rant: clock-watchers onstage

[woodman]

several of the joints my bands play are very lenient as to when the band knocks off. playing a fill-in gig with another group the other night, the band quit at the stroke of midnight, knowing they could get full pay and get home early. the place was packed, people hollering for more, and last call wasn't til 2 -- and this was after two lengthy breaks.

are we not musicians?

to me, once you're set up, tuned up, got everything humming with a crowd behind you, the scut work's done and the playing's icing on the cake! the guys in my bands know we're gonna play til they run us out. i don't get the attitude that you play as little as possible then take the money and run. from a clubowner's perspective, you're costing them money by not keeping the cash register jingling; from a band perspective, the late-night hours are a good testing time for new material and wild-hair requests that can evolve into new tunes for your songlist, not to mention developing your sound by playing together -- quitting early is a lost opportunity. are there good reasons for cutting it short if you can, or am i just twisted?

[PK]

The only 3 reasons a band might quit early when the crowd is hummin and the place is rockin:

1) They're a bunch of pussies
2) They're self centered wimps and pussies
3) They have their head up their ass and are self centered wimpy pussies

Just my $.045 (yes 4 1/2 cents... inflation in the George Bush era ya know :evil: )

PK

[J-man]

Maybe they have another gig, which they need to make ends meet, that they have to run to after that gig.

[Grey]

Originally Posted by J-man

Maybe they have another gig, which they need to make ends meet, that they have to run to after that gig.

Its very possible. I've heard of guys booking themselves for three gigs in one night, when you take into account getting to each venue, setting up gear, getting the cash and driving to the next venue you have a lot of tasks infront of you for the night and taking the time to do a few more songs for an encore may not be practical.

[eryque]

Though I'd be tempted to stay as long as there was a crowd asking for it, there could be lots of letgit reasons why they'd quit at midnight. Maybe some of them needed to be at work early the next morning, or have kids and want to be up early with them, maybe the day started early, maybe they've been gigging a lot and the opportunity to get home early for once was a welcome change from the normal schedule.

Maybe they've had an argument with the club owner about this before. As the band for the evening you're the hired entertainment. The bar's making money off of your labor, so there's no reason for the band not to expect to get paid for continuing to work.

[David Barnett]

That's not nearly as annoying as a band that won't f-ing stop, even though the crowd has thinned, the cocktail waittress is blowing out candles on the tables, and the security guys are sweeping the floor and throwing chairs on the tables.

Or the band that says "Okay, we've got one more song" then plays two more songs and says "okay we've got one more song" and plays two or three more then says "okay we've got one more song"...

Or the band that says "Okay, we've got one more song" and it's a 45 minute jam.

[Tim Armstrong]

If, at the end of our scheduled gig, the audience really wants more, we'll play a song. Or maybe even two. But unless the bar is willing to come up with a little more, we won't play more than that.

And you know what? They usually ARE willing to throw another hundred bucks our way if it's really happening (which happens at afternoon gigs). Either that or they're glad we're finished because they want to go home too!

But that's for a bar gig that ends at 1am, with a bar closing time of 2am. I've never heard of a band quitting at midnight in such a situation!

Cheers, Tim

[Big John]

... if i am booked to play between 10 and 12 why shouldn't i come off at 12, maybe an "encore" if needed but if the bar goes on until 2 O'Clock why wasn't the band booked UNTIL 2 O'Clock ?
If i book my car in to the garage to have it's brakes fixed i don't expect the mechanic to "go wild" and fit a new exhaust and re-plane the head for nothing.

[51mike]

I'm with Tim on this one.
Right on! and that's the way we do it!

We're a play ofr pay outfir for the most part, and don't mind giving the customer a little more than they paid for. Customer in this case being the venue owner not the patrons. Now if the patrons want more, then the customer has to approve that. We'll do an encore (one song) but if the customer wants to please the patrons, he'll ask us to do another set, time pemitting, for a proper fee.

Also, might as well get this out now......
I don't like that the venue owners expect the entertainment to bring their own audience in order to get hired.

Just sayin'.... that's backwards! I'm there to entertain your patrons. If you want me to supply patrons, then there's an extra charge for that.

Let's hold tight on this because they're robbing you blind if you allow this.

[David Barnett]

Set times should always be determined by the result of an agreement between the performer and the stage manager or bar manager.

However, this requires communication, a concept which seems to be foreign to many people.

[Big John]

Top man Mr Barnett !

[Charlie Bernstein]

...to have band members looking at their watches onstage, cutting songs short because it's break time, or rushing off stage after the last tune.

it says someone on stage isn't glad to be there.

[charlie chitlin]

I love to play live, but...
I'm getting old, and it's getting real hard for me to have a full-time job, be a father to 2 boys, etc...and stay up until 3 a.m.
If I've agreed with a club-owner to play until 1 a.m, I'll probably knock off real soon after that...even if the place is open 'til 2.
Breaking down and driving home can easily take 2 hours.
Besides...Hendrix, I ain't.
By the time 1:00 rolls around, I've played everything I know several times.
If the crowd is begging for more, though...We always play a little more.

[stephent2]

I hear ya but when you're done, stop.

Leave 'em wanting more.

[zoppotrump]

we play country from classics up to top 40 stuff and always have a minimum of 4,5 hours playtime ( normally 4 sets with 10-15 min. breaks ). we play within a radius of 150 miles and have a lot of gigs for the USAF clubs here in germany, so we play about 40 gigs a year.
if it is a slow night we play 2-3 encores, but the other night, we may end up playing a full extra set. and we never know in advance if the manager is paying some extra money. and we never ask for this !
because you never know, what the evening will bring. you may have high expectations and then play for a thin crowd or you think, this is gonna be more like a "public rehearsal" and the room is busting ...
for me, having a regular job, it is fun to play and i dig standing on stage and give the audience a good time. so i don´t mind at all to extend, if asked to.
plus, it is my experience, that the crowd remembers very well the little bonus tracks, you give them and is thankfully coming again to the next gig !!
and having a good crowd is usually followed by bigger and better venues !!! .... and a better rates !!!
take care everybody

zoppotrump
:O)

[dented]

...to have band members looking at their watches onstage, cutting songs short because it's break time, or rushing off stage after the last tune.

That is very uncomfortable for the fans as well, they notice it right away.

You don't have to give it away, but I like it when I get a little extra from going to see someone play, especially if they have the place jumpin'. I hate the let-down when they pull the plug just 'cause it is the mandatory 45 minute break time and the place is in a frenzy listening to a good band. I notice many people will leave or find someting else to do at this point.

I also understand about getting paid for what you do and most of you having two or three jobs and a family to get home to. Not easy choices, but many are easily eliminated by communication between each other and the people that hired you.

If ya got 'em going , keep 'em going. But what do I know, I work in a hospital, I keep 'em going no matter what!