Gigs can be a pain sometimes.

[Mobay45]

It's raining cats and dogs. The temperature is dropping. We have to load everything into the venue in a couple of hours from now. Then we have to load out after we finish at 1:30 a.m. when the temperature should be really plumetting.

I'm not too excited about playing tonight.

Sometimes it's just not as much fun as it should be.

 

[Double Agent]

Loading/unloading pretty much sucks even in perfect weather when you are not tired. Unloading is especially tiring after you've been jumping around like a crazed animal on Red Bull for 4 hours and have been awake for 18-20 hours at the point when you START breaking stuff down. Good thing I love the performing part of the gig.

 

[AnthonyD]

You're not getting paid to play... It's the hauling in and out that demands the dough!

Hope the playing in between helps to overcome the drag.

 

[maddog]

Times like these I would ask myself, " What would Chuck Rainey say?"

 

[delberthot]

Its not so much the hauling of the gear - its how far you have to haul it. Some gigs are easy, you play next to the back door and you know that your car is only a few feet away. the other extreme is that you have to load it onto a trolley and wheel it through the entire building, down a lift that residents of the same hotel are using to get to their rooms and then, bang, there is a power cut and you find yourself lifting 4 times your own body weight down 3 flights of stairs in a relatively short space of time. I've had both of these in the last month

 

[Colin]

don't forget having to bump in and the lead singer is late turning up.

 

[phatduckk]

it can totally be a drag sometimes. a few weeks ago we played some bar in san jose and it was FREEZING in there.

so we drive the 45 minutes, double park on a busy street, haull ass to unload our gear, then hop in the car, drive around in circles to find parking, give up, hit up the lot for $10 parking, walk to the bar in the cold and sit there freezing for 2 hours till we go on.

thsi bar was sooo cold that the lead guitarist and i huddled over a candle on the bar. i played that gig wearing a sweater, hoody on top of that all zipped up and a beanie.

at 1am we got the stuff in car car and went hoem with $0. cuz we're a punk band and well, we dont get paid too often but we did get 2 drink tickets each and the bartender is the cutest girl ive ever seen

no matter how crappy some of this stuff is all it takes is 1 person to say "dude, you guys rocked" or "i was walkiong by and heard you guys and had to come in" that makes it worth it

 

[bassmonkeee]

Times like these I would ask myself, " What would Chuck Rainey say?"

Probably something like, "Let me know when the gear is set up--I'll be at the bar."

 

[Kirby]

Yeah, I can remember bitter nights at 2 AM loading gear. Luckily the main band I play with now takes winter months off. We support a lead singer who does not like the bar scene to support her cd's so we mainly do festivals and outdoor gigs. I do a couple with other bands in the winter, but not many anymore.

The nights I hated were the 2 AM load and then the 6 hour drive on top.

Somehow, I always end up doing it again though! I guess I will stop when it is no longer fun on stage.......when I am dead.

 

[bovinehost]

Times like these I would ask myself, " What would Chuck Rainey say?"

I know what he would say right now, now that the Cowboys are out of the playoffs, but I don't think I'll repeat it here.

 

[Disquieter]

it can totally be a drag sometimes. a few weeks ago we played some bar in san jose and it was FREEZING in there.

so we drive the 45 minutes, double park on a busy street, haull ass to unload our gear, then hop in the car, drive around in circles to find parking, give up, hit up the lot for $10 parking, walk to the bar in the cold and sit there freezing for 2 hours till we go on.

thsi bar was sooo cold that the lead guitarist and i huddled over a candle on the bar. i played that gig wearing a sweater, hoody on top of that all zipped up and a beanie.

at 1am we got the stuff in car car and went hoem with $0. cuz we're a punk band and well, we dont get paid too often but we did get 2 drink tickets each and the bartender is the cutest girl ive ever seen

no matter how crappy some of this stuff is all it takes is 1 person to say "dude, you guys rocked" or "i was walkiong by and heard you guys and had to come in" that makes it worth it

exactly how cold was it,

how cold does it get in san jose?

