Members Mike McLaughlin Posted July 29, 2012 Members Share Posted July 29, 2012 So I have this Friday happy hour gig at a pool bar all summer. Most of the time, the weather is fine. But I've played in the rain, lightening, and thunder. I am set up under a roof, but three sides are all open. Of course, the attendance takes a hit in bad weather, but the show goes on, and the people that stay and fit under the covered bar area are appreciative. This week, I was down at the bar for happy hour on Thursday. Clams $1.95/doz and a karaoke DJ. About an hour into happy hour, the lights went out, and it hadn't even started raining yet. I went out and looked over the bar roof and saw darkness approaching, got on my ATV and headed back to my camper. I didn't make it to the door before all hell broke loose! We had a tornado, or very strong straight line winds, trees down all over the resort and surrounding area. We were without power from 6pm Thursday til 3:45 Saturday. The resort brought out generators for their office, restaurant, and the pool bar to keep the party going. I had my Friday happy hour gig, and it was great to drown out the droning sound of the generators that were running all day! So how do you guys handle outdoor gigs in bad weather? Does the show go on? Do you pack it in? If so, who makes the call, you or management? I haven't had a rain-out here in 6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pogo97 Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Outdoor gigs are normal enough here, I suppose, except in late June and July. Then it's nice-nice-nice-sundown-OMFG the mosquitos!!!!!---aargh aargh--get me out of here!! and the entire clientele goes indoors or something like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Wow Mike! That's a pretty cool story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leftyjay Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 florida weather can be quite exciting for outdoor gigs. i played at fishermans village in punta gorda fl a few years back and didnt realize that a water spout was heading right for the venue. it was on the other side of the building and nobody seen it till the wind started. luckily, the building was strong enough and big enough to block us for being blown away. and then there was huricane charlie that hit here in 2004. i was scheduled for that evening at fisherman village. needless to say, i didnt play. infact i didnt play there again for nearly 6 months after that. pretty much devastated the whole area for gigs. seems like it rains or storms everyday down here. usually about the time they want you to start your gig. i've all but cut out every outdoor gig. just not worth the wear and tear on my gear, plus the salt air and red tide isnt the best on the gear or the throat. oh yeah, the no-see-ums and skeeters at sunset. i'll stick to the nice AC gigs and look out the window at the scenery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members eyesore Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 mike sounded like fun! i've playin every wkend out doors.love it!but if the weather doesn't cooperate i'll usually wrap it up and wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike McLaughlin Posted July 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 mike sounded like fun! i've playin every wkend out doors.love it!but if the weather doesn't cooperate i'll usually wrap it up and wait. At the resort, there is always a captive audience. People book rooms and campsites in advance of the weather and they are here to have fun, so they need to be entertained. I haven't stopped because of a shower, and played through some thunder storms. Luckily, I haven't had a hurricane or tornado come through on Friday, that would probably be a show stopper! The best part of this gig is that my PA, and stands are kept behind the bar in a storage room, and I arrive via golf cart with just my guitar and laptop. An easy commute, LOL! Not only is the gig convenient, but I can play naked, and jump in the pool or showers to cool down during breaks! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 We play at an outdoor marina from October through July. We make the call and the management is OK with that. However we tend to play sometimes when we shouldn't because it is very difficult to predict where and when a thunderstorm will crop up here in South Florida. We bring the blue tarp just in case, but there is just too much risk involved if it looks nasty. In the winter it can be cold (too cold and we call it), and sometimes the midges come out (no see 'ems) but the fans and lemon grass oil keep them manageable at least until dusk. I wouldn't give this gig up though, it's the end of our forth year and it's just a lot of fun. Notes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 If I can safely play without equipment getting wet or without fear of electrocution, I'm good to go. Typically, though, outdoor gigs don't provide enough cover from all sides. My gig on Saturday night got rained out half way through. I expected the rain to show up, so I never took a break and played up until the absolute last minute when I felt I could still get my gear under cover before the rain started. I timed it perfectly. Here's a story from a recent gig I posted a couple of months ago. This was a fun night! My duo played a private party last night. Backyard pool party sort of event. Weather was looking questionable. Raining most of the day, but was supposed to clear up around the time we started. We got there early and got set up under a small covered patio. We were able to set up most of our gear under the covered patio. It was a longer gig than usual. My duo partner also has a start-up DJ business, and mentioned he would bring that setup to play during our breaks. Good stuff.We played the first set, about an hour, without a hitch. We took a break, and he started spinning some tunes. A few minutes into the break, a bit of rain started. We compacted our gear under the awning and pulled everything in, still working the DJ angle, trying to keep the party going (which was now huddled up under the awning with us. The host of the party checked the weather and said we'd be good to go in 20-30 minutes. Didn't happen. Started raining harder. The storm cell stalled out right above us and was just dumping rain.After about an hour of pouring rain, the power goes out. Music stops. So, I grabbed my acoustic and we start doing an "unplugged" set. We did that for a while, had the whole group dancing, singing along, playing along with egg shakers, etc.The rain never stopped. The power eventually came back on, and we spun tunes on the DJ gear for the remainder of the night. Fun party. We got paid. One of the hosts said we were like that stringed quartet from the Titanic movie. No matter what happened, we kept the music going. They want to have us back for another party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Loner Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Couple of years ago I played for a river party with no electricity. A guy brought a little Honda generator to run my PA and lights. I was dreading it cause I thought it would be noisy, but it was actually a really quiet little unit. I wish I had my own for occasions like that and what Mike M. is talking about. I've had the power go out at gigs before and the bar owners are always real cool about it, giving away drinks until it comes back on. Next time though it would be cool to have a little generator along and just start playing again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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