incredible gig, never mind it being my first. the dancefloor was full all night, as were the tables, which were being danced on, and at one point, they were actually hanging from the rafters (i was just praying no-one was seriously injured, although it would have livened the story up somewhat). we had to turn down at midnight because the locals complained that they could hear the bass (wooo! complaints on my first night!) too clearly.. but we snuck the volume back up for the encore.

so, as we finished and i put my bass down, this guy comes wandering up to me, and i got a little nervous as i suspected he was probably the obligatory musician-guest come to tell me how much i sucked, and he was indeed a drummer but in fact, he said some truly amazing things that i never expected to hear. he wasn't the only one, either, and i feared my ego would no longer fit in the car along with all the gear.

anyway - end of the night came and after the excitement died down we were given tea and cake (as if things couldn't get any better!) and the band all wrote nice things on my set list. got home about 2:45 just in time for my brain to implode after the busiest three weeks of my life, and i've woken up feeling elated, but a little like i've been beaten up.

it's ok, this bass playing lark.

x

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[quote name='mewsie' post='396887' date='Feb 1 2009, 03:06 PM']finally i can contribute to this thread!

well... first gig last night... and the main reason i've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. in a moment of sheer madness three weeks ago i agreed to stand in for a bass player who was on his stag do last night. which left me with 3 weeks and 33 songs to learn.

it was a 40th birthday party at the malthouse in rishworth - really great venue except for the slightly odd 'stage' which was behind wooden beams. the staff were amazing and all our food and tea was free.. hurrah!

we didn't get on til 10 as the meal went on for longer than expected, and i was still suspiciously lacking nerves, despite the whole flippin' affair being opened by me on bass (2nd half of 'the chain').

i screwed up at various points during the night, but mostly during the root-notey type songs (they all got a little muddled in my brain), and i'm pretty sure noone was too bothered by it, i busked it well enough to be passable. the songs where the bass was more complex were great, and the singer bigged me up massively as i was retuning for 'somebody told me' by the killers - and the guests went absolutely nuts, they were screaming and clapping, even the staff came in to watch! that was such a thrill!!

it was such an incredible gig, never mind it being my first. the dancefloor was full all night, as were the tables, which were being danced on, and at one point, they were actually hanging from the rafters (i was just praying no-one was seriously injured, although it would have livened the story up somewhat). we had to turn down at midnight because the locals complained that they could hear the bass (wooo! complaints on my first night!) too clearly.. but we snuck the volume back up for the encore.

so, as we finished and i put my bass down, this guy comes wandering up to me, and i got a little nervous as i suspected he was probably the obligatory musician-guest come to tell me how much i sucked, and he was indeed a drummer but in fact, he said some truly amazing things that i never expected to hear. he wasn't the only one, either, and i feared my ego would no longer fit in the car along with all the gear.

anyway - end of the night came and after the excitement died down we were given tea and cake (as if things couldn't get any better!) and the band all wrote nice things on my set list. got home about 2:45 just in time for my brain to implode after the busiest three weeks of my life, and i've woken up feeling elated, but a little like i've been beaten up.

it's ok, this bass playing lark.

x[/quote]

Nice one!

Next... you need to get a permanent gig. Sounds like you'd enjoy it..!

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[quote name='wateroftyne' post='396892' date='Feb 1 2009, 03:11 PM']Nice one!

Next... you need to get a permanent gig. Sounds like you'd enjoy it..![/quote]

yeah - i have a few options but none of them are really doing it for me at the moment. the band i am currently in are stalling, and i don't do staying still very well!

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[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='390227' date='Jan 24 2009, 10:12 AM']We played our first public gig to mostly clients, friends and family last night at the Kings Head in Crouch End. Awesome gig, nothing quite like playing to a room of people who are rootin' for ya.
~
Mewsie showed up with some friends of hers, one of which had flown down from Dundee especially to come see us! ;)[/quote]

fantastic night - i haven't danced that much or that wildly for quite a while!

x

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[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='396761' date='Feb 1 2009, 01:14 PM']No gig last night - had to cancel it because the guitarist was too ill :P . At the last minute, he sent a very long text telling us about his stomach bug that he'd had all week and asking me to call the gig and give them the bad news. He couldn't do it himself for some reason so I sent a text back saying I couldn't do it either cos I'd lost my voice...ahem. So he text'd me back saying he'd get his wife to do it.

Next thing, I get a text from the singer telling us that the gig was cancelled and the guitarist had asked him to cancel it.

That's at least 3 text messages asking other people to do the dirty work for him. Too ill to ring the gig? Er...let's hope it's nothing serious like cholera, ebola or black water fever ;)[/quote]

Still Al, guess that put paid to any regrets you may have about the band breaking up!

