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what a "meh" weekend


jeff42

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Played one of our usual bars on friday and the crowd was very Meh. Below average for what we usually see there. Now the crowd that was there when we started (9pm) stayed the whole night but we didn't see the usual influx of people that we usually do between 10:30pm and 11pm that fills up the place and keeps everything going until the end of the night.

Checked with another band that was playing across town on Friday and they had about 25-30 people the whole night in a place where they usually pull 100+ people. 

Went out last night to see a band in town and the place where they were playing which usually has a decent built in crowd had maybe 20 people there. Including the 4 I brought with me.

Guess no one went ANYWHERE this weekend.

We did an awesome private gig last weekend but 2 weeks ago we saw the same thing at one of our regular bars.Some of our crowd showed and stayed but not too many other people coming out. 

We got 2 full weekends coming up the next 2 weeks... I hope it gets better. Our crowds have been up and down since the new year and the bar owners haven't said anything yet so i am figuring it is slow across the board.

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We had a decent Friday gig. It was pouring rain so I'm sure that kept people away, and caused some to leave earlier than normal, but over all it was a good night for us. Last night we did one of our casino gigs. The crowd there will be about half who stay and hang out, dance, etc, and half who come in for a while and then go back to wasting their money. It was an overall good night, and lots of "talent" in the room lady wise.

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Funny ... had a "meh" gig last night myself - but for a different reason.  In our case, the crowd was good (arguably on of the biggest we've seen in the 5 months we've been working there).   Last night's "meh" was all on me.  I just wasn't feeling it.   A sampling of the board recordings confirmed that the band was playing fine ... and that I was playing fine.   However, I just didn't feel the energy and felt like I was wrestling to get through every song.   Fortunately,  I usually don't have a problem getting excited about playing - but even so every once in awhile I'll have one of those nights where I'm just not into it. 

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SpaceNorman wrote:

 

 

 but even so every once in awhile I'll have one of those nights where I'm just not into it. 

 

totally understand that. There are some nights I am not into it and if you mix that with a Meh crowd it makes for a long night. Friday I was pumped to play because of a stressful day at work but the crowd wasnt there.

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SpaceNorman wrote:

 

 

Funny ... had a "meh" gig last night myself - but for a different reason.  In our case, the crowd was good (arguably on of the biggest we've seen in the 5 months we've been working there).   Last night's "meh" was all on me.  I just wasn't
feeling
it.   A sampling of the board recordings confirmed that the band was playing fine ... and that I was playing fine.   However, I just didn't feel the energy and
felt
like I was wrestling to get through every song.   Fortunately,  I usually don't have a problem getting excited about playing - but even so every once in awhile I'll have one of those nights where I'm just not into it. 

 

 

Isn't it funny how that works, when you look at those recordings and you're like "huh"?

I remember the first time I noticed that stuff that might seem apparent or obvious to me while performing might not show up at all to the audience.  It's a tribute to your skill and professionalism that it never came through from the "outisde".

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I'm not as experienced as some of you, but I have been playing/checking out cover bands for a little over 10 years.  Even at the start there were always bad bands with subpar performances, whether it is for lack of musicianship, showmanship, or whatever.  I don't think this is something new.  Maybe bands in general got more pay 20+ years ago because that is what the market demanded.  There was less competition when it came to entertainment.  For the most part, venues are about making money, not supporting music. 

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Yeah... I got you. 

I'm just not sure if there are really more bad bands (musicians) today than 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or more.  Maybe we are just more aware of them because self promotion is easier with the Internet.  Growing up and watching MTV I can remember thinking plenty of times certain bands were horrible and these were bands on major labels with big financing behind them.

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There may be just as many bad bands. I'm just worried there aren't as many good ones.

 

I just came from playing an 80s reunion show featuring 20 bands from the local club scene in Las Vegas back then. No casino bands invited; you had to be playing the local rock clubs. Vegas was a pretty small city back then. And I was amazed at how good all these old bands were. Most were filled with guys who haven't played for years and barely rehearsed. Yet the worst among them were better than so much of what I hear these days. ESPECIALLY it seems, from bands with older players that should be more experienced. The competition back then was pretty fierce because you had to be good to build a following and get the good gigs. Bands tried hard to be good and outdo each other.

