OT: "Thanks For Your Non-Threatening Indifference"

[bovinehost]

First, thanks to bassmonkeee for the fabulous thread title.

Thursday night, Cowpilot takes a gig at The Flying Pig in Lake Dallas. Seems like it might be an okay place - bikers, people from the edges of the Big City, and what else would Cowpilot be doing anyway?

Nice stage. Big enough, not nasty at all. The bartender remembers our names - don't forget the tip! We get in early, get what I think is just a killer sound and wait for the appreciative crowd to roll in. We go on at 8 pm.

I bring the Big Poppa Bongo (yes, with the Ludwig pickguard) and the 20th SR5. Brian, being sensitive to such things, says that if I bring "the big, visually impressive" rig, he'll help me load in and out. Yewkay. So I have the Sunn and both Ampeg cabs, doing my best imitation of Grand Funk Railroad circa 1972.

I get a BIG, IMPRESSIVE sound, that's for sure.

The 20th sounds great.

So we start at 8 to about 10 people at the bar, all apparently mesmerized by the World Series. We open with "I Will Survive" which starts as a sh!tkicker root five then transforms into kind of a samba. Who could ignore THAT?

Um, everyone, apparently. We hit the last note and can hear glasses tinkling. Somewhere off in the distance, a coyote howls.

Okay! We tear through fast tunes, and we're KILLING.

No one cares.

We toss out anything vaguely mid-tempo. Surely they'll love "Folsom Pinball Wizard Blues"! No one seems to notice, even when Chris does his Pete Townsend windmill act.

Crickets are chirping.

It's so disheartening to think, "Man, we sound GOOD" and the twelve patrons don't even look up, don't even applaud except when I say, "Thanks! You've been great!" Maybe they had questions about who I was talking to.

Anyway, another great gig with my 20th but it was a tough one.

We've played to nearly empty bars (who hasn't?), but a nearly empty bar full of zombies was new.

Whew.

Jack

 

[tkarter]

The real test of the gig is did you have fun?

We all have those gigs just like that.

tk

 

[Freddels]

Hope you weren't playing for the door.

 

[bovinehost]

You know, I did have fun. And no, we weren't playing for the door - it was more like an audition.

I'm here in the middle of cleaning my 20th, and I guess the truth is that any gig I get to play this bass on is a pretty good gig.

How's that for dedication to an instrument?

 

[INMT]

man... that sounds like 90% of the gigs in Montana LOL. Good times is what keeps us all going for sure. Rock on.

 

[Colin]

Don't let it get you down Jack. I once played a duo gig and the only 2 people in the audience was the bartender and a guy in a wheelchair. At one stage the bartender had to carry the other guy into the toilet! When they returned he request a song we played while he was in the bathroom.

 

[tkarter]

Jack may not have had the best of gigs.

That one you just described Colin. under the charts.

tk

 

[Big Poppa]

thats what you get for leaving the mark bass rig at home

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

We turned those kind of nights into a band-practise...try out a new song 1/2dozen times (a little faster or maybe a tad slower). Make something up, 20 minute breaks turned into 40 minutes. Beer flowed. Great times

 

[Colin]

We turned those kind of nights into a band-practise...try out a new song 1/2dozen times (a little faster or maybe a tad slower). Make something up, 20 minute breaks turned into 40 minutes. Beer flowed. Great times

so you played at the Glen as well?

 

[Aussie Mark]

At least you had baseball on the TV. I remember one time we played to 8 people and all we had on the big screen was an Arnie movie.

 

[oli@bass]

You had a good time, and the "audience" didn't start throwing beer bottles... all's well that ends well... think of it as if it was just a rehearsal in a venue looking like an emtpy bar


BTW, yes, we had similar gigs, but we learned to look at it as a "payed rehearsal with free beer". And some of them turned out to be great fun (for us, the others didn't notice). Plus, IMO, it takes a lot of energy to play into the "void" of no-one in front or an audience that could not care less, so it's like doing push-ups in gym -- keeps you fit for those other nights where they won't let you get off stage...

Fortunaltey in general we play to observant audiences, who often dance through whole sets. One of the benfits of playing shorter sets of originals being just one of several bands: More people are attracted, and they come to see the bands, not just to hang around at the bar.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

At least you had baseball on the TV. I remember one time we played to 8 people and all we had on the big screen was an Arnie movie.

I remember one gig we did (my first SR4) and all the chicks turned out to be guys!

 

[jaylegroove]

Wow, I know how you feel, Jack. We often have the same kind of experience.

The band I play with is a very famous cover band in our region. It has been formed circa late 80's. We are an 11 element band (6 artists + 5 techs). At each gig we come with our PA system that delivers 12,000 W RMS. We also come with sophisticated lights systems. And each of we 6 artists of the band comes with at least 5,000 € of gear (and mostly much more).

Despite of all this - and despite of the cost, for the city, of employing such a staff - even when some people come and dance and have fun close to the stage, most of them stay at the bar all night long and end up drunk, looking like they don't care about the music at all.

I guess that's what happens when people pay for the drink instead of paying for the gig. Of course, the incomes of the drinks are for paying the gig, but nowadays people only respect what they pay for.

Anyway, and probably such as Cowpilot, we have learned since a long time to have fun no matters what the conditions are, nor what the audience's behaviour is.

Keep on having fun, anyway !

 

[Kirby]

Man Jack, those are familiar words. I have played some very large clubs around here to the same response. I know those nights can be long. I don't know about you, but I feed off of the crowds energy so if it is not there, then, well, part of my night seems to be missing too.

The wierd thing is those same clubs have had packed crowds other nights for shows with us. Just Murphy's Law I guess. Glad your rig sounded good though. I usually just chalk those shows up as a paid rehearsal.

On to the next show!

 

[JimB52]

Been there.
The JLJ Band once started a gig to literally no audience - even the bartender, waitresses and owner were outside smoking. Marginally better than people yelling at you to turn it down, I guess.

JimB52
(closing in on 100 posts!)

 

[Buzzman]

Gee, I'm glad it's not just me.

My latest project is a two piece (guitar/bass) with drum tracks created in Pro Tools.
We got lucky and got several dates in a very nice Martini Bar located inside a banquet hall. This place holds around 80 plus max. It's been pretty good but a few Saturday's ago it was painful. Maybe 7 people, again watching "The Game" and I knew it was bad when the Medical Examiner arrived to officially pronounce the place
DEAD.

Rod Serling was in the corner smoking a cigarette and the Grim Reaper had a shot a Jager.

I don't really remember much after that except the new Stingray 4 HH sounded awesome.

 

[oddjob]

I feel for ya Jack... nothing worse than that (well, there is, but you know what I mean). Anyway, the fun factor is all that matters and if you're feeling it, screw everything else.

 

[shamus63]

I guess that's what happens when people pay for the drink instead of paying for the gig. Of course, the incomes of the drinks are for paying the gig, but nowadays people only respect what they pay for.

Those two sentences tell it like it is.

Too bad you can't see those types of gigs coming; you could just bring practice amps and drum pads.

 

[Big Poppa]

James? Lookk who the cat drug in! Welccome back