General venue rant

[Bo Eder]

I've been in situations like this where we finally asked the owner why he booked a rock in the first place if volume was that much of an issue. We cut a deal and left.

I recall asking an audience that at my last small club gig. No more complaints after that. And nobody left either

 

[Yamaha Rider]

I've been through this many times. You'd think venue owners would figure stuff like this out, but no, they often don't, usually because they aren't musicians.

Several years ago, we were playing at Nardi's, a very popular club on Long Beach Island at the Jersey Shore. We had to bring gear through the front door. It wasn't a problem at the start of the night, because the place wasn't crowded, but when we tried to load out, we had to fight our way through dozens of drunk twenty-somethings to get through the door. Of course, I had to make multiple trips, while the house DJ was blasting hip-hop and techno dance music at ear-splitting volume. I was growing more and more angry by the third trip. I had to say, "Excuse me" about four times to one sloppy drunk woman. I almost physically pushed her out of the way, but didn't, figuring a stunt like that would get the band fired.

Hey Bo, who is the cute blonde on the left? LOL!

Alison Kraus's little sister? ❤

 

[Bo Eder]

Alison Kraus's little sister? ❤

She’d be flattered to be considered Alison’s little sister

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

sweet...a checklist

The stories I could tell... I feel like in the past 20 years of playing gigs I've come across every kind of venue.
- The bar with only one entrance and no place for bands to stage gear, but only 10 minute changeovers

check

- The basement bar with a narrow set of stairs

check

- The outside stage with no cover (bonus points if it's a flatbed trailer)

check and bonus

- The high crime neighborhood where two people stand by your car as you're loading and unloading for 'security'

check x1000

- The bar where there's twenty Mercedes parked outside and no one raises a finger to help, or even holds the door open

check, but it is weddings

- The festival where the stage is plywood laid on uneven ground with one extension cord for the whole band

check, but no plywood. Drum carpet on ground

- The bar where the whole stage is maybe ten feet square (people in my area use this stage as a unit of measurement)

check...every punk club

- The bar where in order to get to the restrooms you have to walk through where the band is set up

check

- The backyard party where there's a strict noise ordinance

check

- The corporate function held in a cavernous open room with zero acoustic treatment

check, and this als ofits the Mercedes clientelle, and the "turn it down" one as well

- The RV convention where the average age of the audience is nearing triple digits and they only want to hear Hank Williams Sr

check, but make it car show

.

 

[alparrott]

sweet...a checklist
check +1
check +1
check and bonus +3
check x1000 +1000
check, but it is weddings +1
check, but no plywood. Drum carpet on ground +.5
check...every punk club +1
check +1
check +1
check, and this als ofits the Mercedes clientelle, and the "turn it down" one as well +2
check, but make it car show +1

Your final score is 1011.5, your reward is to play the punk bar in the bad neighborhood with the 10 foot square stage that is down a flight of stairs and to get to the loo the patrons must shimmy past the guitarist. Congrats.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Your final score is 1011.5, your reward is to play the punk bar in the bad neighborhood with the 10 foot square stage that is down a flight of stairs and to get to the loo the patrons must shimmy past the guitarist. Congrats.

I WIN!!!!

I will have none of that "country club" spoiling and pampering. Give me grit, filth and fast music baby!!

 

[alparrott]

I WIN!!!!

I will have none of that "country club" spoiling and pampering. Give me grit, filth and fast music baby!!

Those Mercedes-driving gits at the country club won't open the door for you anyways.

 

[Juniper]

check, but no plywood. Drum carpet on ground

Did one of those Friday evening, funny enough!

The bands played in a tent, they didn’t even bother clearing all the wet leaves on the ground inside it.

Nice and musty smelling gig, my drum carpet was nice and bumpy.

….Oh and our set got canned early as they didn’t bother informing us there was a curfew

…..and there was a raffle draw that delayed us starting.

Great gig

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Did one of those Friday evening, funny enough!

The bands played in a tent, they didn’t even bother clearing all the wet leaves on the ground inside it.