 

Where is all that today? Does it still exist? Or has it all been replaced by a sense of how much can we strip things down and how can I manage myself a bigger cut so that I can make as much money as possible individually?

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guido61 wrote:

 

There may be just as many bad bands. I'm just worried there aren't as many good ones.

 

 

 

I just came from playing an 80s reunion show featuring 20 bands from the local club scene in Las Vegas back then. No casino bands invited; you had to be playing the local rock clubs. Vegas was a pretty small city back then. And I was amazed at how good all these old bands were. Most were filled with guys who haven't played for years and barely rehearsed. Yet the worst among them were better than so much of what I hear these days. ESPECIALLY it seems, from bands with older players that should be more experienced. The competition back then was pretty fierce because you had to be good to build a following and get the good gigs. Bands tried hard to be good and outdo each other.

 

 

 

Where is all that today? Does it still exist? Or has it all been replaced by a sense of how much can we strip things down and how can I manage myself a bigger cut so that I can make as much money as possible individually?

 

It's a vicious cycle.  I've been with my current band a full year now and we'd be a lot tighter now if we had played more gigs.  Back when I was playing 2-3 times a week, then full time on the road, it was much easier, although keeping all the chairs filled with qualified people was a challenge for a six-piece road band . . . . but that's another story.

 

I've thought about going out as a three piece without drums. . . .  not for the money so much, but so we could focus more on vocal harmony and less on dance tunes.  Yeah . . .  self-indulgent, I know.

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guido61 said:

 

::Your claim went from $200-250/night::

 

That was tlbonehead's claim. I said mine was comporable, but not identical. Nice try, though.

 

The other guys get anywhere from $112.50 to $180/night. Might seem like chickenfeed to some of you guys, but they are happy with it. The fill-in I sometimes employ is very happy whenever he gets the $180 per night and he's in one of the biggest bands around here. I guess we have low standards out here.

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guido61 wrote:

 

Potts' disbelief seems warranted, Tim. Your claim went from $200-250 a night to making $150 a night and you have to take a larger cut than the rest of your band to even make that. The other guys in your band are barely clearing $100.

 

 

Geez! Thank you already!!!!

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Like I said earlier, there were always mediocre bands playing. It's just that there no longer seems to be as many good ones.

 

 

And many people use low pay as an excuse to water down their product when in the past the attitude was more of "we're putting on the show we need to put on regardless of the pay". I don't care to argue what anybody makes really. I just find it notable that those most critical of bands of seem to be in it for the money are the ones who seem to have no problem watering down their product or settling for mediocrity.

 

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As I have said before, it's all in degrees. I let go three people that just wanted to put in the minimum effort possible. One of them actually thought there was no need to pay for a website or have professional photos taken to promote the band. He reasoned that my wife taking pictures with a point-and-shoot was just fine. He also never bothered to dress up, even a little bit. He was the epitome of the guy that shows up to a gig looking like he just finished working on his car. I guess he would fit the description of "bottom of the barrel" rather than mediocre.

 

I look at the band as a second job, one where I need money now. I could invest in an idea of a great band that may pay off in the future, but meanwhile, I would be swimming heavily in debt. At this point financially, I can't afford to do that. Maybe in a few years, but I have to start somewhere with something that is generating income now. I certainly don't see ourselves doing the same thing for the same money in 20 years.

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Re: Senior Blues' list---

 

It's music, it's can't be ranked that objectively. One mans killer front person is another mans hopeless hack. And asking people to rate THEMSELVES is probably a bad idea. If people were that self-aware, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place.

 

But I think the point is every band needs to be good at SOMETHING. Like I said, if you're not in it for the money than be in it for something. Is "something for me to do on a Saturday night that covers my gas money" really enough?

 

 

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