Just got done doing a fill-in gig Fri/Sat night for some old friends that were in a bind. The venue is a small but quaint place and as most of you have experienced very tight space allowed for the band. I practiced with them twice over the past two weeks and at the last practice I told them due to the confines of the venue I would just be bringing my kick, snare, hats, ride and a 14" and 17" crash. They freaked out and were extremely worried I would not be able to pull it off, because their drummer always uses his full kit no matter where they have been playing. You can probably guess how this thread is going to end, but anyway, it could not have gone better and the rest of the band was amazed at how much better their music sounded keeping the drums low key, by the way this is a blues band playing quite a bit of up-tempo in your face blues. Actually got comments and a thank you from the owner for not blowing the doors off the place with the drumming. This was actually an audition gig for the band to try and get a weekly gig after the every Weds, blues on the mall concert series during the summer in an attempt to get all the bikers out to this place after the concert is over. They were offered the Wed. slot and have now asked me to play with them for the summer at these and more gigs, which will lead me to another thread.
Anyway, I just wanted to stress the importance of playing for the venue when it comes to the amount of gear you REALLY need to have or bring. Finess playing versus power drumming really goes a long, long way and it is appreciated by many when playing a smaller venue, or a bigger one for that matter. I also believe it does make you a better and more versatile drummer...
04-17-2011, 01:52 PM
Remember, Size Does Not Matter - Play The Venue
68 and 2012 Ludwig
