Crappy Shows.

[jamesbookert]

Anyone musicians ever get tired of crappy show after crappy show after crappy show? I'm in a serious band, and am getting very frustrated with either, playing for people who are just completely rude, verbally disrespectful, completely uninterested, or all three. we've had some really great shows that are really fun, and as soon as we start to think that things might be changing for us, we'll go back to playing some awful show. i'm sure many of you have gone through this, what do you do to keep positive about situations?

Thanks,

[Oskar]

Unfortunately that's the way it is if you want to play out locally or regionally. Unless you have a really strong following of supporters, or people who really, really like you you're going to play a fair number of those gigs to people who are uninterested or rude.
Just goes with the territory. My beef is more with uninterested, rude, and ripoff bar and club owners. But that's fodder for a whole other thread.

[raf]

I gigged in a band in southern indiana and illinois for 15 years...mainly small clubs and bars...and that is life in the gigging scene. I agree, unless you are packing your own crowd, you are often just a jukebox for the regulars, who wish you would turn down so they can talk. Of course if you become a regular band at any of these places, that will most definitely help...scarey the truths to be found in the tv show "Cheers"......"Norm!"

The answer: Some nights you play for the crowd & some nights you have to play for you...just make sure your enjoyment doesn't disappear on the nights you play for you!

[Telenator]

Smile. Seriously. If the band looks like they're having a great time that energy is contagious.

If you find that you have this problem in the same clubs time after time, then change something about what you're doing, or don't play there anymore.

Never let 'em smell blood in the water. The minute someone in the audience notices you'd rather be somewhere else, the sharks will start circling and you just won't be able to turn the tide.

Sorry to hear you're having some difficulties. The audience can build you up like never before, and then make you want to go out and burn your gear. I hope it works out for you.

[trag-o-caster]

Smile. Seriously.

Indeed! Laugh a lot out loud between songs, like you and your bandmates just exchanged a big joke or something. We laugh at ourselves a lot (not forced, but genuine laughter - because we're having fun). I make little wisecracks in between some of the lyrics while singing. Make it a party - even in no one STILL cares. You'll still have fun. But it's true that whatever you're giving off is contagious usually (not always).

[zombywoof]

My wife loves telling a story of an acoustic Neil Young show she once went to. When a few folks in the front refused to stop talking during his performance - he offered them money to leave.

I think Raf hit the nail on the head. Folks go out to the bar or club to have a good time. They are not there to hear Heifetz play a Bach solo sonata. The band is part of an overall experience and not necessarily the focal point. If you expect an audience to act like they are at a concert you will be disappointed.

What hurt us the most and earned us the most audience "abuse" when I used to gig though was being stubborn. We refused to incorporate popular songs we did not like or want to play (such as Skynrd tunes) into our setlist.
But after a while we did develop a following which guaranteed us enough "fans" to drown out those who were bored or less than thrilled with us.

I stopped gigging not when I got tired of non-appreciative audiences but when it just stopped being fun for me. That showed and did not help the band one little bit.

[blue metalflake]

Originally Posted by jamesbookert

playing for people who are just completely rude, verbally disrespectful, completely uninterested, or all three. we've had some really great shows that are really fun, and as soon as we start to think that things might be changing for us, we'll go back to playing some awful show.

As I remember it , this was the real world of a gigging band.

The best you can hope for is to have a little fun among yourselves, and hope that the odd great gig will roll along.

[DJG105]

Originally Posted by Telenator

Smile. Seriously. If the band looks like they're having a great time that energy is contagious.

The same works in reverse, if the crowd gives you nothing to feed off of, it's tough to get into a groove and loosen up.

Sometimes, you'll walk in and the energy's already there, other time's it's not.

That said, YOU are the one getting paid at the end of the night, and it's not the crowd's job to give you the right energy to work with- YOU need to be the spark that gets the energy going.

In situations where the crowd is tough, it's a good idea to keep adjusting the setlist until you figure out what exactly is going to get the crowd going- if you're an original band, keep AT LEAST a few well-known covers in stock just in case you need to catch some attention. If you're a cover band, have songs in stock outside of your intended style. Above all, don't take yourself too seriously.

If nothing else, find a different bar/venue.

just my opinion.

