Does anyone else get like this?

chillidoggy

Yes, I'm feeling shitty, but the band has a gig tonight, which is in a boozer literally 400yards from my gaff. I know it'll be shite, because it's a shite place, the turnout is always shite, and the place has about as much atmosphere as the moon. We don't play very often, but I'm seriously struggling to get motivated this time around, when usually I'm well up for it. I'm wondering if I could well be getting too old for it, because the enthusiasm is definitely not there today, or it may just be that I know it'll be shite. Anyone else get like that?

John_P

I'm prertty much the same about some gigs -  I think you reach a point (either age or after a zillion gigs)  where some just aren't exciting and there doesn't seem a lot of point to them...  

I've got one tonight - it'll be good to catch up with the lads though and a chance to play loudish guitar so I'll make the most of it

chillidoggy

It's a bit like when you were a kid, and you were sick, your mum would always say "You'll be fine when you get with your mates", before packing you off to school, whether you were dying or not.

not_the_dj

I'm feeling rubbish, I cold I had has turned into a horrid cough I just can't shift. My chest hurts from 5 days (and nights) of coughing. I was gigging last night, had a nightmare journey getting there (roadworks/diversion). Got back in at 1:30 this morning, then up and 7:00 with my young kids. Just loaded the car for tonight's gig (i couldn't leave the gear in there). Tonight's place is about 15mins away rather than the hour it took me last night. I need to be up early tomorrow as well, and it's my wife's birthday so being tired and grumpy won't go down well at all ;-) Yet I'm still somehow looking forward to it!

Grunfeld

Yes. 

Time to get one's professional head on, smile, play well, pretend as much as possible that you're doing your bit to uphold the honoured tradition of entertainers looking like they are having the most fun in the world. 

Cos sometimes we do.  Even when it's shite

Roland

The bottom line is that "the show must go on".  You never know, if you go in with a smile then you might actually enjoy it.

EricTheWeary

Yes. And I gave up. But now sat here with supermarket pizza and Strictly ( dear god, Vanessa Phelps...) it does all start to sound attractive. (

Emp_Fab

This reminds me of when a Soul / Funk band I was in were hired to play a surprise 50th birthday party in a local hall.  There were about four big tables of buffet grub laid out and the 'lucky' woman was led in blindfold etc.  Unfortunately, there were more of us in the band than turned up for her party.  It was embarrassing.  Anyway, some of the band decided it was all a big joke and started messing about on stage, not playing properly etc.  I was annoyed as the family had paid for a performance and she deserved one.  She didn't deserve a shitty band just because none of her mates turned up.

We ate most of the food too.

digitalscream

I've had a few gigs like that over the last few years - half of them turned out to be a great laugh, despite the fulfilment of expectations regarding the crowd.

ICBM

Take the minimum of equipment, so it's less hassle - even something you wouldn't normally consider quite 'enough' - make it work, and have fun.

digitalscream

ICBM said:

Take the minimum of equipment, so it's less hassle - even something you wouldn't normally consider quite 'enough' - make it work, and have fun.

That's an excellent suggestion.

Bucket

Sounds like you're just thinking it'll be shite (no idea if this will turn out to be the case or not, but judging from your post I can see why you're not feeling it) - wouldn't read too much else into it. Best of luck anyway

viz

Well how was it? We're all ears!!!!

chillidoggy

Shite.

 

Well, half shite, anyway. First set went really well, decent audience, people dancing, you know the drill. And despite sweating like a three badge rapist due to the lurgi, I was actually quite enjoying myself.

At half-time, the landlady comes out and tells us we have to turn it all down. Apparently, she's been having complaints from residents for weeks. She tells us the environmental health bods from the council have been outside, and she's worried about her licence.

So the remaining, heavier set, went down like an eggy fart in a lift. The drummer, who is pretty loud anyway, resorted to using brushes, the amps were at bedroom level, and the whole thing was decidedly lacklustre. One bloke came up to me afterwards and said the first set was superb, but "you were shit in the second set".

I don't think we'll be back there again, which is a shame.

John_P

That is a shame - I'm all for trying to keep the volume down but if it reaches a point of being silly quiet it's hard work!

Mine turned into a great night - roughish pub that can be hard to get a good crowd in was packed and everyone was up for it - on a wet October night with the fair just opened it was the opposite of what I expected and I'm aching today

Drew_TNBD

We don't play that often these days. So I get excited about every single one.

Roaster

chillidoggy said:

Shite.

 

Well, half shite, anyway. First set went really well, decent audience, people dancing, you know the drill. And despite sweating like a three badge rapist due to the lurgi, I was actually quite enjoying myself.

At half-time, the landlady comes out and tells us we have to turn it all down. Apparently, she's been having complaints from residents for weeks. She tells us the environmental health bods from the council have been outside, and she's worried about her licence.

So the remaining, heavier set, went down like an eggy fart in a lift. The drummer, who is pretty loud anyway, resorted to using brushes, the amps were at bedroom level, and the whole thing was decidedly lacklustre. One bloke came up to me afterwards and said the first set was superb, but "you were shit in the second set".

I don't think we'll be back there again, which is a shame.

Dont you just fecking hate it when l/ls etc tell you that....could have been worse, like 8 people in the pub at our gig last night -soul destroying

chillidoggy

We couldn't blame the landlady, she'd done as much as she could to soundproof the place, and she actually was in tears when she told us. Trouble is, this is a residential area, and the residents don't like rock music. And the odds are stacked against the pub. We don't have any more bookings there so we will see how things pan out,

chillidoggy

Update: The pub has just posted on its FB page that they’ve had  to cancel a couple of bands, but that live music there is still ‘alive and kicking’. When we played there earlier this year, the landlady said she’d had one or two complaints from residents, but she displayed a rather more ‘fuck them’ kind of attitude.Another pub nearby also stopped having live music two weeks after we played there. I don’t think we were the reason for that, but apparently they are now only allowed to have live music once a month. I guess things are different these days when it comes to noise. 

guitarfishbay

I gig in a percussion band.  We had a residency in a large restaurant on one of Manchester's Main streets.  We no longer do it due to complaints from people living in nearby flats.  Honestly I have no clue why people want to live in the city centre and expect peace and quiet.  

Similarly we had complaints about rehearsal in a church that is next to a busy road, the nearest flats are the other side of the road.  You can't hear anything from that side of the road unless the traffic stops, which is rare.  They'd also need their window open too.  Thankfully we are still allowed to rehearse there as we meet noise regulations after an inspection.  The guy from the council let slip that the same resident complains about the church bells.  The church was there first...

bertie

live music in Margate is.......................toast