Worst gig ever!

[dubtrub]

Friday evening was the first time I've actually felt like retiring from ever playing again. We've had this gig booked for a year in advance. We were really looking forward to it because we kept getting periodic up beat emails and phone calls from them lining everything up and confirming all the particulars. This was a big event, Model A Club Jamboree, it's for all the central and southern California chapters of the Model A car clubs all converging on Bakersfield. For Bakersfield, this is an event that only happens here ever 7-8 years, as they rotate hosting it each year. The local club hosting the event apparently is the 'top dog' when putting on a jamboree, so everyone was coming. They ended up with around four hundred members and two hundred cars, The venue was held at a Vet's hall which is huge with a fantastic stage. We were ready, raring and really pumped as the local Model A club members are big fans of our band. Not only do we play instrumental surf music, but we have a lot of vocals singing old time rock and roll as well as country music. This keeps most everyone happy. Only thing they asked was that we not play too loud or as loud as we do at the outdoor car shows. No problem!

I didn't use my Bandmaster, I used my Vibroverb. Daren used his smaller Carvin bass rig and Kevin the drummer used only his brushes. I set my guitars volume on 6.5 and my amp volume on 3.5, and we Kicked off as usual with Pipeline using the glissando and a prolong intro to introduce the band before getting into the actual song. The place was wall to wall people, many in their 40s and 50s but mostly in their late 60s, 70s and a few in their 80s. Right off the bat before we got into the song some old hag came up and asked us to turn down. Well, my friend, that just sucked the life right out of our energy. At first we ignored her, then others came forward to ask us to turn down. Finally we were down so low that we could hardly hear each other and things really started to sound like crap as the audience was louder than we were. Each one of us were getting lost playing only by muscle memory. That was the worst experience I've ever had in all my years playing live music.

All in all, apparently we did pretty good job at giving them what they wanted. They didn't know when we made a mistake but for us knowing how tight we are as a group and how much we emphasize playing with dynamics, we couldn't get off the ground with any mojo. Fortunately we didn't have to play the full two and a half hours that we were booked for as those old farts started leaving right after their meal was finish. There was suppose to be dancing after the BBQ but the place emptied out. So, we got paid in full for only playing an hour and twenty minutes (with a 15 minute break) of pure torture. The hauling of equipment, set up, tear down and putting everything away was exhausting as we not only had our individual gear but PA, mains, monitors and lighting.

When we were ready to take our first set break, a club member came up to the stage and ask if he could make an announcement via our microphone. When he got up on the stage and started talking the audience yelled back 'we can't hear you' so he turns to us and he asked, can you turn this darn thing up they can't hear what I'm saying.

What's really strange is, we probably had forty of those geriatrics come by the stage as they were leaving telling us how much they enjoyed our music. Go figure!

[Veenture]

Bummer, Danny. I know how it feels but don't be discouraged for doing future gigs. Our band was once invited to play at a kind of art display (paintings) and I had a feeling this wasn't going to work out right but did not want to sell "no" to the kind host lady friend (a painter herself) and performed with the band anyway, without charges. She knew what our band was all about and liked the music but boy, did some old sourpuss faces complain..."too loud" and such. We kept our promise and played on till the end but with no joy to us. It was the wrong kind of music at the wrong kind of place. Luckily the 'audience' was no way as large as the one at your venue

But keep on Rockin', dude

[mrmomo]

Keep up the faith, Danny!
I've been in similar situations many years ago. It really does suck when you're playing by feel and the dynamics are nowhere to be found.
Hoping...praying your fingers are in the right place.

I've often thought it might be helpful to hand out free noise protection earplugs at the door and then crank up!

Funny, I've seen many old folks who are LOSING their hearing vs an increase in sensitivity!
Go figure.

Food for thought... many years ago, a former guitar teacher told me..."You're only a half-step away from the right note"!!
Though, harmonically speaking, he is correct. It just depends on how you resolve the note!

-John

[JimPage]

Hey, Danny--

Those kind of gigs are torture. We played a local Catholic parish hall, for free, a couple of years ago and they kept telling us to turn down. We weren't playing that loud to begin with.

We played one set under those constraints, and were supposed to play two more. As we started to play the second set, I told the band to crank it up and we'd do one set our way and then pack it up. After each song, I'd remind the crowd that "if you think we're too loud, then you're too old."

To heck with that kind of gig.

--Jim

[JimPage]

Danny wrote:
>>can you turn this darn thing up they can't hear what I'm saying.

That's the funniest thing yet!!!

--Jim

[FrankJames]

Maybe they should have booked Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians. Oh wait, he's been dead for 35 years........

[olrocknroller]

That's about the time I dig out the gut-string guitar, and the button accordion, and start singing "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum"! If they wanted dinner music, they shoulda booked the local string quartet... Not your fault man!

[sleeperNY]

Danny, thats just the way some old people are. They sit up front and complain it's to loud but the people in the back can't hear you. Been there more times than I would have liked to. Unless the promoters tell you it's to loud then I wouldn't worry about it to much.

Jim

[outeredge]

since 2008 my band has done about 40 to 60 gigs per year. we also have had our share of bad gigs. one venue in particular booked us three times, a back to back 2 night performance each time. the management kept asking us to turn it down at every gig. we couldn't understand why they invited us back so many times, or why we accepted it for that matter! ( i guess it was the money). but the last time we had a pretty good crowd gathering around and enjoying the show. some of the people actually asked us to turn UP! we finally cut loose on the Ventures version of La Bamba and we had people dancing and it was really livening up. after it was over we went straight in to Tequila and then one of our original tunes. by this time, the joint was jumping and the bar was busier than it had been all night. the cook/owner, who works in the back in the kitchen came out and said he was "getting complaints from a couple of customers" and told us to turn WAY down. He came back out in the middle of the next song and started signaling us to go down, down, down, waving with his hand. by the time we got a thumbs up we were playing so low that the drummer and I were holding down a conversation OVER the sound. The people who were enjoying us started coming up to the stage and complaining that they could not hear us, and they didn't even have to raise their voices! within about 2 songs the whole place started clearing out. after the gig was over the cook/owner came out and thanked us but said they couldn't have us back because we couldn't keep the crowd interested.

that is the reason i'm taking it easy this year. sure we had our share of good and awesome gigs but i just can't take any more. at least for awhile. so i can empahtize with you for sure.

[jtr654]

Danny, My band used to play the State fair every year for 20+years it was always free,outdoors and they had bleachers ( I would always pull them further away from the Stage and sound system). There would be maybe 300+ PEOPLE. When someone came up to me and said we were to loud I told them no one was making them stay there and they could go anytime they wanted he got the hint.