[Oskar]

The same works in reverse, if the crowd gives you nothing to feed off of, it's tough to get into a groove and loosen up.

I will have to agree with this. However, the pros just suck it up and do it. Just about every major musical act who's made it has toughed it out giving 110% for every show, or at least trying their best to do so. Let's face it, the great bands never came out of the starting gate on top. They all earned it.
I think it's the amateurs who tend to get to full of themselves and dis the crowds, etc. If you're serious about what you do then you have to respect the crowd regardless of their response to you. And as been said here, play for yourself if no one else is listening.

[tweedtone]

Rude, inattentive audience sure suck but in all honesty, the amount of cigarette smoke in a club will often be the deciding factor in my accepting or turning down a gig. It's also the main reason I rarely go out to see bands anymore. I'm just over having both myself and my gear reeking on the drive home. Fortunately, my band gets a steady stream of private bookings so we can largely avoid the club circuit although I'm putting a new project together that'll have to kinda start from scratch and play some of those ashtrays-with-seats...sigh...

[tweedtone]

Originally Posted by Telenator

Smile. Seriously. If the band looks like they're having a great time that energy is contagious.

......

Never let 'em smell blood in the water. The minute someone in the audience notices you'd rather be somewhere else, the sharks will start circling and you just won't be able to turn the tide.

+100 on those thoughts.

My drummer has a great thing he says to the effect that from the audience's POV, anything less than a warm, confident smile is indistiguishable from arrogance and indifference.

Also, if somebody hits a clam or botches the arrangement, remember 99% of the audience will never know if you don't show it. It used to be when I or somebody would hit a honker, everybody else would whip their head around to glare at the offender. Now, I/we wait four to eight bars then slooooooowly turn to look with an arched eyebrow, like "Really?!? You meant to play that?!?" Then we all laugh. Audience is none the wiser and it's great for band morale.

[woodman]

i can relate to a crappy-shows thread, cuz i play a lot of em these days.

but here's a tale about learning a lifelong lesson in about 1977.

we were playing in Richmond VA, never a good music town in that time (though it may have changed). when we kicked off the show there was one (1) couple in there. we vowed that we would keep them there all night.

before we started, we asked them what they liked, they told us, and we played it. first break, we all went over to the table and shot the breeze with em. we did all the showtime tricks, pulled out all the stops, played like there were a thousand people there.

at last call, that couple was still there. it was a goofball victory in a lifelong war against audience apathy, but it taught me that there's always some reason to play your ass off, no matter what the house is like.

[Rocker AK]

Originally Posted by woodman

i can relate to a crappy-shows thread, cuz i play a lot of em these days.

but here's a tale about learning a lifelong lesson in about 1977.

we were playing in Richmond VA, never a good music town in that time (though it may have changed). when we kicked off the show there was one (1) couple in there. we vowed that we would keep them there all night.

before we started, we asked them what they liked, they told us, and we played it. first break, we all went over to the table and shot the breeze with em. we did all the showtime tricks, pulled out all the stops, played like there were a thousand people there.

at last call, that couple was still there. it was a goofball victory in a lifelong war against audience apathy, but it taught me that there's always some reason to play your ass off, no matter what the house is like.

I grew up in Richmond, played clubs for 7 years and ran sound for 9 years. This is a tough place for a band to please anyone. My experiences were generally good. Once the following became large enough, we rarely had a bad night. But, they happen to everyone, even professional acts. You have to keep a good attitude and make the best of a bad situation. If you consistently have bad nights at a particular club, then stop booking there. If the place sounds good and your getting paid, consider it a change of rehearsal spots. You can experiment more in those situations. Take everything that's dealt as an opportunity. Woodmans example is perfect! If you focus on the negative, you will start to hate playing and it will destroy your band, eventually. I know from experience. Band implosions are ugly!

[refin]

Whenever I play a bad show (sometimes with a bad band) I always tell myself,"Hey,I'm playing my guitar for a living....how good is that?"
Brings it all into perspective.

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by DJG105

The same works in reverse, if the crowd gives you nothing to feed off of, it's tough to get into a groove and loosen up.

Sometimes, you'll walk in and the energy's already there, other time's it's not.

That said, YOU are the one getting paid at the end of the night, and it's not the crowd's job to give you the right energy to work with- YOU need to be the spark that gets the energy going.

