Talk About Your Last Gig Here

[Bob Womack]

I've got a pic from a recent session:

It was a typical session for a video soundtrack. This time it was a hilarious, humorous Country & Western tune based around guitars. I used two guitars that had just been set up marvelously by my luthier/tech, Kenny Marshall: the NOS 2004 Taylor 710ce (pictured above) and the 2013 Fender American Standard Tele below. They both felt and performed excellently.

I also used the Fender Jazz Bass I keep at the studio. I set up the mic in the control room because of the great acoustics in the room. There are no machines in the so the background noise is extremely low and as a Live-End-Dead-End control room, the room design yields a really nice sound.

Bob

 

[FaithNicole]

Where to start .. well, drummer had a medical issue pre-show. Dr told him to come in right away, he said he couldn't (and he didn't). Dr told him go straight to the emergency room next day (he did), they admitted him, immediately. Guys, come on, a gig is not worth your life. He is one of my longest and closet friends and I'd rather have him in my life than any number of shows.

About the gig:
Acoustics, OMG! Big square room, low ceiling, columns jutting out from the walls every 10' or so. Oh and ceiling fans mounted and spinning roughly 8' apart. Echo canyon with a heavy touch of reverb. Still, it was our first time there and we were asked back before we even finished. About finishing. Toward the end of the 3rd set (of 3) and my bass starts fading out, coming back. WTH? Ok, maybe my wireless was unhappy, grab my cable real quick to go direct. Ok for a few minutes then back to fading. I turn to look and happen to notice my amp power dimming out and coming back. Well, Crap!. Grab a spare power cord and plug directly into the strip. All good.

Turns out that the combination of tilting the amp back, wood floor stage w/extra vibrations, slightly loose power plug, combined to cause the plug to lose contact. Well, I settled that issue, that won't happen again! At least I got a pat on the back for recovering quickly

 

[Teddyjack]

Played with the Zydeco/R&B band last night up in Craftsbury, VT. A beautiful evening, clear skies, the temperature around 80. People started showing early while we were setting up and by the time we went on the green was full. The band was tight and we had 'em dancing. A long drive home (2 hours) but it was worth it. Played my Tele through the Super Reverb. My guitar partner in crime was playing his Strat thought a '59 Gibson Explorer.

 

[dougstrum]

Hope your drummer is doing better, getting treatment he needs.

 

[KeithDavies 100]

A wedding, last Sunday night - kids of a friend of the drummer. My first gig for 6 years - I'd moved away for a while for work, and only moved back last year. Current drummer in my old band was on holiday, couldn't cover this gig, and they asked would I step in. Glad to - it was lovely to see them all again.

Unfortunately, I had no idea how rusty I'd got in the intervening years! First three rehearsals were painful, and then I came down with that thing, which isolated me for a couple of weeks. Practiced on my own like mad, while coughing and spluttering away to myself. Tested positive Tuesday before the gig, so drove down to rehearse. Nailed every song, much to everyone's relief, not least mine!

So, the gig.

Got there to set up at 5:30 as requested. Big old country house in Suffolk. We're to set up in a small octagonal room, maybe 15 feet across - can't have been much more than that - with high ceilings. A doorway in one side led to a long room, also not that large, with a bar in it. Apparently our little octagonal room was the only room in this massive building where loud music was permitted, and outer doors had to be kept closed because "neighbours" had complained in the past. The "neighbours" houses were just about visible, through the trees and across the field.

We shared our little room with the DJ and a guy who was going to be singing songs to backing tracks. At the same time we were supposed to be performing there was also a buffet served outside, and throughout the evening there was a "casino" - for play, rather than real, if that makes sense - set up elsewhere in the building.

It was a lovely summer evening and the combination of that, the outside food and the casino meant there was no-one in our side of the building at all. It was therefore decided we'd perform later, when people started drifting back in side.

DJ played music to no crowd most of the evening. Singer did two sets, the first one to no-one except my band, the second to a slightly larger crowd - maybe a dozen - that had drifted in.

We were asked to play about 10:30. Same small crowd - everyone else still either through in the "casino" or gone home! Some people with no sense of the band's space - came and stood between me and the rest of the band, so communication and eye contact was difficult. One woman who clearly likes a lot of attention kept dancing up close to us and trying to get us to react. Knocked the drummer's cymbals over. Spilled her drink all over my pedals. Poked me in the eye at one point. By accident, admittedly, but keep your drunken hands out of my face! Her boyfriend thought it hilarious to put a full bottle of beer down the horn of the sax during a solo. The bottle containing beer, that is - he didn't simply tip beer in there, thank God.

Acoustics, predictably, were atrocious.

We were about 3/4 of the way through our set when we were asked to wrap it up, because the in-house DJ wanted to close out the evening, and music needed to stop at midnight. That was about 11:30.

Because the doors can't be opened while music was playing, we had to wait till after midnight to move our gear out. Got home about 1:30.

Least enjoyable gig I've ever done, I think. The rehearsal impetus has given my playing a useful boost again, but beyond that I'd just as soon not go through that again. I'd be happier jamming, recording at home, whatever.