I just loaded in and out of a show in roughly 8 degrees.


weather.com says san jose is bottoming out at 28 degrees.

that'd be nice, our high lately has been roughly 29 or 30.

 

[p5string]

I'm at the age where I judge how good a gig is by how easy the load in/out is !!!!

 

[Psycho Ward]

Loading gear is the only exercise I get... well, there is the 12oz curls.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I'm just glad I play gigs where I play for 3 hours. The thought of loading/unloading for 45 minutes of playing makes me sad.

Also, light gear (11 lb head, 30 lb cab, 32 lb extension cab if needed) makes for one trip load in/out on most nights.




So, how'd the gig go, Larry? Was it as bad as you thought, or was there that one moment on stage where everything hit just right that made it worth it? I love those.

 

[screaminhugger]

for new years, we played a place that is an hour from where I live. We had to load in by 5:00 p.m. because they had a dinner party there at 6:00, so I left my house at 3 p.m. got loaded in by 5:00, realized i had forgotten my "cheat sheets", had to drive all the way home got back at like 8:30, had a few beers, played and loaded out in the pouring rain at 2:00 a.m., only to drive an hour home scared to death at all the drunks on the road. When you figure that really was a 14 hour day for me, the $250 I made that night doesn't really equate. (so says my wife), but I know it was the thrill of playing a packed house on new years that will bring me back again and again.

Last week, we showed up to a gig and the manager had booked us on the wrong night!, we show up and she was like, "what are you guys doing here?" We had to wait till after the Dallas/Seahawks game to start playing. By 11:30 all of our regular crowd following had left, and we hadn't begun our first set! That SUCKED. I hate playing sports bars in Philly. The only thing better for these people than rooting for the Eagles, is routing against Dallas! My ego wouldn't let me accept that we were being held up for FOOTBALL. That's the crap I hate about gigging. We are booked there again Feb. 10th though, I just hope the manager remembers this time!

james

 

[PocketGroove82]

I know exactly how every one of you guys feel.
My military gigs are pretty much dog and pony shows. We spend more time setting up and breaking down, traveling, getting dressed, and waiting for general's wifes to finish their cheesecake...
then we step up, play 3 songs...say, "that concludes the musical portion of the evening"...but wait! the general gets up and begs for "just one more song"...which we always "just happen" to have prepared...so we play that, then it's another hour wait for some speeches/toasts to happen. Then we break down and are out. Also, this usually happens on friday/saturday nights.
I'm just so freaking thankful that the short time we ARE PLAYING, makes the entire night worthwhile.

Not all gigs are like this, but many are.
It's been said before, but I'll say it again...
I play music for free,
I get paid to put up with bull****.

 

[Oldtoe]

We drove to Wichita Falls, TX last night and unloaded, loaded, and then drove home in sleet. That was fun.

Actually, it was fun now that I think about it.

 

[word]

I know exactly how every one of you guys feel.
My military gigs are pretty much dog and pony shows.

yup, military gigs are always like that. do you know where you're going after korea?

here in wisconsin it can be a real pain getting to gigs in snowstorms and such and hauling gear in sub-zero weather isn't much fun either.

 

[PocketGroove82]

do you know where you're going after korea?

not to hijack this empathetic thread, but...

yeah buddy, I'm going to Aberdeen, Maryland in 219 days...and counting.
I'm looking forward to it...if ya can't tell!

sorry guys!
please continue with more craptastic/nightmare gig stories!

 

[Mobay45]

I'm just glad I play gigs where I play for 3 hours. The thought of loading/unloading for 45 minutes of playing makes me sad.

Also, light gear (11 lb head, 30 lb cab, 32 lb extension cab if needed) makes for one trip load in/out on most nights.




So, how'd the gig go, Larry? Was it as bad as you thought, or was there that one moment on stage where everything hit just right that made it worth it? I love those.

Well, as usual the thing that you're dreading most ends up being great.

We had a good crowd, the weather didn't end up being much of a factor and I had a blast. That was the third time we played that venue and it's turning out to be a really good spot for us.

Looks like we'll be back there in March.