In situations where the crowd is tough, it's a good idea to keep adjusting the setlist until you figure out what exactly is going to get the crowd going- if you're an original band, keep AT LEAST a few well-known covers in stock just in case you need to catch some attention. If you're a cover band, have songs in stock outside of your intended style. Above all, don't take yourself too seriously.

If nothing else, find a different bar/venue.

just my opinion.

Perfectly said, and this mostly covers the bases. If this doesn't work, the room and scenario has not been read.

From time to time, a venue will contain a bunch of yahoos that wouldn't be pleased if Elvis, John Lennon, John Bonham, and James Jamerson were reincarnated and magically alligned, save covering the stupid tune du jour. When this is the case, take note, do your job, and respectfully decline playing the venue again, if you've deemed the scenario to be typical of such.

There are a number of types of engagements that I've written off. The first time that I had a patron offer me twice the amount of cash that was being paid me by the establishment, NOT to play - such that he and his mates could enjoy a Georgia Bulldogs game on the big screen... I knew that I was done forever with sports bars, for instance. I don't fault the Bulldogs fan, I fault the venue operator for not understanding his clientele.

Anymore, I prefer to make sure that I'm playing where folks are into music. To be fair, I do play in podunk towns where Jesus lost his shoes, and in this case, management will do something to create a buzz in advance, be it radio or newspaper spots, or whatever.

As long as I'm making money for my endeavors, and folks (including myself) are jumping up and down and digging it, I'm on track. If not, I need to take another look at the approach and the math.

[Brewboy]

Luckily my band doesn't play for a source of income, so we are very selective of the gigs we take. We know our crowd and we pick venues that we know will work. I have certainly played my share of crappy gigs in my day though.

[TheGoodTexan]

Previous band that I was in....the band leader would always just "make up crap" on the spot, just to get people's attention.

Like...every gig was my birthday. If the crowd seemed to loose interest, he get everyone's attention after a song, and announce that it was my birthday. Then he'd lead everyone is a round of "Happy Birthday to You"....then the free drinks would start coming!

Just little stuff like that.

He'd always get the license plate number of someone in the parking lot during a break, then make some sort of announcement about the car...like "Sorry we backed into your car while we were backing the van in..."

Anything to get a rise out of people, all in good legitimate fun.

[jjlinus]

a week ago we played in a bar in a little town.there was a bunch of young people that literally ignored us.first we were a little confused but then played as usual.when i went to take money by the bar owner,he said to me that we were the best band ever played there and wanted ur for other gigs,and some of those young people also complimented us perhaps they were not used to normal crowd behavior during a gig

[tweedtone]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

Like...every gig was my birthday. If the crowd seemed to loose interest, he get everyone's attention after a song, and announce that it was my birthday. Then he'd lead everyone is a round of "Happy Birthday to You"....then the free drinks would start coming!

That is pure genius. And I will happy steal it. :)

[teledude66]

Hey trust me a crappy gig is better than NO gig...

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by tweedtone

That is pure genius. And I will happy steal it. :)

I played bass in that band. It was a funk band and we stayed together for about 3 years in the late 90s as funk was having a revival of sorts. We played about 1/2 covers and 1/2 originals. We must have played 150 gigs in 3 years, and I think that the leader used that line at least 90% of the time.

We had a following of about 50 people, and they were all in on the joke of course. But it still worked every-time. He would make the announcement at the perfect moment....and I'd always get at least 2 or 3 free beers....and most of the time, even more. Sometimes someone would send a pitcher of beer up to the stage. The other band members loved it when someone would send up a shot or two....cause I don't do shots! So I'd just pass them over.

It's a sure-fire-winner.

[jamesbookert]

thanks a lot everybody for the stories, advice and responses. one of the crappy shows that i was referring to is a show we're going back to play this week. it actually turned out that a student who liked our set offered the band $100,000 to "take us to the next level," which to him meant seeing our album in "every best buy in america." at any rate, the croud was for the the most part, un interested, but we finished our set and they asked us to play another, (our first encore) so we did. at any rate, i left confused because most of the people there treated us like crap, but about seven out of 65 seemed to like us. i guess there's a silver lining there?

at any rate, wish us luck, and i'll be sure to let anyone who's interested know how it goes. by the way we've decided not to take the $100,000.

by friends,