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[quote name='mewsie' post='396887' date='Feb 1 2009, 03:06 PM']it's ok, this bass playing lark.[/quote]
The adrenaline's an addictive rush when the crowd is on form, ain't it? ;) Glad it went so well for you m'dear - sorry I couldn't chat earlier on. Ped was around here and I had to take the kettle leads out of his mouth again.

No gig for me this weekend because I was facing a drive back to Peterborough from Seven Oaks. Noone in band was able to offer me a place to crash, not even those who had room. BTW because I've moved to Peterborough, my ongoing involvement with my band is back under consideration. Basically they're saying I'm going to be charging more expenses because I'm in Peterborough and to be honest with the travel I already have and the time its taking out of my weekends its the proverbial last straw. They want me to subsidise the band for the extra distance they think I will be travelling to gigs. I really don't want to be dragged down to the level where I'm having to think about every mile I'm travelling and how much that is going to cost me. I do band to relax and collaborate, not to make money, but I certainly don't want to be paying money to the band for playing with them. I've said I can job share with another bassist or I will leave the band. The band has been slowly getting more and more business focussed at the expense of team cohesion and I think its starting to get a bit too petty and harsh. So I want out if that's the way of the future. The drummer is already going as it is so they might well end up having to look for a new rhythm section entirely.

I feel like I'm shouting at a brick wall though. Anyone know a Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire based soul/funk/disco band looking for a bass player? [I'm not holding my breath.]

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[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='397022' date='Feb 1 2009, 05:17 PM']The adrenaline's an addictive rush when the crowd is on form, ain't it? ;) Glad it went so well for you m'dear - sorry I couldn't chat earlier on. Ped was around here and I had to take the kettle leads out of his mouth again.[/quote]

hell yes, best feeling ever, and what a way to start!

and thats ok, sounds like Ped needed your supervision. i will pester you about it later :P

x

ps: did you edit your post to add that about hula groove? thats a shame, but i can understand that - its quite a trek. what did they think about the job share idea?

Edited by mewsie
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[quote name='mewsie' post='396887' date='Feb 1 2009, 03:06 PM']finally i can contribute to this thread!

well... first gig last night... and the main reason i've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. in a moment of sheer madness three weeks ago i agreed to stand in for a bass player who was on his stag do last night. which left me with 3 weeks and 33 songs to learn.

it was a 40th birthday party at the malthouse in rishworth - really great venue except for the slightly odd 'stage' which was behind wooden beams. the staff were amazing and all our food and tea was free.. hurrah!

we didn't get on til 10 as the meal went on for longer than expected, and i was still suspiciously lacking nerves, despite the whole flippin' affair being opened by me on bass (2nd half of 'the chain').

i screwed up at various points during the night, but mostly during the root-notey type songs (they all got a little muddled in my brain), and i'm pretty sure noone was too bothered by it, i busked it well enough to be passable. the songs where the bass was more complex were great, and the singer bigged me up massively as i was retuning for 'somebody told me' by the killers - and the guests went absolutely nuts, they were screaming and clapping, even the staff came in to watch! that was such a thrill!!

it was such an incredible gig, never mind it being my first. the dancefloor was full all night, as were the tables, which were being danced on, and at one point, they were actually hanging from the rafters (i was just praying no-one was seriously injured, although it would have livened the story up somewhat). we had to turn down at midnight because the locals complained that they could hear the bass (wooo! complaints on my first night!) too clearly.. but we snuck the volume back up for the encore.

so, as we finished and i put my bass down, this guy comes wandering up to me, and i got a little nervous as i suspected he was probably the obligatory musician-guest come to tell me how much i sucked, and he was indeed a drummer but in fact, he said some truly amazing things that i never expected to hear. he wasn't the only one, either, and i feared my ego would no longer fit in the car along with all the gear.

anyway - end of the night came and after the excitement died down we were given tea and cake (as if things couldn't get any better!) and the band all wrote nice things on my set list. got home about 2:45 just in time for my brain to implode after the busiest three weeks of my life, and i've woken up feeling elated, but a little like i've been beaten up.

it's ok, this bass playing lark.

x[/quote]

Ha ha Welcome to the addicts club ;)

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We played a friend's birthday in Victoria Hall, Saltaire.
One important detail they forgot to mention was the Sound Meter on the wall: and no extension cable to run in another power supply!
We tripped it once during "Crazy" so we all spent most of the 2 sets watching the meter hoping it would not trip out again!
I taped over the grills on the meter but it did not seem to make any difference.
The other detail they did mention was the lift was broken: 4 sets of stairs up to the first floor!
The guy who plays the father of the new chav family on Corrie ( Steve Huison) was there, he has an act a bit like Borat which was quite funny, apparently he's played Glasto doing it too.
Our guitarist lent him his pleck for his 3 string plucked thingy.
Needless to say he's nothing like his character on Corrie!

