Members gonzobassman Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 We did an outdoor "biurestube" beer garden gig Saturday night. Nice weather,lo humidity,band was playing well,and my P.A. was sounding really good. When we went up to start the second set,I became aware of lightning flashing in the distance to our northwest. In the 45 minutes or so that it took to play the set the lightning moved in to the point it was almost on us. The drummer and I located the owner of the business we were playing for,and she really wanted us to keep playing as it appeared this thunderstorm was going to track just north of us. Forget the fact we are standing on a steel flatbed semi-trailor in lightning!!! When we came back outside the storm sirens were going off,and I told the drummer "Thats my sign. I'm outta here" With help from security,some crowd members,and a few others we got it all torn down,and completely loaded in about 15 minutes.Just as I put the last piece of equipment in my van the rain started. I am thankful that we got everything taken care of the way we did,and nobody got hurt. And the owner still paid us the full amount. This happened in Evansville In. The thing is that weather around here can be extremly unpredictable,and thunderstorms can pick up speed,and steam because of the cooling night air,or as the air cools they can dissapate. When I came home and heard about my neibors to the north,I realized just how lucky we actually were. I was thinking we may go on until I heard the storm sirens. I think any outdoor "festival" type gigs can present challenges,but this year has proven that they can also be very dangerous as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 I never play or use my gear on an uncovered stage. Ever. Glad to hear you got outta there in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 Note that a covered stage without lightning protection can be much more dangerous. Anytime weather like this is visable, get the hell out of harm's way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 I never play or use my gear on an uncovered stage. Ever. Glad to hear you got outta there in time. Provided you've got a contract spelling out the conditions in which you'll play, or more to the point "won't play", AND HAVE BEEN PAID, here's nothing wrong with playing on an uncovered stage. There's only one outdoor venue we've done without a contract, well 2 I guess, but I don't count the other so much. It was a Weds low paying, but fun gig. We'd never get another Weds gig so I didn't bother with a contract, but just made sure I maintained control. I called ahead as the weather looked bad and reminded them that if we showed up we got paid. The manager said that's not how it worked. It was uncovered and if we didn't play we didn't get a single dollar. It was pro-rated otherwise. I told him that most certainly wasn't how it worked and wished him good luck with filling the gig on short notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil Clark Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 PHINS plays most of it's shows from May through October, and most of those are outdoor shows. We get the full gamut of stage setups from covered stages with lights, to flatbed trailers with tents to no stage at all with no cover at all (and any mix of those that you can imagine). I guess we have been lucky in that we have had a couple of shows moved indoors, had a couple of shows stopped part way in due to weather and one show cancelled completely due to threatening weather. Over a 12 year span (8 years of which I have been doing sound for them) with 30-45 shows in that period of time, that's pretty damn good. Well, pretty lucky that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 I guess it all depends on typical weather. In my neck of the woods, the mountains, somedays it's showers every half hour or so. Too much for an uncovered stage, and they don't pay enough to risk my gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JohnMCA72 Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 Note that a covered stage without lightning protection can be much more dangerous.Anytime weather like this is visable, get the hell out of harm's way. Yep! If you can see lightning, or hear thunder, you're close enough that it can get you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MarkGifford-1 Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 I did one once on the dock by a boathouse restaurant. Band was facing the shore. As they were playing, I saw torrential rains, marching across the lake towards us. I told the guys to turn around and take a look at what was coming - they wanted to do one more song. As they played, I tore into the restaraunt, got a roll of garbage bags and started covering everything. They played the last note, I powered down and the rain/wind hit - gear was OK, but we all got soaked, covering it up and moving it. MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheDoctorMo Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 I work in Evansville. Where was this gig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rocket888 Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 Whenever we play an outside gig, it is standard procedure to have a big plastic tarp just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gonzobassman Posted August 22, 2011 Author Members Share Posted August 22, 2011 I work in Evansville. Where was this gig? DCs on the north side. First avenue,and Buene Vista Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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