 

[FaithNicole]

Hope your drummer is doing better, getting treatment he needs.

He is, hopes to be released tomorrow. He's on forced bed rest and still plans on playing Sat It's not my call to make but I worry.

ps. getting old sucks when your body agrees with your years.

 

[dannyh]

A wedding, last Sunday night - kids of a friend of the drummer. My first gig for 6 years - I'd moved away for a while for work, and only moved back last year. Current drummer in my old band was on holiday, couldn't cover this gig, and they asked would I step in. Glad to - it was lovely to see them all again.

Unfortunately, I had no idea how rusty I'd got in the intervening years! First three rehearsals were painful, and then I came down with that thing, which isolated me for a couple of weeks. Practiced on my own like mad, while coughing and spluttering away to myself. Tested positive Tuesday before the gig, so drove down to rehearse. Nailed every song, much to everyone's relief, not least mine!

So, the gig.

Got there to set up at 5:30 as requested. Big old country house in Suffolk. We're to set up in a small octagonal room, maybe 15 feet across - can't have been much more than that - with high ceilings. A doorway in one side led to a long room, also not that large, with a bar in it. Apparently our little octagonal room was the only room in this massive building where loud music was permitted, and outer doors had to be kept closed because "neighbours" had complained in the past. The "neighbours" houses were just about visible, through the trees and across the field.

We shared our little room with the DJ and a guy who was going to be singing songs to backing tracks. At the same time we were supposed to be performing there was also a buffet served outside, and throughout the evening there was a "casino" - for play, rather than real, if that makes sense - set up elsewhere in the building.

It was a lovely summer evening and the combination of that, the outside food and the casino meant there was no-one in our side of the building at all. It was therefore decided we'd perform later, when people started drifting back in side.

DJ played music to no crowd most of the evening. Singer did two sets, the first one to no-one except my band, the second to a slightly larger crowd - maybe a dozen - that had drifted in.

We were asked to play about 10:30. Same small crowd - everyone else still either through in the "casino" or gone home! Some people with no sense of the band's space - came and stood between me and the rest of the band, so communication and eye contact was difficult. One woman who clearly likes a lot of attention kept dancing up close to us and trying to get us to react. Knocked the drummer's cymbals over. Spilled her drink all over my pedals. Poked me in the eye at one point. By accident, admittedly, but keep your drunken hands out of my face! Her boyfriend thought it hilarious to put a full bottle of beer down the horn of the sax during a solo. The bottle containing beer, that is - he didn't simply tip beer in there, thank God.

Acoustics, predictably, were atrocious.

We were about 3/4 of the way through our set when we were asked to wrap it up, because the in-house DJ wanted to close out the evening, and music needed to stop at midnight. That was about 11:30.

Because the doors can't be opened while music was playing, we had to wait till after midnight to move our gear out. Got home about 1:30.

Least enjoyable gig I've ever done, I think. The rehearsal impetus has given my playing a useful boost again, but beyond that I'd just as soon not go through that again. I'd be happier jamming, recording at home, whatever.

Sorry to hear, I've played plenty of gigs like that before, I feel your pain...I'm lucky I never strangled anybody when I was younger.

Sometimes you just gotta go through the motions and live to gig another day...."boom-chuck, get check"

 

[brookdalebill]

My surprise gig with Tracie Lynn went well.
We played in a shady courtyard.
The crowd, which included several toddlers seemed to enjoy us.
The gig flew by.
After I played with Tracie, I sat in on guitar at Donn’s Depot, with Chip, Kelly, Jon, and Matt.
Everyone sang and played their best.
The crowd was large and attentive.
An all-around wonderful evening!

 

[String Tree]

Where to start .. well, drummer had a medical issue pre-show. Dr told him to come in right away, he said he couldn't (and he didn't). Dr told him go straight to the emergency room next day (he did), they admitted him, immediately. Guys, come on, a gig is not worth your life. He is one of my longest and closet friends and I'd rather have him in my life than any number of shows.

About the gig:
Acoustics, OMG! Big square room, low ceiling, columns jutting out from the walls every 10' or so. Oh and ceiling fans mounted and spinning roughly 8' apart. Echo canyon with a heavy touch of reverb. Still, it was our first time there and we were asked back before we even finished. About finishing. Toward the end of the 3rd set (of 3) and my bass starts fading out, coming back. WTH? Ok, maybe my wireless was unhappy, grab my cable real quick to go direct. Ok for a few minutes then back to fading. I turn to look and happen to notice my amp power dimming out and coming back. Well, Crap!. Grab a spare power cord and plug directly into the strip. All good.

Turns out that the combination of tilting the amp back, wood floor stage w/extra vibrations, slightly loose power plug, combined to cause the plug to lose contact. Well, I settled that issue, that won't happen again! At least I got a pat on the back for recovering quickly

Had a situation like that back in October.
It was his Heart.
He hasn't been on anybody's stage since.
He is in his early 40's.

I hope your Drummer is doing ok.

