Woeful suckfest :(

Andy

Honorary Member
"Played" a local 2 day festival today. All seemed good at first - ok stage - PA sort of adequate, but you work with what you're given on the assumption people know what they're doing.

Well, the most clueless tech crew ever assembled ensured a sound of purest mud, endless tech issues, & a mix that defied belief. To top that, due to woeful stage management / overrun, etc, we were told 30 seconds before starting up that our scheduled 1 hour show had been cut to 20 minutes - & we were the headline act of the first day!!!!! The event actually closed 5 minutes into our set, & after a day with audiences of around 3,000, we ended up playing to 200 people.

Seriously pissed doesn't even start to cover it. Absolute amateurs, & an event we certainly won't be playing again.

Picture taken during setup.
 

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Sorry to hear. Badly run events with delays are a huge pain. If things are running late obviously all the bands need to cut their set short to avoid cutting into the headline act. Talk about amateur hour.
 
OMG. An incompetent sound tech absolutely ruins the entire experience for everyone there.

I hope some good comes out of it for you.
 
That just sucks. Why did they cut you like that, was there a reason given. Hopefully they didn't cut your pay (I have a feeling you guys have a pretty good contract) Have you spoken with whoever hired you for this? I'd be pissed to say the least as I know you are. That's a lot of your time for basically no playing time.
 
Write a thinly veiled scathing song about the unprofessionalism and the crap that has to be dealt with as a musician.

Yea, that should be on the lips of every teen lol.
 
Incompetent sound guys for sure. Look at the monitors. The feet go on the floor you morons!

Sorry to hear about your frustrations. A bad day of playing is still better than a good day at work?
 
I hope you all got paid the same either way!

I hate getting into situations like. I swear I feel like I've been through more of my fair share of them, so i feel your pain. So sorry!
 
Just an impression from the pic...The background banner attracts the eye away from the absolutely gorgeous walnut drums.
 
..the most clueless tech crew ever assembled ensured a sound of purest mud, endless tech issues, & a mix that defied belief..

..Absolute amateurs, & an event we certainly won't be playing again..

..Picture taken during setup..


Such things are ofcourse never nice..

But, when speaking in general, i am not sure if is wise to speak about failing concert/festival organizers on a public forum, since you never know who knows who in this world..And festivals have in general more bands to chose from than bands have festivals to chose from..

Is just a thought i had when i read the post, not a critic, but i guess you know about which people you speak and therefore maybe no risks in this case..
 
I hope some good comes out of it for you.
I think it will Larry. It was our new bassist's first gig with us - hardly an ideal introduction to the band, but we plowed through where others might have fallen apart, so all good :)

Hopefully they didn't cut your pay (I have a feeling you guys have a pretty good contract)
I hope you all got paid the same either way!
Oh yes = paid up front, but the money is way down the list of priorities

Incompetent sound guys for sure. Look at the monitors. The feet go on the floor you morons!
Those monitors have feet everywhere to vary the angle, but there were certainly signs of incompetency. First thing I noticed was subs placed directly on a hollow stage. I asked the engineer to take a wide 3db scoop centred around 200Hz from the whole system. I got a blank look.

Just an impression from the pic...The background banner attracts the eye away from the absolutely gorgeous walnut drums.
Perhaps the biggest travesty of the event - oh wait -----------

But, when speaking in general, i am not sure if is wise to speak about failing concert/festival organizers on a public forum, since you never know who knows who in this world..And festivals have in general more bands to chose from than bands have festivals to chose from..

Is just a thought i had when i read the post, not a critic, but i guess you know about which people you speak and therefore maybe no risks in this case..
Of course, you're completely correct, but any likely exposure hear is extremely limited. For me, this is a safe space, but for sure, there's no way I'd put this on wider social media - we don't want to be painted as "that difficult band", but the screwups beyond our control were plain for all to see. We did put up a FB post apologising for the short set & technical difficulties to those who came out to see us, but I didn't throw anyone under a bus. That said, we're not short of gig offers in the context of how frequently we want to play.

We're in the early process of training up our own sound guy. He's already a decent engineer with good all round experience, but needs yet to fully absorb + replicate all the band's requirements.
 
You were LUCKY!

My experience of playing a small local festival.

The power supply was inadequate, so every 10 minutes, when an extra kettle was plugged in, half the event, including the stage was plunged into darkness.

I had been told, by email, that a drum kit would be provided. One wasn't so I had to beg to borrow one.

The scheduled start time we had been given, by email, and on the printed schedule coincided with scheduled end of the event.

We managed to overcome all of these only for the audience to disappear as the rain hit.

I feel your pain Andy!
 
Frustrating! And for you too James.

I had one in Adelaide last year - a local council closed a street, hired a stage, etc. and put on a one day festival. We were on last, large band with a horn section, from 10pm.

Turns out that whoever scheduled the acts didn’t allow any change over time at all. Each act was told to play a 45 minute set, and there was an act scheduled every 45 minutes. There were also supposed to be drums and backline provided. Alas, it was just the PA and lights. By sheer fluke I still had my kit in the car from another gig, but had t Park a few blocks away because the road was closed for the event....

So - the community dance group went way over time. The acoustic guitar band before us very politely cut their set short so we’d get 35 minutes out of our 45.
We set up offstage, then dragged on in record time and started playing with no sound check. Unlike Andy’s gig, this sound guy was excellent, and pulled a decent mix within half a song.