Nice and musty smelling gig, my drum carpet was nice and bumpy.

….Oh and our set got canned early as they didn’t bother informing us there was a curfew

…..and there was a raffle draw that delayed us starting.

Great gig

View attachment 139152

perfect example of someone in the planning meeting going: "we should have a band"
and then everyone thinking that all you have to do is book the band....nothing else

at least they ran electric to you

and, they could have also just booked a dj, so at least they went live music, as little as there might have been

 

[Juniper]

perfect example of someone in the planning meeting going: "we should have a band"
and then everyone thinking that all you have to do is book the band....nothing else

at least they ran electric to you

and, they could have also just booked a dj, so at least they went live music, as little as there might have been

Yep, our set starting late and finishing early meant I hardly broke a sweat.

Thankfully they didn’t try anything regarding our agreed pay, so no major issues and only took me five minutes to drive there.

One of those ‘character building’ gigs

Definitely an event more geared towards a DJ if they do it again. Not the greatest thing to hold an outdoor beer festival in late September, in the UK.

 

[Adios]

The stories I could tell... I feel like in the past 20 years of playing gigs I've come across every kind of venue.
- The bar with only one entrance and no place for bands to stage gear, but only 10 minute changeovers
- The basement bar with a narrow set of stairs
- The outside stage with no cover (bonus points if it's a flatbed trailer)
- The three story walkup with no elevator and public parking three blocks away
- The high crime neighborhood where two people stand by your car as you're loading and unloading for 'security'
- The bar where there's fifty Harleys parked outside, but then everyone helps you load in and out
- The bar where there's twenty Mercedes parked outside and no one raises a finger to help, or even holds the door open
- The place where they want you to play five hours in the broiling sun but has no food or drink
- The festival where the stage is plywood laid on uneven ground with one extension cord for the whole band
- The fundraiser where the stage is big enough for maybe two of your guitar players to stand if they really like each other
- The bar where the whole stage is maybe ten feet square (people in my area use this stage as a unit of measurement)
- The bar where in order to get to the restrooms you have to walk through where the band is set up
- The backyard party where there's a strict noise ordinance
- The corporate function held in a cavernous open room with zero acoustic treatment
- The RV convention where the average age of the audience is nearing triple digits and they only want to hear Hank Williams Sr
- The bar where the band is stuck in a corner surrounded by head-high paneling with a six-foot-wide entrance
- The bar where "you have to use their PA" which is one of those Bose things with the stick looking speaker coming off the base - with four inputs

I could go on and on...

Looks like I need to get around more. I've only experienced about HALF of those situations!

 

[BruceW]

Saturday night we had one, the load in is special... either a 15' set of stairs, or three 20' ascending ramps (back and forth to get to the level of where the 15' set of stairs ends). We play this place once or twice a year, so its no surprise, and fortunately some of the local will help lug stuff for us. Great people there. Still, that load in is daunting. At least the ramps make it a bit easier for the stuff that has wheels...

 

[Otto]

"go-ahead and set up on the deck".

Walk up the stairs to the deck...everything sways leaving you concerned the deck is gonna fall especially when others show and start loading in.

Yeah...been there.

"oh, no...its solid...it's just a little loose"...while i eye the dry rotted members.

 

[cdar]

I've been through this many times. You'd think venue owners would figure stuff like this out, but no, they often don't, usually because they aren't musicians.

Several years ago, we were playing at Nardi's, a very popular club on Long Beach Island at the Jersey Shore. We had to bring gear through the front door. It wasn't a problem at the start of the night, because the place wasn't crowded, but when we tried to load out, we had to fight our way through dozens of drunk twenty-somethings to get through the door. Of course, I had to make multiple trips, while the house DJ was blasting hip-hop and techno dance music at ear-splitting volume. I was growing more and more angry by the third trip. I had to say, "Excuse me" about four times to one sloppy drunk woman. I almost physically pushed her out of the way, but didn't, figuring a stunt like that would get the band fired.