 

[String Tree]

Played with a New-to-me Band last night and again tonight.
5-piece. 2 guitars, bass, drums and Keys.
Everyone except the Drummer sings.

L to R
Les Paul Custom, Home Brew Tele, Baritone Tele.
Trusty 65 watt Musicman Amp, e609 Mic.

Good times!

 

[FaithNicole]

Had a situation like that back in October.
It was his Heart.
He hasn't been on anybody's stage since.
He is in his early 40's.

I hope your Drummer is doing ok.

ty. he's cleared up, we're playing tonight .. start in 20 mins. It's a 4 set night and I'm already tired

 

[burntfrijoles]

@Teddyjack that is some pretty scenery for a gig!!

 

[Teddyjack]

@Teddyjack that is some pretty scenery for a gig!!

Craftsbury is a beautiful little town. I love playing up there. I’m lucky enough to be playing in another picturesque town, Bristol VT, for their 4th of July celebration on Monday.

 

[FaithNicole]

strong show tonight. I think we kept people up past their bedtime

 

[FaithNicole]

Addendum to my last post (I was tired)
end of 2nd set my left hand cramped so bad that I couldn't play the song (All My Lovin, Beatles). Fortunately only one song before set end. Also fortunately we had some muscle cream that got me through the night.

overall, had a blast.

edit to add an early show photo

 

[brookdalebill]

My (early) 4th of July celebration gig with Nathan went very well!
The weather cooperated, and while not cool, it was pleasant.
The crowd was joyous and responsive, and the food was amazing.
We played two long sets, and sounded our best.
I had a beautiful time!

 

[Gene O.]

Five acoustic-ish gigs this weekend. One was just the girl singer and me, and the other 4 with our bass player. Gig #4 is this evening from 5-7 at a house maybe 6 miles away. Thursday night and last night were at an amazing venue called Gervasi Vineyards, which is only 2 miles from my house. Hard to believe that such an incredible venue is in my sleepy little, and unassuming, township. The duo gig was in Rocky River, a suburb of Cleveland and not so close (an hour and 10 minute drive). So far the gigs have been a lot of fun (although I'm not so fond of duo gigs), the crowds have been very appreciative and very generous re: the tip jar. Today is a party for the folks that did fly across the country for the destination wedding. Two hours will zip right on by. Tomorrow is a new venue for us, a country club about an hour to the north. How good or blah remains to be seen.

Our acoustic trio gigs had been the singer, me, and the other (young) guitarist/vocalist from our band. It's always fun with him because we can do lots of vocal harmonies, and that young guitarist and I are able to do some fun stuff. But he's been less and less available, so we started using the bass player instead, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I gave him my Boss SPDNE kick pedal to use on driving songs that benefit from a steady quarter note kick drum. So we can get some nice variations with very little instrumentation. He's also fairly young, but a very good bassist and steadily improving on his vocal harmonies.

My normal rig is a Godin A6 Ultra, Fishman Loudbox Performer and a Boss RC30 looper and TC Electronics Harmony Singer 2. I use those pedals sparingly when it's a trio. I strung up the Godin with Elixir Nanoweb .011-.052 phosphor bronze strings and they are working admirably. Since the tone is almost completely derived from the piezo under-saddle pickup, the type of string isn't all that important.

 

[String Tree]

Guitar Stands have Fans, too.
YEP!!!

 

[teletimetx]

Private party at a lake east of Boulder. This was our second gig, much better than first; everyone is relaxing into it, listening and having fun. Did a few arrangement mutations on the fly, all went well.

Played my Logan T-style into BF Tremolux. Sounded fine mostly, but I’m thinking it’s time for some new 6L6’s / I have a few sets on hand. Also, Gibson flattop, fun also.

Local band opened, fun trio with a good selection of covers. Weather was wonderful, a bit of cloud cover that kept things cool until just before sunset.

Got asked to make this a monthly; it’s about a 50-minute drive, not bad, I’ll be up for it if the rest of the guys are.

Don’t have any of my own gig fotos, but maybe some will pop up later. Here’s a view of the lake as we were loading out.

Ok, found one;

 

[haggardfan1]

Regular gig last Saturday at the American Legion post in Carthage.

I didn't feel the greatest at first; I somehow pulled a muscle in my chest Friday evening and I was having a little trouble getting a good deep breath.

After the first set, I began to loosen up and feel better, though I was far from 100%.

One neat thing did happen, which raises the question: how often do you get to hear your guitar rig from FOH?

We had a guest singer with his own guitar for a while, so I let our other guitarist/bandleader play mine so i could sit down and rest a bit. I was pleasantly surprised that what I heard way out in front of my amp (and the PA speakers) was pretty close to the tone I'm after.
My little Squier partscaster/ Tuff Dog wannabe is performing admirably: staying in tune with good low action and good pickup volume balance. I'm so happy with it.

The venue bumped our pay up from $75 to $100 a man this time, plus we each made an additional $37 in tips.
They want us to try playing on Fridays starting July 29th, because they have bigger crowds. I'm anxious to see how that works out.