The straight 4-hour gig.

Lee-Bro

Senior Member
So there's a club here in town where the bands playing Friday & Saturday night play a straight 4-hour gig, no breaks. The sets they play are all dance songs, no slow stuff. I've also noticed a few other clubs doing this in the region lately.

Without this turning into a conversation about what sets "normally" are, I'd like to hear from those of you who are playing a straight 3+ hours w/o taking breaks.

Are you using tracks on a couple of songs, does someone else take over the kit now & then, are you wearing Depends, etc?
 
Wow, tell me what town that is and I'll avoid it like the plague! I gotta have breaks man, or I'd die!
 
Sounds very strange.

They have special stage toilet, or something?

I guess the norm when I gigged was either 3x60 mins or 4x45 mins. If the people hadn't come out yet we'd wait a bit, though. There was a time when the club would be halfway filled up by around 9.00, but soon it changed to people not really showing up until midnight and completely wasted, too.
 
Sounds very strange.

They have special stage toilet, or something?

I guess the norm when I gigged was either 3x60 mins or 4x45 mins. If the people hadn't come out yet we'd wait a bit, though. There was a time when the club would be halfway filled up by around 9.00, but soon it changed to people not really showing up until midnight and completely wasted, too.

This. And it better pay National Tour wages......

There is a gig we used to do every year that we played two 30 song sets plus some crap at the end depending on who was still standing.....and I prepared for them like I did mountain bike races.....plenty of electrolytes as it became an endurance athletic event....

Odd format.....
 
Never seen that, never done it, would never agree to that. How much are these bands getting paid?

Does the drummer get to stand up at some point or does he really stay seated for 4 hours straight ?

I would not mind the four hour gig, but I need to stretch them legs at some point !

I had a friend of mine who started developping hemorroids while studying for bar exams. The doctor told him the probable cause was prolongued sitting periods. Needless to say he got slightly better results that yours truly, but at what cost !

Let's respect our bodies folks.
 
Have played for four straight hours before, once, because we were hired for a private function and were all having so much damn fun.

Doing that regularly would be brutal, though. I'd be up for it if the money was there, but you'd really want to ability to sub players out for bathroom breaks in the middle..
 
You know, as a musician, I feel that I'm not being squeezed quite hard enough. I think it's about time that they attempt to take our breaks away. I have to wonder what took them so long. <end sarcasm>

I bet the same people that do these gigs have to pay to play as well lol.
 
I've not done four hours, but I did a three-and-a-half-hour Zeppelin set in December. I came off for That's the Way, Going to California, Since I've Been Loving You and Custard Pie, but since only two of those were consecutive the longest time I was off the stage was less than fifteen minutes.
 
Haven't done that, and would normally not accept such a gig unless the pay was great. I think the longest I've played without a short break was 90 minutes, and happily, that's an infrequent gig.

But I did see one place where the entertainment played straight, I guess for 4 hours. They traded off players, and it was essentially non-stop - changeovers took maybe 20 seconds.

Bermuda
 
Have had to do this several times in the Harrisburg, PA area. A certain club where some of the workers become undressed type of place if you catch my drift. We had to do 9 pm till 1 am straight. No breaks. It was rough but had a good time with it. I tried to stay as hydrated as possible but not so much I had to pee every 5 minutes. I recommend a fan, that helped me stay cooler without needing lots of water. We went straight into the next song as much as possible to prevent breaks in music. It is definitely tiring, I was drained after loading the car at the end of the night, but the pay is incredible. We won't be back though... at the end of the night they asked all entertainers to head back to the dressing rooms, and apparently that doesn't include the musicians. They should have be more specific... just kidding, but I considered trying it and playing dumb. Anyway, good luck! It doesn't hurt to have someone that can play drums for one or two songs to save for when you need a bathroom break. Usually when I play though, I don't even notice if I have to go or not. I just hope that warm liquid on my legs is sweat after!
 
I would need a whole lot of money for that.

My capacity is 90 minutes, plus or minus.

Not only is the bathroom a significant need, but 4 hours would, I'm pretty sure, break my back into multiple pieces.
 
Ridiculous. Slave labour.
In my country it is LAW you get a break long before 4 hours ....at any job.
 
I can do 2 hours without blinking an eye, but 4 is excessive.
 
Ridiculous. Slave labour.
In my country it is LAW you get a break long before 4 hours ....at any job.

In the US, freelance music gigs aren't normally covered under any kind of employment regulations.
 
You know, as a musician, I feel that I'm not being squeezed quite hard enough. I think it's about time that they attempt to take our breaks away. I have to wonder what took them so long. <end sarcasm>

I bet the same people that do these gigs have to pay to play as well lol.

Now the Republicans are affecting US! It's probably the doing of the Koch Brothers or some sh-t! When are we going to get out in the STREETS and DEMAND a better deal?! I just saw that movie Braveheart again...."Don't you want to lead your troops onto the field and barter a better deal with Longshanks, before you tuck tail and RUN???!!" Where are our BALLS anymore!??? If I had to piss, I'd walk off stage and piss right on the damn ground right in front of the damn club owner! NO man rules ME!, as long as I live! And I don't give a damn if I DIE either, Id rather DIE for FREEDOM, real FREEDOM, just like William Wallace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Every Man DIES, not every man really LIVES!!!!" F-ck our Corporate MASTERS!!! I'd take them all to the GUILLOTINE, and I'd be HAPPY to release the blade MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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The club here in town is in a popular area and tends to appeal to younger crowds on weekend nights and they want to keep people dancing.

I've reached out to a couple of the bands who play there frequently to see how they arrange things to keep from dying and I'll keep you all posted.
 
The club here in town is in a popular area and tends to appeal to younger crowds on weekend nights and they want to keep people dancing.

I've reached out to a couple of the bands who play there frequently to see how they arrange things to keep from dying and I'll keep you all posted.

Same thing with a club nearby, except it's 3 hours, not 4. The club is new, and they pay better than any other club around. Young crowd, gotta keep em entertained.

After 2 hours straight, I told the singer I'd be back in 2 min. While I was walking and stretching, the singer did a couple tunes solo/acoustic. I took 10 min.

The real issue is that when breaks are long, people do tend to leave, if they're not your friends and/or your band is not famous/commercially successful. The biggest issue is making sure the DJ is ready to pump the tunes the moment the band is ready for a break. Silence does not sell drinks.
 
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