Hey Bo, who is the cute blonde on the left? LOL!

Exactly why i stopped playin Nardis and down the shore in general… had my backup 13” pork pie go missing while loading out, right in front of me practically. Never had a good experience loading in/out from a gig on LBI…..

 

[BobC]

Exactly why i stopped playin Nardis and down the shore in general… had my backup 13” pork pie go missing while loading out, right in front of me practically. Never had a good experience loading in/out from a gig on LBI…..

Nardi's is a total PITA. I'm glad we're not there anymore. We used to pack Buckalew's every time we played there, but the booking person (usually a twenty-something kid) changed every year, so the leader had to deal with somebody new constantly. Also, the old man dinner piano player didn't like us for some reason, which caused a problem, I guess. We also did very well at the Surf City Hotel, but that gig went away as we got older, and so did the Engleside Hotel afternoon gigs. The leader had a couple of disagreements with the owner, who seemed to be unreasonable at times, and always complained about volume.

Another place I regret losing was the Gateway, just before you got to LBI. Built-in PA, nice stage, good crowd, After Covid, all he wanted was acoustic singles and duos. We do well at the Lighthouse in Waretown, and The Crab's Claw in Lavallette.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Nardi's is a total PITA. I'm glad we're not there anymore. We used to pack Buckalew's every time we played there, but the booking person (usually a twenty-something kid) changed every year, so the leader had to deal with somebody new constantly. Also, the old man dinner piano player didn't like us for some reason, which caused a problem, I guess. We also did very well at the Surf City Hotel, but that gig went away as we got older, and so did the Engleside Hotel afternoon gigs. The leader had a couple of disagreements with the owner, who seemed to be unreasonable at times, and always complained about volume.

Another place I regret losing was the Gateway, just before you got to LBI. Built-in PA, nice stage, good crowd, After Covid, all he wanted was acoustic singles and duos. We do well at the Lighthouse in Waretown, and The Crab's Claw in Lavallette.

speaking of lost places

The Alrosa Villa here in C-bus had a GREAT band logistical area. Great sound. Load in was on the same level as parking, and the stage was maybe 6 feet from a huge door to get gear in. The stage itself was huge. Great area for the crowd.

It is too bad that all fo the bad things happened with Damage Plan ,and some other mis management things in the years long before that happened that sort of started to pull the club down, becasue for a mid-small sized place, it was a great space to play in.

they tore it down 3 years ago, and now there are bulls*%t apartments on it

 

[Bo Eder]

speaking of lost places

The Alrosa Villa here in C-bus had a GREAT band logistical area. Great sound. Load in was on the same level as parking, and the stage was maybe 6 feet from a huge door to get gear in. The stage itself was huge. Great area for the crowd.

It is too bad that all fo the bad things happened with Damage Plan ,and some other mis management things in the years long before that happened that sort of started to pull the club down, becasue for a mid-small sized place, it was a great space to play in.

they tore it down 3 years ago, and now there are bulls*%t apartments on it

Yeah, but I bet the person who owns that land is making a lot more money now

 

[vyacheslav]

How about the venue that asks the band to turn down because they can't hear the TV?

 

[Otto]

pave paradise and put up a parking lot...or so its said.

 

[2 hit wonder]

We did a show in a converted downtown narrowish store-shop bar. It's a nice place that I enjoyed, but the stage is in at the entry. People enter right thru the band. Guitar on one side, path thru the band, bass on the other and the singer has to move out of the way as people come and go and the doors can hit her when they opened, lol.
Where are the drums? There's a platform built over the front doors for the drummer! You can't see the singer at all. I also couldn't see the tall guitar player. The only reason I could see the bass is because he needed to know the count in on backing tracks.
We played several songs with backing tracks that I only heard once so we needed visuals to know when to quit, which went like you think.

Drums go on the shorter platform. In this pic they're stored on a shelf behind the platform.
Hey, we had a good time but it's kinda challenging. There's no stage, just floor level for the rest of the players. The amps are in the window area.