Edited by yorks5stringer
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Last night a wedding gig

Nice people - they even helped us haul all the gear in before shoving off to the bar whilst we set up and sound checked. Now that is a bonus. ;)
Mother and father of teh bride were very enthusiastic and no one got seriously legless :P Phew!

Everything went well and Dave II, our newest member, played a blinder on keys and guitar. He's getting the hang of the tunes and sophisticated "compuesto a medida que avanzamos" nature of our stage show. He's finally tamed his G10.1u and was getting some cracking sounds and solos.

Nice gig all round but my sound was exceptional.

I had a long chat with Mark at Bass Direct before Christmas about maybe getting a Tech 21 pedal to dirty up my sound a bit as it was all a bit clean for me but he suggested changing the settings on the Markbass first.
I set it as suggested, plus I got a Gramma pad for Christmas so I had that too, and the room sound was great.
Can't say what difference each of these factors had but the overall effect was marked.

With everything in my signal chain bypassed it just sounded great. I tried dropping in the compressor and SVT emulation but it was better without ..
I'm well chuffed :)

I'll not be selling anything quite yet but I'm cautiously hopeful :huh:

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First up, a big thank you to Happy Jack for his advice on booking the George and Devonshire in Chiswick as a venue. I owe you one Jack.

On Saturday we decided to get a group of friends and family together to play our new setlist to and see how it was received. In addition we managed to raise over £500 for Cancer Research.

The good news is that it was received very very well indeed. The better news was that thanks to the Flyers we put out in the venue beforehand, not only did we end up with the 120 people we invited, there were a further 50 or so other people who turned up. Not everyone could fit in the Function Room, but the doors to the bar were left open so people could hear us.

The gig went really well. A few of the changes were a bit sloppy but we were good. Even the locals said we were good!

I had a number of compliments on my playing and (always nice) including a few posts on our website. I used he P Bass and the Ric through my GB Shuttle 6 and Epifani UL310.

We've already been booked for 2 birthday parties and 2 weddings on the back of this too.

We've got 2 gigs in February, so this was the perfect dress rehearsal for our new material. I even got to sing a bit of lead vocals, although looking at the pictures it looks more like I'm leading the Haka ;)

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[quote name='OldGit' post='398150' date='Feb 2 2009, 06:03 PM']Excellent! 15 feet away from the drummer AND you hid his cymbals .. Splendid![/quote]

That was during the warm up Si unfortunately, although due to the shape of the room I did end up standing about 10 foot away from him.

It was lovely ;)

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Sounds a great gig, OHM, and great to raise some charity money too. I'm looking to hire a venue for my, and a friend's, band to play a joint gig night for fun and friends (ie. no promoters involved!) in London. I'd be interested to hear how much the G & D cost to hire, if you wouldn't mind PM-ing me.

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[quote name='mewsie' post='396887' date='Feb 1 2009, 03:06 PM']finally i can contribute to this thread!

well... first gig last night... and the main reason i've been a bit quiet over the last few weeks. in a moment of sheer madness three weeks ago i agreed to stand in for a bass player who was on his stag do last night. which left me with 3 weeks and 33 songs to learn.

it was a 40th birthday party at the malthouse in rishworth - really great venue except for the slightly odd 'stage' which was behind wooden beams. the staff were amazing and all our food and tea was free.. hurrah!

we didn't get on til 10 as the meal went on for longer than expected, and i was still suspiciously lacking nerves, despite the whole flippin' affair being opened by me on bass (2nd half of 'the chain').

i screwed up at various points during the night, but mostly during the root-notey type songs (they all got a little muddled in my brain), and i'm pretty sure noone was too bothered by it, i busked it well enough to be passable. the songs where the bass was more complex were great, and the singer bigged me up massively as i was retuning for 'somebody told me' by the killers - and the guests went absolutely nuts, they were screaming and clapping, even the staff came in to watch! that was such a thrill!!

it was such an incredible gig, never mind it being my first. the dancefloor was full all night, as were the tables, which were being danced on, and at one point, they were actually hanging from the rafters (i was just praying no-one was seriously injured, although it would have livened the story up somewhat). we had to turn down at midnight because the locals complained that they could hear the bass (wooo! complaints on my first night!) too clearly.. but we snuck the volume back up for the encore.

so, as we finished and i put my bass down, this guy comes wandering up to me, and i got a little nervous as i suspected he was probably the obligatory musician-guest come to tell me how much i sucked, and he was indeed a drummer but in fact, he said some truly amazing things that i never expected to hear. he wasn't the only one, either, and i feared my ego would no longer fit in the car along with all the gear.

