DrumDoug
Senior Member
I had a gig last Saturday and the way the venue treated us kind of annoyed me. I realize that we are being hired by the venue, and we work for them for the evening. I think there has to be some sort of mutual respect between the band's time and the bar's business of making money.
We arrived early to set up and there were still tables set up in the area where the band sets up. The manger said we had to wait until the hockey game on the tv was over before they would ask the patrons to move and we could set up. Ok, whatever, we're still getting paid. I went over to the bar and ordered a drink and sat down. The bartender told me I had to move, the band couldn't sit at the bar, or take up a table, they were for paying customers. Ok, kind of annoying but whatever. I stood in the corner and finished my drink and then went outside where the band was hanging around out front waiting to set up. The same bartender came up and said we couldn't loiter outside. I asked him where he wanted us to wait. He said we couldn't wait out there and he went back inside.
This was about 8:30. We were supposed to start at 9:30 The game didn't end until about 9:15. At that point we had been standing around the bar for about and hour and a half. They finally moved the tables and we brought our gear in and started setting up. The manager then came over to discuss how much he was going to dock our pay since we were going to start late. A somewhat heated discussion ensued and much to the annoyance of the manager we refused to take a pay cut since it wasn't our fault we were starting late.
I guess my question for you guys is where do you draw the line between the band being flexible to give the venue what they want, and the venue being inconsiderate to the needs of the band?
We arrived early to set up and there were still tables set up in the area where the band sets up. The manger said we had to wait until the hockey game on the tv was over before they would ask the patrons to move and we could set up. Ok, whatever, we're still getting paid. I went over to the bar and ordered a drink and sat down. The bartender told me I had to move, the band couldn't sit at the bar, or take up a table, they were for paying customers. Ok, kind of annoying but whatever. I stood in the corner and finished my drink and then went outside where the band was hanging around out front waiting to set up. The same bartender came up and said we couldn't loiter outside. I asked him where he wanted us to wait. He said we couldn't wait out there and he went back inside.
This was about 8:30. We were supposed to start at 9:30 The game didn't end until about 9:15. At that point we had been standing around the bar for about and hour and a half. They finally moved the tables and we brought our gear in and started setting up. The manager then came over to discuss how much he was going to dock our pay since we were going to start late. A somewhat heated discussion ensued and much to the annoyance of the manager we refused to take a pay cut since it wasn't our fault we were starting late.
I guess my question for you guys is where do you draw the line between the band being flexible to give the venue what they want, and the venue being inconsiderate to the needs of the band?