So we played three short songs, then some lady from the council decided to end the event early. The crew literally starting dismantling the tent around us!

We won’t do that show again.
 
All that for 20 minutes! I’d be ticked too. What a waste! Sorry Andy! A suck fest indeed!!!
I used to play in an original band years ago. Tons of fun usually till we hit the stage. It was anyone’s guess at that point what would blow up first, but it was usually our singer/songwriter! If things weren’t absolutely perfect..... kaboom! Our explosions usually excluded up front payments.
 
Man that's a huge stage-that isn't your stage lights??? Looks inadequate for such a huge stage. Man your new bass player rocks!!!!Of all the groups to get time screwed -the headliner act-man that's beyond incompetent was the audience pissed? Some time all you can do is take the hit and lumps-but your right it isn't about the money it's about basic competency to orchestrate said event. They need an earful-I bet patrons are giving it to them too. Sorry to hear about this Andy I know you and the band were looking forward to the event. "Those monitors have feet everywhere to vary the angle, but there were certainly signs of incompetency. First thing I noticed was subs placed directly on a hollow stage. I asked the engineer to take a wide 3db scoop centred around 200Hz from the whole system. I got a blank look." Yes we were just discussing this-the Dunning-Kruger effect LOL. You feel like you're in a Steinbeck novel and talking to Lennie. But you're among friend so it's Ok to vent.
 
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Man that's a huge stage-that isn't your stage lights??? Looks inadequate for such a huge stage.
Not our PA or lights Art. Very little effort placed into lighting - daytime only festival - fairly typical at this level :(

it was usually our singer/songwriter! If things weren’t absolutely perfect..... kaboom!
Never good to have a precious band member :( Our keys player gets a bit prickly with venues at times, but it takes a lot to get him there. Everyone else is pretty bomb proof.

So we played three short songs, then some lady from the council decided to end the event early. The crew literally starting dismantling the tent around us!

We won’t do that show again.
That's just horrible - avoid lesson learnt!

You were LUCKY!
Hahaha - you're not wrong there. I nearly spat out my coffee reading of your experience - a suckfest on steroids!

Man your new bass player rocks!!!!
He does indeed, & sucked up the challenges with ease. Horrible first gig experience for him - I felt for him on this. In general though, very happy with him. Ok, first few gigs are likely to be a bit loose, but he's just learn't 30 songs in 3 rehearsals, so I'm not getting in the least picky. Plays multiple styles too - hard driving with plectrum - smooth fast finger style - fretless - 5 string, etc. Great voice too. Once he's settled, I'm predicting really good stuff :)


For those interested, here's a snippet someone captured on a handy cam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ny7_2RsRM&feature=youtu.be

.
 
He does indeed, & sucked up the challenges with ease. Horrible first gig experience for him - I felt for him on this. In general though, very happy with him. Ok, first few gigs are likely to be a bit loose, but he's just learn't 30 songs in 3 rehearsals, so I'm not getting in the least picky. Plays multiple styles too - hard driving with plectrum - smooth fast finger style - fretless - 5 string, etc. Great voice too. Once he's settled, I'm predicting really good stuff :)


For those interested, here's a snippet someone captured on a handy cam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ny7_2RsRM&feature=youtu.be

.

Not to go off topic, but every time I see your band play in videos it confirms I’m not out there with my quest to play fun songs. It does however take real players with a desire to push themselves to pull it off. It avoids the eternal suckfest!
 
Unlucky mate, I saw ya post the stage on fb on Saturday, looked like a decent stage and outdoor gig, definitely the weather for once!

Chalk it down to experience, nothing quite like having your weekend wasted.
 
Hi Andy,

Sorry to read about that, unfortunately it happens sometimes.
I remember doing a gig once where one of the overhead microphones kept falling down and the tech had to walk over all the time to set it up again.
He could have better keep standing there and hold it up himself.

Off the record: not being negative and without a doubt it has been mentioned before but every time I see your avatar and band logo I can't help thinking I would have accented other characters...;-)
 
Hi Andy,

Sorry to read about that, unfortunately it happens sometimes.
I remember doing a gig once where one of the overhead microphones kept falling down and the tech had to walk over all the time to set it up again.
He could have better keep standing there and hold it up himself.
A friend of mine had overhead stand "sinking" issues at a festival a few years back. Crew decided to select two scantily clad girls from the audience to hold up the stands for most of the set. It worked out rather well ;)

Off the record: not being negative and without a doubt it has been mentioned before but every time I see your avatar and band logo I can't help thinking I would have accented other characters...;-)
That character highlighting has worked out really well in terms of merch sales ;)

Unlucky mate, I saw ya post the stage on fb on Saturday, looked like a decent stage and outdoor gig, definitely the weather for once!

Chalk it down to experience, nothing quite like having your weekend wasted.
Thanks :) The big letdown is when the gig has the ingredients to be great, but something ruins it that's completely outside of your control = left frustrated :(

Not to go off topic, but every time I see your band play in videos it confirms I’m not out there with my quest to play fun songs.
Is that a band choice thing for you? Staring your own a possibility? It's a long slog, but gratifying if you can make it work.

In all honesty, it's taken years & 3 player changes to finally get a lineup that I think could maybe find another level in a modest way.
 
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