anyway - end of the night came and after the excitement died down we were given tea and cake (as if things couldn't get any better!) and the band all wrote nice things on my set list. got home about 2:45 just in time for my brain to implode after the busiest three weeks of my life, and i've woken up feeling elated, but a little like i've been beaten up.

it's ok, this bass playing lark.

x[/quote]


Hey Mewsie!
Sounds fantastic, Im glad you enjoyed it.
brilliant!
Well done
mx

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Fairly good gig last night. Good connection between us and the crowd, and I had a great time in spite of the technical issues that I faced. Technical issue #1: my bass was uncharacteristically poor at staying in tune. Technical issue #2: there was another band playing tonight - I emailed them a couple of days back asking if I could borrow their bassist's amp (so that I could come in on the train). They said yes, no problem. Wasn't expecting the guy to turn up with a 10W combo. We're not a loud band, and it was a small room, so I could have got by with a 20W, but the 10W just didn't have the oomph.

He was a damn nice guy though. I hope that our paths cross again in the future.

S.P.

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Last Saturday we had 2 gigs, the first time I've had that for a while.

Had to work in the morning (bugg*r!), finished at 1, back home to change and load the gear-no backline needed for the first one so easier loading, drove to Dunalley, about an hour away to discover that everything was running behind schedule. This gig is a fundraiser for the CFA and we do it for expenses as it's a worthwhile cause especially at the moment cos of the high risk of bushfires. We eventually got on stage-which is the back of a flatbed truck-about 6pm, good sound thru the PA, the band sounded good and all the punters seemed to enjoy it-this event is held in the back paddock of the Dunalley Hotel and the sun was out and the beer was flowing....We finished just after 7 and then a mad scramble to load out and get back to Hobart for our second gig at the Prince of Wales in Battery Point.

Got there just after 8pm to choruses of "we thought you'd let us down" from the manager and barstaff-this on our first gig in the city centre and us keen to make a good impression....
Set up only to find a PA hum-oh sh*t-sorted by 9 and off for the first set, kept it down and low-key to find out what the crowd liked. Back on for the second set at 10, halfway through the first song one of the local booze bus tours arrived and 50 half-p*ssed punters came into the bar and jumped on the dance floor so we abandoned our setlist and went into boogie mode for the next hour-great stuff, dancefloor packed.
On at 11.15 for the last set, booze bus people gone but the rest of the crowd keen to dance so more of the same till 12 and the finish.

Spoke to the manager the day after and he gave us a monthly booking for the next 4 months cos he liked us-result !

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A couple of recent ones...

The usual monthly gig in the boondocks. Joined by superduper fiddle & mando player again due to our usual buddy's incapacitation with what we now know to be a disease he got from an infected deer tick bite (Lyme disease). He'd thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome flaring up, but it took visits to 4 separate doctors to convince one of them that it was, indeed, Lyme's. He's a luthier/repairer too, so he's lost a load of £s in gigs and other work due to the hassle he's had being heard by his GP and our local hospital. Winkers.

Anyway, I happened to get a really nice MD recording of this one by randomly dangling the mic on an old beam about 10' from the PA. A couple of fabulous furry freak brothers turned out too, so there was lots of stuff we hadn't done for years/ever. Nice to see everyone stand up with glasses raised after we did 'May you never' (it was the night after John Martyn died).

Last night was a country gig in the Tivloi Theatre, Wimborne (near Bournemouth), a proper small independent theatre. It was a seated 'do', and it went really well. No real hassle, just bangin' out the R>V most of the time. I think The Peter Donegan Band are there soon, so WoT (if you're playing): the King's Head just down the road does a lovely pint of Abbot, and the resident crew are really helpful.

A bit of a bizarre one, btw: I had an appointment with a cardiologist yesterday too. I went in to the consulting room and he looked at me a bit reservedly and said "I know you..." Then he turned to the medical student and nurse who were also attending and said "This gentleman is the finest bass player I've ever seen" and told me the various venues he's seen my jammy band over the years!

Good news is I'm discharged with no further problems. Turns out he's a bit of a player too, and he asked for my number if he needs a dep!

Its a funny old game, Saint...

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[quote name='bassninja' post='402509' date='Feb 6 2009, 11:43 PM']Last night was a country gig in the Tivloi Theatre, Wimborne (near Bournemouth), a proper small independent theatre. It was a seated 'do', and it went really well. No real hassle, just bangin' out the R>V most of the time. I think The Peter Donegan Band are there soon, so WoT (if you're playing): the King's Head just down the road does a lovely pint of Abbot, and the resident crew are really helpful.[/quote]

Cheers for the tip, Ninja!

I hope your Lyme's buddy is sorted soon...

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